I felt a little ridiculous spending 50 bucks on a mobile (although I did use a gift card for half of it), but I researched and read reviews and the one we got (this one) seemed to come out on top. For the first two weeks, Maisie could've given a shit, but look at her now:



Rapt.  And QUIET. God bless you, people at Fisher Price who come up with these extravagant pieces of plastic.

Twice in the past two weeks I wished I could print mental pictures:

1.   I was driving down 2nd toward Lafayette, and a woman walked out of her house with an expression and posture that screamed annoyance, a cigarette hanging out of mouth, and an infant seat in her hand.  I dunno...her general appearance and the little baby were just incongruous.  Like someone had taken a paper doll modeled after an urban, pissy, young lady and stuck the baby seat that came with another doll and stuck it on this one.

2.  I'd just left my friend's house and was on Nolensville Rd, about to hit the light at Barnes, when I looked in the rearview to see a deer, feet towards the sky, suspended in the air 5 feet above the car behind me.  By the time it registered and I looked in the mirror again, he'd landed and I saw him running off into the woods.  The car behind me kept driving, so it took me a second to decide if I'd imagined the whole thing, but then I noticed that their sideview mirror was hanging on by a thread and shortly thereafter they pulled over.  So I guess the deer ran out from the woods, hit the car on the side, which flipped him up into the air, and everybody lived.  Random.

Not that anybody this affects would read this, but I am in a monumentally shitty mood and have turned off my phone as I am in no mindset to speak to anybody.  I thought I'd be ok at least talking to the dogs, but Otto laid next to me, gave me that awesome sympathetic look that only he can give, then farted a big juicy one right on me, so I'm not talking to him now either.  

So anyway, I'm not answering the phone.  I'll call everybody back tomorrow.  The dog may or may not still be living here by then.  Good thing he's cute.

I am really in the mood to write a post about how getting my 30 week email from BabyCenter.com and subsequently realizing that I have less than 10 weeks to go is really freaking me out.  I'd love to talk about how we had plans to have the kitchen hopefully re-put together by the end of this weekend, but every night when I get home I'm so friggin tired I can barely eat, so I'm going to have to cram everything in on Saturday and Sunday.  I'd love to vent about how much is happening at work that I can barely see straight.

I'd like to write about a lot of things but my fingers and arms feel like they're filled with concrete and just typing this much is wearing me out.  I should have gotten the carpal tunnel splint things when my doctor recommended them back in January.  Sigh.  It's going to be a long day.

We have officially reached the moment where I can no longer comfortably wear non-maternity pants.  Goodbye, comfy houndstooth Target pants.  I'll see you an a few months.  

1.  Since Friday, I've been dreading having to face two people after I stood up for myself to them (and subsequently felt like an asshole for doing so), but I've talked to both and everything is fine.  As usual, I overreacted, but I don't care, as long as I don't feel assholey anymore.  Check.

2.  I started priming the kitchen cabinets, and HOLY CRAP, those of you that have seen and have any memory of my kitchen would just not believe how much bigger the whole room looks with even just the edges of those dark ass cabinets being white.  I walk in and it feels like a whole new room.  Check.

3.  More than half of my thank you notes from the big family/neighbors baby shower have been written.  I can probably finish tonight while watching Tony Bourdain.  Almost check.

4.  I purchased the domain name for the baby blog we'll use to update family and such.  Thanks to Ivy, also figured out how to keep it private (no pedophiles better be ogling my offspring, thank you very much), AND figured out how to redirect the URL to the blog.  Now all I gotta do is post.  I haven't felt this accomplished since I figured out how to edit my sidebar on the old blogspot blog.  Check.

5.  Finally dug the hairballs out of the bathtub drain.  Check.

Got a big list of things to do this week as well, but damn, I feel good about what I got done this weekend.  Except that I didn't bathe the dogs again.  They've been stinky for months.  What's one more week?

This came up on a tv show recently and heard someone mention it IRL last season - why do people hate when someone uses a family photo as a Christmas card?  I love it, personally.  When else do you get to see some of the people that you get Christmas cards from?

Shit, there was something else I couldn't figure out why people hated, but I can't think of what it is.

I'm so frustrated.  I keep dropping my internet, so even when I get streaming video of the inauguration to come up, it pauses and resets every 45 seconds and it's enough to make me go postal.  I'm kicking myself that I didn't bring my laptop to work today.  I want to watch all the pomp and frills and faces I haven't seen in years.  Crap.

I just uploaded a bunch of pictures and I am in love with this one.

Lesley's added a bunch of new people to her friends list & readers, and then I stole them from her, and now I need to update my custom groups.  Only I'm lazy and don't feel like going back and double checking each old protected post, so now I'm wondering if it'd be easier just to delete them all and start from scratch.  

How y'all doin?

Seriously.  I want to know.

After a week of crying and worrying, I took my punk dog to the vet and there's not a damn thing wrong with him.  He's actually in better health than he usually is at his annuals.

The vet thinks that he pulled a muscle or turned the wrong way and was just sore.  I'd called the vet's office earlier in the week and they advised to put him on aspirin, which apparently is the wonder drug for the canine set.  So we're keeping him on the aspirin for awhile and MSM for extra hip lubage.

So he's fine, just a big baby.  I blame his daddy for spoiling him, even though Dave didn't meet him until he was at least 4. 

But thank y'all so much for asking after him.  It really does mean a lot. 

Next dog soap opera installment - Nema goes for her checkup and we discuss medication for her anxiety.  That ought to be fun.

My dog is acting really weird.  We think it's mainly his hips bothering him, but he's never cried like this before. 

Otto is my life.  He's my first baby.  He's 8, but since he's a mutt I think he should have a longer life expectancy than the purebreds he's descended from, but I'm not even close to done with him yet.  I hope the vet can get us in soon.

Most of this stuff is protected, so friend me if you want the juicy stuff.

True, true.

From: http://scrubs.mopnt.com/fun/personality/

This is so bad it's good. Or vice versa.

Read this shit: Schizophrenia Brown, Crazy Boy Detective

Here's the post to go with it:
Lolly, Lolly, Lolly Get Your Cold Beer Here!

If I had ever watched SHR in my life, I would totally take you on a date to this thing. If they come out with the Electric Company or 3-2-1 Contact or Mr. Rogers or Thundercats as a 21 and up show with beer, though, better strap on your underoos, homey, cause we'll be going to that.

Confucius say it is not in your better judgement to drink even one glass of wine when you are out of toilet paper. Paper towels are not friendly to the nether regions when peeing often.

Oh HELL no.

Look at this crap.

I wish these people had their own stores just so I could boycott them. From what I gather, all this is because Wal-Mart includes the Washington DC Community Center for Gay, Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender People (among others) as one of their affiliates.

Begin quote:
Now Satan has Wal-Mart in his line of fire!

This legacy of faith and love for Jesus Christ by Mr. Walton is being trashed before our very eyes!

After being lambasted for years by the anti-family, pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, radical environmental left, Wal-Mart has finally succumbed to this constant harassment and blackmail. She has now chosen a policy of appeasement to assuage all of the false accusations leveled against her in hopes that the devil will somehow stop being so mean. It is sad to say that Wal-Mart has joined the The National Gay & Lesbian, Chamber of Commerce.

The NGCC called Wal-Mart's action "part of the company's ongoing commitment to advancing diversity (homosexuality) among all of its associate, supplier and customer bases."

The NGCC desires that the world's largest retailer would also become the world's largest promoter of homosexual sodomy!

Wal-Mart desperately needs our help! There is something that we can do. It requires that we get out of the closet and run toward the roar!

WE MUST SAVE WAL-MART!
:end quote

Read it all here. It's Smokey the Bear for the new millenium. Only you can SAVE WAL-MART FROM THE RADICAL HOMOSEXUAL AGENDA!

I hope these people have deep pockets, because if all the alternative type folk in the US stop shopping at Wally World, they're going to have to buy twice as much Made In China crap to keep their precious Wal-Mart afloat.

I'm with Jenny (I don't know how to put the little LJ link in) on the fall cleaning thing. We've been deep cleaning the house and as much as I despise the day to day tidying, I adore doing this. Pulling out the fridge and the stove and scrubbing the floor underneath, dismantling the ceiling fans to wash the blades, attacking the doorjambs and light switches with a Magic Eraser to get off the grime you didn't even notice until you started cleaning (and then being aghast at yourself for not noticing) - all that type of stuff.

Assuming I get the floors sufficiently scrubbed, the tree is going up Friday night. Phae's coming over to help decorate - they don't do a whole lot of Christmasy stuff in their little apartment, so this way she'll get her fill.

Oh, we went to see a play at Chaffin's Barn the other night and half the damn cast are FHSers. It was beeezarre. But really, really good.

But back to Jenny's post - seemed like I always broke up with people in the fall, too....and started dating them in January or February. So I got all year with them, only to have the heartbreak and no Christmas presents to show for it. What the hell is that all about?

Ick. I just ate the biggest friggin bowl of Pei Wei Spicy Chicken and noodles. It was too good, because there's none left and I'm bloated like a pig.

I need a nap.