Random Friday

I had a post in my brain, but I got interrupted before I could write it. I know I had something to say, but it's gone.
So, I guess you'll just have to wade through some random thoughts from me today.
Random thought number 1. Mom checked her credit card and she's been billed for the glider, so that makes it look like it's been ordered. We should have some clue in a week or so if it came in or not.

Random thought number 2. I still have the coolest brother on the planet. Gak called me from work this morning. Jon sent two things for Boo. One is a onsie that declares him as "human level 1" and gives his D&D stats. I nearly fell out of my chair laughing at this one. He also sent a T-shirt for when he's bigger. It was also really cool, but it has escaped my brain for the moment. I'll take pictures and post this weekend.

Oh, now I remember something I was going to post on... Al stopped by today. You remember the guy who retired back in January? Yeah. It was good to see him. It was really weird, but really nice, to hear him talking with people while working. I really do miss having him around. He's a good guy.

Ugh, the heartburn is back with a vengeance. It was OK for a few weeks there, but the last few days have been rough. Oh well. That's what they make Tums for.

Tonight Gak and I are going to go see Prince Caspian. I hope it's as good as it looks. I also hope I can stay awake. Today has been one of those just can't wake up days. I slept last night, but not the best. I'm just really tired and really glad tomorrow is a Saturday. I'm making Gak drive himself to work again. Partially because I'm beat now and partially because tomorrow is "Art's Alive" downtown, which means no parking in front of the apartment and I'm not hauling the laundry a block or two to the car.

Ok. I've got to get back to pretending to work. This really hasn't been one of my better weeks. Hopefully next Monday and Friday I'll be able to pull my weight a bit more. I've got people coming in for training Tuesday through Thursday. I hope to be able to pull that off as well. (Actually, I've got other people doing the work Wednesday afternoon and most of Thursday. That's good because I have another doctor appointment on Thursday morning...)

Peace to all and may your thoughts not feel like a broken mosaic.

Babies and Knees

Well, today was doctor appointment day.
My appointment this morning went well. Boo's head is down, but otherwise no progress on that front. (No contractions of any kind, some pelvic pressure now and again, no spotting or leaking or anything like that either... basically no nothing.) I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he's not here until the end of the first week of June. (Besides, if I use the dates as I honestly think they should be, I'm not really due until around the 10th anyhow...) If things are still like this next week, we'll discuss options with the doctor. I tell you what, unless there's a very good medical reason, I don't plan on letting them induce me before the 10th. That's less than 2 weeks past-date using the current math. Anyhow, we'll burn that bridge when we get there.
Gak's appointment went well too. It was very brief. I think I like the doctor, but I'm not sure. He's the one who has patched up all of Kat's broken bones over the years, so I know he's good. A little brisk, but a good doctor. According to him, what the issue is, is that Gak's kneecap isn't tracking right. Basically it's become a little off center. Gak's been given a couple of exercises to strengthen the muscles around the knee that he will do for five minutes each time, three times a day. (Yes honey, I'm glaring at you....) He's also supposed to take two Alive at breakfast and bedtime and has been given a new brace to wear all day to try and push the kneecap back into proper alignment.
I hope this works. We don't need his knee getting any worse any time soon. That and he just shouldn't have to live with a constant low level of pain every day. It just makes him cranky after a while.
Well, I guess I should actually get some work done since this morning was taken up by doctors.
Peace to all and may you have good results.

Room Tour

Well, I finally got the pictures of Boo's room last night and got them uploaded this morning. Yes, I know, I'm being very productive and it's not even 7:00 yet. Don't worry, I'll crash at about 8:30 and drag my butt through the rest of the day.

This picture of the dragon with his teddy bear is mostly the inspiration for the room. Gak and I picked it up at Faire a couple of years ago now. We just thought it was really cute and very "us". Especially since at times our lives seem to be run by our teddy bears... yes Scout, that's you. The "torches" are from Ikea. They have two settings, on and flicker. This picture doesn't do them justice. The "flames" are actually a reddish-orange color and are too cool for words.

This is where the glider will eventually go. I'm still not 100% confident about the order we placed on Sunday, but we'll see. Just to the left in this picture is the door into the living room. This bedroom has two doors, very convenient access, but horrible for furniture layout. As you can see, the chair will be right under the dragon and the torches. This will be a great little nook to nurse and rock Boo back to sleep at night, with just enough light for Momma or Poppa. This also shows the wardrobe Michelle helped put together. (Actually, in all fairness, I barely helped with that one...) No, there is no magical forest hiding in this one, at least not for boring "grownups" who are more worried about storing the baby's clothes at the moment...

This is the view from said door into the living room. The finicky mobile is there leaning against the radiator. There is a cover for it, but it's currently being painted at my landlady's house. The hanging dragon with pockets is another Ikea find. I've got a few toys stashed in there at the moment, and will probably put a blanket or other odds and ends I want handy at the crib in there. Mostly I thought it was cool and I'll never turn down extra storage space. The baby vibro-chair is there in the corner as well. It won't stay there. It'll be wherever we need it, but it was a convenient place to set it for now. Yes, that's the blanket I made back in January on the crib. The bumper is this really cool "mesh" that's actually fairly padded, but breathable. If Boo is anything like me, once he's squirming around in bed, he'll find the most inconvenient corner to wedge himself in. I don't need arms or legs getting tangled in the slats.

This is the view from the door between the bedrooms. The color is the most off in this one. I just couldn't get a good picture with or without the flash. As you can see, we've got this wonderful built in wall cabinet. It provides tons of storage, but again makes furniture layout a pain. You can also see the blue dragon rug from Ikea. It's really soft on the toes. Yes, the wall unit still looks like a bit of a mess, but it's an almost organized mess. Onsies and sleepers are in the cabinet to the left, some of my stuffed animals I still have are in the cabinet to the right. I guess they're Boo's now. (Well, he can't "have" Snowball, that was my last birthday present from Josi, my closest friend before moving from Kansas.)

I'll close with this picture. This rocking horse is one of the things we picked up from Mom's customer. I still have my rocking horse from when Jon was born. It needs a front leg repair and a new dowel, but is still in very good condition. (Amazing when you think about how much I loved to ride the thing...) Scout has decided that she loves this little horse. Trying to get her off it some evenings is tough. I'm sure Boo won't mind sharing on occasion, but it is his horse. At least until he gets big enough to ride mine.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the little tour of Boo's room. It took long enough to get everything together. I think it looks pretty good, even with the apparent chaos that is the cabinets. (I'm just glad it's deep enough for the changing pad. That was very convenient!)

Peace to all and may your projects come together and you have a nice place to call home.

Movin' Right Along

Well, this was a good weekend.
Saturday I had a very lazy day. And I enjoyed it. I ended up sleeping a good portion of the day. I read a lot too. Mind you, I had several things that I wanted to get done, but they can wait. I just didn't have the energy. I use up so much of my reserves these days just getting through the work day, that by Saturday, I'm exhausted. We did pick up a few things Saturday, including a nifty diaper pail for Boo's room. Hopefully it'll help keep the smell down and keep everything neat... or at least neater.
We also picked up a new USB memory drive for me and a copy of Never Ending Story. I'd made a comment about it a few weeks back about not having seen it in ages and it's been sitting there in the back of my head for a while. We found a cheep copy while we were out, so of course we had to pick it up.
Yesterday was a very good day. Mom came up around 1:00 and we got a lot done.
Mom and I got all the clothes put away. I still say Boo has way more clothes than I do. I think I have more onsies than days in the month. (I'm sure at some point I'll be glad that I have that many....) Most of them are in the 0-3 or 3-6 month sizes. I've noticed that what the tag says doesn't mean a thing when it comes to infant wear. The only thing that's ever the same is possibly within the same brand, but that's pushing it some days too.
We also ended up going to BabiesRUs and picking up a hamper, a few other odds and ends and ordering a glider. Yes, we had to order it. That was an adventure and a half. Actually, I should say I hope we ordered the glider. We had to order it from another store and that was a major exercise in patience and waiting on hold. Unfortunately, it'll be about two weeks until we know if it came in or not. Here's hoping Boo actually waits until his due date. (I'm also hoping that because next week I've got some customers coming up for custom training and I really don't want to see what happens if I'm out... that and Indiana Jones comes out that weekend and that's truly a see in the theater movie...)
We managed to get everything hung and set up, except for the glider of course. No, I don't have pictures, but that's because we got done around 9pm and I just didn't get moving this morning. I hope to take some tonight. The room looks great. The only things missing are the glider and Boo!

This should prove to be an interesting week at work. And by interesting, I mean rough. We've got two people out on vacation. This is the week of EPRI, so our boss is out at least through tomorrow or Wednesday. (I haven't checked the calendar.) Bill's got a ton of work for both of his jobs and is so busy trying to keep everything from hitting him in the head, I'm surprised he has time to breathe. I have to get a lot of training stuff finished off from last week to prepare for next week, which means I just don't have the time to focus on service work.
I just hope I can keep my head down and out of the firing range.

Well, speaking of work, I'd better get some of this training stuff wrapped up so maybe I can get some service work done this afternoon.

Peace to all and I hope every one remembered their mother yesterday...

37 Weeks and Counting!

Well, today marks 37 weeks into this pregnancy! (Where has the time gone?!?!) Only 3 weeks to go to reach the traditional 40-week full term status. (Although, most in the medical community consider 38-40 as being term, 41+ weeks as being post-term.)
I had my 37 week appointment today. All is well in the world. The heartbeat is good, even if it took the doctor a bit to find it. (For some reason, this one of the two I've seen the most doesn't always believe me that he'll do better on the right than the middle...) No change in anything else. So, it was "see you next week" and all is well.

Can I tell you I have the best brother on the planet? Or at least I think so. It may sound strange to those who didn't know us growing up, but Jon and I just don't fight. At least nothing serious. Sure, we don't always agree and pick on each other some days more than others, but we don't fight. (I do remember an entire car ride from the house to our parents' shop where we did nothing but come up with creative insults for each other... it's about a 25 minute ride...)
Yesterday when I went to get Gak at work, I had mail from my brother. He sent me this really neat Mother's Day card. Yep, that's right... my brother sent me a Mother's Day card. How many other people have brothers who would do that? (I, on the other hand, am lucky if I remember to send birthday cards out...)
Speaking of Mother's Day, Sunday mom is coming up to our place in the afternoon and we're going to finish getting Boo's room together. We've still got some stuff to hang and some things to figure out where to put and it could stand a really good dusting and floor cleaning after the painting. Hopefully we'll even get a rocker by then, who knows? This means late Sunday, or more likely Monday I'll have pictures to post! We'll be having dinner at our place.
Dad may or may not wander up for dinner. You see, he spent most of their "Stimulus Check" on a new camera he's been drooling over. Ritz was running an awesome deal on the Nikon SLR digital he has been drooling over, including two lenses in the package for about what the body was normally going for. So, his plan for Sunday is to disappear with the camera. I don't blame him. It sounds like a fabulous Sunday to me. I miss the times Dad and I, and Mom and Jon too, would go out on a weekend day and go for a walk or whatever with cameras in hand. It was an enjoyable way to spend a day with the family. And we were outside to boot! We did a lot of cool things like that as a family while growing up. Hopefully Gak and I will have as many good outings with Boo.

Well, I guess I'd better get back to work now. I've got a whole list of training things that I need to get to. (I didn't get any training work done yesterday, I spent the day putting out service fires...)

Peace to all and may life be good to you.

So Tired

Well, we're getting there. If I could sleep, all would be even better. It's been a loosing battle the last few nights. Predictable though, just about every night from 3:30 to 4:30, give or take a half hour on either end. Just because I know it'll happen, doesn't make me a happier person in the morning when I have to drag my butt out of bed and into work. Oh well, this phase will all too soon be over.
Last night while waiting for Gak to finish up at work, I got a call from Abi. She's doing well. We've both been so busy we haven't had a chance to talk. She says she figures when there's a several day pause in blog entries, she'll know Boo's been born. (She's actually on the list of people to call that day....) I may create a generic announcement post in a word doc so that all Gak will have to do is put in the specifics, copy and paste into blogger and post. Don't hold me to it though, I'll probably forget I thought of this idea in about 10 minutes. My brain is about as sharp as a steel sieve these days. That'll hopefully get better at some point too.
Gak and I spent a good bit of time last night after dinner getting Boo's room together. I still have about half of his clothes to put away and organize and the baby vibro-chair to put together. We've also got to clean the floor again before putting down the rug. And then there's the stuff to hang on the walls. We're almost there though. I do have to make some decisions about the mesh bumper I bought. I love the idea of it and it looks good, but I had to rig it a little to fit right. I don't think it's a safety hazard, but I'm just not sure. I also have to decide about the mobile that Mom and I got from her customer. It's pretty cool and everything, but I'm a little worried about the stability. It's very firmly attached to the crib, but the pole and the mobile head itself are pretty wobbly in my view. That and it comes down pretty close to the mattress since we have it in the "all the way up" position. And it just doesn't match. I love the brightness of the colors, but they just don't go with anything else in the room. I'll have to think about it for a few. (I also really want to break down and buy some green sheets even though I have about 6 sheets already, mostly in off white... It's just a little too bland....)
Anyhow, just thought I'd drop a line while I was still thinking about it and let everyone know life is still good. My next doctor's appointment is tomorrow morning, which means I actually get to sleep in a few. Oh, and Gak has an appointment on the 15th about his knee. So far the answer is, yes, it's a knee. It doesn't appear to be a torn meniscus, so they're really not sure what's going on. We'll see next week.
Peace to all and may you get some sleep and be productive.

Paint and Pondering

Well, the room is painted. The landlady's husband will be up again tomorrow evening to do some final cleanup, then I can spend the evening putting things away! It looks great! I promise to get pictures and post them as soon as everything is put together.
I guess what really prompted this is I was perusing some of the local headlines. There are some days that I really don't like living in this commonwealth. Apparently there's a bill in the PA senate to amend the commonwealth's constitution to ban homosexual marriage. Here's a link to the headline.
I've known several gays and lesbians in my life. I worked closely with several lesbians when I was a camp councilor. I went to school with and was friends with several gay men and lesbians in college. I was so happy that my cousin found the woman of her dreams and was glad to be able to make it to their wedding. Who cares who you love? I've found my soul-mate. He's a wonderful man and I couldn't ask for better. So my cousin loves another woman. So what? Rae and Kami are two of the happiest people I've met for a while. It is so obvious that they love each other with every fiber of their being. Just because they're two women does that mean their love is any less real than my love for Gak? Does it mean that somehow they're not "capable" of devoting themselves totally to each other and creating a life together? I doubt it.
Proponents of the PA bill say that it'll "protect" marriage between men and women but won't take away any rights of homosexuals. What part of pure and simple hosehockey aren't they understanding?! There are real advantages of being legally married. I mean, you get a break on your taxes for one thing. It also makes it that much easier for me to cover Gak with my health insurance. And since when has "traditional" marriage been in danger? What does that mean anyhow?
Bah. All this does is make me cranky. And since when have I had so much to say about the state of the world around me and "sensitive" ideas?
And I was in a good mood because the room is finally painted and almost ready for Boo.
I think I'm going to go curl up with my book now and pretend the rest of the world doesn't exist.
Peace to all and may you find someone to share your heart and soul with, no matter who they are.

Lions and Religion

Chelsea asked an interesting question in the comments of my last post. I was just going to answer it there like I usually do, but figured I might as well turn this one into a full post of it's own.
She asked about The Chronicles of Narnia, stating that once she found out The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was all an allegory for the Christ story, it ruined it for her.
Well, I've got lots of thoughts on this. As a matter of fact, I actually used some of them back in December on an off-topic post on the crochet board I visit when some people there were up in arms about The Golden Compass.
I only ever read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as a kid. I think I might have picked up Prince Caspian at one point, but it didn't hold the magic that the other did. (Sorry, I'm not typing that title yet again, it's long!) To me, reading the battered hard-bound copy that was my Mom's was magic. It was a wonderful story about four siblings and this amazing lion. I was never told it was allegory until I was in late high school or early college. I actually almost physically fought against this idea. I mean, it made me vaguely ill to hear it. I couldn't, wouldn't see it as possible.
You see, I grew up in a "mixed" household. Religion was never very strong. Sure, we celebrated Christmas and nodded to Easter. We also celebrated Hanukkah. I would go off and on to church with my mom when she found one she liked. I never learned a whole lot though. Most of the time I was just bored. I kept going in high school because I liked some of the other kids in the youth group and it gave me something to do. Most of the preaching really didn't affect me. I already knew to be a good, kind, caring person and that there is a right way and a wrong way to treat people.
Therefore, when reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, I never even thought to apply the Christ story to it. It was a strange and amazing tale set in a wonderful place where the animals could talk. The kids were doing what was right, helping get rid of somebody big, mean and nasty that was making life miserable for all the "good" people. This was only what was right and just in the world. I strongly believe that people, not just children, will apply what they want to their world and in cases like this, unless they're told at the beginning it's the Christ story, the won't necessarily read it that way for themselves.
Recently I've "read", well... listened more like thanks to Audible, a few of the others. They're all good stories. Some are more "Christian" than others. (The thought of them being the Christ story or other Bible tales still makes me vaguely uncomfortable...) Personally, I think you should take away what you want from these stories. Yes, C.S. Lewis was a devout Christian and has written many Christian works. Yes, he probably intended these stories as a way to teach those ideals to children.
But aren't they good ideals that everyone should have? Shouldn't everyone try and right the wrongs, treat others in kindness and fairness and respect all life?
I guess I haven't really answered Chelsea's question yet, which was if the first movie was good.
I think it was a well done adaptation of the book. It followed it closely. The casting and acting was great and the effects, while stunning, were not over done. It is still a wonderful story of hope, courage, love and "doing the right thing" ... and family.
I hope Caspian lives up to the standard the first movie set. I've read the book and enjoyed it. It's still a good story about strong kids trying to do right.
Anyhow, I guess that's about all I've got to say on it. I've got to get the laundry together and write up the grocery list. I didn't do my chores yesterday, so I'd best get them done today.
Peace to all and may you all have stories you enjoy in your lives.

Stuck

It's official. We're stuck.
We still need to get a rocker/glider for the baby's room, but we have no where to put it. I've got just about all of Boo's new clothes and sheets and things washed, but can't put them away. I can't hang the wall lights or the artwork or anything else yet either. I've got a crib full of things waiting to be put away or set up but can't.
The room isn't finished being painted yet.
Monday. Monday is when it's supposed to happen.
I hope it does.
The upstairs neighbors are out and the lock on the bottom door has been changed. Now the landlady and her husband can focus on finishing up the painting. Once that's done, I can finally move stuff around and put everything away.
My doctor's appointment Thursday went well. It seems that Boo is in the head down position and now it really is just a matter of "wait and see".
Four weeks.
I saw that the other day and I started to panic.
Yes, mostly because we're "stuck". Also, for some reason, "It's the End of the World" by R.E.M. has a tendency to go through my head. Oh well. This is an adventure I willingly signed up for and am looking forward to, even if both Gak and I are a bit terrified now and again. We'll be fine. Many, many generations before us have all faced this.
Yesterday we went and had our "pre check-in" at the hospital. It is a nice, small hospital. It was a slow evening so the nurse showed us around a bit. The L&D rooms are HUGE and each have their own warming bed for the baby. If the ward is slow, they'll just keep you in L&D after you deliver and not bother to move you down the hall to a recovery room.
We also went and saw Iron Man last night with Scott, Kat and Zoe. It was probably just a little loud for Zoe, but she's handled other movies in the genre well and you never know until you get there. Gak and Scott were very happy with it. Apparently they stuck very closely to the original and modernized it quite well. I wouldn't know, since I've never really read Iron Man much. They did a great job with it in my opinion. The summer movie season is upon us.
Hopefully we'll be able to go see Prince Caspian together when it comes out and the new Indiana Jones movie as well. That one is a maybe, since it comes out on the 22nd and Boo's due date is the 30th. I hope we do get to see it in the theater. That's definitely one of those that are made for the really big screen.
Anyhow, today was a very slow day for me. It was gray. We got in late last night and I sent Gak to work by himself today. I slept a good bit. I read a bit. We went out to the diner for dinner (hopefully I got that right...). Now I have no idea what I'm going to do next. I should work on mom's afghan. I originally wanted to get it done for her birthday. I missed that. My next goal was Mother's Day. Unless I seriously get off my butt this week, I'm going to miss that too. Oh well, it'll get done.
Well, I'm off to go find something to keep me out of trouble for a while.
Peace to all and may you not be stuck.

We Survived!

Well, I survived reporting month. It's been the first time in three years that I've had to be on the front line for this. Yes, it is like a war some days during reporting month. But, everyone survived, we managed to only make a few people cranky about not getting things done and we've got 2 more months before we have to do it all over again.
And I won't be here this time.
Yep, that's right, in just about 4 weeks (give or take) Boo will be born and I'll be home learning how to be a momma. I get the feeling it'll be a pretty steep learning curve at first. But that's OK. It'll be a new challenge and one I'm looking forward to. Gak and I will tackle this whole parenting thing together and hope we get more right than wrong. (I'm sure we will, we're both pretty smart people with big hearts and, hopefully, realistic expectations of ourselves and each other....)
Now I've just got to quickly get the rest of the stuff for the training "department" fixed up so it can run on autopilot while I'm out. In the weekly meeting this morning one of the guys (Mr. Lazy) asked if I'd be working from home. I told him I'd be checking my email once or twice a week and no other promises. The only reason I'm planning on doing that is the fact that I don't want to spend an entire week when I get back weeding through emails.
We've decided to go with the daycare on 8th street. It's only a block or so total extra walking for Gak on his way to work. We'll be able to leave the stroller there so he won't have to walk it all the way to the office.
The upstairs neighbors are supposed to be out today, I'll keep you posted.
Tonight we've got a pre-checkin visit at the hospital to get most of the paperwork done so we don't have to when the time comes. We're also hopefully getting together with Kat and Scott and possibly seeing Iron Man. I'll let ya know if we do and if it is worth seeing.
Peace to all and may you survive the stress and have your successes.