National Football List

The NFL season officially started this week. Football and soccer are the two sports that will keep my attention. I'm not a sports fan or anything, but there are aspects of professional football that I enjoy, and they have very little to do with the game.
Without further ado, I give you my list--
What I Like About Football

1. Really fat guys in tight pants
This reason alone makes the defensive line captivating. I scan the TV screen for the biggest butt and the funniest waddle. It makes it even sweeter when he's got a name like Gilbert.
2. All the names:
Tiki, Cadillac, Jeremetirus, Cheke (OKeafor), Smoot, Monsanto, Ebenezer...feel free to add more.
3. "Problem" players.
I like the guys that are annoying to other people, they're more dramatic. Warren Sapp is one of my favorite players, I don't even know what position he plays or if he's any good, I just know he's big and obnoxious. And Terrel Owens, again, I think he's good player, not really sure, but I know he talks alot about how great he is and got in trouble for pulling a sharpie out of his sock and signing a ball during a game.
4. Touchdown dances.
Am I not watching the game for entertainment? Entertain me! Why is it wrong?
5. The disgustingly rich team owner in his luxury box.
This makes the bottom of the list because I'm a little ashmed of it. But I love to see who the cufflinked Trump wanna-be's have with them in the suite. It's usually a trophy wife and a few spoiled daughters dripping in jewels and taut with plastic surgery. 

That's it, I've had enough

Lots of women told me about how sick of being pregnant they got towards the end. And I replied "eh, it's okay, I've been like this for a while, what's another couple of weeks?"
This morning, I am hereby tormented by being pregnant. I really am starting to think it's all in my head. I'm not really going to have a baby, because I would have had one by now, this is all one big (9lb!) figment of my immagination. And you'd think all these hormones today making my sobby and not want to get out of bed would serve some other purpose, like squeezing.
Nope.
Well-meaning people have told us the "tricks." Thank you, really, but I've heard it all and I'm apparently immune to it all.
I have come up with my own idea-- a trampoline. But I don't have one, curses!
I told Kevin this morning I didn't want to eat because she's only going to get more enormous, only to tell him 5 minutes later that I wanted blueberry pancakes (which I just finished eating).
I think I'm going to go jump up and down or something... 

for anyone who is concerned...

...no, no baby yet. We went to la doctora this morning and the sonogram guy said she's right about 9 lbs and has a big head. Aaaaaa!!! Needless to say I'd like her to come out before she grows to the size of a toddler.
They had me hang out for an hour, hooked me up to a graphing calculator, and checked all the stats. All stats are good and I'm having eencie contractions. Which means absoulutely nothing other than nothing is bad.
If nothing happens by Monday (oh please may it not be that long), we have to take "measures." I'm not too crazy about that, but it's better than a C-section I guess. :/

my own personal IHOP

Two days past my due date and I'm supposed to be relaxing (nevermind I'm watching the news right now). I've got time...time to make one plate of whole wheat organic blueberry french toast and turkey sausages just for little ol' me. Mmm, protein and sugar. 

24 addicting hours

Someone suggested to Kevin that we watch 24. So we went to rent the Season 3 DVD's we were warned to rent a bunch at once because you'll want to see them all. It's true! We watched Season 3 for full price from Blockbuster, and then A&E, those peaches, played all the episodes of season 4 Sunday and Monday. We Kevo'd them, and all was right with the world.
However, I must list the problems with the show:
-90% of the characters are pretty people, I think we all know people who work in government don't look like they stepped out of Vanity Fair.
-Whenever there's a logistical problem in the script they say something like "Make it happen!" or "Just get it done!" Problem solved.
-Too many feeling-discussions. Right in the middle of a terrorist takeover, the respective girlfriend of the character will call and want to talk about their relationship. Kevin has to stop me from fast-forwarding.
-Kevin's addition: Complicated names will be relayed to one another in the Counter Terrorist Unit and they can magically spell it correctly. "The suspect's name is Sumiyllan Chaurtreli! S-U-M-I-Y..."

Otherwise, good programming, even if it is packed with hot button terrorist issues, stress and fear. And they are not afraid to kill off characters by the dozen in each episode-- no one is safe!

Kiefer Trivia Did you know his full name is Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland?
Of course you didn't, don't pretend you did.


 

You must be this tall to attend a birth.

Does this photo of a woman in labor surrounded by a bunch of kids make anyone else want to shake their whole body like a wet dog? Geesh! Get away people.
By the way, Happy Labor Day everyone. I don't think I'm not going to be part of the 4% of women that gives birth on their due date (today). I'm guessing Friday will be day...  

The only minivan I am willing to drive

From http://www.debac.net/microbus.htm:
"Volkswagen AG officially announced that the Microbus will be put into production with a targeted release in 2005. Dr. Bernd Pischetsrieder, Chairman of the Board of Management Volkswagen AG, said: "Having reviewed the economic requirements for building the Microbus in the Group, we have come to the conclusion that... the conditions are good."...

Volkswagen claims it has its sites set on a new segment - "a MPV combining striking design and high functionality with the comfort of a limousine...The VW bus was never just a means of transport, it has always been an emotive cult object. The public's reaction at motor shows combined with the findings of market studies already show us that the Microbus design has a spontaneous appeal, and that the vehicle will follow in the footsteps of its successful predecessor."

This announcement ends months of speculation surrounding the actual decision to build the Microbus. Dr. Pischetsrieder was reportedly a Microbus supporter but platform considerations made it difficult to move forward. In the U.S. market the Minivan segment is largely dominated by car-based platform minivans, whereas building the Microbus in Hanover dictates using a truck platform. Indeed it will be interesting to see how Volkswagen manages to remove the truck-like character of the T5 commercial platform the Microbus will be built on along with the higher costs of building the vehicle in Hanover versus other locations.

Volkswagen is shooting for a 2005 model year introduction of the Microbus and expects to sell approximately 100,000 units per year, largely in the U.S. market."

Okay, where are they? It's almost 2006!  

I ganked this from Preston's page

I found this Hurricane Katrina site slightly confusing, like trying to watch a soap opera without the background story, but more "real" than the mainstream news sites.

camera adds 20 lbs, baby adds...uh, more

9 months large, can you believe it? I was tired of looking like like a scrubby frau so I got dressed in something other than a tank top and jean skirt. The due date is on Monday, though I'm doubtful the mission will be completed then. If you look closely, you can see the baby headbutting my bladder.  

I can't resist, must show more

I can be fancy 

check the chandelier 

progress progress progress!

we've got a vanity and a counter and tile and a floor! woo! 

view from closet 

quote to share

A battalion of house-flies have arrived and our pets are only mildly interested in catching them. But I really want a determined effort! After watching Mojito lazily fail about a dozen times I said "Mojito, you suck, you're a sucky hunter."
Kevin said "he's really more of a gatherer."

call it nesting if you want

Baby's room update! It took me all afternoon to sew the velcro on those animal butts, but it was worth it. Incidentally I found out that these cool little animals, called Dream Pets, that I bought on clearance are more than they appear be, they've got a history. Plus, please note the Danish Jonah and the whale mobile, thanks Sister Celtic again, it looks awesome.The great Thayer bassinet can be seen in the lefthand corner. 

Baby's eye view. 

the hits just keep comin'

Did I mention I have pregnancy carpal tunnel?! Yeah, I do.
At this point, if I woke up tomorrow and my legs didn't work I wouldn't be surprised.

Insomnia Blotter

I woke up at 2:30 a.m. and couldn't go back to bed so I came out to watch TV, hoping I could bore myself back to sleep.
It's now 4:30, and everyone in the house including the noctural housecat is sleeping but me. I just heard Mojito dream-bark.

Here are some points of interest of my morning:

A rerun of Conan O'Brien featured Donald Trump as a guest, but I found that I would rather watch commercials on my "flip channel" instead of his interview because he creeps me out. It's the same "run away" feeling I get when I encounter salesmen.
Also on the show, the Bravery. The frontman needed some tea or something, because his voice couldn't hold up, that's gotta be embarrassing.

On COPS a woman in Fort Worth flagged a squad car down to tell him that another woman owed her 20 bucks. Upon further questioning, woman A freely admits that she was trying to buy crack cocaine but was given plaster instead by woman B. Middle of the day, in a residential neighborhood. Crack addicts, gotta love 'em.

The aforementioned cat of ours, who I've been at odds with because she has decided to scratch up the carpet when I lock her out of our room at night, apparently just wants to be near somebody in the wee hours. When I came out, she followed me and laid down next to me. Now I feel a little bad for locking her out, but I'm still gonna do it. No pets in the bed!

A frequent flyer and darling of Celebrity Poker, Mimi Rogers has something about her that makes me want to change the channel. What is it? It's different than the Donald. Whatever it is, I deem her freaky.

I'm gonna give bed another try...

well enough for an outing

My cold has nestled its way into my chest, which means it's on it's way out. That is to say, I'm feeling better than yesterday. (hooray!)
So we went to Babies R Us. ---B-bum!
I had never been to a baby store before in my life, much less the baby store of all baby stores. I hadn't ever planned on going into one, but I had gift cards burnin' a hole in my pocket.
I expected it to be hellish. It wasn't too bad. I enjoyed the alternative rock music they played, it made me feel better about buying nipples and plastic pants. We also spotted one cool dad in there with his little girl in red hightop converse and another punky mother to be, yay for peers!
I had two gift cards and a few returns, so we had some dough to work with. Please know that I really hate returning gifts, I feel so bad, but this lady who knew me from work obviously spent good money buying some stuff and I knew I wouldn't use it, so I took it back.
I won't do Pooh, I won't.

woe

I'm even sicker today (cough, sniffle, slack-jaw).
I thought I'd share that.
Everyone who's prays, pray that I don't go into labor before I get over this. Please!

Doozers, now available over-the-counter

This morning I woke up with a head cold. Boo!
As I was sitting here creating a little matterhorn of used tissues, I thought "if only I had a little army to send into my sinuses and clear up everything-- like the Doozers!
That's today's mental picture: doozers in my head. 

who puts up the money for movies like this?

Kevin likes Starship Troopers. He admits it's not "thinking movie" but he likes it anyway.
Fair enough. It's a dumb movie but I've seen worse.
Then he tells me he recorded Starship Troopers 2 and he expects it to be bad.
Okay.
So why did I suggest we both watch it?
Such a horrible movie. I haven't really been watching it since the first 10 minutes of giant spider battles, I'm just in the same room listening to the smushing sounds, screams and melodramatic dialog.
I've learned my lesson.

I'm here I'm here

Nope, not birthing, I'm still quite "great with child."
So great in fact that I did have the wedding ring cut off my finger on Wednesday by my friendly neighborhood jeweler. He was very sad for me, it wasn't pretty under there, teetering on gangrene. The finger is healing nicely and I have a fake ring, many sizes larger than the former, all ready to go on it until after my body returns to normal.
I've been enjoying my first week as a haus-frau, stenciling the walls and sorting through all of our crap.
Everyone has been so nice and buying baby supplies for us. I'm really floored at how many people have given us stuff, new stuff. I had to buy three packs of thank you cards! The only things I have left to buy (with my gift cards!) are diaper covers, bottles, and maybe a couple of crib sheets.
(I'm still planning on hitting a couple Goodwill's though, I feel the urge to hunt!)

"good design does not come easy"

That's what I keep telling myself, because that's what I was taught in school. So stencil square by stencil square, I'm painting this pattern on our bedroom wall. I've only done this patch of wall so far, and I have 3 more walls to go. Needless to say, this is my week's project.  

ow.

My fingers have been swelling for some time now. A few months really, but now towards the bitter end of the pregnancy, my wedding-ring-finger has swollen so much that I've been getting blisters. So I thought it was time to get it off. Bad idea!!! Although the photo does not show the purple discoloration, my finger is much worse for wear after Kevin and I tried to get it off. I thought I was going to pass out it hurt so bad. We tried ice and soap and nothing helped. I talked to some women this afternoon and they both said they had to have their wedding rings cut off when they were pregnant. I really don't want to, symbolically and all it seems wrong, to *saw it off,* but it really hurts. ouchie. 

Lifetime: television for cocaine dealers?

I think I could count on one hand the number of times I have watched a show on Lifetime, despite that by definition I should like it, because biologically I am a woman, but I'm not *that* kind of "woman." I think BET might hold my attention longer.
But today I was cruising the cable menu and saw that True Romance was on. I clicked it and was enjoying the edited for TV version, when the commerical break came on-- commercials for skin care, made for TV movies about women-who-the-world-doesn't-understand, etc. "Oh my gosh, I'm watching Lifetime! What is this Tarantino film doing on Lifetime?" I think they must have added it to their programming schedule by title alone, because while I think it is the most mild film that director has ever made, it certainly isn't Not Without My Daughter or Bridges of Madison County. I'm sure the program director will be fired immediately on a sensible floral letterhead.

prego update

For all of you who like to know the latest, I've a had a few contractions yesterday and today, but nothing regular. I'm pretty sure they mean nothing, so nobody should freak out, but I thought I'd pass that along.
Over and out.

Fabulous!

I felt the average baby lounger needed some fabulizing. Yep, that's faux chinese print silk. Let's just say it began looking something like this ($2 from a garage sale) 

It would be like giving birth to an orange

In case you hadn't heard, there's a new panda cub at the National Zoo. When I saw it on the news I couldn't help but think the newborn /adult ratio was unfair.  

Good bye desk-girl-job, it's been fun.

Tomorrow begins my last week at work! Woo woo! And by "week" I mean, 3 days, and by "work" I mean supervising the new girl and watchin' the clock. 

why don't ya' just call me Elsie?

When I'm offered this kind of selection, I think "are they trying to tell me I am now old and frumpy?" I've looked, and in this department these puppies only come in matronly white mega support. I'm 24, not 64, and I don't need more hooks in the back than a victorian ladies boot.
With a scrunched up face of determination I tell you I'm gonna fight it, you can't make me wear one, I won't do it.
I won't.

it can't be un-done!

My nightmare came true, Kevin's extended family saw our house-- filthy!
Let's begin with the contents of our house being all scrambled around like the dice in a Yahtzee game because of the construction. Big strike one.
But then it's also messy too, like the kitchen had dishes everywhere from cooking chicken fried steak at 10pm last night and I had to get up really early to volunteer for church this a.m. so no messiness was cleaned up, in fact I added to it, dirty clothes in a wad on the bathroom floor, quasi clean clothes tossed over my mountain of shoe-crates. Bottom line- our house looked like a drug den you might see raided on COPS. All it's missing is a balding guy in a greasy wife beater trying to squeeze his fat gut through a back window.
And they saw it, they saw it all!
(They were down the street at his parents' house for the family baby shower and asked to see the place. I made Kevin show it, I couldn't do it!)

and while we're on the subject

This is the opposite of that other story.  

not like I'm gonna forgo a seatbelt

But how many times have we heard stories like this one? (which happened last night here in San Jose):

"The victims were driving south in a 1992 BMW at 80 to 90 mph when their car veered to the left and hit the guardrail, and one passenger was ejected, said a California Highway Patrol spokesman. The car then erupted in flames as it came to rest in the middle of the freeway after wrecking 50 to 60 feet of guardrail. ``The car was just torn up,'' CHP spokesman Steve Perea said.
A passing motorist stopped and pulled the driver and one passenger to safety, but was unable to remove the other man from the burning car.
That man, identified as 19-year-old Eric Tuggle of Santa Clara, was pronounced dead at the scene....
The passenger pulled from the car, identified by the CHP as 18-year-old Vuong Hoan Vu of San Jose, suffered major burns and died later at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said....
The passenger ejected from the car, identified as Matthew Krieger, 18, of San Jose, was taken to Regional Medical Center, where he was listed in good condition Friday afternoon."

I want to trust the seatbelt. If only they came with sensors for "firey death crash" and would unclick to send people "safely" through the windsheild.

could I be a slinger?

The baby sling has always made me nervous. I'm the kind to turn my wrist to look at my watch with a full glass in my hand and dump it on myself, so I fear that I'm the kind of person that could bend over and let a baby tumble out of a sling.
But this page makes me want to try it.
Until I decide, it'll be the baby-pack.

I just might do it, don't think I won't.

As soon as I get a grip after the baby is born I plan to start a local Punkymoms group. I was sad to learn that the closest punkymoms group is in Los Angeles so I must start one here, it's only fitting. Plus, Aurora is worried I'm gonna lose my ever-lovin' mind staying at home everyday. She's probably right, and I'm gonna be proactive about it...in a couple of months.

soon to be a granny

Happy Birthday to my mom! (okay it was tuesday, but I just got the photo.)
Thanks for the slim fit genes and stopping me from joining the Girl Scouts, I owe ya' one! 

lead-er lead-er lead-er lead-er

Again, I'm watching another gripping Dr. Phil.
This article explains the subject, although it's badly written.

attack of the...

Kevin has a tomato problem, he's a Tomatoholic. This is less than half of the harvest from the back yard.  

I found this on our camera, I guess Kevin took it. Franklin, you handsome devil! 

Happy Anniversary!

Sunday was our one year anniversary, hooray! The cake top was actually good! Mmm, powder blue fondant-- tastes like steamrolled Peeps. 

Toto, not just a dog, not just a band

It's also a brand of toilet. Coincidentally, it's the brand we bought today for our new bathroom, here. Glorious.
I made Kevin sit on it in the store to try it out, well at least while the salesman was looking at us. But I admit that before the guy came over, I sat on a few toities (with the lid closed, somehow that felt more civilized.)

here, sit down on the couch, it's picture time

Daniel asked to see more of my paintings a while back. Here's my latest work. Kevin comissioned it, so it was his birthday gift.