You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry
I think that pregnancy hormones can best be described through a comparison to The Incredible Hulk. For the most part, I am even-keeled. I'm no David Banner, out helping people in need whilst I remain lonely and isolated, but I am fairly happy and laid back (though it doesn't stop me from complaining at work). Piss me off however, and you've got the Hulk on your hands. I've had a few episodes. One was in the car the other day, and one was at work today. I am a web developer, and I was tired of my program being blamed when the real cause of the issue was user error. I felt my face turning red (rather than green) and I wanted to throw something very forcefully. I guess it's the hormones that cause me to fly off of the handle about situations that I would normally handle gracefully. Laura smash!
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Abandon Every Hope, Ye Who Enter Here
For those online quiz-takers out there, here is a fun one for you. Answer the questions and see which level of Dante's Inferno you fit into. I'm apparently headed for Level 2, which is the lustful level. Hmmm, and I thought for sure I'd be a glutton relaxing in Level 3.
For those online quiz-takers out there, here is a fun one for you. Answer the questions and see which level of Dante's Inferno you fit into. I'm apparently headed for Level 2, which is the lustful level. Hmmm, and I thought for sure I'd be a glutton relaxing in Level 3.
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Rat's Ass
Where did the expression "I don't give a rat's ass" come from? In Medieval times, did people give a rat ass to someone they cared about as a sign of affection? Did a witch say it when her friend came over to borrow a rat's ass for her enchantment potion? It's just one of those weird expressions that people use all the time, but when you think about it, it doesn't make any sense.
Where did the expression "I don't give a rat's ass" come from? In Medieval times, did people give a rat ass to someone they cared about as a sign of affection? Did a witch say it when her friend came over to borrow a rat's ass for her enchantment potion? It's just one of those weird expressions that people use all the time, but when you think about it, it doesn't make any sense.
Home Improvement
I'm feeling the irresistible pull of home improvement again. It's that feeling you get when you just have to tackle a project. So I'm trying to decide what to do. There are many things in our house to work on... new carpet or hardwood floors downstairs, removing the master bedroom wallpaper, replacing the faulty screen door, covering the cement slab we call a patio with flagstone or a deck, painting the trim... the list goes on and on.
When we first moved into our house (coming up on 4 years ago), my husband, James, and I did not know what we were in for. Every room in the house had ugly, 80's style wallpaper. It's easy enough to walk through and say "yeah, I can re-do that" when you're looking for a house to buy, but we had to change almost every single room in the house. There was even wallpaper in the hallways. So we transformed the house, room by room. With my dad's help, we stripped the wallpaper, sanded the walls, and painted. We put up wallpaper in one room, which is our downstairs 1/2 bath. It is one of my favorite rooms that we have done. Only one room remains wallpapered in an 80's design, and that's our master bedroom. It's the least offensive pattern of the many lovely designs that graced our walls. I won't be able to paint it until I have my baby, but oh well, what's another 6 months of looking at it.
I often wish I had chronicled our projects and created a scrapbook with before and after pictures. I could have saved the wallpaper pieces to show just how stylish the house was before. Here, I will attempt to revisit each project.
Fall 2000
Wow! We are home owners! The first room we tackled is the guest bedroom. It had wide blue and brown striped wallpaper with a border that had birds flying. It looked like a grandfather's bedroom. My dad showed me a process of removing wallpaper using a round scoring tool that makes holes all over the paper and then using a pump up sprayer full of hot water and DIFF. You soak the walls and the paper peels off. It was a bit messy, but it worked. We patched the nail holes in the walls but failed to sand them down, so you can still see the patch marks through the paint. Oh well, we were first timers, so it's ok. We painted the room Finnish Blue. We replaced the red metal mini blinds with white cellular shades. We were impressed with our job, flaws and all.
Winter 2000
On to the next bedroom upstairs. It had been a girl's room and had pastel striped wallpaper with tiny hearts in every pastel color you can think of. Ugh. This wallpaper was perhaps the easiest to remove. I could almost peel it off without using any water or DIFF. I patched the nail holes and sanded them down. I painted the room a light lavender color and put up lace curtains. It looks rather Victorian. I love the room... it currently houses our rabbit, but it will be the baby's room.
Spring 2001
Ah, the downstairs bathroom. Perhaps the most beautiful wallpaper I've ever seen (gag). It had neon criss-crossed stripes with a neon heart border around the mirror. I am not joking. Besides being ugly, it was also extremely stubborn. I think it must have been put up with super glue. No matter how much I scraped and soaked it, it came off in tiny bits that stuck to the floor when I dropped them. In addition to tearing the wallpaper down, which was really fun when I got to the toilet and pedestal sink area, I also decided to take out the white ceramic towel bar and TP holder in favor of a more elegant look. My dad helped me knock these pieces out with a hammer and repair the gaping holes in the dry wall. Dad also helped me hang my replacement wallpaper. It's a scroll design in subtle sage green with a parchment like background. I found a mirror, trash can, and two corner shelves at Pier 1 that have a silver scroll design that matched the wallpaper perfectly. It took me over 2 years to finally hang up the TP holder, but the finished room is awesome.
Summer/Fall 2001
Who puts wallpaper in hallways? That was the question I kept asking myself as I dealt with the most awful of all wallpapers I have encountered. It was a color my dad called "dirty beige". I would say it was the "dusty rose" color so popular in the 80's and it had yellowed over the years. It was in our downstairs hallway, stairwell, and upstairs hallway. The residue this paper left behind was terrible. Most wallpaper glue comes off of the wall with a little dish soap and water, but not this glue. It was like tiny grains of sand super glued to the walls. We had to use sandpaper to sand the walls over and over to get rid of it. We spent hours sanding until the surfaces were smooth enough to paint. We painted them Antique White.
Spring/Summer 2002
Our kitchen and family room are basically one giant room that spans the width of the house. I couldn't wait to tackle these rooms. The wallpaper played tricks with your eyes. It had small greyish diamond shapes, and they would flash when you looked at them. It also had a country blue border in the kitchen and country blue shelves with ducks on them above a planning desk. Those shelves were gone as soon as we moved in, but the holes remained. We had to do a lot of patching in this room, especially when I decided to rip the planning desk out. It left a square of missing linoleum on the floor, so we covered that with a rug until the floor needs to be replaced again. I now have a nice bakers rack where the desk was. We had some difficulty picking out a color since the color would have to go well in the kitchen as well as the family room. We initially were set on purple, but when we brought the paint home and painted some on the wall, it looked like grape Bubble Yum meets Grimace. Back to Lowes. We ended up with Victorian Slate Green. As we painted we joked that it would look like military barracks, but we liked the finished product. It's a dark sage color. I found that red and tan accents go with it very well, so once we hung up some wrought iron candle sconces and art work with red and tan colors, it looked very cozy. Over the last few years, we have replaced each kitchen appliance, so we now have a black stove, refrigerator, and dishwasher. I plan on placing red and tan tile above the kitchen cabinets at some point.
Fall 2002
The entry way (foyer, whatever you want to call it), living room, and dining room are all connected to the stairwell and hallways that we had previously painted Antique White. Before we painted the hallways, you could see three different patterns when you stepped in the door, each of them distinctly different (and ugly). The entry way had a mint green pastel Southwestern print, while the living room and dining room had a pink and light blue flower design. And we musn't forget the dirty beige hallways. Here's the kicker, when we bought the house, one of the "selling points" was that it was professionally decorated. I beg to differ... you may be wondering why we bought the house. We were able to look past the wallpaper and see what it could be. It has an awesome floor to ceiling brick fireplace in the living room, which is a two story room. The house also had nice carpet and parquet flooring. We knew it could be a great house. Anyway...
We removed the wallpaper in the entry way, living room, and dining room. Wow, it looked better already. Since all of these walls were interconnected with the stairwell and hallways, we also painted these rooms Antique White. It really makes the brick fireplace stand out. At this point our downstairs was almost done.
Spring 2003
Only two rooms remain with 80's wallpaper: the master bedroom and bathroom. I decided to do the bathroom first. The wallpaper had a white background with yellow and orange flowers and green foliage. A mint green shower curtain had remained since we moved in. I didn't know what color to use, so I found a shower curtain that I liked and pulled a light blue color out of that. Normally I don't like light blue, but I had seen it in catalogs and thought it might give the bathroom a retro feel. It is 100% improved over what it was, but I'm considering changing it at some point. Our double vanity is quite dated and the bathtub is small, so we may re-do that bathroom again sometime. We'll see.
Summer 2003
One thing had bothered me since we painted our family room and kitchen. The paint lines where the Slate Green met the Antique White in our dining room and hallway doorways were rather sloppy. Yet again, I called upon my dad to help. He helped me pick out wood trim that matched our other trim in the house. He measured and cut the pieces for me. I had fun staining them. Then he hung them up for me. I covered the nails and coated the trim in polyurethane, and it matches our other trim very well. The doorways look finished now, and the dining room looks a little more elegant.
All of those projects took a lot of time and money, not to mention blood, sweat, and tears. Over the last year, we have not started any major projects. To quell our need for home improvement, we have focused on smaller scale projects. I created a flower bed by our patio. We replaced our generic light fixture above the dining room table with a chandelier, and we installed a dimmer switch for it. James installed motion sensing light switches in the garage and upstairs office (which, by the way, was one of the few rooms that didn't have wallpaper, along with the laundry room and guest bathroom). We also replaced our kitchen table.
Soon I will undertake a major project... I feel it coming. Hopefully I can convince James to help me pull up our downstairs carpet and replace it with parquet flooring that will match our hallway. Muwahaha!
I'm feeling the irresistible pull of home improvement again. It's that feeling you get when you just have to tackle a project. So I'm trying to decide what to do. There are many things in our house to work on... new carpet or hardwood floors downstairs, removing the master bedroom wallpaper, replacing the faulty screen door, covering the cement slab we call a patio with flagstone or a deck, painting the trim... the list goes on and on.
When we first moved into our house (coming up on 4 years ago), my husband, James, and I did not know what we were in for. Every room in the house had ugly, 80's style wallpaper. It's easy enough to walk through and say "yeah, I can re-do that" when you're looking for a house to buy, but we had to change almost every single room in the house. There was even wallpaper in the hallways. So we transformed the house, room by room. With my dad's help, we stripped the wallpaper, sanded the walls, and painted. We put up wallpaper in one room, which is our downstairs 1/2 bath. It is one of my favorite rooms that we have done. Only one room remains wallpapered in an 80's design, and that's our master bedroom. It's the least offensive pattern of the many lovely designs that graced our walls. I won't be able to paint it until I have my baby, but oh well, what's another 6 months of looking at it.
I often wish I had chronicled our projects and created a scrapbook with before and after pictures. I could have saved the wallpaper pieces to show just how stylish the house was before. Here, I will attempt to revisit each project.
Fall 2000
Wow! We are home owners! The first room we tackled is the guest bedroom. It had wide blue and brown striped wallpaper with a border that had birds flying. It looked like a grandfather's bedroom. My dad showed me a process of removing wallpaper using a round scoring tool that makes holes all over the paper and then using a pump up sprayer full of hot water and DIFF. You soak the walls and the paper peels off. It was a bit messy, but it worked. We patched the nail holes in the walls but failed to sand them down, so you can still see the patch marks through the paint. Oh well, we were first timers, so it's ok. We painted the room Finnish Blue. We replaced the red metal mini blinds with white cellular shades. We were impressed with our job, flaws and all.
Winter 2000
On to the next bedroom upstairs. It had been a girl's room and had pastel striped wallpaper with tiny hearts in every pastel color you can think of. Ugh. This wallpaper was perhaps the easiest to remove. I could almost peel it off without using any water or DIFF. I patched the nail holes and sanded them down. I painted the room a light lavender color and put up lace curtains. It looks rather Victorian. I love the room... it currently houses our rabbit, but it will be the baby's room.
Spring 2001
Ah, the downstairs bathroom. Perhaps the most beautiful wallpaper I've ever seen (gag). It had neon criss-crossed stripes with a neon heart border around the mirror. I am not joking. Besides being ugly, it was also extremely stubborn. I think it must have been put up with super glue. No matter how much I scraped and soaked it, it came off in tiny bits that stuck to the floor when I dropped them. In addition to tearing the wallpaper down, which was really fun when I got to the toilet and pedestal sink area, I also decided to take out the white ceramic towel bar and TP holder in favor of a more elegant look. My dad helped me knock these pieces out with a hammer and repair the gaping holes in the dry wall. Dad also helped me hang my replacement wallpaper. It's a scroll design in subtle sage green with a parchment like background. I found a mirror, trash can, and two corner shelves at Pier 1 that have a silver scroll design that matched the wallpaper perfectly. It took me over 2 years to finally hang up the TP holder, but the finished room is awesome.
Summer/Fall 2001
Who puts wallpaper in hallways? That was the question I kept asking myself as I dealt with the most awful of all wallpapers I have encountered. It was a color my dad called "dirty beige". I would say it was the "dusty rose" color so popular in the 80's and it had yellowed over the years. It was in our downstairs hallway, stairwell, and upstairs hallway. The residue this paper left behind was terrible. Most wallpaper glue comes off of the wall with a little dish soap and water, but not this glue. It was like tiny grains of sand super glued to the walls. We had to use sandpaper to sand the walls over and over to get rid of it. We spent hours sanding until the surfaces were smooth enough to paint. We painted them Antique White.
Spring/Summer 2002
Our kitchen and family room are basically one giant room that spans the width of the house. I couldn't wait to tackle these rooms. The wallpaper played tricks with your eyes. It had small greyish diamond shapes, and they would flash when you looked at them. It also had a country blue border in the kitchen and country blue shelves with ducks on them above a planning desk. Those shelves were gone as soon as we moved in, but the holes remained. We had to do a lot of patching in this room, especially when I decided to rip the planning desk out. It left a square of missing linoleum on the floor, so we covered that with a rug until the floor needs to be replaced again. I now have a nice bakers rack where the desk was. We had some difficulty picking out a color since the color would have to go well in the kitchen as well as the family room. We initially were set on purple, but when we brought the paint home and painted some on the wall, it looked like grape Bubble Yum meets Grimace. Back to Lowes. We ended up with Victorian Slate Green. As we painted we joked that it would look like military barracks, but we liked the finished product. It's a dark sage color. I found that red and tan accents go with it very well, so once we hung up some wrought iron candle sconces and art work with red and tan colors, it looked very cozy. Over the last few years, we have replaced each kitchen appliance, so we now have a black stove, refrigerator, and dishwasher. I plan on placing red and tan tile above the kitchen cabinets at some point.
Fall 2002
The entry way (foyer, whatever you want to call it), living room, and dining room are all connected to the stairwell and hallways that we had previously painted Antique White. Before we painted the hallways, you could see three different patterns when you stepped in the door, each of them distinctly different (and ugly). The entry way had a mint green pastel Southwestern print, while the living room and dining room had a pink and light blue flower design. And we musn't forget the dirty beige hallways. Here's the kicker, when we bought the house, one of the "selling points" was that it was professionally decorated. I beg to differ... you may be wondering why we bought the house. We were able to look past the wallpaper and see what it could be. It has an awesome floor to ceiling brick fireplace in the living room, which is a two story room. The house also had nice carpet and parquet flooring. We knew it could be a great house. Anyway...
We removed the wallpaper in the entry way, living room, and dining room. Wow, it looked better already. Since all of these walls were interconnected with the stairwell and hallways, we also painted these rooms Antique White. It really makes the brick fireplace stand out. At this point our downstairs was almost done.
Spring 2003
Only two rooms remain with 80's wallpaper: the master bedroom and bathroom. I decided to do the bathroom first. The wallpaper had a white background with yellow and orange flowers and green foliage. A mint green shower curtain had remained since we moved in. I didn't know what color to use, so I found a shower curtain that I liked and pulled a light blue color out of that. Normally I don't like light blue, but I had seen it in catalogs and thought it might give the bathroom a retro feel. It is 100% improved over what it was, but I'm considering changing it at some point. Our double vanity is quite dated and the bathtub is small, so we may re-do that bathroom again sometime. We'll see.
Summer 2003
One thing had bothered me since we painted our family room and kitchen. The paint lines where the Slate Green met the Antique White in our dining room and hallway doorways were rather sloppy. Yet again, I called upon my dad to help. He helped me pick out wood trim that matched our other trim in the house. He measured and cut the pieces for me. I had fun staining them. Then he hung them up for me. I covered the nails and coated the trim in polyurethane, and it matches our other trim very well. The doorways look finished now, and the dining room looks a little more elegant.
All of those projects took a lot of time and money, not to mention blood, sweat, and tears. Over the last year, we have not started any major projects. To quell our need for home improvement, we have focused on smaller scale projects. I created a flower bed by our patio. We replaced our generic light fixture above the dining room table with a chandelier, and we installed a dimmer switch for it. James installed motion sensing light switches in the garage and upstairs office (which, by the way, was one of the few rooms that didn't have wallpaper, along with the laundry room and guest bathroom). We also replaced our kitchen table.
Soon I will undertake a major project... I feel it coming. Hopefully I can convince James to help me pull up our downstairs carpet and replace it with parquet flooring that will match our hallway. Muwahaha!
Friday, July 09, 2004
Freud Would Be Proud
My husband suggested that I start a dream journal. I remember my dreams almost every night. I tend to have very vivid, sometimes psychotic dreams. Some of them are very gory... I remember one where a dog exploded. Before you label me as crazy, know that I definitely believe that dreams are a release of the subconscious mind, and that's not just my Psych degree talking. I internalize stress, and I think it comes out in very strange ways in my dreams. I think this Blog is the perfect place to log my dreams. Perhaps I will post some of the more memorable ones if things get boring, but they probably won't.
Last night I dreamed of a party. I think it was for my own child, but I never actually saw him/her. There were many people there, and I did not recognize many of them. I was cutting tiny little pieces of cake, but I still ran out. These two older women who I didn't recognize were standing there with empty plates looking very disappointed. So I went to Kroger (Why Kroger? I shop at Marsh.) to get another cake. All they had were Halloween cakes, even though it was August. The one I wanted to get was $32. It was a small chocolate cake covered in orange icing and sugar with a black Jack-O-Lantern face on the top.
I can usually pinpoint what is going on in my life and why it caused me to have a certain dream, but I have no idea where that came from.
My husband suggested that I start a dream journal. I remember my dreams almost every night. I tend to have very vivid, sometimes psychotic dreams. Some of them are very gory... I remember one where a dog exploded. Before you label me as crazy, know that I definitely believe that dreams are a release of the subconscious mind, and that's not just my Psych degree talking. I internalize stress, and I think it comes out in very strange ways in my dreams. I think this Blog is the perfect place to log my dreams. Perhaps I will post some of the more memorable ones if things get boring, but they probably won't.
Last night I dreamed of a party. I think it was for my own child, but I never actually saw him/her. There were many people there, and I did not recognize many of them. I was cutting tiny little pieces of cake, but I still ran out. These two older women who I didn't recognize were standing there with empty plates looking very disappointed. So I went to Kroger (Why Kroger? I shop at Marsh.) to get another cake. All they had were Halloween cakes, even though it was August. The one I wanted to get was $32. It was a small chocolate cake covered in orange icing and sugar with a black Jack-O-Lantern face on the top.
I can usually pinpoint what is going on in my life and why it caused me to have a certain dream, but I have no idea where that came from.
Thursday, July 08, 2004
Seeing Stars
I called my doctor yesterday because I had been getting headaches and seeing stars while just sitting at my desk. I can deal with headaches, but I thought seeing stars for no apparent reason might be a problem.
She told me that I am not eating enough. Holy cow, I already thought I was eating plenty. I am supposed to be eating every 2 hours. This scares me because I don't want to gain a bunch of weight just from being pregnant. I'm trying to keep it around 25 - 30 pounds. So, I'm eating fruit or breakfast bars in between meals. Even if I'm not hungry, I'm eating some fruit anyway. So far it seems to work.
I called my doctor yesterday because I had been getting headaches and seeing stars while just sitting at my desk. I can deal with headaches, but I thought seeing stars for no apparent reason might be a problem.
She told me that I am not eating enough. Holy cow, I already thought I was eating plenty. I am supposed to be eating every 2 hours. This scares me because I don't want to gain a bunch of weight just from being pregnant. I'm trying to keep it around 25 - 30 pounds. So, I'm eating fruit or breakfast bars in between meals. Even if I'm not hungry, I'm eating some fruit anyway. So far it seems to work.
Tuesday, July 06, 2004
Fashionable Age
I have ranted on this blog about clothing for women before, and I am about to do it again. Department stores are split into three sub-departments within the women's clothing realm: Juniors, Misses, and Plus Sizes (there is also a sub-sub-department for small people called Petites, but I'm going to leave it out for simplicity). In the Junior section, you find the very small, hip clothing for teenage girls. The Plus Size section houses clothing for the larger woman. The Misses section is for average sized women who have no fashion sense. Here you will find tapered jeans, pants with elastic waists, sweatshirts depicting birdhouses or ducks, wind suits, and school teacher type dresses. Ugh. So where is a picky 30 something woman supposed to find cool clothes that fit?
I used to find clothes at The Gap. They had straight leg and boot cut jeans and cool shirts. I am not sure if they have gone downhill or if I have "grown up" clothing wise because the last few times I went in The Gap, I was not impressed. It was full of bright, ugly halter tops and really short shorts. I personally will never wear a pair of capri pants. We used to call those floods. In The Gap, every pair of pants I picked up were floods. Not for me... so I ventured out to some other stores.
I discovered Eddie Bauer. I love this store. Before I went in, I assumed I would not like their clothes. I thought they were geared towards business people taking leisurely golf outings (you know, pleated khaki shorts and polo shirts). I was wrong... after trying on some jeans and pants, I was hooked. The pants are straight leg and not pleated. I bought my first pair of boot cut jeans at Eddie Bauer, and I love them. You will find a few polo shirts, but if you look past those, they also have some basic shirts that are stylish. They also have nice jackets. I like jean jackets and jackets that resemble army clothes, so this store works for me. I actually bought a pair of shorts in Eddie Bauer without trying them on, and they fit. WOW.
Soon I will have to start wearing maternity clothes. I am hoping I can find some good ones. I'm sure I'll have a post about that too.
I have ranted on this blog about clothing for women before, and I am about to do it again. Department stores are split into three sub-departments within the women's clothing realm: Juniors, Misses, and Plus Sizes (there is also a sub-sub-department for small people called Petites, but I'm going to leave it out for simplicity). In the Junior section, you find the very small, hip clothing for teenage girls. The Plus Size section houses clothing for the larger woman. The Misses section is for average sized women who have no fashion sense. Here you will find tapered jeans, pants with elastic waists, sweatshirts depicting birdhouses or ducks, wind suits, and school teacher type dresses. Ugh. So where is a picky 30 something woman supposed to find cool clothes that fit?
I used to find clothes at The Gap. They had straight leg and boot cut jeans and cool shirts. I am not sure if they have gone downhill or if I have "grown up" clothing wise because the last few times I went in The Gap, I was not impressed. It was full of bright, ugly halter tops and really short shorts. I personally will never wear a pair of capri pants. We used to call those floods. In The Gap, every pair of pants I picked up were floods. Not for me... so I ventured out to some other stores.
I discovered Eddie Bauer. I love this store. Before I went in, I assumed I would not like their clothes. I thought they were geared towards business people taking leisurely golf outings (you know, pleated khaki shorts and polo shirts). I was wrong... after trying on some jeans and pants, I was hooked. The pants are straight leg and not pleated. I bought my first pair of boot cut jeans at Eddie Bauer, and I love them. You will find a few polo shirts, but if you look past those, they also have some basic shirts that are stylish. They also have nice jackets. I like jean jackets and jackets that resemble army clothes, so this store works for me. I actually bought a pair of shorts in Eddie Bauer without trying them on, and they fit. WOW.
Soon I will have to start wearing maternity clothes. I am hoping I can find some good ones. I'm sure I'll have a post about that too.
I Miss You, Starbucks
Since finding out that I'm going to be a mom, I've cut WAY down on caffeine. Coffee happens to be the drink with the most caffeine in it, so I have reluctantly stopped going to Starbucks for my morning fix, and I have been drinking gallons of water in its place. I am limiting myself to one serving of a caffeinated beverage every day, and some days I don't have any. One cup of Starbucks' ultra-powerful coffee is probably the equivalent to a whole pot made at home. I bet they are missing me these days. I might have to stop there later for a decaf latte.
Since finding out that I'm going to be a mom, I've cut WAY down on caffeine. Coffee happens to be the drink with the most caffeine in it, so I have reluctantly stopped going to Starbucks for my morning fix, and I have been drinking gallons of water in its place. I am limiting myself to one serving of a caffeinated beverage every day, and some days I don't have any. One cup of Starbucks' ultra-powerful coffee is probably the equivalent to a whole pot made at home. I bet they are missing me these days. I might have to stop there later for a decaf latte.
Monday, June 28, 2004
Month 3 Begins...
I am about to start the 9th week of pregnancy. I had my first prenatal doctor appointment last Friday. They asked me lots of questions and took some blood for tests. I cannot believe they did not check me out physically. You would think they would want to make sure everything is ok. At least, I would like them to. I go back in 4 weeks.
I have 4 more weeks of nausea to look forward to. I have not actually been sick, but I have been very queasy. Fatigue has been a major issue. I'm tired most of the time. I've been sleeping 10 or more hours at a time. I'll be glad when this phase is over.
I am about to start the 9th week of pregnancy. I had my first prenatal doctor appointment last Friday. They asked me lots of questions and took some blood for tests. I cannot believe they did not check me out physically. You would think they would want to make sure everything is ok. At least, I would like them to. I go back in 4 weeks.
I have 4 more weeks of nausea to look forward to. I have not actually been sick, but I have been very queasy. Fatigue has been a major issue. I'm tired most of the time. I've been sleeping 10 or more hours at a time. I'll be glad when this phase is over.
Monday, June 21, 2004
My hubby and me like to climb up a tree...
Today is our first anniversary. It seems funny to celebrate being married for one year when we are actually in our eighth year of togetherness. We were married in my mom's backyard on the Summer Solstice. My mom lives on 5 acres of forest-like property, so it was a very nice setting. You can view some pictures from the wedding here.
Today is our first anniversary. It seems funny to celebrate being married for one year when we are actually in our eighth year of togetherness. We were married in my mom's backyard on the Summer Solstice. My mom lives on 5 acres of forest-like property, so it was a very nice setting. You can view some pictures from the wedding here.
Monday, June 14, 2004
People Who Make Me Want To Hurl
I have a LAUNCHcast station, and while rating some songs today, I noticed a picture on the banner... at first glance I really thought it was Dee Snider from Twisted Sister. Remember them? Scary make-up? Wild, frizzy hair? Once I realized it was Christina Aguilera, I had to laugh. She looks like a clown! I think it's really sad that teenage girls want to imitate her style. If I have a daughter, I hope the "clown whore from hell" look is OUT by the time she's old enough to wear make-up.
Yikes...
I have a LAUNCHcast station, and while rating some songs today, I noticed a picture on the banner... at first glance I really thought it was Dee Snider from Twisted Sister. Remember them? Scary make-up? Wild, frizzy hair? Once I realized it was Christina Aguilera, I had to laugh. She looks like a clown! I think it's really sad that teenage girls want to imitate her style. If I have a daughter, I hope the "clown whore from hell" look is OUT by the time she's old enough to wear make-up.
Yikes...
Monday, June 07, 2004
Eating For Two, Maybe Three
I found out on May 30 that I'm going to be a mom. It's very exciting! My husband and I actually planned it, and believe it or not, I got pregnant exactly when I wanted to. I want my child to be an Aquarius, so I knew I had to get pregnant in May. I can't believe it worked.
So far, I do not have morning sickness. I've been tired, and I have abdominal cramps, which I guess are due to the growing uterus. I also have this huge-mongous chest. I didn't think that would happen so soon.
I can't wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl. Twins run in my family, so it's quite possible that I'm eating for three.
I found out on May 30 that I'm going to be a mom. It's very exciting! My husband and I actually planned it, and believe it or not, I got pregnant exactly when I wanted to. I want my child to be an Aquarius, so I knew I had to get pregnant in May. I can't believe it worked.
So far, I do not have morning sickness. I've been tired, and I have abdominal cramps, which I guess are due to the growing uterus. I also have this huge-mongous chest. I didn't think that would happen so soon.
I can't wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl. Twins run in my family, so it's quite possible that I'm eating for three.
Monday, May 24, 2004
Makeover-O-Matic
I found a fun, online makeover tool at ivillage. Check out my before and after pictures. Funny! I did several different looks, but this one is my favorite.
I found a fun, online makeover tool at ivillage. Check out my before and after pictures. Funny! I did several different looks, but this one is my favorite.
 |  |
| Before | After |
Friday, May 21, 2004
| Age Project | |
 | I posted this picture on the ageproject web site, where people view pictures at random and try to guess the age of the person in the picture. Out of 569 guesses, my average age is 26. I guess that's not bad for a 30 year old. |
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
A Few Of My Favorite Things...
Music
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens... ahem. I love discussing music with people I meet. My tastes in music vary quite a bit. I like jazz (not the elevator kind), Celtic, some Middle Eastern and Indian, new age, classic rock, alternative (mostly older stuff), and even some really hard stuff now and then. Some of my top favorites are The Beatles (absolute #1), Loreena McKennitt, U2, Tori Amos, The Cult, Sisters Of Mercy, Peter Gabriel, and Sarah McLachlan.
I don't listen to much new stuff, although two of my favorite songs right now are Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" and Hoobastank's "The Reason". How can a band with such a dumb name come up with such a nice song like "The Reason"? Anyway, my dad always said the music I listened to all sounded the same when I was a teenager, and now I know what he was talking about. I can't tell these so-called "punk rock" bands apart. I didn't think that would ever happen to me. I'm not sure if I'm just getting older and out of touch or if they really do sound alike.
I love to make lists (something I definitely inherited from my mom), so I'll attempt to list my top 10 favorite songs of all time here.
Laura's Top Ten Favorite Songs Of All Time (in no particular order)
1. "Pride (In the Name of Love)" by U2
2. "Let It Be" by The Beatles
3. "Samain Night" by Loreena McKennitt
4. "Head Over Heels" by Tears For Fears
5. "Imagine" by John Lennon
6. "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel
7. "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" by The Police
8. "In God's Country" by U2
9. "Winter" by Tori Amos
10. "Nights in White Satin" by Moody Blues
I have a funny story about number 10, which I will not iterate here. All I need to say is "knights in white satin" and that should be enough.
Movies
Who doesn't love a good movie? My favorite type of movie is a period film, even if the period is fictional, as in the case of "The Lord of the Rings". I especially love the first LOTR movie. I would love to live in Middle Earth... if only it really did exist. I've often thought about which place I would prefer to reside in if I were an elf: Lothlorien or Rivendell. I think I would choose Lothlorien because it is more mysterious. Everyone there seems to be blonde though... I might not fit in.
Another favorite movie of mine is "Gladiator". I love the fight scenes, music, and the story. I saw "Troy" recently, which was very good, but the actor who played Patroclus was just terrible. Some parts of the movie reminded me of "Gladiator", especially the music, which was also done by James Horner. He does great work with Lisa Gerrard's haunting vocals, but it seems like he does the same thing over and over.
Books
I used to be an avid reader, but in the world of the Internet and Nintendo, I don't read nearly as much as I'd like to. My favorite reading material is fiction. I highly enjoy Anne Rice books and the Harry Potter series, both of which my friend Leslie got me into. My husband got me to read "Dune", but I have not finished the series. I also need to finish "The Lord of the Rings" series. So many books, so little time. I do seem to make plenty of time for video games though... my next category.
Video Games
When I was growing up, my dad had video games placed in several stores around the county. I would go with him to collect, and he'd rack up a bunch of credits for me so that I would have something to do while he counted quarters. My favorite game was PacMan... remember how excited everyone was when Ms. PacMan came out, but it was just PacMan with a bow on his head? I also used to play Mario Brothers and The Legend of Zelda on the first Nintendo. I was so proud of myself when I saved the princess on ONE MAN without warping! Wow, I really was a geek (was??). These days, I do own a joystick that has PacMan on it for the sake of nostalgia, but I play more advanced games now.
My husband and I highly enjoy Baldur's Gate. We just solved Baldur's Gate 2 for the X-box. I really love Gauntlet for the GameCube. It's a great stress reliever to run around and kill stuff. It's not very challenging, but I tend to like games that are just fun without the aggravation of doing it over and over. I have a goal of getting every single character (even the secret ones) to level 99. I think I'm halfway there.
I solved Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and now I am working on Sorcerer's Stone. One game that I still load up occasionally is Animal Crossing, which is really for kids, but it's fun anyway. I livened it up by making the animals use profane catch phrases. The game is in "real time" and the time of day and seasons change depending on the time you have set on your GameCube. I played it for about a year, so I pretty much got to see every holiday and special feature in the game.
Miscellaneous
I probably could write a whole section on each of these, but I don't want to bore people to death. Oh wait, no one reads my blog anyway!
Animal: Cat
Colors: Green and Purple
Season: Autumn
Beer: New Castle
Wine: Oliver Soft Red (it's an Indiana thing)
Non-alcoholic drinks: Coffee and Diet Coke
Food: I'll save this one for its own posting. :)
So those are a few of my favorite things.
Music
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens... ahem. I love discussing music with people I meet. My tastes in music vary quite a bit. I like jazz (not the elevator kind), Celtic, some Middle Eastern and Indian, new age, classic rock, alternative (mostly older stuff), and even some really hard stuff now and then. Some of my top favorites are The Beatles (absolute #1), Loreena McKennitt, U2, Tori Amos, The Cult, Sisters Of Mercy, Peter Gabriel, and Sarah McLachlan.
I don't listen to much new stuff, although two of my favorite songs right now are Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" and Hoobastank's "The Reason". How can a band with such a dumb name come up with such a nice song like "The Reason"? Anyway, my dad always said the music I listened to all sounded the same when I was a teenager, and now I know what he was talking about. I can't tell these so-called "punk rock" bands apart. I didn't think that would ever happen to me. I'm not sure if I'm just getting older and out of touch or if they really do sound alike.
I love to make lists (something I definitely inherited from my mom), so I'll attempt to list my top 10 favorite songs of all time here.
Laura's Top Ten Favorite Songs Of All Time (in no particular order)
1. "Pride (In the Name of Love)" by U2
2. "Let It Be" by The Beatles
3. "Samain Night" by Loreena McKennitt
4. "Head Over Heels" by Tears For Fears
5. "Imagine" by John Lennon
6. "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel
7. "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" by The Police
8. "In God's Country" by U2
9. "Winter" by Tori Amos
10. "Nights in White Satin" by Moody Blues
I have a funny story about number 10, which I will not iterate here. All I need to say is "knights in white satin" and that should be enough.
Movies
Who doesn't love a good movie? My favorite type of movie is a period film, even if the period is fictional, as in the case of "The Lord of the Rings". I especially love the first LOTR movie. I would love to live in Middle Earth... if only it really did exist. I've often thought about which place I would prefer to reside in if I were an elf: Lothlorien or Rivendell. I think I would choose Lothlorien because it is more mysterious. Everyone there seems to be blonde though... I might not fit in.
Another favorite movie of mine is "Gladiator". I love the fight scenes, music, and the story. I saw "Troy" recently, which was very good, but the actor who played Patroclus was just terrible. Some parts of the movie reminded me of "Gladiator", especially the music, which was also done by James Horner. He does great work with Lisa Gerrard's haunting vocals, but it seems like he does the same thing over and over.
Books
I used to be an avid reader, but in the world of the Internet and Nintendo, I don't read nearly as much as I'd like to. My favorite reading material is fiction. I highly enjoy Anne Rice books and the Harry Potter series, both of which my friend Leslie got me into. My husband got me to read "Dune", but I have not finished the series. I also need to finish "The Lord of the Rings" series. So many books, so little time. I do seem to make plenty of time for video games though... my next category.
Video Games
When I was growing up, my dad had video games placed in several stores around the county. I would go with him to collect, and he'd rack up a bunch of credits for me so that I would have something to do while he counted quarters. My favorite game was PacMan... remember how excited everyone was when Ms. PacMan came out, but it was just PacMan with a bow on his head? I also used to play Mario Brothers and The Legend of Zelda on the first Nintendo. I was so proud of myself when I saved the princess on ONE MAN without warping! Wow, I really was a geek (was??). These days, I do own a joystick that has PacMan on it for the sake of nostalgia, but I play more advanced games now.
My husband and I highly enjoy Baldur's Gate. We just solved Baldur's Gate 2 for the X-box. I really love Gauntlet for the GameCube. It's a great stress reliever to run around and kill stuff. It's not very challenging, but I tend to like games that are just fun without the aggravation of doing it over and over. I have a goal of getting every single character (even the secret ones) to level 99. I think I'm halfway there.
I solved Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and now I am working on Sorcerer's Stone. One game that I still load up occasionally is Animal Crossing, which is really for kids, but it's fun anyway. I livened it up by making the animals use profane catch phrases. The game is in "real time" and the time of day and seasons change depending on the time you have set on your GameCube. I played it for about a year, so I pretty much got to see every holiday and special feature in the game.
Miscellaneous
I probably could write a whole section on each of these, but I don't want to bore people to death. Oh wait, no one reads my blog anyway!
Animal: Cat
Colors: Green and Purple
Season: Autumn
Beer: New Castle
Wine: Oliver Soft Red (it's an Indiana thing)
Non-alcoholic drinks: Coffee and Diet Coke
Food: I'll save this one for its own posting. :)
So those are a few of my favorite things.
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
I Lost My Best Friend
Shortly after I wrote the post below about my beloved Rishi, I took him to the vet for a routine teeth cleaning, and I found out that he had a squamous cell carcinoma in his mouth (cancer). It was completely unexpected, and needless to say, I was heartbroken. After hearing the options for treatment from the vet, I elected not to put my cat through the stress of radiation therapy, especially after I researched the results and they were not very encouraging. Instead, the vet recommended a chemo drug that we could apply transdermally. It was not going to make the tumor go away (unless a miracle occurred), but it might slow the progression of the tumor and enhance the quality of his life.
He was able to eat soft food for awhile. I paid as much attention to him as I could during this time. Fortunately, spring had begun, and he was able to explore the backyard, something he loved to do. When he appeared to be in pain, my husband and I would give him pain medicine. The disease caused him to drool, so I tried to keep him cleaned up by combing him and wiping him down with a wet wash cloth. After a couple of weeks like this, he began to get more and more blood in his drool. I could tell the tumor was getting worse. He appeared to be in pain more often.
Rishi had a ritual that he did almost every night. He would wait for me to get in bed, and then he'd lie on my chest and purr while I petted him. If I stopped petting, he would stick his paw on my cheek or chin, almost like he was petting me. One night, before the situation took a turn for the worse, he was on my chest and started purring loudly, putting his paw on my face, and giving me the hardest cat kisses he had ever done (cat kiss = when they rub their face on you). I can't even count how many times he cat kissed me. It made me really happy. When I look back now, it might of been his way of saying "Thank you" and "It's almost time for me to go".
Shortly after that night, he began hiding in various places in the house. He hid under the bathroom sink, behind the couch, and he especially wanted to hide outside when we let him out in the back yard. He was having trouble eating soft food, and within a day's time, he stopped eating all together. I tried everything I could think of... tuna juice, baby food, cream of chicken soup, but he just could not eat it. On the third day of not eating, the tumor seemed to have stopped him from being able to drink. He was hiding all of the time, and he was obviously in pain. I could not bear to see him like that, and he seemed to be telling me through his actions that he was ready. My husband called the vet, who was gracious enough to drive to our house to help Rishi go to the other side. Rishi passed away April 30 at 6:30 PM. It was the most difficult thing I've ever had to do.
Nothing could have prepared me for how quickly this disease would progress. In just over a month from the diagnosis, I lost my best friend. Rishi was with me for over 10 years, which is a third of my life. He brought me so much happiness and unconditional love during those years. I miss him terribly. I know he's with me in spirit, and some day, when it's my time to go back to the other side, I know he'll be there waiting to give me a big, wet cat kiss.
Shortly after I wrote the post below about my beloved Rishi, I took him to the vet for a routine teeth cleaning, and I found out that he had a squamous cell carcinoma in his mouth (cancer). It was completely unexpected, and needless to say, I was heartbroken. After hearing the options for treatment from the vet, I elected not to put my cat through the stress of radiation therapy, especially after I researched the results and they were not very encouraging. Instead, the vet recommended a chemo drug that we could apply transdermally. It was not going to make the tumor go away (unless a miracle occurred), but it might slow the progression of the tumor and enhance the quality of his life.
He was able to eat soft food for awhile. I paid as much attention to him as I could during this time. Fortunately, spring had begun, and he was able to explore the backyard, something he loved to do. When he appeared to be in pain, my husband and I would give him pain medicine. The disease caused him to drool, so I tried to keep him cleaned up by combing him and wiping him down with a wet wash cloth. After a couple of weeks like this, he began to get more and more blood in his drool. I could tell the tumor was getting worse. He appeared to be in pain more often.
Rishi had a ritual that he did almost every night. He would wait for me to get in bed, and then he'd lie on my chest and purr while I petted him. If I stopped petting, he would stick his paw on my cheek or chin, almost like he was petting me. One night, before the situation took a turn for the worse, he was on my chest and started purring loudly, putting his paw on my face, and giving me the hardest cat kisses he had ever done (cat kiss = when they rub their face on you). I can't even count how many times he cat kissed me. It made me really happy. When I look back now, it might of been his way of saying "Thank you" and "It's almost time for me to go".
Shortly after that night, he began hiding in various places in the house. He hid under the bathroom sink, behind the couch, and he especially wanted to hide outside when we let him out in the back yard. He was having trouble eating soft food, and within a day's time, he stopped eating all together. I tried everything I could think of... tuna juice, baby food, cream of chicken soup, but he just could not eat it. On the third day of not eating, the tumor seemed to have stopped him from being able to drink. He was hiding all of the time, and he was obviously in pain. I could not bear to see him like that, and he seemed to be telling me through his actions that he was ready. My husband called the vet, who was gracious enough to drive to our house to help Rishi go to the other side. Rishi passed away April 30 at 6:30 PM. It was the most difficult thing I've ever had to do.
Nothing could have prepared me for how quickly this disease would progress. In just over a month from the diagnosis, I lost my best friend. Rishi was with me for over 10 years, which is a third of my life. He brought me so much happiness and unconditional love during those years. I miss him terribly. I know he's with me in spirit, and some day, when it's my time to go back to the other side, I know he'll be there waiting to give me a big, wet cat kiss.
Monday, March 22, 2004
| My Sugar Cat | |
 | I have a 10 year old black cat, Rishi, who has been a best friend of mine for awhile. I paid $18 for him when I was a poor college student (I got a discount with my student ID). He was just a kitten then. He went with me from |
Tuesday, March 02, 2004
Open for Business
Welcome to my blog. I have posted two old entries from my previous blog, which was dumped today in favor of a more user friendly URL. I hope to keep this one updated.
Here is a little background, just so you know where I'm coming from...
I'm a 30 something (barely) female web developer from Indiana. I have a BA in Psychology, though like most Gen Xers, I am not using my degree for my job. I am married. We have 2 cats, a rabbit, and some fish. I'm a libra. Ok, I guess that's all you need to know.
Welcome to my blog. I have posted two old entries from my previous blog, which was dumped today in favor of a more user friendly URL. I hope to keep this one updated.
Here is a little background, just so you know where I'm coming from...
I'm a 30 something (barely) female web developer from Indiana. I have a BA in Psychology, though like most Gen Xers, I am not using my degree for my job. I am married. We have 2 cats, a rabbit, and some fish. I'm a libra. Ok, I guess that's all you need to know.
The Incredible Shrinking Ideal
When will the fashion industry come back to Earth and start designing clothes for normal women? It is true that I have grown outward a bit over the years, but I am certain that clothes have gotten smaller. It is not fair that I am an average sized woman, but I open a fashion magazine to see the thinnest 1% of society represented. I might see an outfit I like, but I have to wonder, does it come in a size 12?
Recently I read an article that said sizes 12 and above are considered "plus sizes". Historically, plus sizes have been 16 - 26. If 12 is now a plus size, that means about 80% of women are now wearing plus size clothing and are considered over weight. Most women I know do not want to shop in the plus size section of a store. Come on, we already have self esteem issues. Now we have to be labeled as "plus size"? If the fashion moguls were smart, they would follow my advice: broaden the range of average sizes to include 16 and 18. That way more average size women would fit into the average size clothing. They might just sell more clothes that way.
I realized another shopping annoyance the day I couldn't fit into "junior" clothing anymore. They don't make "cool" clothes for average size women. The fashion powers that be must think that as soon as we develop hips we don't want to dress fashionably anymore. Just pick up a typical department store catalog and flip through the sale items. Juniors get jean shorts, boot cut pants, and form fitting shirts, while the "Misses", a.k.a. normal size women, get cotton coulots and polo shirts. Excuse me if I'd rather go to a concert in my boot cut jeans than stand around on a golf course in my polo shirt.
Of course, I couldn't complain about fashion without mentioning shoes. Since when are women's feet shaped like triangles? I cannot possibly cram my toes into some of the pointy shoes I see for sale. Not only do they expect us to cram our bodies into small clothes, but they also expect our feet to squeeze into narrow shoes. Maybe that's what panty hose are actually designated for... to constrict our feet to the size of little elf feet for our pointy elf shoes. Those will look really good with the polo shirt and white, cotton, pleated front pants when we're teeing up. Atleast we have Dr. Marten, who combines fashion and comfort.
Happy shopping, ladies...
When will the fashion industry come back to Earth and start designing clothes for normal women? It is true that I have grown outward a bit over the years, but I am certain that clothes have gotten smaller. It is not fair that I am an average sized woman, but I open a fashion magazine to see the thinnest 1% of society represented. I might see an outfit I like, but I have to wonder, does it come in a size 12?
Recently I read an article that said sizes 12 and above are considered "plus sizes". Historically, plus sizes have been 16 - 26. If 12 is now a plus size, that means about 80% of women are now wearing plus size clothing and are considered over weight. Most women I know do not want to shop in the plus size section of a store. Come on, we already have self esteem issues. Now we have to be labeled as "plus size"? If the fashion moguls were smart, they would follow my advice: broaden the range of average sizes to include 16 and 18. That way more average size women would fit into the average size clothing. They might just sell more clothes that way.
I realized another shopping annoyance the day I couldn't fit into "junior" clothing anymore. They don't make "cool" clothes for average size women. The fashion powers that be must think that as soon as we develop hips we don't want to dress fashionably anymore. Just pick up a typical department store catalog and flip through the sale items. Juniors get jean shorts, boot cut pants, and form fitting shirts, while the "Misses", a.k.a. normal size women, get cotton coulots and polo shirts. Excuse me if I'd rather go to a concert in my boot cut jeans than stand around on a golf course in my polo shirt.
Of course, I couldn't complain about fashion without mentioning shoes. Since when are women's feet shaped like triangles? I cannot possibly cram my toes into some of the pointy shoes I see for sale. Not only do they expect us to cram our bodies into small clothes, but they also expect our feet to squeeze into narrow shoes. Maybe that's what panty hose are actually designated for... to constrict our feet to the size of little elf feet for our pointy elf shoes. Those will look really good with the polo shirt and white, cotton, pleated front pants when we're teeing up. Atleast we have Dr. Marten, who combines fashion and comfort.
Happy shopping, ladies...
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