The last day of Nablopomo
Every day for the last 30 days, can you believe it? I actually stuck with it. And I kind of liked it.
I don’t think I can keep it up indefinitely, though (“that’s what he said!”), but I am inspired to be much more prolific than I have in the past. I don’t know if it was writing every day or the hormones, but I have been happier in the last month than I have been since the beginning of the summer. And by happier, I mean “no longer picturing my sparsely-attended funeral and sobbing over cereal commercials.” I’m actually enjoying my life and feel like I have things to look forward to.
Like, you know, a baby! And other stuff, if stuff works out!
Thanks to everyone who came out of the woodwork to congratulate us on the new tot. That means a lot to me. Thank you also to everyone who bothered reading this thing over the last month, and to the peeps who encouraged me.
On the plus side, I never did get around to uploading the acres of Owen video I have saved up, so you do have that to look forward to. Or make fun of. Your call.
Oh hey guess what?
I’m pregnant! WOOO!
I’m due May 30. I’m 14 weeks along and am no longer in the shit. We’re pretty excited about Numero Dos here.
Is Owen going to be a kick-ass older brother or what? We did such a good job with him that the second one’s bound to be awesome as well.
Meme! (part the second)
Yesterday: Part the first of a meme from Ventura Mom
- Do you like someone? A better question would be, Do you dislike someone? Because the answer to that one would be a ringing “yes”
- The last song you listened to? ‘Linger’ by The Cranberries. I miss the mid-90’s.
- What time of day were you born? Not sure. Morning-ish, I think. I wasn’t exactly paying attention, I was too busy learning how to breathe.
- What’s your favorite number? Seven. Or whatever number wins the lottery, that’d be a good one.
- Where did you live in 1987? Maumee, OH. I was in second grade. I looked rather like this.
- Are you jealous of anyone? People with money and/or nice kitchens.
- Is anyone jealous of you? Homeless people, probably.
- Where were you when 9/11 happened? Tallying chits in the back office at the country club.
- What do you do when vending machines steal your money? Mutter creative curse words, poke the coin-return button, growl.
- Do you consider yourself kind? Yeah, but I’m not sure it’s actually true.
- If you had to get a tattoo, where would it be? What, like gun-to-your-head body mod? I have one already but I always thought I’d like to put Owen’s name or initials somewhere. Is that trashy?
- If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be? French is really hard for me, so I’d pick that.
- Would you move for the person you loved? Already did.
- Are you touchy feely? Only with people I’m very comfortable with. So, probably not you. Unless it is you. In which case, how do you get your hair so soft?
- What’s your life motto? “Do what makes sense.” My Global Studies teacher used to say it all the time. Sounds obvious, but it’s really helped me. (Then again, common sense = not a strong suit for me)
- Name three things that you have on you at all times? debit card, driver’s license, bobby pin.
- What’s your favourite town/city? I don’t actually have a favorite … some are better than others, but they all have their flaws.
- What was the last thing you paid for with cash? Yesterday’s soft pretzel with cheese.
- When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it? Thank you note, last week. Letter … last month? The month before? I got new stationery, so…
- Can you change the oil on a car? Yes. Um, theoretically.
- Your first love: what is the last thing you heard about him/her? They’re doing well.
- How far back do you know about your ancestry? My dad worked up the genealogy going back to Ireland in the … 19th century, I think.
- The last time you dressed fancy, what did you wear and why did you dress fancy? Black woolen shift, heels and a wide red leather headband for Matt’s wedding in September.
- Does anything hurt on your body right now? My abdominal ligaments. And my tongue. I think I’m allergic to cinnamon.
- Have you been burned by love? “Burned By Love,” that’s some Whitesnake power ballad, yes? Ah, but seriously. I’ve been heartbroken by people I thought I loved, but “burned” … how do you get burned by love? Unless the person you loved took you for everything you had, then I could see how. But in my case, no, not so much.
Ah, that’s it? That went by quickly. Too bad.
Stay tuned tomorrow for some interesting news.
I know — a meme!
Courtesy of Ventura Mom. I am totally cheating and dividing it into two: 25 today and 25 to come.
- When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought? Must tackle that eyebrow situation.
- How much cash do you have on you? $6 minus $1.31 for the soft pretzel I had this afternoon.
- What’s a word that rhymes with “DOOR?” MORE. (SNORE, BORE, CHORE)
- Favorite planet? I prefer Pluto the Planetoid.
- Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone? Der-wha? That would require me getting up and finding my phone. I am guessing it’s Matt.
- What is your favorite ring tone? “ring, ring.” Or there’s always “bzzzzt.”
- What shirt are you wearing? fitted 3/4 sleeve olive green button-down.
- Do you “label” yourself? All the time! That’s what the masking tape is for.
- Name the brand of the shoes you’re currently wearing? J.Crew
- Bright or Dark Room? What, right now? I have a 60-watt light bulb in the lamp. What’s that count as?
- What do you think about the person who took this survey before you? Total nablopomo ass-saver. I just ran out of things to write and she saved my boot-ay.
- What does your watch look like? Rectangular face, wide olive-green canvas strap, giant grommets. It’s hahd-coah.
- What were you doing at midnight last night? Trying not to vomit. (Something may have been off with my fruit salad.)
- What did your last text message you received on your cell say? “Happy Thanksgiving 2 all!”
- Where is your nearest 7-11? Um. Go up two blocks, over one block, and down one block. Can’t miss it. That’s where I buy my Skittles.
- What’s a word that you say a lot? Fuck, shit, actually, um, dude. (— Ventura Mom, I’m leaving this in! —MB)
- Who told you he/she loved you last? Iain.
- Last furry thing you touched? Bag of moldy bread. Barring that, my in-laws’ Gordon Setter.
- How many drugs have you done in the last three days? Er, Tums. And that reminds me I need to take my vitamins.
- How many rolls of film do you need developed? *snicker* film? Seriously?
- Favorite age you have been so far? 19 for the careless and fancy-free aspects … otherwise, now is good.
- Your worst enemy? My evil archnemesis, of course.
- What is your current desktop picture? For some reason, this is embarrassing to admit, but it’s the generic Green Leaf Nature Background that came with my Mac.
- What was the last thing you said to someone? “Yeah, but they’re all up there somewhere.” And then I gestured toward the entertainment center.
- If you had to choose between a million bucks or to be able to fly what would it be? Drrrr. Maybe the money. Then I could buy a plane ticket.
More scintillating responses tomorrow! Stay tuned! You never know what disappointingly honest reply I’ll give next!
“I smell soft news!”
OK! We’re home, blah blah blah turnpike, blah blah blah 1000 miles, etc.
Friday a.m.: My sister and brother I braved the Black Friday mobs at a popular freestanding department store. It really wasn’t that bad! The teeming throngs were so … so Midwestern! They were smiley and polite and it was really quite enjoyable. And I finished all my holiday shopping except for three gifts, which I have all month to purchase. Woo!
Friday afternoon: I got really cranky and I think I took a nap. At least I should have taken a nap, if I did not. Owen had a lovely time hanging out with an assortment of relatives and impressing them with his vocabulary. Iain drank the beer I bought him and watched the National Geographic channel, possibly with my dad.
Friday evening: Lights Before Christmas at the Toledo Zoo. It’s been a Black Friday tradition for like a hundred years in my family. Owen was slightly disappointed that the chimps and monkeys and gorillas were all asleep, but he seemed to enjoy the lights and whatnot quite a bit. And we all enjoyed being goofy and showing the sights to him. And … then we came home and fell asleep. Stupid sleep.
Saturday we left for Owen’s other grandparents’ house, unfortunately too late to catch his cousins. But it was good to see the in-laws, even if it was only for a few hours.
This morning we spent about 5 and a half hours on the road and got back in time to see the Steelers get shamefully trounced. I seem to have gained one and a half billion pounds of holiday cheer, and Owen can now say several more words (some quite questionable) than he could before we left.
I am looking forward to the day we don’t have to spend eight hours in the car to have dinner with my folks. Maybe some day, eh? The upside is that, since I am the one who does the driving, I get a lot of time to think Deep Thoughts and to plan for the future. Other people do their best thinking in the shower, but I do mine in the driver’s seat. As a result, I have a post on family and motherhood swirling around in my head, plus ideas for another quilt or two, a decorating scheme for Owen’s room and a detailed Five Year Plan for Iain and I. Now I just need to write this stuff down.
Anyway. I wrote this post to make up for the totally cheaty ones I wrote over the weekend. The carefully detailed boringness is just gravy!
The car is running so this will be fast
While we’re doing some more turnpike traveling, you can check out this set on Flickr: Me and Owen had a tea party. Hijinks ensue.
three minutes to spare
OMG great day shopping so tired will write more in the a.m. OMG almost forgot to do this.
No bunnies on the menu
Totally rad Turkey Day. Right now we’re watching Emily’s hamster, Kevin, roll around in his HamsterBall and listening to Vince Guaraldi.
I ate thirty or forty pounds of Thanksgiving dinner, not to mention three chocolate chip cookies and half a piece of pumpkin pie. Owen, the scamp, refused to eat anything but goldfish crackers. I’m not actually surprised.
We pulled into town last night at about quarter after twelve, which means we made insanely good time after being held up in Beltway and Frederick traffic for two hours. (Stupid other idiots, be all driving and stuff.)
But once we cleared Breezewood it was clear sailing. Byt the time we got to Youngstown, and Owen was awake again, we were singing barely-remembered Disney show-tunes and trying to see whose rendition made Owen laugh the hardest.
Right now I’m going to have some more pie, I think, and maybe play some Scrabble before putting Owen to bed; tomorrow my sister and I are doing some hardcore a.m. shopping, because we’re mental like that. Oh how I love the holidays!
Yonder lies the Nablopomo challenge
Of course I’m talking about Holiday Travel. Today Owen and I hauled ass getting the house in order and the laundry done and the car cleaned and the bags packed and the errands run.
We’re taking an ice-cream break right now, and then it’s time to hit the road, Jack. Or Jill, as the case may be. To Grandmother’s house we go! Over the beltway and through the traffic jams. Wish us luck.
And now I will write some words
I need a meme or something, you guys. Or, I don’t know, a photo to post. Maybe a recipe?
Heh. I’m overhearing this conversation in the other room:
“That’s Aragorn.”
“…”
“That’s the king of Rohan.”
“…”
“That’s Eowyn.”
Start ‘em young, that’s what I say. Um, and yes, we’re still working on that damned trilogy. We’ll maybe finish it by New Year’s.
***
Did I ever tell you I got a cell phone? Through some family machinations, I got a cell phone. People can like, call me now. And I them. And I’m starting to enjoy the drive home from work because I can phone-bomb my friends while waiting in traffic. It’s the awesome.
recent flickr
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my sewing tutorials
See my tutorials featured on SMS' Handmade Holidays!
