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So it’s a Friday night and the baby is actually entertaining herself on the floor (she started crawling today) and I have a few minutes free. No big plans for the weekend…play some Zelda and bowl on the Wii which is one of the coolest things we’ve bought in quite some time. And maybe put up the Christmas lights. The only other goal is to attempt to make french Macarons for the second time. The first time they turned out tasty but incorrect. For clarification, they should look a certain way, and mine didn’t. According to egullet.com they’re a big old pain in the ass to make, but I like a challenge when it comes to baking, and I’d really like to make a pile of them in different flavors for the cookie exchange we’re doing at work. I’ll post pics if they turn out.

So most mornings the baby sleeps til at least 7 am, but this morning she got up at 5…so now I’m totally awake with no chance of shutting my brain off and going to sleep in time to actually get some time in before I have to be up anyways. So here I sit with time on my hands. That’s something I haven’t had enough of lately, so I’m gonna enjoy it dammit. I have a busy day ahead of me at work, so I think I’m actually going to have a real breakfast as opposed to a scone in the car and maybe I’ll even go really crazy and paint my nails. Have a good day everyone!

So it’s been like 7 months since I’ve written in my blog…I think that officially makes me a big ol’ slacker. But it’s ok, I have an excuse. The baby takes up the vast majority of my non-work related time. She’s 5 months old as of today, and absolutely beautiful, wonderful, and perfect in every way…but anyone who’s looked at our photo gallery could see that Anyways, I thought since I had a minute to relax I’d write a couple of paragraphs. There isn’t a specific topic that I really wanted to focus on so it’s going to be random thoughts.

Firstly, the person I ranted about in the previous entry is actually pretty nice to me now. I think a lot of the issues actually had nothing to do with me, I was just there so I got hit with the brunt of her frustration about other things. Anyways, we’re cool now, which is good since she’s Aria’s (my daughter) teacher.

Secondly, I feel justified in saying I had a personal influence on television. They changed the leaf in the Fruit of the Loom commercials! As anyone who has perused my blog is aware, I mentioned something about how I wasn’t sure what the amorphous brown blob character was, sparking a couple hundred comments and earning me a top spot on Google under the search “fruit of the loom.” So anyways, the leaf guy is now obviously leaves, and it makes me feel like I’ve truly made the world a better place.

Thirdly, I got to meet Anthony Bourdain at a book signing at the Heathman Hotel in downtown Portland. Very exciting. I also had rabbit liver and tongue for the first time that night. Neither of them were as bad as they might sound…the tongue was actually pretty tasty.

Hmmm…what else? Let’s see…Jon’s mom is visiting from WI this week, she met the baby for the first time yesterday. It’s nice to see her again.

Hopefully I’ll write more frequently again now that the baby’s going to bed before 9pm. It’s a goal anyways.

So I with my doc’s ok I went back to work on Friday. It was nice to be back with the babies again. It’s been pretty busy, since a lot of the babies stay right up until close at 6pm, so it’s always a major rush to get everything done that needs to get done. And god forbid I miss anything in the way of cleaning, or I get a nasty note from the opening teacher about it. I swear, one more note about bringing ALL the laundry down or cleaning fingerprints off of the mirror and I’m gonna beat her with that damn notebook. I don’t know why she feels the urge to make a note of any little thing that gets missed…and yet she won’t talk to me about any of it (or anything at all) while we’re together in the middle of the day. If she doesn’t have the ability to communicate effectively (as opposed to passive-agressive note-writing) she shouldn’t be the head teacher. Period. There’s more to teaching than just being good with the kids. And with that rant, I’m off to work. It would be so much more pleasant if she wasn’t there.

So after a three hour stint at the hospital last night, I’m stuck at home to “take it easy” for the next couple of days. I was having some wierd abdominal pains and Jon and I went over to St. Vincent’s around 11pm to make sure everything was ok. I knew that the baby was fine since she kicked me all the way to the hospital and they had to keep moving the fetal heart monitor since she wouldn’t stay still. It turned out to not be pre-term labor…the nurse just said I should take it easy for the next couple of days until I get cleared by the doc on Friday. Hence the being stuck at home. Hopefully, on Friday she’ll give me the all clear to go back to work. I spent most of the day reading and relaxing while Jon talked about work stuff with various employees on the phone. Tomorrow I’ll have to hit the bookstore again…I’m all out of reading material. I got the stuff to make a carrot cake, too, since I can’t sit around all day and do nothing; my legs will get all twitchy. If it turns out to be a good recipe, I’ll post it for anyone who might be interested.

So reading Jon’s blog inspired me to (finally) write in my blog again. It’s been a while, and while I’m over the morning sickness, I’ve been pretty wiped out between work and growing the baby, so the blog hasn’t been my main priority. I thought I’d copy what Jon copied from his sister’s live journal and do a reflection on 2005.

01. What did you do in 2005 that you’d never done before?
Got knocked up…it’s not all it’s cracked up to be, but I have a feeling it’ll be worth it.

02. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions?
Some of them.

03. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Not that I can think of, although a lot of acquiantences did; that happens when you work at a preschool.

04. Did anyone close to you die?
Nope, thank goodness.

05. What countries did you visit?
Does the Midwest count as a separate country? If not, I was sadly lacking in globetrotting adventures.

06. What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005?
A baby…outside my body.

07. What date from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Our anniversary (July 7) which as close as I can figure it, was the date the baby was concieved.

08. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Making a baby (I’m guessing you’re seeing a theme by now).

09. What was your biggest “failure”?
Not excercising enough.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Morning sickness from HELL…lasted 4 months and lost about 20 lbs.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My Mac mini…it’s super cool.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Jon’s…his infinite patience and love made the difficult times this year bearable.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The Christian right with all of their zealotry and bullshit.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Car insurance and Starbucks

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Going to Vegas, baby! Also, meeting two of the members of Collective Soul, my favorite band.

16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2005?
The Hand that Feeds- Nine Inch Nails
Such Great Heights- Postal Service
Eleanor- Low Millions
Satellite- Collective Soul

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?
happier

ii. thinner or fatter?
fatter (but it’s ok, it’s the baby’s fault!)

iii. richer or poorer?
richer (but more bills, so we kinda break even)

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
excercise and relax

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
throw up (did enough of that for a lifetime) and spend money

20. How did you spend Christmas?
playing video games with Jon

22. Did you fall in love in 2005?
I’ve been in love for a long time, but I’d say it gets stronger every year.

23. How many one-night stands?
None.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
Firefly

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Yup. I’m gonna leave it at that.

26. What was the best book you read?
I don’t think I can name one…I read too many. But I really liked all the William Gibson books.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Low Millions…they rock my casbah.

28. What did you want and get?
Knocked up.

29. What did you want and not get?
A winning lottery ticket.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Serenity.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Spent time with Jon, went out to dinner, and I turned 26.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If my parents marriage wouldn’t have failed.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?
Comfort…but that’s every year.

34. What kept you sane?
Jon and reading.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I think Jon Stewart is kind of a hottie, and smart to boot.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Gay Marriage…I don’t see why people are so riled up about letting two consenting adults do what they want.

37. Who did you miss?
My Parents, Kim

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Some of the parents at the preschool are really cool.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005
Being a parent isn’t easy, even before the baby’s born!

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year

“Fathers be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers be good to your daughters too”

John Mayer- “Daughters”

Just wanted to let anyone that I might not have mentioned it to know that I’m pregnant. Yay! We’re both pretty excited, although I have been really suffering from major morning sickness. Not so much fun. But it should be over soon, I’m almost to my 2nd trimester and it’s supposed to go away by then. This blog will not become focused on my pregnancy though, I’ll only mention it if there’s something really significant happening. I already complain to my friends enough about it, I’ll take pity on them! Anyways, I’m due on April 3rd, so I could potentially have the baby on Jon’s birthday (April 7th) or on my grandma’s birthday (April 1st). I’d rather have it earlier than later, obviously, as long as it’s healthy.

In response to some of the questions I’ve gotten when I tell anyone, yes, I do want to know whether it’s a boy or a girl, but we can’t find out for another 10 wks. Yes, I plan on going back to work, and hopefully I’ll be able to have the baby in the room next to the one I’ll be working in at the preschool. Hmmm…what else…well we’re doing cloth diapers because it’s better for both the baby and the environment. And I think the theme of the nursery is going to be sock monkeys. I found a couple of really cute sock monkey-print fabrics that I’m dying to buy. And I don’t have another excuse if I’m not using them in the nursery. The baby will be at no time sleeping in our bed. EVER. I think the cosleeping thing leads to problems down the road. I understand that it works great for some people, and I’m all for people doing what they think is best for their children, but I’m going to have them in their own crib from day one. We’re tossing around some different name ideas, but we haven’t come up with anything concrete that we both love yet, so I’ll leave that a mystery for now. Jon says that we should wait until we know the baby’s gender before we start really thinking about it, which makes sense, but I’m still looking at name books and marking likely candidates. Well I think that’s it for questions that people have asked me. If anything majorly eventful happens, I’ll write about it, but until then I’ll probably go back to the spontaneous postings on random topics.

So as I think I’ve mentioned in a previous entry, Jon and I have kind of gotten into the cooking-themed reality shows. The finale of “Cooking Under Fire” was on last night, and I must say that I was kind of disappointed. I thought that some of the eliminations that they (Todd English, Ming Tsai, and Michael Ruhlman) made were kind of arbitrary. One guy got kicked off for not being assertive enough when he was supposed to be a sous chef for another contestant. In a real restaurant, standing up to the head chef and telling him, “no, you need to to it my way,” would be a one-way ticket out the door. I guess Todd English must run his restaurant differently. And then picking Katie as the winner, even though she didn’t have a dessert at the end of a six-course meal, and was 30 minutes late, seemed a little unfair to me. It seemed like the judges had already picked her from the beginning, and so therefore she wasn’t penalized for mistakes that would have gotten anyone else kicked off (86′d, in the show’s turn of phrase). And she just seemed kind of bitchy. And the prize seemed a little, well, underwhelming. Not “Todd English will let you run one of his restaurants” or even “you win a meal in one of Todd English’s restaurants,” but just “a job” in one of his restaurants. I mean, did they fire someone to make room? Or did he figure that it made more sense to go an extended leave of absence and get paid (presumably) a pile of money to find new kitchen staff than to just simply put a want ad in the NY Times? My final impression of the show was that it made all three of the judges seem kind of nasty, and, at the same time, lacking in much personality. It made me glad that Jon and I went to Circo in Vegas instead of one of Todd English’s places.

Enough of that…on a different note, I’m going to see Chris Isaak with my friend Katy tomorrow night. The concert is at the zoo, of all places. We don’t get done with work until 6, and the concert’s at 7, so hopefully our seats won’t be too atrocious. In other concert-related news, I got tickets to the Garbage concert today. I’m excited to see them as a headliner, I saw them open for No Doubt, and they were good, but they didn’t do a lot of my favorite songs. Hopefully this show will remedy that.

Gotta get some sleep…I have to be at work at 5 tomorrow morning. And after the concert tomorrow night, I have to have enough energy to endure a crowd of 12-year-0lds wearing thick glasses and stupid hats to grab a copy of the new Harry Potter book. I might just wait until Sunday though, we’re having people over Sat. night, and if I have an unread book in the house, I won’t get anything accomplished in the way of cleaning and cooking.

Just got back from a KICK ASS vacation with the man…it was our anniversary on the the 7th and we decided to take a trip even though we didn’t really have the money for it. We left on Wed. night and went to Crater Lake on thurs. The weather was perfect and it wasn’t too busy since it was during the week. What a gorgeous view. On Friday, we hiked through the Oregon Caves, which were also really cool, and spontaneously decided to make a side trip down to the redwoods since we were so close. We didn’t get down to Avenue of the Giants since we didn’t even get into Cali until about 4 pm, but we went hiking through one of the more northerly parks and through a couple of the groves along 199. It was so amazingly peaceful in the forest. It kind of made me sad to think that there used to be hundreds of miles of forest like that, and now it’s just little bits and pieces. I feel like we really didn’t do the area justice though, we’ll have to come back when we have more time.
Then we headed out to the coast for fri and sat night. We went to the Sea Lion Caves down by Florence, which were really cool, despite being pretty smelly. We also went tidepooling at Strawberry Hill, which was amazing…lots of cool stuff in the water and a colony of Harbor Seals about 20 ft from the shore on the rocks.
We happened to talk to another couple at the B&B that we stayed at, and they mentioned that the Country Fair was this weekend, so instead of coming right home, we spent a couple of hours people watching there. And there were lots of interesting people to watch. We took a bunch of pictures, they should be up soon.
It seemed like the time went really fast, but at the same time, we did so many things, it feels like we were gone way longer than 4 days. It’s nice to be home though, and I know the kitties are happy to see us after no love for a while. I think some of the pics are already posted in Jon’s blog, if anyone is dying to see how we spent our time : )

Long afternoon at work. Made the fried rice for dinner not soy-saucy enough. And then overcompensated and over-soyed it, dammit. However I did make some pretty tasty chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Jon and I watched Hell’s Kitchen tonight. I generally hate reality shows (sorry Erin!) but anything restaurant-related interests me…Jon and I happened to catch the first episode when it was on, and we kinda go sucked into it. Presumably some of the people (read: most of the people) are actors, but I’m suspending my disbelief so I can watch and pretend that it’s real. All I can say is that they better charge a lot of money per item in Gordon Ramsey’s restaurants if he runs them all like that; they’d have to replace all the dishes he throws away every episode. I guess when you’re a celebrity chef you don’t have to worry about the cost of supplies. Anyways, I’m thinking it’s gonna be the tall tattoo’d guy that wins (his name escapes me)…or maybe the older guy who’s the boss of the blue team (Ralph?). It’s just funny to watch all the manufactured drama. I mean, why would you sign up to participate in an elimination contest in a restaurant if you’ve never worked in one before? And why would you have service on the first night you met the rest of the staff at a new restaurant? And why would people come to your restaurant if the first three nights you closed down early and sent them away hungry? Anyways, it’s silly, but kind of enjoyable to watch. I’ve heard that Gordon Ramsey is pretty hardcore in his restaurants, but I think he must be intentionally hamming it up for the show, since some of the things he says/does are just completely unprofessional. It seems that if he was that unprofessional, he wouldn’t have so many successful restaurants. But maybe I’m wrong. It does make me glad that Reo’s isn’t anything like that. And that I bake, which means I get to leave before any of the customers come in.