Baby Tess Update

My niece calls Tess "Baby Tess"... it's pretty cute. Tess won't be a baby much longer though. She is fast approaching toddlerhood. She is walking around the furniture. She will let go for a few seconds, but she has not taken those monumental first steps yet. Soon!

She has six teeth and more appear to be right below the surface. She's still nursing, which actually is going pretty good despite her teeth. I plan to start weaning her at one year because I will be going back to the office part time (and working from home part time), and I am ready to have my body back to myself. It has been a rewarding experience... one of the most important things I've ever done. I'm proud that I stuck with it.

Tess's first Christmas was fun, but she was quite fussy. I guess she did not like so many people disrupting her daily routine. We had a great time eating and opening gifts with family. Only 363 shopping days left until Christmas!

Happy Whatever-It-Is-You-Celebrate

I'm writing this a little late because Christmas is already over... this season the Happy Holidays versus Merry Christmas stuff has gotten out of hand. Stores have made official policies stating that their employees should say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" so that no one gets offended. I hate political correctness. It is my general opinion that people are too uptight in this country. I am not even Christian and I do not get offended when people tell me "Merry Christmas". Hell, I even sent out some Christmas cards that said "Merry Christmas" in big, shiny letters. If someone wished me a Happy Kwanzaa or Happy Hanukkah I wouldn't care either. Honestly, it's not that big of a deal. There are more important things to be concerned about! Pretty soon, someone is going to get lynched for saying "bless you" after some uptight a-hole sneezes. The longer I live in the USA, the more I want to move to Canada.

Not Enough Hours In The Day

Lately I've been so busy with work that I'm working at night and on weekends to keep up. During the day, it is sometimes hard to focus on programming because I am taking care of Tess, so that pushes my work to after she goes to bed. In turn, that takes away my "fun" time, which sucks because I haven't been able to see my friends very much and there are two new games out that I would very much like to be playing.

Christmas also throws a wrench into my schedule because I just don't have much time to prepare. I haven't made a single holiday treat yet, and Christmas is just 11 days away. The shopping needs finished, presents wrapped, cookies baked, and house cleaned, not to mention the rest of the food I will be preparing for all of our guests. Somewhere in there I also intend to take Tess to Olan Mills for pictures in her Christmas dress.

Don't get me wrong, I love taking care of my daughter, but my work has to get done so that the bills will be paid. I miss hanging out with friends, going out to lunch, and just basically doing what I want when I want.

A Day Late And A Dollar Short

I went out to get some stuff today, and nothing went right. The long anticipated sequel to Animal Crossing (a video game) was supposed to be on shelves today, so I went to Toys R Us to get it. After weaving my way through the zillions of people with carts of crap stacked up to the ceiling (what are people doing out on a Monday anyway?) I found out that they did not have the game. So, I looked for this toy that Tess likes (a LeapStart table), but they did not have that either. I looked all over the store because it appeared that they had Leap products in several different locations. I started feeling claustrophobic after getting trapped in an aisle by carts and mothers with multiple kids, so I ditched my empty cart and Tess and I hightailed it out of there, no merchandise in hand.

Then we went to Walgreens to get some bubble wrap. They wanted $7.99 for a roll of bubble wrap. What the [insert expletive]?! Why is it that during the year you come across bubble wrap in the house, you throw it away with the box when you receive a shipment, but when you need some, it is nowhere to be found? I can't believe it was that expensive when it probably costs 2 cents to make. As James told me, they must blow up each bubble individually for that price. I'm telling you, people, keep your bubble wrap. You might need it!

Our next stop was EB Games, where I reserved a copy of Animal Crossing. Since it has already shipped, the clerk said I am not guaranteed a copy tomorrow. I reserved one anyway, counting on the fact that they'll have plenty. I put Tess on the counter while I paid. When I picked her up and headed out the door, I realized that her diaper had leaked. Her pants were soaked, but I had no choice but to put her in her car seat anyway. Now I sit writing this while the car seat cover is in the washer. I am pretty sure she left a pee spot on the counter at EB. Oops. Well, that's what they get for telling me that a game was still packed and to come back later when the Harry Potter game came out recently. I ended up buying that game at Target since they couldn't take three minutes to dig the game out of the box for me.

To top off today's annoyances, I just found out that there was a pink Nintendo DS that was bundled with Nintendogs and sold exclusively at Target and Toys R Us. How did I miss it? I thought the bundled version was only available in teal. I really want a pink one. Of course, it is now sold out and is selling on eBay for over $200 a pop. I guess it is a message that I should not be so materialistic and appreciate the things I have... a healthy family, good friends, a roof over my head, plenty of food... I'm really feeling the holiday spirit today!

Caffeinated Christmas Cheer

December got off to the right start thanks to Starbucks. I received an invitation from Starbucks to attend a preview of the Yuletide Celebration show at the Hilbert Circle Theater. It was a good show. I had seen it once before (also free) courtesy of my workplace. They had drinks and hors d'oeuvres before the show. Leslie and I loaded up on gingerbread lattes, peppermint cocoa, chocolate martinis, and coffee. I kept grabbing food every time a tray passed me by...breaded mushrooms, cheese and pear pastries, beef tenderloin...delicious! At one point, I had three drinks in my hands. Hey, we know how to work the free stuff! The chocolate martinis had little coffee beans floating in them. Starbucks also passed out little snow globes.

Everyone seemed to be at least partially inebriated when the show started. There was an exorbitant amount of cheering and guffawing at the show. Of course, who wouldn't be in a good mood after receiving free food and drinks. I am not a fan of Sandi Patty's music outside of the Yuletide Celebration, but she and her husband did an awesome opera number. It was one of the highlights of the show, and she wore a gorgeous pink gown during the number that Leslie and I just gushed over.

I am totally impressed! All that coffee I bought really paid off. Thank you, Starbucks!