City Girl in a Redneck World

Christmas Crazy!

2009-12-21T14:39:00.000-05:00

BurghBaby wants to see lots of christmas lights.

Well, here is one house that Justin & I passed on PA430 on the way from Erie to Peek n Peak. We had to stop because of the motorcycles! (Sorry the first pic is blurry).

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-04T12:29:00.003-04:00

I'll never forget this Memorial Day...

2009-05-25T23:21:00.003-04:00

Since it's the one where I ran over a kid.

You heard me. Here's the story:

My best friend Jen is in town for Alex's baptism (which was yesterday - I'll write a post about it on Alex's Blog in the nex few days or so). Justin went golfing with my dad, so I decided to pack Alex up in his carseat in the big blue truck and go visit Jen and her family for the day. As I was driving across 12th St (a 5 lane road - 2 lanes in each direction, with a turning lane), I had to stop for a red light. I stopped back at the white line, and thought to myself, "Boy those people next to me sure pulled up far - what if someone wanted to cross the street?" The light turned green, and I started accelerating. That's when this 16 year old kid on a bicycle came screaming out from beside the building into my traffic lane. I slammed on the brakes, and he disappeared then popped up in front of me. I put the truck into park, and got out of the car. The car that was next to me was already across the intersection, but pulled over and got out. The SUV behind them stopped next to me, and the car behind me also stayed.

The woman behind me is a nurse, and she checked the kid over. He said he was fine, but his bike was obviously wrecked (the front tire was at least). He had knocked off my front license plate, and he was *VERY* lucky we didn't have any kind of receiver in the front hitch. He was spitting some blood, due to the fact that he hit his mouth off of his handlebars.

The cops were called, and a fire truck, an ambulance, an EmergyCare SUV, 2 police cruisers, and 3 motorcycle cops showed up. The kid was cited for failure to stop at a red light, and possibly for riding the wrong way in traffic (since he was riding against traffic, instead of with it). His parents arrived, and I assume they took him home. I feel sorry for what happened, but that kid was very very lucky that I was paying attention and not talking on my cell phone, taking care of Alex, or dealing with some other distraction.

Oh, and Alex is fine - he slept through the whole thing.

Beware of the attack beagles!

2009-05-05T12:25:00.003-04:00

It amazes me how many people are afraid of Chance and Harvey. Of course, we live in "the ghetto," and I have found over the years that many, many black people are afraid of dogs. I've even talked to my black friends about it, and they agree there's a high percentage of blacks afraid of dogs.

At least several times a week, whenever Justin and I are outside of any length of time, we tend to take the dogs out with us. They play in the driveway, pee on the garage, and sleep under the bush on the grass. More often than not, they are not on any sort of leash or chain, because they simply do not wander. It amuses me to see how many people cross the street to avoid the dogs. Dogs that are most likely doing this:

The people that aren't afraid? Little old white ladies. They will come right up and pet the dogs.

There are times where Chance & Harvey do bark - but it's mostly because someone will be walking by, minding their own business, and happen to look over and jump and exclaim something (usually a swear word), and get nervous.

Oh well. At least it provides amusement, and no one is going to bother us with our "attack beagles" around!

Big Scary Fish

2009-05-02T17:51:00.006-04:00

Four years ago, we were garage-saleing, and this lady had a ton of aquarium stuff she was trying to get rid of. Eventually she persuaded us to take two 10 gallon tanks, a bunch of rocks, a half dozen filtration units, several dozen filters, some breeding tanks, a bunch of fake plants, and a couple of heaters all for $10. We got home and six months later cleaned everything out (hey, it was a nice wintertime project). We threw away the rocks, because Justin said you don't know if they have anything harmful in them, and it's always best to have new rocks. Justin just wanted to have plants. Ha! We did go to petsmart to get plants, but they were also having a 99 cent fish sale! We ended up getting some zebra and neon tetras, a pleco (algae eater) and an aquatic frog. (oh, and a few plants)

Well..... the pleco died because we were stupid. It was a NEW tank, therefore there was no algae for the pleco to eat, and we didn't know we were supposed to feed it when there wasn't anything else! We took it back and got another. The aquatic frog died after a few days, so we returned it and got another... which also proceeded to die. We got yet another, which ALSO died. At that point, we decided to stick with the 3 zebra tetras, 2 neon tetras (which actually I think originally was 3), and the pleco.

The pleco quickly outgrew the 10 gallon tank, but we didn't want to upgrade. We named him Big Scary Fish, because compared to our 1.5" tetras, this sucker was a good 8" long. Whenever we would replant the fake plants, he would go around and swish his giant tail to free them all again. Eventually we quit replanting them, because obviously, BSF wanted the room.

All this time, we've either had to go back to our house in Ohio, or ask our neighbors to feed the fish on the weekends. Finally, last weekend, we purchased a brand new 29 gallon tank from Walmart, and set it up. We headed out to our house on Sunday, and loaded up the fish in a 5 gallon bucket with the bubblers in it, and covered the top with Glad Press-n-Seal. I plugged the bubblers into my handy-dandy 110v outlet in my Vibe, and we headed back to our apartment. Since the water in the bucket and the water in the tank were two different temps, we decided to let the fish hang out in the bucket overnight so the temps would equalize.

Monday morning, I got up with Alex around 7am, and fed him. Afterwards, we hung out in the living room for a while, and around 8:30, I was walking past his bedroom (where the fish tank is) to ours, where I was going to lay Alex down for his morning nap. I happened to glance on the floor, and I saw BSF on the carpet, not moving! I told the dogs to stay, then hurried into my bedroom to lay Alex down in his bassinet. I then ran back to his room, and grabbed the net. I put the net under his tail, where he was stiff as a board. "Oh no," I thought, "BSF is dead." I put him in the new aquarium any way, which at the time had nothing but water in it. No rocks, no plants, no bubblers other than the filter. It was even only filled to about 15 gallons. He sunk to the bottom and since there were no rocks in the tank, I could see his sucker moving on the bottom. He was still alive!

He looked pretty bad though. He had flopped on the carpet at least 4 feet from where the bucket was, and had hair and other carpet fibers on his body. I let him be for a while, since I didn't want to stress him out more. After a few hours, I added the other fish and more water to the tank. When Justin came home from work, he put in the bottom filters, the bubblers, the rocks, and the fake plants (we have since added some live ones).

BSF was (and is) starting to look pretty jagged. I took these pictures on Friday:

His dorsal fin is even worse, and his tail fin is starting to die off. His back scales are flaking off and they are pretty red underneath. I went to an aquarium shop a block from the house and talked to the owner, and he gave me some medicine to hopefully fix him. I have to put in 1tsp/10gal of water for 7 days. Hopefully he can hold on that long and his fins will start to grow back. If not, he will just be even scarier, I guess.

Alex

2009-04-30T00:36:00.000-04:00

I've decided to move all my Alex posts over to a new blog:

http://alittlebitofalex.blogspot.com/

That way I can keep bitching over here (making it public again), while giving the family baby updates.

Besides, Justin and I will both be posting on that one, so hopefully it will be updated on a more regular basis.

Winter, please come back!

2009-04-29T13:59:00.003-04:00

So this past weekend it was beautiful and HOT out. While it was nice, there are several reasons I want winter to return:

1. I was pregnant the whole winter. While it was nice I wasn't huge during the hot sticky summer months, I ski in the winter! I missed the whole downhill skiing season! Guess I'll just have to plan my next pregnancy better ;-).
2. I live in the ghetto. The cold and snow kept people indoors. For example:

Sunday night after we got home from Cleveland, I was finishing feeding Alex and heard a commotion outside. As I was burping him, I was going from window to window trying to find what was going on. There were probably 50 people in the street screaming and yelling at each other, blocking traffic on my road. I was seriously getting ready to call the cops when they got out of the road and seemed to calm down. I don't really want to be "that" person, but I totally will. Black people are afraid of my dogs, and I'm not afraid to use that to my advantage. (But seriously, has anyone ever heard of a beagle attacking someone? I didn't think so).

One bad thing

2009-04-24T17:21:00.003-04:00

One bad thing about living on a busy street and finally having nice weather is that once you have all the windows open, you risk going deaf beacuse you have to turn the TV up so loud over the traffic noise. I'm contemplating turning on the closed-captioning just so I can understand what the heck is going on!

Lightweight

2009-04-21T13:10:00.002-04:00

Sunday night Justin and I went to Olive Garden for the first time in probably two years or so. BB (before baby), we would get a pitcher of Sangria (the red/berry kind). Over the course of the meal, it would make us feel pretty good, and tasted awesome.

Well, I just ordered water since I'm trying to be a good mom and all (don't want a drunk baby :-D), but Justin got a glass of Sangria. I had a sip, and holy crap have I become a lightweight. ONE FREAKING SIP and I was already getting that lightheaded feeling.

Well, if I ever become an alcoholic, at least it will be cheap!

Question of the day

2009-04-13T20:34:00.000-04:00

What's 11.5 lbs and 23.25" of cute?

This guy:

He had his 1 month well-checkup (at 6 weeks, but whatever). He goes back to the Dr in a month for his first set of immunizations. I'm sooooooooo looking forward to that (not).

Visit at daddy's work!

2009-04-08T17:54:00.003-04:00

Today I had my 6 week postnatal appointment, where I was cleared to, *ahem* resume normal activities. On the way home, I had to pass Justin's work, so I called him and asked him if it was a good day to show off Alex... or not. He said that while it was a bad busy day, things had calmed down, and he had some time. So Alex & I visited Justin as work for the first time. All his fellow engineers ooh and aahed (well, as much as men do) and said he needed a tiny hard hat & safety glasses. Well, I already bought Alex some sunglasses, but I bet I could find him a tiny hard hat.

I went to a children's consignment shop, and picked up Alex a cute little overalls & long sleeved onesie outfit, and it's quickly become our favorite outfit. Here he is in it, sitting on the couch:

In other news, we have been giving Alex "tummy time" a few times a week. Today I put him on his tummy on the couch, and he lifted up his upper body on his arms! He is getting to be so strong!

1 month and 100th post!

2009-04-01T10:56:00.004-04:00

Today, Alex is one month old. In that month, Alex

has used about 250 diapers (we have yet to pay for any though! yay for diaper raffles!)
has peed on me four times, and daddy only once (dang it).
has decided to paint the changing table a lovely mustard yellow twice (I was too slow with the next diaper).
has had four baths - 2 sponge, and 2 in his lovely pink tub (sorry buddy, but it was cheaper than the blue one!)
has stretched his nighttime sleeping to 4 1/2 hours sometimes.
has had lots of kisses by mommy, daddy & Chance.
got lots of new outfits.
has been to mass twice so far.
has gotten lots of compliments on how cute and handsome he is.
has drained the batteries in his swing once so far.
can hold his head fairly steady.
has started smiling and focusing on faces.
makes "ooh" and "ah" noises.
has wrapped everyone around his tiny little fingers... of course!

(I'll add more today when I think of it)

Your face is kinda scratchy!

2009-03-29T20:51:00.001-04:00

365 days to the big 3-0!

2009-03-25T10:23:00.000-04:00

Yikes!

Support a great cause!

2009-03-20T11:51:00.001-04:00

My friend Paul is raising money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association again.

Please support him!

http://www.outlandishbiscuit.com/2009/03/mda.html

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T18:48:00.002-04:00

Today Alex & I went up to my Alma Mater, Penn State, and spent the day showing off my sweet little baby. Of course everyone loved him!

...yes, yes you are.

Sunset on Lake Erie

2009-03-16T22:31:00.004-04:00

So tonight we decided to try out Backyard Burgers, but first went and drove around the Peninsula. It wasn't too cold, and the wind was relatively calm, so we got Alex out of the car and enjoyed five minutes or so of the pre-sunset.

If you've never tried Backyard Burgers before, I highly recommend it. It's "fast food," but tastes like a higher quality burger. We will definitely go back.

Surreal

2009-03-15T20:09:00.006-04:00

It's been two weeks since Alex was born, and it still doesn't seem real (maybe it's the sleep-deprivation talking).

We're still having some issues - he doesn't sleep consistently yet (but I know it can take up to 6 weeks for him to get in synch). He also sometimes has problems with latching on to feed. Sometimes he will just scream & scream until he gets hysterical. When he does this, I feel so bad for him. He will turn really red & have tears streaming down his face, and sometimes can take twenty minutes to an hour to calm down enough to decide that the boob in his mouth is actually food. Other times he latches on right away. It can be frustrating, and there's nothing I (or Justin) can do but wait it out.

We went on our first walk yesterday. It was chilly but sunny. I got him in his car seat, then hitched up the dogs and took the dogs outside to wait.

I grabbed his stroller frame, and took that downstairs. I then grabbed my camera and Alex and carried him downstairs and put him in his stroller frame. We all waited for Justin to finish messing around with his new tractor, then we went for the walk. It was nice - I just had to make sure I didn't walk too fast (I have a long stride and would trip the bar between the wheels) or hit any lips in the sidewalk (the wheels aren't great and would pitch the whole stroller forward), or run over a slow-moving dog.

New Blog

2009-03-14T12:00:00.002-04:00

My husband started his own blog. Feel free to take a look!

Grease, Gas and Wildfire

Maybe I'm taking too many pictures...

2009-03-13T09:49:00.002-04:00

Best. Diet. EVER

2009-03-12T22:52:00.004-04:00

Not that I've ever dieted or anything (heck, I never even owned a scale until my husband's aunt & uncle died, and he "inherited" it).

Alex is 11 days old. In those 11 days, I've lost 30 pounds so far. Thirty freaking pounds! Last week I was able to "fit" into my regular jeans, but I had quite the muffin top going. This morning I put on my maternity pants and took the dogs for a walk. I practically walked out of my pants! I think I'm down to one actual pair of jeans that I can wear - my "shopping" maternity jeans that have the extra supportive band at the top that gives me a weird indent halfway up my stomach, but my pants stay ON dang it! I think I'm going to have to pull out my regular jeans again and see if I'm any less banana nut-like. Hopefully the weight keeps coming off, and maybe I'll even eventually be a whole size smaller! That would be nice.

First (sponge) Bath

2009-03-10T00:10:00.004-04:00

Alex got his first bath at home on Sunday evening. Since he had just lost his stump and was circumcised just a week ago, it had to be a sponge bath. I got to use some of the Cucumber Melon body wash that I got from the baby shower.

He wasn't too happy about it.

Cord

2009-03-07T18:08:00.000-05:00

Alex lost his umbilical cord stump today! We're one step closer to giving him an actual bath.

Alexander James

2009-03-04T15:49:00.007-05:00

Born: Sunday, March 1, 2009 @ 2am
Weight: 7lbs 14oz
Length: 21"
--------------------------------------------------------------

On Saturday, I woke up around 3am with minor pains. I went to sleep on the couch (Justin was snoring like usual), and woke up around 9 or 10 with more consistent pains. Justin had gone into work for a bit, and I just rested and checked my email - normal stuff. By the time he got home, I was looking for an online contraction timer, and they were erratic, but slowly getting closer together. I took a shower, and Justin made lunch. As I was eating, I was timing my contractions, and they were about 4 mins apart, and just over a minute(ish) long. I eventually got ahold of my mom & asked her to come get the dogs & change the guinea pig cages. We started gathering up what we needed for the hospital, and left about 6:30.

Once there, they checked me & saw that I was already at 5cm! They asked me if I wanted anything for the pain, but really, it wasn't that bad. Around midnight or so, I was nearly dialted the whole way, and the nurse had me lay on my side, which made my contractions feel 10x stronger (and made me throw up my lunch - hopefully I'll be able to eat rotini & meat sauce again). My body did its job though, and soon it was time to push. I won't go into details, but I pushed for an hour and then Alex was born! He ended up coming out with his hand right by his face. (ow).

<-- Check out my Twitter

2009-02-28T07:02:00.004-05:00

I just recently re-remembered the Twitter text address, so I've been sending some txt's from bed lately.

Since I *think* I've been having contractions since about 3am, I might not make it until Monday! Keep an eye on my Twitter bar, or add me as a friend on Twitter to get updates right on your phone!

MONDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-02-27T14:38:00.002-05:00

I am being induced Monday morning! I have to be at the hospital at 7:30am, then wait for 12 hours while Cervadil (hopefully) does its thing, then maybe get Pitocin, and then FINALLY have this baby Monday or Tuesday.

Guess it's true that all the cool people are born in March ;-) (no offense to anyone who doesn't have a March birthday).

Bye Bye Jetta, hello Vibe!

2009-02-26T14:11:00.006-05:00

So my lease is/was up on my Jetta at the end of this month, and last Friday Justin & I went and turned it in. I had the option to buy it, but since Justin had wrecked it 10 months after I got it, and he didn't like how it braked any way (though I've *never* had a problem with it), and the headliner had shrunk (probably from the freaking oppressive TN heat), and it had some scratches, etc etc, we at first had just decided I would drive "The Big Blue Truck" and he would drive his "dented piece of not-crap" (he bought a 1998(?) Ford F150 that had the drivers door all bashed for $300 and it runs great!), but then Justin got it in his head that I shouldn't have to climb in/out of the BBT, so he started (forcing me to) look at cars again. I didn't want a station wagon or van, but a regular car or a SMALL SUV would have been fine. I mean, come on, I'm becoming a mom, but do I really need a station wagon or van?????? No freaking way.

Any way, we would drive around car lots in the evenings, and I would say, "Oh that one looks ok, or "too big," "too ugly," "no freaking way." He tried talking me into a Dodge Nitro, just because it was a good deal, but man, those cars are manly-looking. I might wear jeans every-freaking-day, but I would like at least a non-mannish car!

So we decided to start looking around the car dealership where I had to turn my car back in, and he pointed out a Subaru Outback. I don't like the stupid wing in the middle of the back window, so I said no. But then I saw a little blue car, and told Justin I liked how that one looked. Since the dealership was still open, he got a sales guy to let us test drive it.

A vehicle has to pass the following rules:

Justin has to fit in the drivers seat. Whenever we go somewhere together, usually he drives, and we tend to take whatever vehicle is easier to get to. When we were looking for cars before I got the Jetta, I seriously confused the Honda sales guy when Justin sat in a Civic, put the seat all the way back, still wanted about 2" more of room, and I told the sales guy, "Well, that's it's then. Thanks for your time." I still took it for a test drive, but that car was *seriously* underpowered.
It has to have a sunroof.
I have to be able to beat the shit out of it in a test drive. When I test drove the Jetta, I had it over 120mph by the time I was off the on ramp onto the highway. Obviously I don't need to go that fast any more, but the car really has to have decent power. I'm not a grandma driver!

Did it pass the test? 1 (check). 2 (check!), and 3 (eh, mostly check. I wasn't feeling great that evening, so I didn't really feel like driving like a crazy woman (plus it was after dark and below freezing), but it does perform well.)

So, we ended up getting a 2006 Pontiac Vibe in the same color blue as BBT. Now I just need to find an XM radio (because radio in Erie? TOTALLY SUCKS). I would like to find a portable one that I could use with my stereo receiver at home, and be able to use it in any of our 3 vehicles, plus possibly the camper. Hopefully I'm not being too over-ambitious with what I expect to find.

Excuse the crappy quality of the pic - I took it with my phone, and it tends to wash stuff out. Too bad it couldn't wash out the dirt that's covering my car :-). The dirt makes it look like there's more dents than there are. There are a few dents, but really they're just creases, and I can deal with that. Makes it less saddening when I get a new dent. Yesterday I drove 30 miles to get the car seat installed - it fits in the center of the backseat, but just barely. At least the baby isn't going to go anywhere! 2 adults can still sit in the backseat even with the baby seat - I haven't had the dogs in the car yet, so I'm not sure how they're going to like being separated from each other. I figure I'll wait until the baby comes to put them in the car - maybe licking the baby will provide enough distraction from the lack of room for them :-).

No Change

2009-02-25T10:25:00.003-05:00

Well, I just got back from the Dr's office, and there's been no change. I do have to go back on Friday though, so they can do yet another ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid levels since this morning it was an 8 (lowest that is safe is 5, range should be 5-25). I couldn't even get another baby picture since the fluid is what provides contrast, and since it was low, there wasn't a lot of contrast.

Come out, come out whoever you are!

Tomorrow

2009-02-24T22:30:00.002-05:00

Dr's appt tomorrow... will post an update afterwards. Hopefully I'll have progressed some!

Happy Birthday to my mommy!

2009-02-19T12:04:00.003-05:00

Today my mom turns the big five-oh. Happy Birthday! I know she's hoping for the ultimate birthday present (a grandbaby), but as of right now, I don't see that happening. There's still 12 hours left in the day though!

Baby no later than March 3!

2009-02-18T20:23:00.005-05:00

Well, I had another OB appointment, and while the baby has dropped, my body is not ready to eject him/her. I was told though, that they will not let me go more than 10 days past my due date (Saturday), which is March 3. At least there is an end date in sight!

I also got another 3d/4d picture, but it was terrible. The baby had its head all squashed against my uterus (lovely picture, eh), and so it looked like the baby had a malformed head. Oh well. A picture is a picture, right? (I did not scan it in, so unless you see me in person, you're not gonna see it).

Other good news: I was told I don't have to continue checking my sigars since my 2nd 3 hour test was ALL NORMAL. YAY!!!!!!!!!! I can eat pizza and spaghetti and eat more often than every two hours again! (all in moderation of course). I only have to test if I feel funny after eating.

Maybe if you all send good thoughts my way, the baby will want to come out? It couldn't hurt!

Updates

2009-02-12T14:29:00.003-05:00

I haven't been online much lately due to the fact that we're now living in our apartment full-time and I won't have internet until Monday at the earliest (and it's killing me, let me tell you). I'm sitting at Panera right now, eating a roast beef sandwich and asian chicken salad and using their wi-fi.

BUT! I have a picture!!!!! No, I didn't have the baby yet, but since I'm "borderline gestational diabetic," I've been getting weekly ultrasounds and non-stress tests. Last week the baby didn't want to cooperate and kept its little hand in the way of its face, but this week the baby cooperated!

Say it all together now... "awwwwwwww" ;-) Justin's liked looking at the ultrasounds, which hopefully I won't have too many more (because that means the baby would be here).

It's been extremely WINDY in Erie the past day and a half, with gusts up to 60mph, but luckily so far we've only had a power flicker or two. There are plenty of business and houses that don't have power though (this is the 2nd Panera I've gone to today, since the first one closer to my house has no power).

5 years down - many, many more to go

2009-01-31T13:07:00.004-05:00

Five years ago today, it was cold (but not bitter), snowy (but only a little), and hectic, beautiful, and wonderful all at the same time. Our families and frieds all (jokingly) complained about us getting married in the middle of winter, but we ski. We met skiing, we got engaged skiing, and we wanted to go skiing on our honeymoon!

It's been a great five years - yes, we've had ups & downs (especially the last year), but in a few weeks, we will have a new little challenge to overcome - and I'm sure we'll do just fine.

Less than a month to go!

2009-01-22T11:13:00.003-05:00

I know it's been a while since I've last posted, and for that - I'm sorry. I've been busy, not so busy, and just plain lazy lately. Let's see if I can cram all the updates into this one post :-).

Christmas
My Christmas was pretty much uneventful - my family did presents on Christmas Eve, which freed Justin and I up to drive to his mom's on Christmas Day. Both of my sisters stopped by, and about the only thing I can complain about is that my youngest sister, Nikki, gave me totally rude presents. Back around Thanksgiving, she called me and asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I told her a maternity sweater in size XL. If it looked too small, then she could get a 1x, but XL should be just fine. What did she get me? A red shirt and a red fleece jacket with Tigger on it (I'm not a big fan of Pooh either), in SIZES 3X!!!!! Regular sizes! Hell, my regular size is just XL (maybe 2x depending on the chest area). Thanks so much. Luckily she left the tags on, and I had mom take them back to Walmart and return them for store credit. His family's Christmas was the day after, and his mom's gift to everyone was a family photo. Just what I always wanted when I'm 32 weeks pregnant... to stand in the front row with my hands under my belly, and try to look happy about it. Thanks so much MIL... At least I had a cute outfit to wear.

Dec 29 was my first visit at my new OB's office. We got our family history's redone, and then Justin got to see me depants and get my cervix checked. Fun fun. "Nice to meet you too, Doc!"

New Years'
Justin and I didn't do anything - we drove back to the house in Ohio, got Chinese food, and about 10:30, I fell asleep on the couch. I did wake up around 11:30, and got to see the ball drop.
(Then we went to bed). [we're such party animals]

The guy came from VW to inspect my car the next day, since it's due back by Feb 28. (I'm not going to keep it). The only thing I have to pay for is the damn $219 dent my sister got in my car, back when she was using it to drive to work when she lived with us. I'll never see that money, so I'll just chalk it up to experience... as in, I'm experienced in not letting her use ANYTHING of mine, nor will I ever feel comfortable leaving my baby alone with her.

I got a call on Jan 9 from my new Dr's office, saying they FINALLY got the rest of my records from TN, and oh yeah, I do have gestational diabetes (the test was a freaking MONTH ago!!!) When I went back to the dr's office on Jan 13, I talked to the OB and asked for a retest. They didn't even know how much solution I had drank for the 3 hour test (75g), so they thought my numbers were inflated, and they're not, but even though I went for the retest, I still have to monitor my sugars. At least I got to go through the holidays eating sugar, but now I'm concerned that if I really DO have it, that there could be issues with the baby, since it went unchecked for a whole month. When I called the OB office to get my prescription for the test strips and lancets, they said my repeat 3 hour looked good, but I'm not going to hold my breath until after my appointment Tuesday when I talk to the Dr again.

I really hate having to prick my fingers 4x a day, monitoring how much I eat and when, and oh yeah, I have to check my ketones in the morning (it's a pee test. If you get up several times in the night to pee, just when is the "first" morning pee???) The worst part is my stepdad has a sweet tooth and he keeps asking me when I'm going to make him dessert. Yeah, I'm going to torture myself by making dessert when I can't eat it myself. Sure. Keep dreaming, dad.

We did get an apartment though! We won't be able to move into it until after the 1st of February, but that's ok. We're allowed to move stuff in beforehand, so I put all my baby shower stuff in there, and we moved some kitchen stuff in already. This weekend we have our birthing class, a friend's birthday party, and then will be driving to the house (hopefully with our friend Paul) to get a bunch of furniture in both trucks and bring as much back as we can. Next Saturday (Jan 31) is our 5 year wedding anniversary, so I doubt we'll get much moving done then.

I'll try to do my next post soon, and write about the baby shower.

Back in civilization!!!!!!!

2008-12-15T19:44:00.003-05:00

So Friday was my last day of work (*sniff*). I picked up Justin at the airport in Nashville on Friday night, then we stopped at Carrabbas and had dinner. It wasn't bad. I don't know if I'd go back, but it was nice to see what the hype was all about (note to Carrabbas: add some balsamic vinegar to your oil and herb dip mix).

Saturday morning we went over to the UHaul place and spent an HOUR checking me into the system and getting the paperwork done. (note to UHaul: TRAIN YOUR PEOPLE BETTER).

We spent the day packing, then went out to dinner with Joan and Dane. Dinner was nice, and it would have been nicer if we could have spent more time with them, but there's always the future!

Sunday I got up early, and let Justin sleep for a few more hours while I packed up the last of the little stuff. After he got up and took the last shower in the apartment, I took down the shower curtain and rod, got 2 bales of hay from the barn (and gave the baby horse, John Henry, at least 3 treats). We grabbed all the garbage, turned off the heat and all the lights, left the keys in the cupboard, closed the door, went across the street to get gas, and headed on the road. We stopped 3 times - twice for gas & food in the same stop, and once for ice cream at DQ. I do love the holidays, and the fact that just about everyone seems to have something peppermint flavored.

We got to the house in Ohio around 10pm, got the older neighbor kid to come over and help move boxes, and were in bed by 11:30. Justin got up super early to drive to PA to go to work, and I slept until 9am (ahhhhhhhhh). Today I've been slowly unpacking stuff and my goal is to get everything (or nearly everything) unpacked by tomorrow night so I can make it to PA to get my baby shower list done.

OH! And I *FINALLY* was able to get an appointment with my new OB in Erie. I had to have my OB in TN send my records again for the 50th time, but they did accept me, and my appointment is for Dec 29th at 3:15pm.

I'll miss my friends in TN, but it's good to be back home.

3 hour GTT (glucose tolerance test)

2008-12-10T23:14:00.003-05:00

Well, I got up at 5am this morning (*yawn*), took a shower, grabbed my crocheting, and went over to the hospital. The nurse took my blood, then gave me the stuff to drink. It tasted just like orange pop, but I chugged it any way. The nurse kept telling me not to throw it up or else I would have to come back another day - but since I didn't have any problems with the stuff at the 1 hour test, I didn't think I would have any problems (and I didn't).

I really hope my OB calls and tells me I'm ok - my fingers hurt from the 4 pinpricks to get my sugar tested.

Here are my levels:
Fasting: 102
1 hour: 174
2 hour: 127
3 hour: 102

The only one that I figure I failed is the fasting - generally it should be below 95, but since I only failed one of them, then hopefully I'm ok.

Damnit!

2008-12-09T21:23:00.002-05:00

Well, I got a phone call from the Doctor's office today... I failed my 1 hour glucose test with a 133 (they wanted below a 130), so tomorrow morning I have to wake up early and be at the hospital by 6:45am! That is SIX FORTY-FIVE in the morning!!!!!!!!! I'm not even awake by then normally!

Crap.

Please think good thoughts and hopefully I'll pass this test with no problems!

Oh well, at least I can try to get some crocheting done.

Updates

2008-12-05T12:19:00.005-05:00

Thanksgiving went well - it only took me 2 hours to get through Cincinnati on the way North, and 40 mins to get out traffic caused by an accident just south of Cincinnati on the way back to TN.

I could definitely see how hard and utterly lonely it would have been this past year without my guinea pigs. This week it's been rather lonely around my apartment since they're at my parents house.

I went for my glucose test today to test for Gestational Diabetes. I have no instant gratification though, since they have to send my blood to a lab for testing. Only if there is a problem, will they call me (in about a week). On the plus side, I've only gained one pound since my last visit on Oct 29, so I really doubt I have GD. If you do have it, you tend to gain a lot of weight at once, and while I've gotten noticeably bigger, I haven't gotten any heavier, and my fundal height (the height of my uterus) is right on track.

The ladies at work threw me a surprise baby shower on Wednesday! It was nice - I got some really cute stuff, plus a lot of people chipped in and they gave me a gift card (so I wouldn't have to haul bigger presents back with me).

Tonight I will be flying in to Cleveland for Justin's company's Christmas party (it's tomorrow), and I will be flying back on Sunday, later afternoon. Hopefully my flights aren't going to be delayed at all!

Happy Thanksgiving Driving Day!

2008-11-26T08:53:00.002-05:00

Yeah, so as soon as I get off my ass and finish the dishes, clean the piggy cages, put Moonbeam in her travel "cage" (a glorified box) and Peanut Thunder in Moonbeam's cage, and put the rest of the crap in my car, I will be heading to Cleveland to spend the evening with Justin before we head to Erie Thursday morning.

I am so not looking forward to the drive today. First off, I slept kind of crappy last night (thank you Nikki for calling me at midnight and waking me up *yawn*), then I woke up at FIVE AM... do you know when the last time I got up at five am and actually STAYED UP???? Yeah, me neither. I do remember the last time I woke up at THREE AM and stayed up (last Black Friday). Do I need to get up that early again this year? Maybe, maybe not. It all depends on what Jen needs to get. The sales are kind of crappy this year, and I really just want to get to Kohls during their early bird time and get 60% off maternity clothes.

One plus? I tried on my winter coat from last year, and.... IT STILL FITS!!! Whoo! Now, I can't guarantee just how long it will fit, but anything is better than nothing.

Well, back to getting everything ready - I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, and if you are traveling, please be safe. If you are hosting, may all your food be the best your guests have ever had!

Beware what you name your pets...

2008-11-18T19:00:00.002-05:00

So Joan and Dane adopted an orange tabby cat, and named her Amber (aww). Well, Joan noticed that she was eating a TON and getting fatter, and so now she suspects the cat is pregnant.

Note to anyone else: Don't name your pet after your PREGNANT friend. lol

Feet? What feet?

2008-11-16T18:55:00.004-05:00

I knew I was startig to get bigger by the fact that it took nearly all of my energy today to cut my toenails. Good Lord that was a lot of work.

Well, I didn't realize just how big I was getting until I got dressed today and looked at myself sideways in the mirror. Ever since I've gotten boobs, my boobs have stuck out way further than my stomach has. Yeah. Not any more :-).

I also had my first "When are you due?" question from a stranger! just under 14 weeks to go!

This picture isn't the best, since it was taken with my crappy-ass cell phone, but it's better than nothing!

Conflicted

2008-11-14T15:54:00.004-05:00

Remember a month ago when I was all Bitter? Well..........

My mom called me last Friday and said Nikki's Dr couldn't find the baby's heartbeat, so she was going to go for an ultrasound on Monday or Tuesday (why not right away, I have no idea).

Well, it turned out that the baby passed at week 9, and she should have been at week 11. Nikki was scheduled to have a DNC on Thursday, but she ended up starting to pass it on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning about 3am. My mom went to the hospital with her while she had the procedure done.

Nikki is fine - she had to take 3 days off of work, and for the next 2 or 3 months isn't allowed to pick up anything heavier than 10lbs.

When I heard she had problems, OF COURSE I felt terrible for her. First because I accused her of getting pregnant on purpose (which I still don't know if it was or not), then for telling her I was not and could not be happy for her when she can't even pay her own bills! I would never have wanted her to have a miscarriage, but perhaps it was for the best. I mean, she still can't pay for her own bills, and both her and her boyfriend need to work full time. I know my parents would have had to either a) support them somehow, or b) provide daycare.

I talked to her for a bit last night, and she seemed okay. We're going to try to get together on Thanksgiving, since my mom has to work that day and we're not actually going to have our Thanksgiving dinner until Saturday. Perhaps we can resume our normal sibling relationship now. Only time will tell.

Hard work this weekend

2008-11-10T20:40:00.003-05:00

Well, this weekend 2 of the corporate offices got his with a nasty virus. Luckily it didn't hit my site, but I was still sucked into helping with the other sites. Friday night I left work about 7pm, Saturday I got pulled into a call about 6pm until 4:30am (but I fell aslepp sometime around 1:30am and woke up a few times to work on the pc I was working on), then Sunday I was on a call from 7:45 pm until nearly 1am. I sure am tired.

However, on Sunday when I woke up, I decided I better get a move-on with the baby registry. Man oh man, is that HARD. I worked on it all day yesterday, and still don't have everything picked out. I at least have the "important" stuff picked out - the pack n play, car seat (with extra base), car seat stroller converter thingy, and others. I have a crib picked out, and I really am liking the convertibl crib idea, but I don't know if that crib is the exact one I'm going to go with. I am going with a natural colored crib, and it has to be convertible (and still look nice as a larger bed).

So far I have stuff at Target, Wal-Mart, and Babies R Us. I used my mom's address in PA, since we're going to end up in PA any way, and that way stuff doesn't have to be transported multiple times.

*sigh* It's soooooooooooo much work.

Vale Lightning

2008-11-02T22:17:00.005-05:00

This afternoon, when I went to clean the guinea pig cages, I found Lightning had passed away in his (and Peanut Thunder's) cage. He was 6 years and somewhere between 1-2 months.

Remaining "family" members are Peanut Thunder (4 years) and Moonbeam (about 5 years).

His favorite activity was begging for treats. He particularly liked to sit with me (specifically on my "shelf") and share a pomegranate.

You can read his story on this post: http://citygirlinaredneckworld.blogspot.com/2008/06/lightning.html

Rest in peace, my dear little friend.

My friend June made me this mug about 2 years ago. I'm really glad that I have it, since he will never be forgotten now.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T15:29:00.003-04:00

My friend Jeana painted the baby and the GIANT legs bones (I mean, come on! I might be fat, but good Lord!)

And um, that's my terribly messy office. With all the new people coming in, I haven't had time to clean up at all.

Happy Halloween Eve!

2008-10-30T19:37:00.004-04:00

Tonight I lugged my pumpkin across the street, and carved it old school style, with a metal spoon, a bread knife, and a steak knife.

Check it out (in all its glory):

The horses sure liked the carved out bits!

It sure was a far cry from last years' pumpkin, when I had a whole kit and different sized little saws and stuff.

New page element added

2008-10-29T15:25:00.003-04:00

So I decided to do one of those "cutesy" baby countdown tickers. It's all the way at the bottom of the page if you want to check it out.

Vegetables

2008-10-29T10:07:00.003-04:00

On Friday, we're having a Halloween potluck at work. I was checking the list to see what others were bringing, and under "Vegetables," someone put "Mac & Cheese."

I didn't know mac & cheese was a vegetable! Oh, that's right, in the South, it is. No wonder Alabama is going to institute a "Fat Tax" for their overweight state employees (which I don't agree with, but still).

Chili Cookoff!

2008-10-24T12:49:00.003-04:00

Last night my friend Joan and I went to the Giles County Chamber Cookoff. For $5 you got a small black styrofoam bowl and a spoon. There were about 45 vendors serving chili, cookies, cornbread, and sometimes beverages.

Right away we scored an awesome parking spot, right on the square. We got out of the car and looked for the most likely line where we could get our bowl & spoon. Unfortunately, they ran out of spoons & bowls, so we had to go to yet another line (but hey, we walked fast & got there before other people :-D).

Our first stop was at the Chamber table itself, and the chili was great! We then skipped the next couple of tables, and stopped to try some "Hillbilly chili" (which tasted like watered down hamburger and gravy). Joan stopped and tried some other kind, and I went further down where a local guy is running for...something. He had free pop (which I snagged for us), and GROSS chili. It tasted like it had some kind of liquor in it. I shook my head at Joan, and found a trash can. We made our way around the square, tasting whatever struck our fancy (we both prefer thicker chili, so we were looking for that). I tried 2 different kinds of white chili. They were okay.

We stopped and watched the lady-men beauty pageant (one guy actually had pretty shapely feminine legs), which was funny, but I was too hungry to stand there and watch for too long.

One stop I made, I got the spoon to my mouth and started scooping off the chili, and literally almost projectile vomited it all back up. I immediately spit out what was in my mouth back into my bowl, and practically drained my pop just to get the NASTY taste out of my mouth. I then found another trash can and scooped all of that gross into it. I found another chili and managed to find out that tasted decent enough to get the grossness out of my mouth and mind.

We finished up the walk around the square, and decided to end the night with the delicious chili from our first stop, but unfortunately they had *just* run out. Literally. The guy in front got the last bowl. We told the lady dishing the chili out that it was by far the best chili on the square, and she was very pleased.

Both of us very full, we made our way back to the car, and went back to her house for relaxation and chatting.

All in all, I would do it again, but I'd probably be the less adventurous one and ask more questions before I hand over my bowl :-).

Feeling better

2008-10-17T19:29:00.004-04:00

Well, I'm feeling better about the whole "Nikki thing" after getting a good nights' sleep last night. I'm still unhappy about it, but I'm no longer weepy and/or pissed off whenever I think about it.

Besides, I have something much better to look forward to! Justin's coming to visit! He's on his way right now, and should be here probably around 1:30-2:30 in the morning. AND! the puppies are coming with him since my parents are camping this weekend!

yay! We're going to drive to Huntsville to buy me some more maternity clothes. I'm getting really tired of wearing the same pants every. single. day. I'm also running out of dirty clothes to wash when I wash my pants.

Bitter

2008-10-16T09:49:00.005-04:00

I feel like shit today because I couldn't sleep last night. "Why's that, Amber?" you wonder. Well, I'll tell you.

My baby sister, who just turned 20 a week ago and has been living with a boy for a few months, told my parents and Justin that she is 7 weeks pregnant.

(rant)
Do you know what was 7 weeks ago? Go ahead and check, I'll wait. That's right, it was the weekend I told my family I was pregnant.

Now, Nikki has always been the jealous type (youngest child syndrome?). When Justin and I bought a popup camper that needed the floor fixed, we took it to my parents, because well, that's where I lived at the time (I was still in college), and when my mom took it upon herself to work on it (cause she's cool like that), Nikki got all pissed off that no one was paying any attention to HER and dented the aluminum siding on the camper with her basketball (she was 13 or 14). When I was getting married, my mom insisted on making my dress, and Nikki threw a fit (she was 15 at the time) because mom was spending so much time on MY dress.

I honestly think that when she heard I was pregnant, she told her boyfriend that she wanted a baby and they "forgot" to use protection, just so I don't get any glory.

Oh yes, I mean, I'll have the oldest grandchild in my side of the family, but who the fuck cares? 2 1/2 months later, her child will be born. SHE CAN'T EVEN AFFORD TO PAY HER CELL PHONE BILL EVERY MONTH. My parents took over $2,000 of HER debt because she couldn't afford it! (HELLO! My mom even had to get a job at Walmart in order to pay for MY SISTERS debt!) How is she going to pay for $300-400 of diapers every month? Let alone she's most likely going to have to formula feed, because she can't even afford to take a day off from her own job at Walmart if she's sick!

I'm seriously tempted to tell my parents that if they help her financially in any way, they will never see their oldest grandchild. Do you think that's too harsh? Let's go over some facts.

Neither of my younger sisters went to college. (Well, my middle sister did, but she dropped out after a semester). When my grandfater died, Justin and I got a couch, a loveseat, a dining room table, a stand up freezer, a fridge, and a washer/dryer (which we ended up selling, or it broke and we had to replace it, something like that). My sisters? They each got $6,000.
When I went to college, my stepdad was in the middle of a string of jobs, and they had no money. I paid for college myself, 100%. I graduated with $30,000 in student loans (and still owe $16,000). The only thing they did was mom would pick me up from work at midnight (before I got my drivers license a year and a half later), and they let me live at home rent free. Rent free, you say? Well, they never charged either of my sisters rent, and they did nothing but sit on their ass! I even helped pay for my parents mortgage on their house!
When Justin and I got married, they paid out about $500 worth of stuff (not including the alcohol THEY bought which we didn't even want there). The rest? We paid for ourselves.
Whenever my sisters wanted to go anywhere (before they had their licenses), my parents would drive them. Me? They made me take the bus 95% of the time (and pay for it myself).

Now, do you still think I'm being too harsh? My mom said that when she and my stepdad got together, that no one helped them... they don't have any education past high school (ahem, they got together 25 years ago), so I don't think my parents should help my sister and her protection-deficient boyfriend either.

GAH.

Note to self:

2008-10-08T23:10:00.002-04:00

QUIT EATING APPLES RIGHT AFTER TAKING YOUR PRENATAL VITAMIN

It's really really really bad coming back up.

*sigh*

Oh, and if you were eating an apple when you read this, I'm sorry.

Wow

2008-10-07T19:51:00.003-04:00

So in my post on Sunday, I mentioned that my OB was concerned that the One-A-Day Womens Prenatal didn't have enough folic acid, so I wrote a quick note to the One-A-Day people with my concerns. I got a pretty quick response back!

-------------------------
Dear Ms. (me):

Thank you for taking the time to contact Bayer HealthCare about One-A-Day Prenatal Multivitamin/Mineral Supplement. We appreciate your interest in Bayer HealthCare and our products.

Please be assured that your comments about not having enough folic acid in our One-A-Day Prenatal and your comments about having to take additional folic acid with our One-A-Day Prenatal will be shared with our management team. Your feedback is vital to our continuous improvement efforts.

In appreciation of your interest, under separate cover I am sending a full value coupon for your use. Please allow 7 to 10 business days for delivery.
If I may be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Taren Werkheiser
Consumer Advisor

------------------
I have to say I'm very impressed with their quick response and their concern! I hope that in the future when I go to get more pills, they will have increased the amount of folic acid in their product.

First baby pics!

2008-10-06T21:03:00.004-04:00

This morning I went for my first ultrasound.

Remember when I said the Doctor said my "uterus was a good size?" Well, the ultrasound technician told me the baby was measuring at 20 weeks, not the 16 we first thought! Now it appears the baby could be due as early as February 21, but it's possible the baby is just big (maybe?) The tech said the baby is about 12 ounces, based on measurements.

I didn't find out the baby's sex, simply because I finally pressured Justin into deciding one way ot the other whether he wants to know or not, and he decided he wanted to be surprised (which I will totally respect his decision and not find out on my own).

Since I could be due so early, I called my boss today and told him my last day would be December 12. I'm going to check with my HR person and OB to see if I can't get my 30 week ultrasound done while Justin's down here moving me, but I'm not sure about my isurance coverage. Maybe I'll just wait until I get to Erie and have my new doctor perform it.

Sorry the pics are crooked and grainy, but the scanner at work isn't all that great, and the pics just got extra crooked since I trimmed out my personal data. The baby kept playing peek-a-boo with us. It'd go from no face, to BIG SCARY SKULL FACE :-D.

First Visit with the Dr

2008-10-05T18:56:00.002-04:00

Well, Friday afternoon I had my first visit with the Doctor. I was a little surprised to see he was an older black guy (especially since he has a white wife in the birthplace of the KKK, but he's a really nice guy and really listened to me and my concerns. He told me my Prenatal Vitamins didn't have enough Folic Acid (One A Day Womens'), so I picked up a supplement to uh, supplement my current pills.

He did a full exam, then checked the size of my uterus (if it's TMI, too damn bad ;-)), and said it was "a good size." I don't really know what to make of that. I guess I'll find out tomorrow when I go for my ultrasound! He then pulled out his doppler, and I got to hear the baby's heartbeat (which was between 130-160 BPM). He had to work to find it, because the baby kept moving around.

My next appointment is October 29, with the midwife/NP.

There are SOME good things about living in the country

2008-10-03T10:04:00.003-04:00

#1 Horses (duh)
#2 The fact that there's nowhere to shop, so I don't spend any money!
#3 I can wake up at 7:45 and be to work by 8-ish
#4 Everyone's generally friendly
and finally
#5 Trust in people.

Yesterday after feeding my friends horses, I walked down the street to the gas station (that's diagonally across from my apt), and ordered a hamburger and fries. While I was waiting and giving love to the gas station dog, Fido, a lady came in and pumped $10 worth of gas. When she went inside to pay, she realized she had forgotten her check and had no cash or credit cards on her (actually, not many people down here have credit cards, so I've found out). The owner (who lives 2 houses up from me), just wrote her name and phone number down, and she promised to come back tomorrow (today) afternoon and pay him for the $10 worth of gas in her car.

How many stores do you know that would let someone do that, especially a gas station? I think that's about the only one I know of. If I had been quicker about it, I would have just offered to pay the gas for her, but to be honest, I was tired, dusty, and hungry, and was just waiting for my supper. I didn't even think about it until this morning when I woke up. Oh well, there's always next time.

Erie Trip, Part 2 (and one month late)

2008-10-02T20:02:00.003-04:00

So yeah, burghbaby's mom gave me a smackdown for leaving everyone hanging. I can't help it that I'm just one lady and people at work seem to forget that (dammit).

But, hey, good news - I'm past the incredibly-tired-all-the-time stage (at least for the next 3 months), so I have more energy to post... but not necessarily more topics. :-)

Any way, let's see... where did I leave off...? Oh yeah.
---------------
So the next day (that Friday), we woke up, got showered and whatnot, and went to lunch. Justin got a chicken parm with spaghetti, and I got a club wrap. I took ONE bite of that club wrap, and all I could taste was bacon, and it was NOT good. I sat there, turned around so I could check to make sure I knew where the bathroom was, and patiently waited and willed myself to not puke. After about 10 minutes, I felt a little better, but was not going to try my wrap again. I managed to eat some of Justin's spaghetti with no more problems. We then got the puppies and headed out to Erie.

Once in Erie, we went to Target and looked at some of the baby stuff. I found a little baby bib that said "I love Grandpa," and got a tiny gift bag to put it in. We then went to my parents house, where my mom made dinner and then I gave dad his presents. First, I gave him his bocce set, then I gave him the tiny bag. He pulled it out, held it up BACKWARDS, and my mom saw it first. She screamed, then exclaimed, "You're pregnant?" then jumped up and gave me a hug. This will be their first grandchild (I'm the oldest of 3 girls), and they couldn't be happier.

My baby sister, Nikki, came over with her boyfriend, and dad mis-heard mom (she said "DON'T tell Nikki"), and she started yelling in the house, "AMBER! Why didn't you tell me!?" Silly girl, I had just found out myself!

Saturday, Justin and I went up to the Arbys' that my other sister, Becky, works at, and she bought us lunch and talked for a bit. She doesn't have a house phone, so that's pretty much the only time I see/talk to her.

The rest of the weekend, we just hung out, went to Presque Isle to watch the sunset, then stopped and ate good ice cream sundaes. We took my mom dinner of subs from a local sub place. I ate half my sub, then it promptly came back up (and dammit, I love those subs!). On Tuesday, the day I was heading back, mom took me to Cleveland to drop me off at the Airport, and we stopped and picked up my friend Kristen to get together for lunch, and give her her birthday present. We went to another sub place, and that one didn't stay down either. So, it appears the baby doesn't like subs. Justin got the other half for his lunch the next day.

The flight was uneventful, although the walkway is sooooooooo long when carrying my carryon bag. I guess if I fly again, I'll have to start checking my bag (good thing I fly Southwest, so it's still free), as it's too heavy for me to carry all over the airport.

I know, I know

2008-09-30T22:31:00.003-04:00

I know I haven't posted for a while, and i'm sorry. Work has been a bitch - it's been sooooo busy, and they're hiring like a million people.

I went to the Dr last week and got my initial visit out of the way - basically I just got weighed (hey, I weigh 5lbs less than when I was sick at the beginning of July!), my BP taken, my history given (no allergies, no surgeries, no nothing - just a nice boring medical history), I peed in a cup (the nurse told me I was dehydrated, but I do drink a lot of apple juice [is that bad?]), and then she tried to take vials of blood from me, but I have bad arm veins (I don't give blood any more for partly that reason), and she sent me over to the hospital to get not one, not two, but FIVE vials of blood taken from me. Bah. Good thing it wasn't any more, or else I would have had to stop at Hardees on the way back and eat a giant cheeseburger.

I have an ultrasound scheduled for next Monday, Oct 6, then my first official visit with the actual doctor on Wed, Oct 8. (I don't think I've ever shaved my legs as often as I will be this next week). After that visit, I will call my boss the next day and finally let him know that I'm leaving at the end of the year. If I don't tell him sooner, then he will find out somehow, since this town is so dang small. I already saw someone at the hospital who is the stepdaughter of a fellow employee there! I just hope she follows HIPAA rules.

Gotta protect the beer!

2008-09-12T09:42:00.004-04:00

Last night I didn't feel like defrosting and cooking anything, so I decided to walk across the street to the gas station and get some chicken tenders. As I was sitting outside with their dog, Fido (who ADORES me), I watched the people 3 doors down from me coast their bicycles across the street (they're at the top of a very small hill), and over to the gas station. The lady had one top tooth, and was scary looking. (The better to open the beer with, m'dear?) They spent several minutes fussing with setting their bikes up against the building, then went inside and came out with a tall can of beer (I think they're 24 oz or something?). They then proceeded to wrap the beer tightly in the paper bag, and place it in the water bottle holder, then they WALKED their bikes back across the street.

Now, I could see if the road was busy (it was not), or if they had far to go (they did not), but why even bother taking your bike out if you're not even going to take the effort of RIDING it?!?

Oh well. At least the chicken tenders were good!

Overheard at the sandwich shop today

2008-09-08T21:34:00.001-04:00

Lady 1: "Moving wouldn't be a problem - my husband's lived in 30 states so far."
Lady 2: "What's he trying to do, live in all 52, I mean 56 states?"

Um....

Erie Trip, Part 1

2008-09-07T22:54:00.001-04:00

Well, last weekend I spent 5 days in Erie/Cleveland (mostly in Erie), and it was great! The weather was warm enough for me to wear shorts if I felt like it, or jeans if I didn't, and I wasn't freakishly overheated like I am in the south. I mean, I was able to sit outside on my parents' deck and enjoy the sun!

Any way, this post starts with my flight North from Nashville to Cleveland, and ends when I get tired of writing any more :-).

Date: Thursday evening, August 28, 2008
----------------------------------

I was excited to be heading north to see my husband, especially since the last time I had seen him was over the 4th of July. I got in line to board the plane (I always fly Southwest), and ended up getting a window seat (my favorite). These two guys sat next to me, and apparently they had been drinking in one of the lounges for a few hours beforehand, but they weren't annoying drunk, they were funny drunk. Right off the bat, they started talking to each other about one of the flight attendants that looked like the transvestite Lucy from Rat Race (but with YELLOW hair):
I could tell they were betting on whether the FA was a heshe or just a very manly woman, and I started snickering. They realized I knew what they were talking about, and we started talking.

The one guy apparently flies a lot, and he had a bunch of complimentary drink tickets. He asked me if I drank and I got all confused. I answered, "Yes," but then I had to amend it and said, "oh, but I can't." He figured it out, so I told them the story about our situation, and when the non-Lucy FA came by, he asked her if they had anything for "baby's first flight." I ended up getting a set of plastic wings, a certificate, and a luggage tag. :-) Towards the end of the flight, the FA asked me what my name was, and I was a bit leary, but gave it to her any way. Right before we got off the flight, she came over the loudspeaker, made me raise my hand, and told the entire plane that I was newly pregnant and on my way to tell my husband. Talk about embarassing!

I met Justin (and the puppies!) outside of the airport, and we went to Applebee's in Steelyard Commons. Since it was relatively late on a weeknight, it wasn't all that busy, and we got a big booth. We sat down and just ordered appetizers, since I wasn't all that hungry. We chatted for a bit, then I got up and sat next to him with my camera. I started looking at some pics on the screen, and started showing him some (the network room at work, my messy office, etc). When I got to the last 2 pics on the camera, I just showed him the first one (see previous post), then the second one. Justin's eyes kind of glazed over, and I just looked at him and waited for a response. He just kind of looked at me and said something about us not having a house in Erie yet (so?!?) But, that's my husband - he always looks at things in the most negative manner first. It's probably due to his job, where he has to look at machines for failures and stress points, etc (he's a Mechanical Engineer). He doesn't even like looking at roller coasters, because he just sees them breaking apart, etc.

Shortly afterward, I sent him my crappy cell phone pic of my test and he forwarded it to all of his family that has cell phones, plus two of his friends. Immediately he got a text back from his one friend, Paul, who said, "you better not be f-ing with me, because it's late." He then hit his head on the table he was under (why was he under a table? I have no idea - I'm sure he'll leave a comment and let us all know :-) ).

We finished eating, then went home for the night. I'll continue with the rest of the weekend (a shorter version than this, I hope) in my next post.

BIG changes ahead!

2008-09-04T21:46:00.000-04:00

Last Wednesday, I took a trip to the local pharmacy and perused the pregnancy test section. I chose a 2pack of EPT traditional tests, which also came with a free digital test (oooh).

I went home and took the first test (I had to pee any way).

As you can see, I wasn't too sure about the horizontal line, as it seemed lighter... so I (im)patiently waited until morning, then took the digital test.
Well, as you can see, with the digital tests, it's either yes or no - there's no "maybe."

So! I figure that I'm about 9-11 weeks along, based on when Justin and I have visited, which makes me due around my birthday at the end of March.

My next post will talk about how I broke the news to Justin and my parents :-).

Erie, PA

2008-08-31T13:07:00.002-04:00

Well, I've been back in Erie, PA for a few days now, and I have to admit - it's NICE being able to enjoy summer without air conditioning or practically passing out each time I've braved the outdoors down south. I can actually sit outside and play ball with my dog, or have a nice glass of local cider (mmm cider...) on the porch without melting.

I can't wait to move back, even though the Almanac is calling for a more difficult and snowy winter than normal - but I LOVE snow, even though I won't be able to fully enjoy it this winter.

Guess I'm going to have to think of a new name for my blog now... any ideas? :-)

Home visit

2008-08-28T12:14:00.004-04:00

Well, tonight I'm going to drive up to Nashville, hop onto a SouthWest flight, and an hour and a half later, see my hubby! I'll be in Ohio/PA until Tuesday afternoon, when I have to come back here, but rest assured, I'll be back more often until I finally am able to move back to PA at the end of December/beginning of January. (There's been a new development that's moved my timetable up. - I'll tell ya later).

While I'm home, I'm hoping to eat plenty of buffalo wings, italian subs (I swear, Erie, PA is the best place in the WORLD for italian subs), Wendy's, Arby's, and Dairy Queen while I'm there. I'll probably come back 20 pounds fatter (which I do NOT need more fat, thankyouverymuch). But hey, it's good food, and I need it!

Oh, I'm also going to wish my stepdad a very happy birthday (tomorrow), and give him this awesome present:
http://www.brookstone.com/store/product.asp?product_code=586115&search_type=search&search_words=led%20boccee&prodtemp=t1&cm_re=Result*R1C1*T

My parents *LOVE* playing bocce, but they don't usually start until the evening, and by then it's getting dark, and hard to see the green and red balls. I figure this will be a great present for him!

30 minutes till I leave work and play hooky!

Happy Birthday, Kristen!

2008-08-19T21:02:00.005-04:00

Happy birthday to my dear friend Kristen. If I was smart enough (and had thought of it before I got in my pajamas for the night), I would hook up my webcam and "sing" (sign) you the Happy Birthday song, but.... guess I'm not :-) You'll have to wait until I come visit. Guess I'll have to learn the sign for "belated." (oh wait, it's probably "late.")

May your days always be sunny and bright. Happy 30th Birthday!

Owwwwwww

2008-08-18T14:18:00.005-04:00

Well, of course after the ride yesterday, I was feeling pretty good (other than the whole heat sickness episode). Today? Well, let's just say, it feels like I played Wii for 24 hours then ran a few miles... or something like that. I don't know what it feels like to run a few miles, since I'd be more likely to knock my eye out or something. But I do know hurt, and boy, is my body sore. I do have one weird sore spot, but it'd probably be TMI if I told you, so I'll spare us the humiliation and just tell my husband later (not that he can do anything for me, since he's still 600 miles away...)

Oh well, I'd do it again if I had the chance!

Sunday morning surprise!

2008-08-17T21:44:00.003-04:00

This morning I woke up early and was cursing the fact that on Sunday morning there was nothing but CRAP on tv, when the doorbell rings. "Who the hell comes to my house," I thought. I opened the door, and my friend Joan looks at me, smiles, and says the four words I've been waiting to hear since March: "Want to go riding?"

HELL YEAH I DO.

So I grabbed my boots and long socks out of the trunk of my car, filled up my Nalgene bottle with water & ice (note: next time, use Gatorade/Powerade), grabbed my dusty helmet, and went across the street.

I rode Dane's brother's Mike's horse, Natural (so named because Mike only drinks Natural Ice beer), who is a sweet horse that has one speed: slow. (Which is good, since Mike has had a stroke or something that made one side of his body pretty weak).

We went on a 7 mile ride, which took about an hour and a half or so (maybe closer to 2 hours). Towards the end, I got too lenient with him, and he kept stopping at each high group of wide, leafy grass and taking a gigantic mouthful. It was fun though, even though my jeans got completely soaked in between my thighs (hey, it was hot out).

The only problem I had was at the very end of the ride, after we got off and were walking the horses back to the trailer. I ended up having a heat sickness spell, and had to sit for a while. That's why the next time I go out, I need to have some kind of electrolyte beverage with me. That or wait until it's cooler out to go riding... oh who am I kidding - I'd go each chance that I could :-).

I didn't take any pictures, mainly because I was afraid I'd break my pretty camera, but next time I'll try to bring it. BUT, I did have fun, even with the heat sickness episode at the end (which made me feel like crap the rest of the day).

Happy International Left-Handers' Day!

2008-08-13T15:03:00.002-04:00

Are you a Lefty? Are you tired of having ink/pencil smears on your left hand from writing? Well, lift your smeary left hands in glory, because THIS IS YOUR DAY!

yay!

http://www.lefthandersday.com/

Proud to be a lefty, I am, I am.

Birthday Present

2008-08-13T13:31:00.003-04:00

Now that Justin received his present, I can let you know what it is!

I ordered some fantastic cookies from a lady on etsy (http://www.etsy.com/), and had them shipped right to Justin at work. He received them at 9 this morning, so it was one day late, but close enough :-).

These are what I got him:

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=9803495

Don't they look FANTASTIC? Each one is apparently the size of a CD and is super thick. It took him about an hour to munch on one - which means hopefully, there will still be at least one left for me to eat when I visit him in a few weeks (because you can freeze them).

Happy Birthday Hububby!

2008-08-12T10:51:00.004-04:00

Happy Birthday to my dear husband, who is putting up with me being so far away because of this stupid job. I hope you enjoy the present I got you (because he hasn't received it yet, I can't post what it is - just in case he checks), and there will be more when I come visit at the end of the month!

Here's what I wish for you today:

That the puppies give you giant slobbery kisses (oh wait, they do that every day).
If you go golfing, that you do well (I can hope any way).
That you get your present in the mail! (dang post office)
That you enjoy your present!
That your day is full of smiles and fun.
That my mom bakes you the most chocolately cake you can handle, because hey, it's your birthday but once a year, and chocolate allergies can be ignored.

Love you!

Wii Reset

2008-08-02T19:12:00.003-04:00

A little earlier when I was starting to get bored out of my mind, I decided that I would play my Wii. I pulled out my orange mushroom chair, and hit the power button on the Wii, and ...... nothing. I unplugged it, then plugged it back in and still... nothing. crap. Did the last power outage kill my Wii? I frantically started my latop and went to nintendo's site to see if there was anything I could do, and luckily I found this:
http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/wii/en_na/ts/power.jsp#no_power

Apparently if the power doesn't come on, unplug everything from the wall and the back of the Wii for at least 90 seconds, then just plug the AC adapter and the sensor bar in, then see if the power light comes back. Thankfully mine did, and I finished the 50cc cup in Mario Kart. Whew :-).

Bad Amber, Bad!

2008-07-31T21:32:00.004-04:00

So the last time I blogged, I didn't have any water. I'm so sorry you guys had to go a week wondering if I was sitting around in my own filth still... The water was back on by 9:30 that night.

So, oops. Sorry I didn't update you sooner! I blame it on my brain slowing down from having to listen to all of these s-l-o-w talking people.

Water water every.... uh what?

2008-07-24T21:38:00.003-04:00

What is more fun than a sinkful of dirty dishes, a washer full of dirty laundry and a need to take a shower (and as I'm sitting here, the ever-growing need to pee)? That's right! NO WATER. Apparently there was a water break sometime this afternoon, and that's why my water heater was making funny popping noises and my water pressure has dropped to nothing. Good thing I have a Brita pitcher full of water in the fridge, since I'm also getting really thirsty (but I still have to pee).

By the way, what's up with being thirsty and having to pee at the same time?

What color crayon are you?

2008-07-23T10:12:00.002-04:00

Your result for The Color Code Test...

Color Code: WHITE: The Peace Keeper

14% Red, 31% Blue, 46% White and 9% Yellow!

Here is the basics: For a more in depth analysis, I suggest you look up the Color Code, and take a more intensive test.

WHITE MOTIVE: PEACE

WHITE NEEDS: To feel good (inside), To be allowed their own space, To be respected, Tolerance.

WHITE WANTS: To withhold insecurities, Kindness, Independence, Contentment.

SUMMARY: Whites are motivated by peace. They will do almost anything to avoid confrontation. They like to flow through life without hassle or discomfort. Feeling good is even more important to them then being good. Whites need kindness. They resent being scolded. They dislike harsh words. They open up instantly to people who are kind, but Whites recoil from those who are hostile. Whites prefer quiet strength. they enjoy their quiet independence. This can often be perceived as bullheadedness. Whites like to keep a low profile. They like to be asked their opinions but they won't volunteer them. Whites are independent. Unlike Reds and Blues who want to control others, Whites seek only to avoid being controlled. They don't like to be pushed, and they can be fearsome when they finally "blow up." Whites are motivated by other peoples desires. They want suggestions however, not demands.

Take The Color Code Test

Rain!

2008-07-22T22:36:00.005-04:00

It's been pretty dry here lately, so much so that even the weeds in the horse pasture were wilty.

Well, today, it rained! There were big powerful thunderstorms with apparently a lot of wind. We even lost power for 40 minutes at work today... which is always fun. I got to run around shutting down servers before the UPS would shut them off ungracefully. Then I got to eat my lunch cold (but luckily it was a meatloaf sandwich, so it was still good cold). My boss called for an update, amd amazingly when I was on the phone with him, the pwoer came back... so then I had to go around to all of those servers I had shut down and get them started back up again. Fun Fun.

When I got home at 5pm, I was greeted by this:

and this:

In that first picture, my car is parked in a totally different spot than it normally is, since the tree that fell still had a big splintered chunk waiting to fall. No way was I going to park my LEASED Jetta (isn't it beautiful?) near that fence and the broken tree. I just have to Thank God that I was at work.

Good thing I hadn't moved my hammock stand like I said I was going to last week - it would have gotten buried under those other branches!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

2008-07-20T23:15:00.002-04:00

When my younger sister was about 3 or 4, she would routinely watch the same movie over & over & over & OVER again. Several times a day, seven days a week. One of her favorite movies was Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. Therefore, I pretty much have that movie memorized. I was flipping through the channels when I saw the 2004 version was on. I switched to the part where Violet turns into a giant blueberry, and I have to say, this version is damn weird. I don't like Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka, and I really don't like the Oompa Loompas.

God this movie is weird.

Aunt Rita

2008-07-16T21:28:00.003-04:00

Justin called me and let me know that his Aunt Rita (his mother's sister) passed away around 3:20pm eastern this afternoon. Her health was failing (due to smoking like a chimney for so many years), but her mind was very much there. She decided she didn't want to be on a pressurized oxygen machine, so she told the doctors to give her morphine and take her off of all oxygen. While it was a tough choice to make, it was the best one for her, since she absolutely hated the oxygen machines.

Visit

2008-07-06T23:12:00.006-04:00

Well, this past weekend my husband drove down to visit me. He also brought the puppies to visit! They got in really late Thursday night (okay, Friday morning), and left at 11am today. While the trip was short, it was nice. On Friday we went to Huntsville & did some shopping after having a nice lunch in town. We wandered around SuperTarget (oh how I miss Target), and bought some nice steaks that were set into pinwheels with parmesan cheese & spinach.

I grilled the steaks and made some corn on the cob & baked potatoes. Needless to say, we were stuffed. Unfortunately, by the time we were finished with dinner, it was 8:45 and there was not enough time to get anywhere to watch fireworks. I was a little bit distressed, since the 4th is Justin's favorite holiday, and he positively LIVES for fireworks. He was okay with it though (after trying to give me a guilt trip - sorry honey, guilt trips don't work on me!), and we just watched the Boston POPS fireworks display on tv.

On Saturday, we took the puppies and went canoeing on the Buffalo River. We decided to do the 10 mile trip, which they said it would take around 5 hours to complete. Harvey & Chance each have their own life jackets, so I suited them up while Justin paid & got the equipment we would need. The dogs were definitely the stars of the day, and a lot of people asked us where we got their life jackets from (Petsmart).

Poor little Harvey stood practically the whole time, and for a sleepy beagle, that is a LONG time. About 30 minutes before the end, I turned around and saw this:

That poor boy was so tired from standing so long, that he just gave up and took a nap on one of the life vests.

Here's a picture of Chance in the canoe:

Finally, here's a picture of Justin & Chance:

Justin and I both got a little sunburned, but it was mostly our legs that got the worst. I was wearing both a hat & sunglasses, so I was pretty decently covered. The worst part is that my back hurts from sitting in that canoe for 5 hours, plus I have bruises on the outside of both of my knees where they rested on the sides of the canoe. Sometimes it's painful being tall.

Ear Infections

2008-07-02T21:09:00.003-04:00

When I was a kid, I would get constant ear infections (and no, I never did get tubes in my ears). I never swim underwater (I couldn't wear ear plugs either, because that made it worse), and I'm usually pretty careful in the shower - because that can also cause ear infections.

Well, even though I am careful, about 2 weeks ago my right ear started hurting. It hurt the most when I first woke up, as well as when I chewed. On Friday I finally sucked it up and went to the Rapid Care center in town. I learned that I have an outer ear infection, and have to put drops in it 3 times a day for a week. *sigh* It's been 5 days, and my ear still hurts. I'm not looking forward to having to go back and getting some other prescription.

Ugh.

Happy Birthday to my friend June

2008-07-01T17:45:00.002-04:00

I wanted to wish my friend June a happy, HAPPY Birthday today. June makes the most wonderful pottery, and if I had unlimited money, I would have her make me everything that she could out of clay.

So again, Happy Birthday my friend!

Burger King: Revisited

2008-06-20T18:53:00.002-04:00

Lately I've been seeing commercials for Burger King's new Mini Shots (or whatever they're called). Last night I was working late (ugh) and didn't feel like cooking, so I threw caution to the wind and went to Burger King. You can order 2 mini burgers for $1.29, or a 6 pack meal for $5.59 (plus $0.50 for cheese). If you remember from my last visit to Burger King, I was less than impressed (okay, grossed out).

I got the 6 pack partly because I figured I could eat the leftovers for lunch today, and also because I didn't know you could just buy a 2-pack until AFTER I was driving away :-).

I would have taken a picture, but I was damn tired last night, and um, the leftovers are still in my fridge at work *sigh*. I'm hungry and tired today too. Let me tell you, these burgers, compared to the Steakhouse Burger, are FANTASTIC. They're not nearly as squishy as Krystal burgers, but they are a little bigger (and meatier). I'd say if you had 2 (or 6) kids, the mini burgers would be a good size. I ate two was was adequately filled.

Wii you like to be my friend?

2008-06-18T20:26:00.003-04:00

I figured out last night how you can be Wii friends! Basically all your "friend" needs is your system id number, which you can find from either the Wii message board, or the back of your Wii.

So, would you like to be my Wii friend? :-) Leave your email, and I'll email you my Wii id. I have Dr. Mario, and I can even send you a trial to play with me! I have Wii Sports and Wii Play too, but I don't know if you can play online with those games?

What other games are good for online play?

Why I love my Wii...

2008-06-09T16:38:00.003-04:00

2 words:

Dr. [freaking] MARIO

Holy crap I love that game. When I was a kid, I used to go over to my best friend's house and we used to play Dr. Mario for HOURS in her parents basement. When I got a gameboy about 5 or 6 years ago (cause I was bored and it was on clearance - hooray for Black Friday!), one of the first games I got was Dr. Mario. I used to play that game wherever we went. I'm sure Justin got tired of hearing the "Fever" music.

Well, I was perusing the Wii shop channel (not that I have any money), and what was available for the measly price of 1000 Wii points ($10)? THAT'S RIGHT - DR MARIO!!!!!!!!!!!

You can even play online against other people!

from Nintendo.com:

Dr. Mario Online Rx (Nintendo, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points): The doctor is in! Mario takes a break from his adventuring ways and once again dons his stethoscope for a new generation of germ-battling mayhem. In addition to the classic mode of using vitamins to exterminate viruses, you'll find two battle modes and an online multiplayer mode where you can hone your skills against players from around the world. Feel like challenging a friend who doesn't have Dr. Mario Online Rx? Then the WiiWare-exclusive Friend Battle Demo is just what the doctor ordered. Or maybe you'd like some help taking on those nasty viruses? Try out Virus Buster, where four players can simultaneously move capsules simply by pointing at them with a Wii Remote controller. Any way you look at it, Dr. Mario Online Rx is a prescription for fun that everyone can enjoy

I forsee the dust starting to pile up in my house...

Lightning

2008-06-06T20:14:00.005-04:00

Finally, the Lightning post. I know it's been long overdue, but I've been ~~busy~~ procrastinating.

I got Lightning one rainy afternoon in the fall of 2002. Justin and I were walking in the mall, and he needed to use the bathroom. We went over to McDonalds, and while he was waiting to use the bathroom, I wandered over to the pet store (next door), and saw they had cute little guinea pigs in the center. Well, I was hooked. By the time Justin got back, I had already picked out the one I wanted, and there was no dissuading me. We stopped at PetCo on the way home and picked up some "essentials" (like treats, bedding, pellets, and a water bottle). He was the cutest little thing. I don't have any pictures from when I first got him (no digital camera then). Justin and I used to put him in a cardboard tube and let him run around on the living room floor. The reason I named him Lightning was because he has a white blaze on his face, plus he was super fast when he was young. Based on what I know now, he was probably about 4-5 weeks old, and fit in my hand. For the first month or two, he lived in a huge rubbermaid container in my bedroom, then my mom warmed up to him and made him a cage for in the kitchen, where he then lived until I got married and moved in early 2004.

Today he's nearly 6 years old, has some stiff back legs at times, and is not as heavy as he used to be, but he is still going strong.

Isn't he just adorable?

ta da... ta da... tadatadatada DADADADADADA

2008-06-03T19:15:00.002-04:00

Ok, that was my lame attempt at making a scary movie sound. But any way, apparently I'm a blog killer. That's right, you heard me. Ever since I started looking at blogs a few months ago, 4, count them, FOUR blogs that I read daily are either on private or just haven't been updated. I only read 8 blogs people, I mean, dayayam!

If you read my blog, it might be better if you *don't* comment, cause then maybe I won't find you and spread my poison.

*sigh*

Funny mishaps

2008-05-23T21:20:00.002-04:00

So I was watching tv just now and saw a funny commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkyH0Zc8HQw

The ending totally reminded me of when Justin and I were Christmas shopping in Kohl's and I was in the men's section looking at coats for his nephew, when my cart got stuck on a coat rack and knocked over not one, not two, but THREE completely full racks of heavy men's coats. Thank GOD there was no one else around. I managed to get one back up, but in the process almost knocked over another one. I boogied as fast as I could out of there.

If you're the clerk that had to fix my mess, I'm really, really, REALLY sorry.

I knew it!

2008-05-21T22:24:00.003-04:00

Tennessee must not be in the USA... How else can you explain this?

HowManyOfMe.com

There are
0
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Thanks to Jen from Mad Mad Life.

Hay!

2008-05-21T21:27:00.003-04:00

My friend Dane stopped by to drop off my key (he took care of the piggies for me this past weekend when I was visiting Justin and my family), and he brought me this:

Fresh hay just cleaned from the baler. mmm...good! The piggies surely enjoy it!

(that's Lightning in the box of hay - yes, I know I owe you his story!)

Don't read this post if you're allergic to flowers

2008-05-14T19:18:00.002-04:00

Because my friend Kristen and I went to the Huntsville Botanical Gardens yesterday!

Here's a link to the pictures:
http://flickr.com/photos/20202133@N02/sets/72157605045460634/

Peanut Thunder

2008-05-08T15:42:00.006-04:00

Peanut Thunder is the "baby" (and by baby, I mean he's the youngest, but he's also the biggest & fattest piggy of them all ;-) ).

I got him when he was 3 weeks old from a lady in Pittsburgh (hi Lisa!). She had gotten either 1 or 2 female guinea pigs (called "sows"), and it turned out that one of them was pregnant. At the time, I had only Lightning (who will be introduced in my next guinea pig post), and was looking to get him a friend. Well, when Lisa posted that her sow had 3 boys & 1 girl on Christmas Eve 2004, I was happy for her. She was going to have 2 cages - one for the boys (boars) and one for the girls. Alas, the Evil Cavy Fairy struck, and the sexes of her baby piggies were reversed! What was she going to do with just ONE boar? That's right, let me adopt him!

Hubby, Lightning, and I drove to Pittsburgh (from Cleveland, OH where we lived at the time) on a chilly January Saturday to meet Lightning's possible new "brother." If the meeting did not go well, then we were not going to take him. Luckily, Lightning is an easygoing fella and took all of the abuse from the baby boar.

How did Peanut Thunder get his name, you ask? Well, Lisa's kids had already named him "Peanut," and since I already had "Lightning," I needed a "Thunder!" Therefore to help make the transition from being their gp to being mine, he was named "Peanut Thunder." When I first got him he was this small (Lightning is the one with the white blaze going up his nose):

Now? He outweighs Lightning by a good 3/4 lb:

PT also makes the cutest dang sounds. He likes to "bok-bok-bok" all around the cage. When he was a baby, he would literally sound like Pac-Man.

He's a Red White Crested American Boar.

Sunshine

2008-05-08T00:15:00.000-04:00

Sunshine was a TSW American who lived from roughly March 2003 - Thanksgiving Day 2007. She passed away from...something, I'll never know. Basically, one day she quit eating and I didn't notice until the next day. With cavies, 24-hours is the difference between life & death. Heck, even just a few hours can make a difference.

She was sister to Moonbeam.

Anony-not

2008-05-06T14:13:00.003-04:00

Sometimes, like last week, I'm reminded that I now reside in a "city" of 7500 people.

I was in Piggly Wiggly because I forgot to buy bread at Wal-Mart. I had realized that I forgot when I saw the lady in front of me buying bread, and I was NOT going to wait in line all over again. Any way, Piggly Wiggly had their bread on sale for $1.00/loaf, as opposed to the $1.67 it normally was. Sweet! I read the poster board sized sign [$1.00/loaf, round top or sandwich styles], and chose a nice fresh wheat bread. When I get to the register, it rang up as $1.67. Now, last week I was a little sleep deprived, so I am sure I gave her an evil look (as I unknowingly do when I'm tired), and stood there for about 10 seconds while that price computed.

Me: Um, no, PW Bread is on sale for $1.00.
Cashier: That's only white bread.
Me: The sign only says round top or sandwich, not "white only."

At this point another cashier picks up the ad and starts looking at it, while the first ran off to check the gigantic sign. Neither the sign nor the ad said anything about white bread only, although the cashier tried telling me that 1st, the sign is on the white bread shelf (oh, so a sign that covers 3 shelves isn't meant for more than one shelf?) and 2nd that "the wheat bread is 3/$5, which is still good). Girlie, I could drive back down to wal-mart and pay $1.20 for wheat bread - give me my damn bread for $1!!!!

Finally the other cashier told her to just let me have it for $1. Finally. If they would have not "let" me have the bread for $1, I seriously would have told them I didn't want it. hey, $0.67 is $0.67, you know? That's 2/3 of another cheap loaf!

Anyway, back to my title. While the other cashier and I were waiting for the girl to come back from checking the sign, she looked at the badge on my hip and said, "You work in the Ohio office?" [note: I did not know this girl at all]. I told her yes, I worked in the Ohio office. "Oh, I thought they closed that down." Goodness. I guess I can't be anonymous here. Oh well.

Burger King's Steakhouse Burger

2008-05-01T15:51:00.003-04:00

Here's a picture of the behemoth known as the "Burger King Steakhouse Burger":

See that to the right? That's my mouse. HOLY CRAP THAT BURGER IS HUGE.

I've had nothing but problems with the Pulaski Burger King. One morning their registers were down, and didn't have any sort of sign or anything so I stupidly sat at the speaker waiting for the cashier to take my order. After a few minutes I spoke up, then they told me to come back in about half an hour. Um, hello, it's already 5 to 8 and i need to be at work in 5 minutes. Do you *HONESTLY* think I will be back in 30 mins? (I wasn't). Another time I wanted my Iced BK Mocha, and they didn't have any ready. It's the morning! You don't have any coffee??????

Any way, so all week I've been seeing ads for the new steakhouse burger. Well, I finally decided to go get it today, and it was yet another disappointment. First, the burger had nearly half of a cup of mayo on it (GROSS), then they forgot to put on my onion petals. It's an integral part of the burger! It's what I paid $6.01 for the stupid meal for!

The burger itself reminded me of a really cheap dried out cardboard burger (oh, with extra char). Good thing I only ate half of it though. I got curoius and checked the calories on the burger. With mayo (which I scraped off) and onion petals (which they forgot), a full burger is 960cals. Nine HUNDRED sixty calories!!!!!!!! Good lord.

I am never getting rid of my orange Skechers

2008-04-30T10:09:00.002-04:00

Never ever, (for as long as I live down here any way). These shoes are the HANDIEST-DANDIEST spider killers EVER. Last night I was in the kitchen, and there was another uber-scary spider, and again, my orange Skechers were nearby - ready to squash that sucker.

I just hope they're not actually attracting the spiders.

Wii-eeee!

2008-04-29T13:35:00.003-04:00

So last night when I was wandering around Wal-Mart getting groceries & puzzle glue, I decided to see if they had any Nintendo Wii's in stock. Since nowhere online had them, I wasn't very sure this tiny town had any.

What's this? THREE Nintendo Wii's in stock? Sweet! Now to only find a salesperson... I looked for a sales person for 15 minutes before someone finally paged electronics with a phone call, so I hung around the phone waiting for the salesperson to show up. When she did, and was off the phone, I managed to get a Wii, Wii Play (comes with extra controller), an extra Nunchuck, and a really cool charging stand that glows blue. I think once the government stimulus check deposits, I'm going to get a game... but I have no clue which one.

I hurried home with my prizes (and groceries) and put the groceries away (I had bought cheese, so it needed to be done first dang it). In my haste, I had forgotten to buy puzzle glue for the 4 puzzles that are waiting to be glued. Oh well. Who has time for puzzles when you can box, golf, play tennis, bowl, or play baseball? :-D

I ended up watching Bones, then House, then CSI, then FINALLY playing on the Wii. Around midnight I was cleaning up, and realized I. Couldn't. Find. Wii. Play.

Crap. I slipped on some sandals and checked the trunk of my car. Nope, not there. Shit. I pulled out my sales slip, and yup, there was the $49.99 game (helpfully labeled "Wii game"). Double crap. I called Wal-Mart and asked the guy if I had maybe left my game there. He tells me I'd have to come in and talk to customer service. *sigh*

I drive the incredibly long 5 miles to Wal-Mart (it's amazing how far away places seem when there's nothing in between), and wait in a line of a bajillion people because it's midnight and OF COURSE there's only one register open and like 4 people working in the whole store. I ~~patiently~~ sleepily wait my turn and the lady tells me I have to go back to Electronics to see if it's still there. "Hopefully someone is back there," I think to myself. Luckily there was and I got my bag that I had forgotten! Yay! As I was leaving, I realized I better buy that puzzle glue I forgot earlier, because my walls really need some artwork.

I can't wait to hone my boxing skills!

Moonbeam

2008-04-28T11:06:00.003-04:00

I currently have 3 guinea pigs - Lightning, Peanut Thunder, and Moonbeam. I will tell you about Moonbeam today.

I got Moonbeam (along with her late sister, Sunshine) from a grad student who was moving from Pittsburgh to Florida and would barely be able to afford rent & food for herself, let alone 2 guinea pigs. She had posted to a guinea pig group that I am still on to this day (I actually became one of the owners), and Justin agreed to let me get them.

Moonbeam is around 5 years old, and is a sweet girl - as long as she's living by herself. She was actually agressive to her sister, Sunshine, so we had to permanently separate them. She is a TSW (TortioseShell & White) American and weighs in at just under 3lbs. She loves to lay in her pink pigloo and eat celery.

Shoes or handy-dandy spider killers?

2008-04-25T09:41:00.002-04:00

So last night I was sitting on my couch and realized I was starting to have a shoe explosion. In the winter time, most of my shoes are safely tucked away in the closet. When the weather starts to get warm, out come the sandals. Lately I've also had my boots in the house, since the "bug problem" I had was caused by sowbugs and my landlord put some stuff down & killed them all. It also hasn't rained in abotu a week and a half, and the pasture is pretty dry, so I'm not getting mud on my boots.

So at last count, I had my boots, sandals and hiking sandals (TEVAs) by the door, and in the living room I had my sneakers & slippers. I have more shoes in the closet, but the ones I wear the most were the ones that were out.

All of a sudden, I see something streak across the floor! SPIDER!!!!!!!!!! I grabbed the nearest shoe (my trusty old orange & white Skechers) and SQUASH that spider, sending him to spider heaven (which I hope is not the same as people heaven).

I think I'll keep my shoes out where they are, thankyouverymuch.

My first day off in 3 weeks

2008-04-20T20:37:00.002-04:00

Today was my first day off in three weeks, and it was GLORIOUS. I didn't even get in my car today (unless you count when I put on my boots to go over to the pasture). I woke up around 9, played on the computer for a while, made some french toast & eggs, took a shower, and went to visit the horses in the pasture.

I had purchased some watermelon the other day and thought the horses might like watermelon rinds. HOLY CRAP did the horses ever love the watermelon! I guess I'll have to try to get watermelon when it's on sale this summer.

PartyLite Candles

2008-04-15T12:10:00.002-04:00

mmmmm.... the smell of fantastic candles!

I'm having a catalog sale until April 20 - let me know if you want to order anything!

Here's the site of my candle consultant:
http://www.partylite.biz/sites/judythecandlelady

I brought a bunch of mine into the office so people can smell some samples, and my office smells TERRIFIC - well, other than giving me a mild contact buzz since it's kind of strong :-)

Apparently it's not meant to be

2008-04-12T22:27:00.002-04:00

A few years ago Justin & I were going "yard saleing" (how the heck would you spell that word???) and he came across these set of dishes very cheaply that I L-O-V-E. Since then, we've added on bit by bit. Well, the dishes also had glasses that go with them, and I had 4. I broke one of them a month or two ago, and I just noticed this evening that a 2nd one has a big crack on the inside. *sigh* The worst part is that they have been discontinued, and I can get them on ebay for $4+ each (plus shipping? I DON'T think so!) Oh, well I guess the other bad part is that I'm now down to 2 glass glasses. I hope I don't have anyone over for dinner any time soon!

Aren't those nice looking dishes?