Baby Names?

For the record, Scottie and I are developing a list of names that we think would be appropriate for our soon to be son. We've decided not to discuss at any great length our preferences for first names with people, after a few conversations about various names yielded comments such as:
"Oh, no! Don't name him that!"
"I hate that name"
" I knew a ___. He was a ___" (last blank filled in with something bad)
"Well what about _____ in honor of _____" (may or may not be people we've ever heard of or met)
"I always wanted to name my boy ____. You should!" (No thanks. You had your chance.)

We don't want that kind of influence, pressure, baggage, etc.

The point of me sharing this is that the very first suggestion we received for a name (other than my grandfather's standard "Howard if it's a boy, Howardwina if it's a girl...") came from my uncle Rick. Before we even found out we were having a boy, my Star Wars obsessed uncle said to Scottie "Have you considered Anakin?"

Being as our little guy has been practicing Jedi tricks in my belly, that might not be so far off! I even got a text once it was public knowledge that we ARE having a boy that read: "I have a $100 bill with 'Anakin' written on the back". In all reality, that wouldn't even pay for the kid's legal fees to change his name once he got tired of being beaten up and not being able to choke people just by thinking about it.

Rest assured, we'll choose something that will fit him, have a special and significant meaning, and be able to transition from babyhood to adult with few issues.



And despite what my husband says, Anakin is NOT on our list.

Knoxville Slideshow

Ups and Downs...

When I was planning this post in my head before sitting down, I was only thinking about the wonderful positive things that have happened today...because the awful stuff hadn't yet occurred. Yin Yang, Good and Evil, Black and White...it all balances out.

I had a smashing time today after class hanging out with Kendra- before that even happened, I was hungry at the same time I was in Oxford (doesn't happen very often) which meant that I got to treat myself to a Wham-O at Bagel and Deli. This thrilled me to no end, as I've been thinking about sandwiches for WEEKS now. So, I got my sandwich, trotted over to Kendra's and we proceeded to stalk houses in Oxford, as she and Mike are starting their homebuying process over Christmas break. We found a few that we knew were already on their list, then went drooling into the really nice subdivisions...someday...
After all that excitement, I packed up and started my drive home. I took the sneaky back way into Piqua, and was pleasantly surprised to find out that it shaved a whole 15 minutes off my drive time, and I didn't need to worry about being run off the road by copious amounts of semi trucks. That in and of itself excited me. The radio station I was listening to played only awesome music the whole time, and I discovered that we have a K-Mart within a few blocks of my house. (How long have I lived here!? I know, lame.) No more cross town trips to Wal-Mart or into the Troy Meijer for contact solution! W00t!!!
During my drive, I called Good Ol' Charlie Brown himself to see what he was up to, and a strange series of events began to unfold. First, he told me NOT to park out back (where our garage and carport is/my usual spot) and to park out front because he was "cleaning some things out of the basement that need to go to school". Um, weird, but ok. As I pull up to the front of the house, I see my mom's car parked there...also weird, as we usually see her on her home turf. But, I'm gullible and think very little about it. As I was enjoying my mom's company in our living room, I noticed a total mess of little white styrofoam-y flakes all over our floors. Again, I let it go, chalking it up to whatever Scottie had been doing in the basement. After a few minutes, he called out to me from upstairs by saying "Uh-oh!!! Honey, you'd better come look at this..." To my shock and surprise, there was a fully assembled BEAUTIFUL CRIB!!! for our baby boy. It's a four in one convertible, and apparently he's also purchased the matching changing table/dresser combo. He even put the bedding on it!!!! It's adorable, people. Seriously.

And now, the ugliness....

After the exciting reveal of the crib, we took my mom out for a late dinner at one of the finer establishments that Piqua has to offer- Z's. I had what was quite possibly the most questionable definition of a grilled chicken salad, and my husband had a "hamburger with cheese". When we got back, we discovered that our dog had made a mess upstairs, so we did the usual divide and conquer clean-up. As I was getting the mini carpet shampooer going, Scottie flushed a paper towel in our upstairs toilet. The toilet apparently disagreed, and overflow commenced shortly thereafter. Not only did it make a mess in the bathroom, but when we went downstairs, we found 30% of our 80 year old Hardwood flooring in the dining room SOPPING WET. A glance directly upward revealed a few drops coming from the ceiling, and a VERY soft ceiling tile. Upon further inspection, the ceiling seems to "bow" in one area... and I need to be clear that the bathroom containing the toilet in question sits directly above the dining room. Oy. So, we cleaned up MORE water, I mopped with anti-gross stuff, and we dug through all our house documents to find our home warranty.
WORD TO THE WISE: Not like I'm some kind of expert, but if you're buying a house, always always ALWAYS ask for a Home Warranty in your contract. While home inspectors are awesome (and you should always have one of those, too), they can't deconstruct the house to see what could maybe go wrong in a few months, etc. The seller of the house pays for it, so it's nothing but a good thing for you as a buyer! Commercial over.

Our warranty is going to cover any plumbing repairs that we'll need to have...and it's only costing us $50. So, I'll go ahead and place that under the "neutral heading"; good that it's covered and we don't have to pay a lot to get the problem diagnosed and repaired...bad that we have to deal with it in the first place.

No house is perfect, just like no marriage is perfect.
I love my house.
And even though he doesn't really think so right now, I love my husband. Plumbing disaster and all :)

PS!

Decided it was time to change the title, since it's not really mandatory that I hide what I'm writing about from co-workers anymore. Since my poor husband resembles Good ol' Charlie Brown physically, he's been calling me his Little Red Haired Girl since we've been dating. (Those of you that actually know him probably won't believe that he's that sweet :) )
Strangely enough, when I thought about it, most of our friends fit a Peanuts Character in one way or another. And like my description says, no one really wants to be Pigpen. Between you and me, I think it's Red Dog. (Love you, Greg!!!)
I've got nominations for Peppermint Patty, Lucy, Linus, Schroeder and Rerun (Linus and Lucy's younger brother). The part of Snoopy will be played, of course, by Koko. Comment and see where you fit :)

Love to all!

By request...

So, I was encouraged via (someone else's) text message the other day to *ahem* ".. update (my) damn blog". :)
Happy to oblige.

Let's back up to where we left off.... the ultrasound to determine (or not?) baby's sex. When we scheduled the appointment, we were told that taking the earliest available appointment that day would guarantee that we got in and out pretty quickly, as it's the first appointment, and our Dr. had a far lower chance of running behind. Not the case. Scottie didn't want to miss this ultrasound, one because he missed the very first one we did (where the baby is giving us the "metal" face), and two because he wanted to find out the sex. So, we scheduled it early, at time that would not conflict with his classes at all, giving us plenty of time for the appointment.
We then proceeded to wait more than an hour before being seen by our doctor. I let the staff have it. Not that I'm more important than ANYONE else, but for the love of Pete, if something is preventing him from keeping his appointments on track (like DELIVERING BABIES...) then LET US KNOW. We finally get into the ultrasound room, are told that all the scary blood tests came back negative (Cystic Fibrosis, Spina bifida, etc.) everything gets going, we get a little peek at our baby (mostly the butt cheeks, but it's a really comforting feeling to see what's going on in there) then the doc has to leave for a C-Section!!! Not to mention that Scottie had to cancel a class just to accommodate the extra wait time, and now we have nothing to show for it. GAH!!!
** I wish to interrupt this rant to explain that I am actually glad that he left my ultrasound to attend to another patient's c-section. I would want the same if I were in that situation, of course. I am a rational person. HOWEVER. Coupled with the frustration of the incompetent (and rude) front desk girls, the hour long wait, and the bladder I was not allowed to empty, this made for a VERY frustrating experience**

Good thing to come out of this: we got to go back and get an extra peek!

So, Take 2. 8:45 am Thursday, November 13th. The next day.
I forget the envelope, the paper, the poem.... everything cute that I had decided on. Why I didn't leave it in my purse, I'll never know. So, Scottie got his wish, and we asked the doc to tell us. A few swipes of the wand later and we hear "Oh! You've got a boy!" Exactly what I thought!!! So, we're having a boy. Boy boy boy boy boy. Even though I "knew" it all along, it's still an amazing thing to consider. We'll have a son. We don't have to pay for a wedding with this one! (unless he is duped into marriage by some whiny girl that wants a big wedding but can't pay for it and we love our son too much to tell him that he's making a huge mistake... oops...) We have a list of names that we're working with, but we will not name him until we see him. Period. Scottie even has a student that made a list for us... adorable.

Daddy has already painted the nursery, and we bought bedding and a stroller/car seat system a few weekends ago. The little kicks and flutters that I was feeling occasionally have turned into very regular occurrences that can be both felt and seen from the outside. Last night I woke Scottie up because baby was making my belly dance. There are times that it feels like he's working on choreography from the Matrix in there...or at least practicing a bicycle kick. Yes, it's a VERY weird feeling (like a strong but irregular muscle spasm), but also very reassuring that everything is ok and working in there. Scottie and I can't wait to see and hold him, but we've been telling him that he's not allowed to come out until Daddy's birthday (March 7th... he'd only be 2 weeks early). I know it's unlikely, but I'm praying that he makes his appearance exactly on his due date: March 20th. I may have mentioned this, but that's my Poppa's (mom's dad's) birthday, and it would just be so very special to give him a great grandchild as a birthday gift.

Not to make this whole thing about my pregnancy, but in addition to the journal I'm keeping with thoughts for my son (to be shared when he has reached an appropriate age), this is a good way to record things that are going-on. Plus, I have very little else going on other than teaching lessons and volunteering to teach 5th and 6th graders 3 days a week. (Volunteering= Free...). And piano class, but who wants to hear about that? I would only be bitching about how whiny undergraduates are in general as well as how generally frustrating singers can be... and that's just not good karma.

Have a few more stories (Thanksgiving- with pictures, and Black Friday madess) to post, and will do so at a later date.

Peace. (And I mean that now with all sincerity, because I'm having a baby that could very well be drafted during his lifetime. So, PEACE DAMMIT.)

Catching up

Haven't posted anything in a while, but that doesn't mean that we haven't been rolling in hilarity over here.

The pregnancy is going well so far. The worst of it seems to be the pain in my right hip, but since that was bad pre-pregnancy, I'm not really considering that an issue. I'm already 21 weeks along, and have been feeling some somersaults and a few kicks here and there. Scottie can't feel anything, even when his hands are resting right on my belly. I suppose there's plenty of time for that, but he's frustrated about it.

We've had a dilemma facing us for the past 7 weeks. He wants to know the baby's gender, I would rather be surprised. I think being surprised is old fashioned and sweet, and he doesn't understand why we wouldn't take advantage of available information. I didn't want to run into choosing a name before we see the child, even though it would be nice to narrow down nursery and clothing choices. Plus, it seemed so "un-special" to find out in an ultrasound room. So...compromise: We're asking our doctor to write it down on a specially printed piece of paper and seal it in an envelope. Since our appointment is on November 12th, it's not too much longer of a wait until Thanksgiving, where we'll see all of our (important?) family members. We're planning on opening the envelope in front of everyone, thereby making it more special. I'm in the process of researching cutsey poems to put on the card.

All I want to eat is birthday cake. I can't stop thinking about cake. I already told Scottie that I want a birthday cake when I give birth (being as it's someone's BIRTHDAY!), but it's to the point where I pause and really consider buying one when I grocery shop. If only cake had extra folic acid, calcium and good things in it, instead of sugar and thetans. Oh well...

Scottie had his first gathering with band parents last night, and it was smashing. We went to a band dad's house after their last contest to burn one of the props (he lives out in the boonies), and Scottie had such a good time, he was inspired to build a fire pit. The more I think about it, our backyard seems to small for it, but we'll see.

Plus, he told me tonight (when I was being surly) that if I didn't stop "I'm going to wait until you're pumped full of all those numbing drugs from the waist down, and name that baby Volvo."

Gotta love it.

La Semana Loca! (Parte Dos)

Bet you didn't know I was all bilingual, huh?
Yeah...

Thursday: Normal-ish day. I was astounded at the number of homes and businesses withough power, though Piqua managed to escape most of the carnage. I got up, leg still in a lot of pain, got ready, went to class, and had kind of a normal day.
Until...
I got home and went to change into comfortable pregnancy pants, and noticed that my left knee was the size of a softball and a quarter. Either I hadn't noticed, or in my insistance that it would work itself out I let it go. So, we called my OB, and he told us to go to the ER immediately...and then we went. After a bajillion trips to the ER during my lifetime, I finally got it through my head that this might take a while, so I packed an adult "diaper" bag. We had our newspaper, magazines, soy chips, granola bars...all manner of good things to keep us occupied.
We make the quick trip down the road to the hospital where I will give birth (15 minute drive! w00t!) and checked in. TIP FOR ALL WOMEN: Regardless of what is wrong with you, when checking in to the emergency room, tell the staff that you are pregnant. I was seen immediately, got registered, a room, had x-rays, a diagnosis, follow-up instructions and an immobilizer for my knee...all within 2 hours!
Apparently, given my history of dislocation in the same joint, I had popped my patella out of place again! Not as severe as the last time, because I was able to walk and bend the knee, but it stressed the surrounding ligaments enough that everything was swollen and uncomfortable.

So, a crazy week up to this point.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday were fairly normal. Keep it comin', life.

Crazy Week!!! (Parte Uno)

I've spared most of my friends all of these details because it just seems like too much to tell over and over again, so in the interest of conserving energy, I'll tell the story here. Maybe even in multiple parts.

Monday: Following the crazy crazy windstorm, I went to check on my aging grandfather. He's in his 80's, not in the best health, and lives alone in Enon mostly because he can't bring himself to move. Apparently, the storm had knocked his power out (like most of SW Ohio), and his hadn't come back on in 24 hours. Little did we all know that 24 hours without power was nothing compared to what lots of other people went through last week, but I digress. So, I was worried about him, and had it in my plans to go out and take him coffee and lunch.
Rewind a moment.
When my alarm went off early that morning, I got out of bed and realized that my left leg hurt like nobody's business! It felt like I'd pulled something, but hadn't been exercising strenuously enough to do so. Basically I couldn't straighten my knee.
I put the leg pain aside, got ready, and headed out with Koko (of course!) to check on Poppa.

That's Poppa. I love him dearly, even though his only name suggestion for our child is Howardwina. Provided it's a girl, of course.
Pop was fine, we chatted for a few hours, then I left so he could take a nap. After checking on a few other relatives, I went to lunch with Rachel who was out of school (yay!) and got to spend some time with her. My leg was still feeling like poo, and Rachel remarked that I was walking like a pirate, due to not being able to fully straighten it. Ha ha.

Tuesday: Woke up to horrendous pains in the leg (still...) and could barely walk, so I missed class and spent most of the day keeping it elevated and trying to figure out what in the world I did. Still couldn't straighten it. The pregnancy limits the kinds of medicine I can safely consume, of course, and tylenol has NEVER done it for me. EVER. So, pounding them in the recommended dosage did very little to ease the pain.
Moving on...


Wednesday: Doctor's Appointment!!! We had our first ultrasound. Our 14 week old baby looks like an alien in those pictures, but wow!! I was more emotional than I thought I'd be. I met Dr. L for the first time, and he was very pleasant and thorough during my exam. The one thing I forgot to mention...my leg! My mother had Scottie all freaked out that it was some kind of blood clot, and I forgot to bring it up. Oh well...
Back to the baby thing. This child I'm having already has our personality, as evidenced by the silly behavior during the ultrasound. Every time Dr. L would say "This looks great" and try to take a still shot so he could measure and I could gawk, the baby would move out of the way. Rotten little child. Definitely gets it from Scottie's side...
Once I actually saw the baby, I finally believed it through and through. You can have all the blood tests and take all the medicines in the world, but I swear it just didn't feel real until seeing that little one squirm around and hearing that wonderful heartbeat. I was smitten. Sadly, my husband couldn't stay long enough for the ultrasound, so he'll just have to hang around for the next one in 5 weeks!!
Once our scanner is working, I'll have pictures up so everyone can see the alien baby.
Hopefully baby will grow out of that, but who knows. We'll have tons of love regardless, and probably a guaranteed spot on a taping of the Maury show.

I really want mashed potatoes right now, so I'm going to call it a night. Parte dos is on it's way!

Hooray for great days!

Today was fantastic.

Scottie's alarm woke me up for the first time this school year at around 5:45am, after which I realized that I would have woken up anyway due to the growling stomach. (This baby is hungry all the time!!!) When I stumbled out of our dark and cozy bedroom, my husband greeted me with a surprised look on his face, and gave me the sweetest hug while asking "Why are you out of bed?"- Just like I know he will to our kids when they get up too early :) :) I got all warm and squishy feeling, getting one more confirmation that not only did I pick the perfect mate, he's going to make a great father, too. With that, I had a bowl of cereal, we cuddled and played with the dog, then I got to go back to sleep for a few hours as he headed off to school.

The second time I woke up, it was to Koko staring at me, which is cute and scary all rolled together. It was 8:30, and we were cutting into her normal breakfast schedule, so I got up and fed her and myself (again! 2nd breakfast!). We went outside, played, and watched "It's me or the Dog" and cuddled for a few minutes. I felt like I had a TON of energy at that point, so I got dressed, did my hair, picked up around the house for a little bit, and then headed off to school.

I did pretty well in class today- didn't bomb, fall behind or just throw my hands up and say that it's too hard. I even got ahead a little! Yay! Then, after class, I practiced for a half hour or so, then headed uptown to enjoy the weather and read a magazine. I had plans to meet Kendra and Corey for lunch/dinner today, and we decided on Bob Evans. I probably should have picked somewhere different, but it seemed to work with everyone, and we had a lovely time, talking about our standard ladylike topics: farting, poo, and the dildos we work with.

I nearly fell asleep on the drive home, it was all so tiring, but fun and for some reason I feel accomplished. When I got home, Scottie and I played some Mariokart (not smart, he's been testy about that), and then decided to rearrange our office- we moved the piano so it's not so crowded against the computer. Now I have more room to spread out, and Koko seems to like the additional floor space for laying under my feet as I practice.

I got a very nice message on Facebook today from one of my former teachers, (who also happens to be one of Scottie's friends) saying that he thinks we'll make great parents. I don't know what he's basing that on, but I'll definitely take it! Also got a chance to talk to Michelle in Knoxville tonight- she didn't have the world's best day, but it was good to talk and know that we're missed down there- especially Scottie. Don't tell him, but I think he misses it too :) I can't wait to get a trip scheduled- I want to see some live SEC football at Neyland!!!

No go as of now on the slideshow of K-town. Our computer isn't letting me download adobe, and that's crazy, so I'll have to find another way around it.

Goodnight, and have a pleasant tomorrow :)

Still Around!

It's been forever since I've posted anything! Tons of changes are happening, most good, some that will take awhile to get used to. For now, we focus on the good changes, and hope that the others will fall into place.

We bought a house! It's a-dor-a-ble. And in Piqua (see above about changes to get used to). The house was a flip, so everything in it has been freshly upgraded and smells like paint and varnish. It has a full basement, though because the home was built in the 20's, the jury is still out on whether or not it can be finished and used as living space. I'll be happy to get the litter box down there and use it for storage, but we'll even see about that. I can't see Duke (the most prissy boy cat ever) going down into the dark and smelly basement to use the potty. He'd be pretty upset. Koko seems to be taking to her new house quite well, though she seems puzzled by the lack of carpet to wallow on. Both of them are already learning how to retrieve toys and run around in general without sliding into the doors for lack of stopping ability, though the first couple of weeks it was fun watching them figure that out.

Scottie's new job seems to be going well. There are good and bad days, just like with any school, but he's making the best of it. He's also putting most of what he learned in Tennessee to good use with the current program in Piqua, and time will tell as to how well it all takes.

I'm still adjusting to being back "home". We spent two years (the first two years of our marriage!) learning to live with the South (Knoxville in particular), and now I miss it so much! The beautiful trees, the friendly friendly people, the proximity to so many cool places, the whole Southern Football culture (SEC!)...the list goes on. I think in my whole experience learning how to deal with being away, I actually grew to love that little city. On one of our last nights there, Scottie and I were driving downtown and passed the skyline. I started to tear up a little, and asked him if he would miss it at all. He said probably the sweetest thing I've heard in a long time:

"Of course I'll miss it. It's where we became us."

Figuring out each other and being away from everything really gave us a chance to learn to depend on each other, and find things in ourselves to rely on when one of us wasn't around. We made some fantastic friends and even better memories.

I'll have a slideshow posted shortly of pictures that we took on our last day- tons of downtown pics, and some I plan on having printed in b&w and framed, just because they're so cool.

More later-I have a dog to entertain :)

Apologies

This requires a bit of background.

The Saturday routine in my household is fairly standard. Scottie and I are sniffed awake by Koko (just like in the Cesear commercial- the pink one, with the cute Westie? anyway...) usually around 8 or 8:30, depending on how tired she was the night before. We get up, Duke yells at us for not having fed him yet, and we proceed to fed the pets/ourselves and make coffee. We try to bargain with each other about who's turn it is to take the dog out, then someone just does it. This all lasts until about 9, 9:30. Because there's really not much on TV, we spend our weekend mornings listening to the radio, which is always tuned to NPR, of course. So. by the time the dog is taken care of, and we're settling in for our second cup of coffee, it's usually around 10am, which means time for Car Talk, followed by Wait Wait don't Tell me, then This American Life (my personal favorite.) Usually, after TAL, I go work out, sometimes leaving during a break to listen to the rest in the car. TAL is followed by some game show that's kind of dumb, then the Toll Brothers Metropolitan Opera Network.

Following the usual routine, I left to go to the gym to make up for the junk I had for dinner last night. I left the radio on while I was gone, something that we do to keep the pets company. When I finished up at the gym, I got into the car and turned on the radio (again, NPR), and I was greeted with "We'll be right back to (some random opera) by Philip Glass in just a moment" I nearly died. MY POOR BABIES!!

So, I know they can't read this, but Koko, Duke I'm sorry I made you listen to Philip Glass. Never ever did I mean to expose you to such nonsense, and I bet this was the one time you were wishing for thumbs more than anything else so you could change the channel.

And while I'm typing an apology, there was an interesting poem read on TAL this morning. It was read by a poet/writer/teacher who makes his 6th graders write their own versions of it, which is fairly standard with this poem, according to those in the writing world. People parody it all the time, and the interesting thing about it is that it's intended to be an apology, but the writer never actually shows remorse or says he's sorry for anything. It's called "This is Just to Say".

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast.

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold.
-- William Carlos Williams

The contributing writers for TAL wrote parodies, too. They'll probably be available for listening on Monday. They're awesome. End of Endorsement.

I think I might try a few of my own, using the same format- I miss writing. That might exercise my brain a little bit :)

Thought for the day...

This came up on Saturday, and I thought it was worth sharing...especially after my day today.

Does anyone ever stop and think "I need MORE crazy bitches in my life?"

No. They Don't.

Because Bitches be crazy.

Thanks Michelle :)

Talked to my mom, called her to the carpet on the having surgery and not telling me about it bullsh*it. She apologized, and didn't intend to worry me, of course, but I went at it from the perspective that if something had happened and I didn't know about it, there would be even more to be upset about. She's fine, and is looking forward to coming down for Scottie's hooding ceremony at the beginning of May...the beginning of my 2 month meltdown.

Scottie resisted the urge to call and check on interview status today. I told him to at least wait until tomorrow, Thursday being optimal, really. I know I was impatient to find out whether I'd been hired at Answer when I was in the same position, so I don't blame him. You just don't want to come off desperate.

I'm just about over this whole not being able to vacuum my apartment thing...I've called every vacuum store in Knoxvegas and the surrounding areas, and no one has the belt for my vacuum cleaner. Last resort: buy another one, steal the spare belt, and return it. I hate to deceive the retail giants in that way, but come ON, people. 3 months is definitely too long to wait for a part.

Trying to think about something that I'd like for my birthday. Alone time from Scottie (should be easy, with all the family coming into town that weekend...ha!), maybe a massage certificate? No, probably no time to do it. Jewelry? Hmm..... Would love a bunch of things, but I hate asking people for things. HATE IT. Could barely bring myself to register for our wedding- Scottie had to handle most of that nonesense.

Also thinking about rolling money from our savings into a CD that we can ear mark for something- like a trip to Japan...Greg told us to buy the airfare and he'd take care of the rest. I'm not sure he realizes that I"m bringing Scottie and his American appetite. It would only be about 4,000 though, including souviniers that we may/may not purchase. Probably photos would be the best- and videos too!! We've already started to get excited about going to see him, and are going to set a date in the next few years that we can aim for travel. So, restructuring the life plan: Miami, House, Japan, THEN Baby.
Baby before Japan would be awkward and damn near impossible for Japan. Japan before house would be irresponsible..and I'm rattling.

Scottie needs to hurry up and get home so I'm not so bored :)

Tomorrow wil lbe a better day, simply because it was not today, and I will go to work optimistic.

There, I said it.

Do your thing, life :)

Recent Victories

The past four days have been absolutely full of surprises, small victories and overall blessings. I'll start from Thursday.
Scottie had an interview in Celina, Ohio, for a middle school band director job. Though there are some scheduling kinks that still need to be worked out within the program, it would be a good job. Not immediately our preference, but a good place nonetheless. Friday, after the interview, and as he was getting ready to head back to Tennessee, around 11am, he received a call from a secretary in the Olentangy school district asking him in for an interview for yet another position (this one is near Columbus). He took the bull by the horns and asked them if he could come in that day, since he was immediately available. They said ok, so he essentially got 2 interviews when he only expected one. I hope his suit stayed clean...

They both went VERY well, He asked some tough questions and got validation that some things that he was nervous about, re-entering a public school system and dealing with administrators again. His questions and answers to their questions were all well-received, and in either case, we'll know something by the end of the month. It's a great position to be in, considering that we didn't know how we were going to be able to feed the pets after May. And, really, if neither of these end up being the job that he gets, at least he's getting calls, and looks good enough on paper to ask in as a potential candidate. That alone is a very exciting prospect.

Saturday, I had probably the most perfect day that I've experienced in a while. I met Michelle at the rec center for a long work out in the morning, after which we headed to Market Square to eat lunch and check out the Dogwood Arts festival. Lunch was FABULOUS. Not wanting to un-do the hard work we'd put in, we were looking for somewhere with a big salad- enter Trio. We got to eat outside (beautiful 73 degree weather), and each had an enormous salad that was custom-ordered. Definitely a must-go again. After walking around the booths on Market Square and talking about makeup, we decided to head to West Town Mall, and raid Sephora, where we demoed and purchased Bare Minerals. Oh, my goodness. It's everything that Kendra and the infomercials said it would be. I love love love it, and I feel really pretty in it, too. We also took New York and Company for a ton of clothes collectively...she found a kickass dress for 8.00. That's talent. Tried raiding White House, Black Market and Ann Taylor as well, but we were not as successful in that endeavor.
I came home, my husband was back from his trip, so we took a nap and then had a dinner date for the first time in a week. All in all, a perfect Saturday for me.

Sunday (today) began with Koko waking us up as usual, but an hour or so into our day, we received a phone call from an "unknown" number. Just as I was musing who it could be....it was. Greg Melchior, of all people, was calling from Japan!!! (He calls it the magic future phone because of the date difference) Main purpose of the call: They'd just had baby number 2!!!! Another boy, this one named Shawn (or Sean or Shaun...not sure on spelling) He and Scottie caught up on life for close to 2 hours, and I even got a word in to hear about Hisayo and the new baby. Forgot to ask how big brother Erik is doing with all this, but I suppose they'll find out in a few days when they bring baby and momma home from the hospital. I saw Scottie's face light up about a million times, but the conversation somehow rolled around to trumpet playing and pulling each other's pants down...just like undergrad. How cute. If he saw Greg in an airport, I have a feeling that they'd try to play bag tag. Just sayin'.

So far so good, life. Keep on givin us the good stuff, and we'll keep making good things out of it. If blessings keep coming, we'll know by the beginning of May where we will live and make our lives for the next 10 years or so. Wow. So many changes so fast, but so very much to be thankful for....

And! I've lost 7 pounds over the last week and a half. Awesome for me :)

Please keep your fingers crossed, and think good thoughts for us!
Updates as they come...

Birthday Madness and Thoughts on Marriage

I completely forgot!!!

March 7th rolled around this year, and that meant that I was lucky enough to celebrate my husband's 30th birthday. It's a big one- not as big as 40 from what I understand, but a milestone nonetheless.

We invited the whole Tennessee crew out to McLeod's on the strip on Friday night for Karaoke, as that's what Scottie likes to do more than just about anything else. I indulged the birthday boy with dark chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting, and his friends indulged him by buying him his weight in jack and cokes. All in all, a successful endeavor.

I've been around for 4 of this man's birthdays now, and this is the first one that I can remember him smiling the entire time. It was great to see that his friends came out to help him celebrate, and drinks aside, I know that being with people that he's come to love over the past few years meant a lot to him. And it made ME feel good as his wife to know that he is loved by others, and that they see the same kind of fantastic qualities in him that I do. Well, probably not the same kind of appreciation for his idiosynchracies, but I'll take what I can get.

Marriage is a funny thing, really. You commit to someone, and it seems like the biggest thing you'll ever do is in that moment. The awesome part is, that's not even close! The big things are always ahead of you, and the REALLY big thing, the absolute test of the commitment that you made to each other is that you weather things together. It's hard not to retreat into your own being. It takes work to constantly be engaged in someone other than yourself, to think about what they want, what they think, how they'll react to any decision that you need to make. Scottie and I are learning how to handle that, and it seems to get better every day. I've been feeling very disconnected from my husband lately, ironically because I'm trying to apply the principle of "we". I have to admit, I feel obligated to attend certain functions that I probably don't have to in order to (as I see it) support him, but I spend most of my time complaining that I'm there....it would probably be better served for both of us if I stopped doing that, and focused on something that I needed to do. We'd certainly have something else to talk about (other than cleaning up after the dog, and whether we'd fed lunchbox the cat), and I think it would help us to further retain the sense of self that can slip away. I need my "I" back! I think his is intact, but mine feels like it's wandering out on a leash somewhere. Completely attainable, though, and having just acknowledged that, I know I can fix it.

Things are in the works for employment for Scottie- I'll post when I know more details.
Night, all!

I know it's been quite a while, but I've been keeping to myself lately. Nothing bad, just haven't had the chance/time/machine to update recently. From the last post:
Kendra's visit was smashing. We went to Applebee's, went shopping at the mall, and ended up watching Superbad at home instead of going out to a movie. WAY fun. It was way great to see and catch up with her one-on-one. We talk on the phone a fair amount, and she's always included in any kind of goofy text or email that I send, but it was refreshing to finally get to talk to her and be girls again in person. Kind of reminded me of nights we had like that at Miami. :)

Laurel and Mike came down for a few days during mid-March for Laurel's spring break. We had a way great time when they were here and Laurel put up pictures on facebook. If you check them out, please don't tag Scottie as he is trying to find a job teaching school. The first few days we just kind of hung out and did very Knoxville things. On Saturday night, we had dinner at Calhoun's on the river (after which we went out on the deck and threw bread at the ducks and giant fish). Sunday began with brunch at Tomato Head (DUH!!), which was delicous as always, and surprisingly un-crowded. Probably because of UT's spring break. We walked around Market Square and Gay Street window shopping and just being goofy. I think we went to the mall after that, where Laurel and I went to Ann Taylor and did girl things, and left the boys at the babysitters... I mean Mac Store. When we rounded everyone up, we headed to Fresh Market and bought supplies to cook dinner (mmmm...stuffed chicken breasts...) and had a fun evening in playing Apples to Apples. Ask Laurel which is more fantastic: Isreal or Disneyland.
On Monday, we dropped the puppy off at the kennel, had lunch at Salsarita's, and went into Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge/Sevierville for a day/night/day trip, and it was a really good time.
I think we spent most of the day at the outlet malls, and left empty-handed. Not that the merchandise was disappointing, we just couldn't find anything that we absolutely loved.
After we checked-in, we headed to dinner, then around town (more window shopping, a stop in an arcade and general mayhem) and then finally to Crawdaddy's, where we spent Saint Patrick's day, watching tourists and locals alike make fools of themselves singing karaoke.

Naturally, Scottie and Laurel signed up while Mike and I watched them... apparently we're the only sensible ones.

Laurel wanted to eat in a log cabin, so we did (breakfast!!), and our room was clean and shiny even though our hotel apparently came complete with racist guests- that's a story that has to be told in person, so please ask. Oh, what the heck:
After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to get rested and head out for St Patrick's day at the local pub. We get into the elevator to go to our room, and are greeted by a family of 4 - might have been grandparents, but whatever. We make small talk, and on the next floor, are joined by a pair of middle school aged girls. The mother figure looks at one of us and says something like "I'm glad the other groups have left- the hotel was overrun with teenagers this weekend!" (Some kind of Christian convention over the weekend- we were there on a Monday night) We kind of nod in agreement when the middle schoolers speak up:
"There were three busloads of kids that just checked in"
Mother: "Oh, no!"
Middle Schoolers: "And they're black, too"
Mother:"Well, I think we might need to find another place to stay"

The four of us look at each other over the span of a few seconds; everyone is appalled. I give the middle schoolers the dirtiest look I can muster, and say "That's horribly racist", as we're exiting the elevator. (Our floor had arrived) Best part: Racist family was staying right across the hall from us, so we loudly complained about the whole incident as we followed them down the hall. They probably thought we were stalking them. The next morning, we saw the kids that the little neo-nazis were referring to: they were all elementary school aged, and had a TON of chaperones with them. Big deal....

Anyway.

More later- my brother is leaving town, and I have to go to the grocery store rightnow.
Peace.

Haven't updated in a while, and this will be brief, but I have a mintue, so here goes.

Still no progress on the struggle to resovle my hand pain. The tests all came back negative for nerve damage (good thing), but they also say I have normal function in my hands....not true. My well-meaning doctor referred me to a neurologist to see what was causing the numbness and pain all through my arms and hands, and I went, hoping for an answer. After waiting for what was probably the shortest time ever, I saw the neurologist, he poked my hands, asked me about my symptoms, felt my shoulders, then said he didn't think there was anything wrong with me. I felt like trying to rip his face off. He actually told me that taking a vitamin would help....so, I spent 40$ and wasted a specialist visit to hear that I should just take vitamin b-6, and that MIGHT help. He also told me that maybe I should find a different job where I don't use my hands. I almost hit him...
I'm going to a chiropractor next, because this shouldn't hurt all the time, and when I was seeing a chiropractor for my neck, he actually fixed my wrists, and this wasn't a problem.

Kendra is coming this weekend!!! We're going to see 27 Dresses on Saturday night, after shopping for Bridesmaids dresses for Corey's wedding during the day. How themed can our adventure be?! And, of course, a visit to Knoxville wouldn't be complete without being introduced to Tomato Head- so, we're going there for brunch on Sunday. Laurel and Mike are coming down in a month and a half or so, and that's going to be awesome, too. Yay for friend visits!!

I hope I can talk Scottie into a movie tonight- maybe I'll even get up the guts to go spend money on a keyboard, mouse and monitor for our badass new computer. Maybe...
Pictures soon, I know I'm awfully slow about that...

Peace.

Winter Vacations= Awesome

The trip was outback bowl-riffic. Tampa was a blast, the weather was beautiful, and I had sand in my toes and a brief sunburn at the end of December. Life can't get much better. Seeing family, friends and the beach (a REAL beach) was exactly what I needed to recharge my batteries. I'd been feeling kind of blah, and had a bad attitude about work and life in general, but that trip was perfect for setting me back on track.

I'll have pictures up soon, once we get the new computer up and running. That's right. A NEW computer. My uncle Rick, best uncle ever, found a G5 mac pro hanging around that his company didn't need any more. So, we were gifted the tower. The best part? It belonged to a graphic designer, so it has photoshop, a full version of adobe, and a ton of other graphics programs that we haven't even explored yet. Being a digital picture person, I nearly died. All we need is a good display (shopping as we speak), a wireless mouse and keyboard, good speakers, and we're on our way. A LOT cheaper than the 1700 we were going to drop on an imac in April. Although, this gives me a great excuse to get myself a little macbook....hmmmm...

Anyway. Trip= Wonderful. Family= Awesome.
Pictures up later. (Involving the game, the beach, and a night at howl at the moon...)
Peace.