Crazy neighbors and Oscar movie review #9

Just because this Christmas light ordeal couldn't get any funnier...

As you know, our neighbors across from us finally turned off their lights the other night. It was very exciting. Our next door neighbor thought it was exciting too. So much in fact, that she decided to turn hers back ON. Now, this is a woman who has been known to talk to herself while sitting on her front steps in a cloud of what we can only assume to be illegally-produced smoke. So seeing Christmas lights adorning her deck on a solitary night in July isn't completely weird. But this time she took it to the next level--her lights have been on the last three nights. Thus giving us no reprieve from neighborhood Christmas lights. It's just so humorous, I can't hardly stand it. Maybe we'll turn ours on when Jackson is born.

On to the movie. I saw Munich last night with my parents. I was really looking forward to it. I had heard great things from people who had seen it and Dan had learned a bunch of stuff online about it. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed. First of all, it was entirely too long. Pushing three hours. Second of all, it was extremely violent. Doesn't normally bother me, but this time it did. Maybe it was the length with which the violence was dragged out. The movie started with the terrorist incident with the Israeli team at the Olympics. That took about 15 minutes. The rest of the movie was devoted to assassins hunting down the attackers. I wanted to know more about what led up to it and see more of the Olympics. It would have set the scene a lot better. Eric Bana is the main character, and he does very well. However, this isn't a movie I would have put in the best picture category. But I could say that about a lot of the best picture nominees this year. Just not a great year for movies, I guess. Oddly enough, the movie is also nominated for best original score. At one point in the movie, I leaned over and said to my mom, "John Williams is nominated for the music in this. I can't think of any music I've heard yet." Bottom line? Not the best movie I've seen this Oscar season. Worth renting when it comes out? I wouldn't. But again, there are so many people who said great things about it, so clearly there is something in it for some people. Just not for me.

The Oscars are one week from tomorrow!

Very exciting news

No, I'm not in labor. :)

The lights

are

off.

Actually, they were off last night, but I wanted to make sure it wasn't just a fluke thing before announcing it to blogworld. We had company for dinner and as they left, I said, "Check out our neighbors. They still have their....WAIT! They're gone!" Alas, they are not gone (neither are ours, actually). But at least they are off.

Now, on to the winner. The person who guessed closest to yesterday was Lalimama, with a guess of February 18th. The next closest was David, who guessed March 3rd. So close. And sorry, Lisa, but now you'll have to actually figure out how to get to our house without the landmark lights.

And now for Lalimama's prize. You get to play a game! Just click here. The red and green are in honor of our holiday-minded neighbors. Enjoy!

And celebrate! Today begins about eight months of a Christmas light-free neighborhood. :)

Black raspberry avalanche & Oscar movie reviews #7 and #8

Black raspberry avalanche is the ice cream flavor of the day. Edy's Dreamery. It was heavenly.

We rented two movies this weekend. Actually, we rented them last weekend and watched them this weekend. Blockbuster "no late fees" can be a nice thing.

Hustle and Flow. Very interesting movie, and I really enjoyed it. In only the way a white suburban girl can enjoy a movie about a pimp who follows his rap dream. With plenty of colorful words to boot. Terrence Howard is nominated for best actor. He does a nice job, but I think his competition in the category will be too much for him. The movie is also nominated for original song--"It's hard out here for a pimp"--which I have had in my head since seeing the movie Saturday night. :)

Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Cute movie. I have not seen any other Wallace and Gromit work, so this was very new for me. But who doesn't love claymation characters with British accents?! The thing that made me laugh the hardest was how they got away with a "G" rating. At one point, the main female character is lamenting to Wallace that her husband is no longer interested in her produce--at which point the "camera" shoots her strategically standing behind two canteloupes. Then at the end, Wallace ends up naked (which you don't actually see), so Gromit hands him a box to hold around his mid-section. The box is for some sort of food product and clearly bears the warning "May contain nuts." Anyway, this was an enjoyable movie and will probably win best animated film--its only nomination.

Now, before I'm done, here's an Olympic question for you. I've actually gotten into some of the sports this weekend, and it got me thinking about what kind of event I would want to compete in. I still don't know, but here's my question. Would you rather compete in a sport where the results were determined by time or by a judge's subjective scoring?

Oscar movie review #6 and other news

Well, we braved the Maple Grove Mann theater again. (Gloria is wondering if I'll ever learn...). However, this time I was smart enough to bring a pillow in with me. You're probably wondering about the looks I got? Well, I made Dan carry it. But honestly, a pregnant woman carrying a pillow into a movie theater isn't that weird. But I digress.

Movie of the night? The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Our plan was to see Munich, but it is only playing in Oakdale, Elk River, and St. Anthony Main. And I'm glad we were forced to change our plans because Narnia was fabulous. We just loved it. I am disappointed it isn't nominated for more (or at least more important) awards. It's up for make-up, sound mixing, and special effects.

The film was so true to Lewis' book, which made me very happy. The children were adorable, the animals were fascinating, and Aslan was powerfully gentle. The music was really good, too. And the witch? Fantastic villain with wicked dreadlocked hair. (Not that all dreadlocked hair is wicked, Matt Patrick).

As Dan said when we left, this is one we'll be purchasing when it comes out. It's classic and wonderful. And that's all. If you haven't seen it yet, see it. And bring your children. With the warning that the battle can get a little frightening.

In other Bennett news, we are officially in the last month of this pregnancy. Well, Jackson and I are in the last month. Dan's just along for the ride. :) It kind of blows my mind to think that I could go into labor at any moment. It also blows my mind to think that it could still be 6 weeks away! But that's okay. I'm bound to have a big baby no matter when I deliver, so bring it on. This past week brought some real excitement as Dan and I attended a 2 1/2 hour breastfeeding class at Methodist. You might wonder, as we did, what on earth takes 2 1/2 hours to learn when it comes to breastfeeding. But our perky instructor filled every last minute with lots of very useful information. I won't bore you (or disgust or frighten you) with the details, but I do have to share the one thing that made me laugh so hard that I feared wetting myself. As she introduced engorgement, she described it as "being so full of milk that you just need to nurse somebody." Somebody? Anybody? What kind of discernment should I use when finding this "somebody" to nurse? Anyway, it was funny.

And lastly, the lights are still on. Lalimama, cross your fingers. You guessed tomorrow. You might get lucky...

Oscar movie reviews #3, 4, and 5

Yup, I had a busy movie-watching weekend. So hold onto your seats!

1) Capote, nominated for a number of awards, including best actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and best picture.
I loved this movie. I went to the theater alone, which I rarely do. I enjoyed highly over-priced popcorn and soda, which I also rarely do. But I thought the movie was so well-done. And although I didn't know anything about Truman Capote before the film, I could tell that Hoffman had nailed it. Right down to the annoying voice. It's an absolutely fascinating story.

2) Junebug, nominated for best supporting actress (Amy Adams).
Another great flick. I hadn't even heard of it until I saw the nominee list. Apparently it didn't last too long in the theaters. Adams does a fantastic job in her role (and she's hugely pregnant, which I love). Her partner is played by Ben MacKenzie (of the O.C.). The cast is rounded out by her in-laws, all of whom are classic in-law types. Anyway, this one is worth the rental fee.

3) The Constant Gardener, nominated for best supporting actress (Rachel Weisz) and a number of other awards, including adapted screenplay.
This was really well-done, but it got long for me. It was a little over two hours. It was also a little hard to follow in the beginning. It goes between present and past, and eventually the flashbacks catch up to the present, and it took me a second to get it straight (it probably didn't help that I started the movie with my back to the television, checking my e-mail). Ralph Fiennes does a great job as a charming British diplomat investigating the murder of his wife (Weisz). And don't freak out--I'm not giving any more away than the back of the DVD case does. :) I'd recommend it if you're in the mood for a not-so-happy, albeit still very well-done, movie.

There you have it! Coming up in the near future (or at least sometime before 2/20, because that's when Blockbuster wants them back): Wallace & Gromit and Hustle & Flow. And probably Munich next weekend.

Oscar movie review #2

On Friday afternoon, Dan and I had plans to see a 5:10 showing of Good Night, and Good Luck at the Maple Grove AMC. When we got there, the 5:10 show said "sold out." We knew the movie couldn't be THAT good, so we asked what was up. Apparently the film had a tear in it and they were probably going to have to cancel the rest of the night's showings of it. Bummer. Change of plans. There wasn't much else at the AMC that we both wanted to see, so we went home. My new best friend, startribune.com/movies, told us that the Maple Grove Mann theater had Memoirs of a Geisha. I was surprised that Dan even wanted to see it, but we decided to do it. Other than the facts that (1) the seats in the theater are not very nice for a pregnant back and (2) the movie was over two hours, we enjoyed the flick. It's a very intriguing story, and the costumes and scenery are beautiful. Memoirs is nominated for achievement in art direction (whatever that means), achievement in cinematography (ditto), achievement in costume design (I'd say it has a chance at this), original music score (both Dan and I were surprised to see it was nominated for this and couldn't really remember the music being that great), and achievement in both sound editing and mixing. A lot of really random awards. Surprisingly, nothing for acting. I thought Ziyi Zhang was lovely, and who doesn't love Ken Watanabe? :) Not sure when this comes out on DVD, but I'd say it's worth renting. Unless you love uncomfortable theater seats and are dying to see it now!

Christmas lights are still on. (Sorry, Gloria, that means you didn't win). I am wanting to take mine down, but I don't want that to influence them at all. It would throw off the whole experiment. Wait, there's no experiment. Nevertheless, it's entirely too cold to take Christmas lights down this weekend. Talk to me in a week. :)

And the nominees are...

It's official! The Oscar nominees have been announced. You can find a complete list of nominees at Oscar.com, but I will highlight the big categories for you.

*Best Actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote)
Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow)
Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain)
Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line)
David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck)

*Best Supporting Actor
George Clooney (Syriana)
Matt Dillon (Crash)
Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man)
Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain)
William Hurt (A History of Violence)

*Best Actress
Judi Dench (Mrs. Henderson Presents)
Felicity Huffman (Transamerica)
Keira Knightley (Pride & Prejudice)
Charlize Theron (North Country)
Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line)

*Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams (Junebug)
Catherine Keener (Capote)
Frances McDormand (North Country)
Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener)
Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain)

*Best Picture
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Munich

I'm not going to give official predictions yet because I want to see more movies, but here's a start:
I'd love to see Joaquin Phoenix win best actor. I think his biggest competition in that category will be Philip Seymour Hoffman. Same with best actress--I'd love to see Reese Witherspoon take it, but Judi Dench seems to be the favorite. Best Picture is anyone's guess at this point. I have a feeling Brokeback Mountain will take it, simply due to its controversial nature. I liked the movie just fine. It was very well done, but I don't think it's best picture material. I'd love to see Crash get it, but I'm thinking more along the lines of Capote.
There you have it. There are so many other categories that you can check out online. There aren't a ton of surprises in my opinion, other than Walk the Line not getting a Best Picture nod.

My list of "must see" movies just grew a mile!

My most sincere apologies

Back in December, I awarded "bloggies" to many of you. Just some fun awards for various blog accomplishments over the course of 2005.

Little did I know that there are ACTUAL blog awards called the Bloggies! I came across this fact while reading a very funny blog, waiter rant. The author of this particular blog is nominated for "Best American Weblog." And for the record, I hope he wins. He makes me laugh out loud. I think I gained more of an appreciation for his stories after Dan's experiences with PF Chang's.

But on to the purpose of this post. If anyone from The Sixth Annual Weblog Awards--The 2006 Bloggies comes across my use of "bloggies" to refer to blog awards, please know that I did not intend to steal the term from you. I thought I was being clever. Apparently I was wrong. Furthermore, if you would like me to refer to my awards by a different name, just say the word. Granted, it will take me a while to think of a new name, but I'll do it.


Also, the lights are still on.

An update

Don't get excited...the lights are still on. But I hope to God they are turned off sooner than most of you have guessed!

Not only are they still on, their presence seems to have inspired the neighbor next door to us to turn her Christmas lights on for the first time since December 25th. It's as if she saw them and said, "Oh, am I still supposed to be displaying these?" This is the same neighbor who never took her lights down last year and decided to randomly turn them on in July. It was festive.

So, keep your guesses coming. I'm sure someone will be close. Hopefully someone who has guessed a date before MARCH! :)

A game

This came to me as I crawled back into bed after my third trip to the bathroom around 3:00 this morning. You see, the neighbors across the driveway from us are still displaying their Christmas lights. I have no problem with leaving them UP until the snow is gone and the air is warmer. But turning them ON? At the end of January? That's another story. The really obnoxious part is that they have been up and on since around Halloween. It's a shame the lights aren't prettier. There are rainbow-colored icicle lights over the garage, a string of solid green lights around the front door, and two flashing light figures in their windows. Let me tell you, these people are festive!

Here's where the game comes in. All you have to do is guess the date that my neighbors will stop turning their Christmas lights on. It's that simple. And when the lights are officially off for the year, I will report back to you and let you know who wins! And I'll have a special blog treat for the winner.

Make sure to read the dates guessed by others before you and guess a date that hasn't been guessed yet. There will be no sharing of the blog treat.

In light of the approaching Olympics, let the game begin!

Crash, Clothing sizes, and Nursery

1) Crash. Fantastic movie. Definitely in Oscar line-up, in my opinion. It was nominated for a couple Golden Globes. I feel like I need to watch it again. My brother even said it was better the second time through. If you haven't seen it and are in the mood for an extremely well-done, albeit pretty heavy, movie, then head to Blockbuster and pick it up.

2) I spent much of my day sorting, washing, drying, folding, and putting away a bunch of baby clothes we have received as hand-me-downs. As I was filling up dressers and shelves with onesies and sleepers, a funny thought crossed my mind. Baby clothes are sized according to age. For instance, they are generally 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months, and so on. Wouldn't it be weird if adult clothes were the same way? "Hi, I'm Erin, and I wear a size 25 years." And just like some babies are wearing 12-month clothes at 8 months, many adults would be wearing clothes outside their age range. "Yeah, I'm in 37-year clothes right now, but my goal is to be in a 32-year by summer."

3) The arrival of a changing table on Wednesday and a dresser this morning means that Jackson's room is officially complete! And adorable, I might add. So he can come any day now. Except that he'd only be about 4 pounds right now. That wouldn't be good. His lungs need some more cooking time. The cats are still pretty sure this is all for them. In fact, the bassinet in our bedroom has clearly become Ruby's favorite bedtime spot. We've got a cat hair-filled lint remover to prove it. And they are still absurdly fascinated with the mobile in the crib. Oh, cats, you have no idea how your world will change in a mere 7 weeks.

Then again, neither do I!

Beware the Ides of March!

Once in a while, when people ask when I am due and I say, "March 15th," they follow up with, "Ooh, the Ides of March!"

Huh? I have heard of the Ides of March, but before this morning, my knowledge stopped there. I decided to do some research.

And now for today's history lesson. :)

On the ancient Roman calendar, there were 45 public festivals (talk about days off galore!), as well as the "ides" of each month. In March, May, July, and October, the ides fell on the 15th. In all other months, the ides were on the 13th. In addition to ides, there were "kalends" and "nones." The kalends were the 1st of every month. The nones fell on the 7th day in March, May, July, and October, and the 5th in all other months. Until 44 BC, "The ides of March" was just a standard way of saying "March 15th."

Then came the fateful day--March 15, 44 BC. Julius Caesar was murdered in the senate. This event made the ides of March a dark day and superstitious to some. Shakespeare even refers to the day as "unlucky" in his play, "Julius Caesar." Caesar asks a soothsayer about the future, and gets the response, "Beware the ides of March."

There you have it. The ides of March. I'm going to begin celebrating days on the ancient Roman calendar. What do you say we plan a potluck for the nones of February? It just happens to be Super Bowl Sunday!

And for the record, I'm aiming for a St. Patrick's Day baby.

My favorite season

No, not winter. Not even spring. Although, I do love spring.

I'm talking Oscar season. As in the Academy Awards. For me, Oscar season officially begins with the Golden Globes, which are on tomorrow night. I think this gives us all a good idea of what movies will be big on Oscar night. The season gets even more exciting on January 31st, when the nominees are announced. And the big night itself is March 5th.

If you know me well, you know that I love the Oscars enough to throw a gigantic party. There is always lots of food, open ridicule at the appalling dresses, and prizes for those who guess the most correct winners.

If you know me really well, you also know that I am pregnant and my due date is March 15th. Yeah, that's 10 days after the Oscars. Now, you're probably thinking, "Oh, poor Erin. She's going to have to cancel her favorite party of the year because she'll be huge with child." Are you kidding me? I'm not cancelling anything. Bring it on!

Now, this is the beginning of my Oscar movie recommendations. I see more movies in the two months leading up to the Oscars than I do the entire rest of the year. That's no exaggeration. When I see a good movie, I will pass the recommendation on to you. Even though the nominations aren't officially out, I do have a few movies that I have enjoyed in the last couple weeks.

1) March of the Penguins. There is no doubt in my mind that this movie will win an Oscar for best documentary. I'm not big on documentaries, but this movie is absolutely fabulous. Family-friendly, narrated by Morgan Freeman, and only 80 minutes long. What more could you want? And it's already out on DVD!

2) Pride and Prejudice. Such a delightful film! Keira Knightly is a beautiful and charming Elizabeth Bennett, and Donald Sutherland is witty and darling as her father. It's just a feel-good movie. Unfortunately, it is not out on DVD until February 28th. But it is playing at the Maple Grove Mann, which has recently become a "cheap" theater!

2) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I have to admit, Johnny Depp looked kind of creepy to me in the previews. But if it was good enough for Ashley to see twice in the theater, it was worth the rental fee. And I was pleasantly surprised by a lovely movie. The kids are great. And the actor who plays Charlie is the adorable boy who played Peter opposite Johnny Depp in Finding Neverland just last year.

More recommendations coming soon! Dan and I are seeing Narnia tomorrow since I don't have to work. Happy Birthday, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. :)

Mr. Hollywood

I'm with Lisa. I'm a fan of Kare11 news. I'm also with her in the fact that I was bummed to find out that Ken Barlow was leaving. But Frank? I couldn't care less. It was a messy situation, but I was not a Frank fan. So, I was anxious to meet the new evening news man, Mike Pomeranz. Now that he has lasted a whole work week, I am ready to give him my grade.

C+.

I don't hate him, but I see room for improvement. My mom called him "Mr. Hollywood" and "too pretty" and said that she didn't like his hair. I concur with all of the above. Now, he is far from failing. In fact, there are seventh graders in my class who would pay good money for a C+. But he just doesn't do it for me yet. I just think he needs to find his groove. And frankly, I'll keep watching just because Julie Nelson is delightful.

Now, I don't want to make you jealous, but my dad called from Palm Springs, CA tonight (business trip) to report that he was relaxing in front of the television, watching Paul Majors cover the day's stories. Paul was a solid A.

Ah, the good old days.

Unwritten

Babies are on my mind lately. Obviously that is mostly because I am having one. But also because I know 16 other women who are pregnant. It's insane! In a great way. :) Anyway, the presence of a new life inside of me has me thinking about so many things lately.

Last week Dan and I went to Barnes and Noble with giftcards in hand. (Gotta love Christmas!) I happened to find a CD that I had wanted for Christmas but hadn't received, so I bought it. What CD? Hold onto your chairs--the soundtrack for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Since I teach middle school, I have read all three books and happened to see the movie as well. It was cute. But the music was really fun, so I wanted the CD.

One song on the CD coincided with my thoughts on babies and new life. It is called "Unwritten," and is performed by Natasha Bedingfield. Very fun song, especially if you remember the part of the movie it came from. Very fitting. However, as I really sat and listened to some of the lyrics, I realized how different it is for those of us with a faith in God.

"I am unwritten, can't read my mind, I'm undefined.
I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned."

The pen is not in my hand (for which I am eternally grateful), it's in God's. And the ending is most certainly planned. It has been since before we were born!

Now, besides a catchy tune and kickin' rhythm, this song does have some redeeming lyrics. The song takes a turn after the verse and becomes a very "get your butt out there and make something of your life" declaration.

"Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you,
Only you can let it in.
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten."

Again, the rest isn't actually unwritten, but the awesome part is that we don't know the ending!

And we can't even cheat and look at the last page. :)

2005--The Year of the Blogger

Blogs have apparently been around for a while. However, this year they clearly became the thing to do. So I did. As did all of you.

One of my favorite things about the end of the year is when news and entertainment shows highlight all of the amazing things that have happened in the last twelve months. I decided to do the same thing within our little blog community--a blog year in review. However, as I got started reviewing the many blogs, my focus changed a bit. Rather than pick a highlight from each blog, I have designated an award to each blogger for a specific reason. If I was actually handing out awards, the trophy would be Oscar-esque and most likely filled with chocolate. Pretend to enjoy. And let's get started! In no particular order (actually, in alphabetical order), here are the winners of the 2005 Bloggies!

The award for the funniest story ever goes to Ashley. You have to read it yourself to get a real feel for the story, but basically she fell off a treadmill. More than one time. And didn't give up. For that, she is my hero.

The award for the LONGEST post EVER goes to Bruce. I can't make a link to the specific post, but it is from December 9th. It seems that I am not the only person to think this was too long, as there are no comments. Sorry, Bruce.

The award for the best pictures goes to Christi. Christi doesn't write without also posting a picture, and I love them all.

The award for the most random web site links goes to my husband, Dan. The sites he recommends are both funny and frightening. My personal favorite? The mullets galore. Need I say more?

The award for the best Napoleon Dynamite dance rendition goes to David. I had a chance to see this in person at a wedding in May, and it was disturbingly amazing. Please check out the video. Bravo, David!

The award for the best save of a potential disaster goes to Diane. I sent the Patricks a package containing ingredients (sans the butter and eggs) for cookies. When Diane decided to make them, she almost used pure pork lard instead of butter. Darn language barrier. Luckily, she realized the mistake and was able to use margarine.

The award for the best addition to blogworld goes to Gloria. Gloria brought us Talia Grace in November. We even threw a virtual baby shower. My gift was a cat.

The award for referencing one of my favorite books goes to Heather. If you haven't yet checked out Blue Like Jazz, I can't say enough good things about it. Read it!

The award for the most blogs in one day goes to Jaime. On two different occasions (July 12 and August 24), Jamie posted three times in one day! Go Jaime! You could teach Joel a thing or two. (We'll get there...).

The award for the best non-blogspot site goes to Jan. Typepad has done lovely things for Jan. I like the layout and look of her blog very much. But I hear it costs money. Blogspot is free. Such a dilemma.

The award for the largest number of unnatural hair colors in less than a year goes to Jeff. My personal favorite was green. Very Irish. However, I'm glad his hair is back to normal.

The award for the fewest posts since beginning in May goes to Joel. May 19th seemed like an exciting day--we were gaining a new blogger. However, that was the first of a total of five posts. I will say that the quality of his posts ALMOST makes up for the quantity. But the quality just makes us all wish they came more frequently!

The award for the most spam comments on one entry goes to my mother-in-law, Joy. I enjoy spam comments. I don't enjoy getting them, but I do enjoy reading them when they have infected someone else. I mean, where else can you get information on aneurysm surgery and see the phrase, "My blog is just about my day to day life, as a park ranger" in the same place?

The award for the best childhood Halloween costume goes to Judy. Check it out. Need I say more?

The award for the best pretend life goes to Julie. I had a dream about Julie. She met and married a rock star and it changed her life. Julie took this story all the way, and it totally made my day!

The award for the cutest blog kids goes to Lalimama. She has showcased both her daughter and her son, and both are just too adorable for words.

The award for the best handling of an annoying client goes to Lisa. Everything ended up turning out okay, but this guy was a piece of work. Nicely done, Lisa.

The award for the most links to other blogs goes to Matt G. (Jan lost this one by 2). Matt must have a lot of friends. Or he just wants it to look that way. Just kidding, friend.

The award for the best published work goes to Matt M. I have had the chance to see this book in person, and it's fabulous!

The award for the most frequent posting goes to Matt P. Matt is in Slovakia and posts EVERY DAY to update us on the goings-on of his life across the sea. Frankly, there's no one else I would rather read this much about, so one else should aim for this kind of posting. Unless you move to another country and have lots to say, of course.

The award for the best photo of himself goes to Mike. There really isn't anything more to say about this one. Go Mike!

The award for the best photography HANDS DOWN goes to Scott. He has a truly amazing gift and I'm so glad he shares it.

The award for the funniest link to a video clip goes to Tim. This made me laugh out loud.

The award for the best weird world experience (number 5382, to be exact) goes to Tonya. At a recent Christmas concert, Steven Curtis Chapman asked the audience to hold up their lit cell phones (in leiu of lighters, of course). How 21st century of him!

There you have it. Congratulations to all of our winners!

Happy New Year! And happy blogging in 2006!

Ouch

Merry Christmas, bloggers! Actually, Happy Boxing Day in Canada. When I was younger, I thought Boxing Day had something to do with actual boxing--you know, the Rocky type boxing. However, Boxing Day refers to literally putting things in boxes. Doesn't seem like enough to warrant a real holiday on most printed calendars, but whatever. Canadians. Go figure.

Anyway, that is not what I wanted to blog about today. My material is much more entertaining than second-rate celebrations in other countries.

Late this afternoon, I went to the bathroom. (I know, already WAY more entertaining). When I was done and stood up, I said, "Ouch!" Do you want to know why? Of course you do. As it turns out, the toilet seat had completely cracked on one side. When I stood up, the crack in the seat pinched my poor skin, thus warranting the "Ouch!"

I proceeded downstairs to ask Dan about the broken seat. When I asked him what happened, he denied knowing anything about it. I thought that was weird, because I knew I would have felt it break if I had done it. And surely, the cats don't have this kind of power. But I didn't push it. I just mentioned that we would have to get a new seat tomorrow.

We had Dan's mom and brother for dinner. After they left (and yes, they both used the bathroom--ouch), I went in to assess the damage again and figure out a temporary fix to prevent furthur injury. Dan came in behind me and said, "Man, I feel like a jerk. I just heard a snap. I didn't realize the whole thing actually cracked." Ah ha! Guilty! I asked how it happened. ("Did you just sit down really hard?") Dan explained to me, and wants me to make very clear to you, that this had nothing to do with his weight or force of sitting. (In my opinion, the jury's still out on that...). He apparently heard the snap when he leaned to, well, you get the picture.

Now, back to my temporary fix of the crack. I reached for my trusty, all-purpose tool of choice, duct tape. I knew where it was because days before I'd had to tape some plastic over a hole in our shower tile. (Dan fell in the shower and took the towel bar out on the way down, smashing a tile and creating a hole into God-knows-what. He hasn't had a good week in the bathroom). So I grabbed the duct tape and proceeded to patch the crack in the seat, preventing future pinching. As I finished, I said out loud, "This looks so...." Dan was behind me and finished my sentence perfectly. "...trailer trash?" We both laughed. But it's so true. If you want to get a visual, simply apply some duct tape to any part of your toilet and admire the trashiness.

Our house has turned out to be a very adventurous place to live.

Stay tuned this week...I'm working on a blogger year-in-review. You won't want to miss this!

Glucose and Hemoglobin

These are two things in our blood. When a woman is pregnant, keeping tabs on the levels of these things is important. If they are not at the right levels, a pregnant women could be diagnosed with gestational diabetes and/or anemia. Here is the tale of my doctor's visit and the levels of these components in my blood.

My appointment was scheduled for Monday afternoon. Dan was going to meet me there. I spent the day hearing horror stories about the glucose test. I was to drink a horribly sweet syrup, wait around for an hour while my body took care of the 180 grams of glucose (roughly the equivalent 0f 4 cans of pop!), and have my blood taken. Luckily, I had my monthly appointment with my nurse practitioner scheduled for during that hour of down-time. I was a little concerned that the liquid would make me gag, and I was advised to choose the orange flavor.

We arrived and were promptly sent up to third floor OB. The woman behind the desk gave me a sheet and sent us back down to the first floor lab. The woman at the lab brought me into the back and sat me down while she retrieved the dreaded drink. She brought out two bottles--uh oh--and gave me a choice of fruit punch or orange. Being the obedient friend that I am, I chose the orange. She brought me a cup to pour the sweet nectar into. I did so, and although I had a whole 5 minutes to down the crud, I did it in about 30 seconds. It was fabulous! All right, that might be pushing it. But it certainly wasn't as bad as everyone had said. It was like McDonalds orange drink that hadn't been mixed quite right. Okay, first step done. The nice woman gave me a timer set for one hour and sent me back up to OB.

My regular appointment went just fine. She measured, prodded, and checked out my ears. What? Your ears? Yes. My ears. I have been battling a nasty cold, and she wanted to make sure it hadn't infected my ears. Now, back to business. My doctor was a sweetheart and actually chatted with us and answered questions for a long time, leaving us with only 15 minutes left on the timer! We put on our clothes (well, Dan never actually took his off, but whatever), and headed back down to the lab. I was excited. Almost done with this "dreaded" glucose test day.

After reading a bit in the waiting room, the same nice woman brought me back and sat me in the blood-taking chair. I am very good at having blood taken. Needles don't bother me and I have GREAT veins. Has anyone ever told you that you have great veins? It's quite a compliment! Anyway, the nurse proceeded to prepare the two vials and all of the equipment. She tied the rubber band thing on my arm and felt around. Nothing. No vein popping out to greet her and give her blood. She felt and felt. She tried the other arm. Even more of nothing. Back to arm number one. I didn't think she had actually felt anything, but she proceeded with the needle. I was right--she hadn't felt anything. This was evidenced by the fact that she prodded around with the needle after she had poked. Searching around in there for something to fill the vial. I was beside myself! It hurt! Finally, she hit something and SLOWLY filled the two bottles--one for glucose, one for hemoglobin.

After all of the hype, the worst part of the day ended up being the part I was least nervous about!

And the good news is that I haven't been called back about having wrong levels of glucose or hemoglobin, so all is good!

Next random pregnancy procedure, I'm ready for you. :)

Random news

1. My obsession with license plate tabs was indulged today. I passed a car with tabs from last February. What fun!

2. I was bummed that school wasn't delayed today. The closings scrolling along the bottom of the television screen went from "Annandale" to "Becker." I knew it would never happen, though. Anoka-Hennepin either closes or it doesn't. And mostly, it doesn't. None of this "two hours late" crap. Apparently it screws up our bussing system big time. Nevertheless, it took me almost twice as long to get to school.

3. Jackson is moving around like never before. In fact, sitting in class last night, I actually saw my belly move twice. Two big kicks in a row. It was crazy! And I couldn't do anything but continue to listen to a very stimulating lecture.

4. I finished Christmas shopping. I'm happy about that. Now I have a ton of stuff to wrap. I'm not happy about that. I'm pretty sure the cats will scratch them all open.

5. Speaking of the cats, this is their first Christmas experience. Maddie decided the best way to ring in the holiday season was to climb the Christmas tree. Luckily, it was not decorated yet and it is artificial. So, even if it had tipped over (which it miraculously did not), no major damage would have been done. Since that instance, they have only taken joy in removing ornaments and hiding them. They also sleep under the tree--it's their own little forest.

6. Our house is so full of baby stuff. But that's a wonderful thing. We got two big bins of baby clothes from some friends who have a one-year-old boy. There is a stroller. Two different car seats. A big bassinet. A bunch of toys. And so much more. The best part about all of this stuff is that most of it is being lent to us. We are so grateful for friends who share!

I think that's all that is on my mind. I should eat some dinner. Have a happy snowy day! May the plows find your streets!

Close to home

It has become a normal part of watching the local and national news: Soldiers being killed in Iraq. So it wasn't weird when Eric Perkins' top story on the news headlines this morning was about two Minnesota marines killed in a roadside bombing in Falujah.

So what was weird? That I knew one of them. I was really only listening at first. Then I recognized a name. "Scott Modeen, a 2000 graduate of Cooper High School." And to tell you the truth, Cooper High School caught my attention more than his name did. I went to Armstrong and we lived near Cooper. So I glanced at the screen, realizing that Scott Modeen sounded familiar. Indeed, his picture made it all very clear. This was a fellow classmate of mine at Sacred Heart School in Robbinsdale through 8th grade. It was hard to believe that the man in the sullen-looking marine pose was the same wacky kid who was easily dubbed the class clown in middle school. Scott joined the marines after 9/11/01. He left for his second tour of duty in July.

Today my thoughts are once again on the preciousness of life and my prayers are with Scott's family.

Bye bye, blue tape!

June, 2004. Move into new home in Maple Grove. See obvious need for improvement. Tackle kitchen and bathroom with plans for continued efforts at a later date.

May, 2005. Later date arrives. Summer seems like an optimal time to continue with the home improvement projects, most of which involve paint. Leave Home Depot with a BUNCH of stuff.

June, 2005. School gets out. All right, time to start. Where do we start? With blue tape. Taping off proves to be a very time-consuming job.

July, 2005. Actually begin to paint. Dark trim is to become "Tibetan Jasmine," walls will transform into "Parisian Taupe." Sounds pretty.

July 7, 2005. Positive pregnancy test. Hmm, I better really get going on this painting before I get sick or too tired to do anything.

A few days later in July, 2005. Damn. I'm sick and too tired to do anything.

Middle of July, 2005. Despite the need for frequent breaks to the bathroom or to bed, painting commences. Although things are slow going, I resolve to finish by the start of school.

September 6, 2005. School begins. Painting is not done. But we're so close. All that is really left is fixing the office/baby room since the grey turned out to be pretty ugly, and finishing the entry way. The latter requires a ladder. We don't have a ladder. Entry way remains taped off. We appear to be in a constant state of remodeling. But we aren't.

November 20, 2005. Office truly becomes baby room. "Celery bunch" is much more appropriate than ugly grey.

November 25, 2005. Borrow ladder from friends. You know, one of those awesome ladders that has its own info-mercial.

November 26, 2005. Entry way is completed, thanks to the ladder and some Christmas tunes on the stereo. Granted, a pregnant woman shouldn't work on a ladder when it is too high, so the cutting in at the top is left for Dan. But it looks so nice. And clean.

And the blue tape is gone. Victory!

My gift for Talia

Gloria, I want to give Talia a cat.
As you can see, babies enjoy cats. For chewing and other purposes. And despite the look of terror on the cat's face, he's enjoying it too.
So I really think this is a practical gift for your daughter. I am confident she will enjoy it.

Congratulations!!!

Pregnant dreams

I have mentioned before that I have very pregnant dreams. Mind you, that refers only to my crazy mind and the random nature of the dream itself. No one in the dream is actually pregnant.

Last night I dreamed about fellow blogger, Julie. In my dream, Julie had come across a website of a rock star, and she started blogging about how this was the man she was going to marry. Then Gloria read Julie's blog and also started blogging about how Julie had found the man she was going to marry. Well, between the two of them, this "rock star" found out about Julie's intentions and decided that he really wanted to get married too, and he talked about how it was such a "God thing." Julie, in the meantime, changed her blog site to "marry-for-money.blogspot.com." However, both Julie and her husband-to-be were very cautious about their relationship because being married to a rock star can be tricky business. They were, however, a very cute couple.

I shared this with Julie. Other than a quick "Wait! Is this how you really think of me?" she was amused. So amused, in fact, that she is really taking this whole thing to heart. And I have to say she's making my day.

Check out Julie's new path in life here. Enjoy!

Obsessive, but not so compulsive

I have a weird obsession. I almost feel weird sharing it because it is so outrageous. I have an idea of where it began (I'll get there), but that reason doesn't make this any more normal. My obsession?

License plate tabs.

No lie. When I am driving or waiting in traffic, I scan the cars around me for green tabs (2005) to see when they expire(d). Usually they will expire in November or December. Once in a while there is an October out there. Even an August or a June. The worst? A couple of weeks ago, I saw an April. Yikes! How do these people not get pulled over for this?

Better yet, why do I care? I mean, seriously. What good is my noticing going to do? It's not like I jump out of my car while waiting at a stop light and tap on the guilty person's window to inform them of their rule breaking. (Frankly, if it gets to that point, I'll seek help). No, I just make the mental note of how out to lunch people are and go on my merry way.

Now, a little history. Although, there is absolutely no explaining this away now. You all think I'm nuts.

Four years ago, Dan and I were driving home from a wedding in Willmar. We were in a small town where the speed limit had unexpectedly dropped from 50 MPH to 35 MPH. Needless to say, I was pulled over for speeding. As it turns out, I had no proof that I owned the car. I had never received the title in the mail from the man who sold it to me. Therefore, I also didn't receive a notice from the DMV that my tabs were in need of renewing. So, there we sat, a looming speeding ticket, no proof of vehicle ownership, and tabs that were three months overdue. Luckily, I got the nice police man who only gave me a ticket for the speeding and a warning for the rest. But from them on, I always thought, "Expired license plate tabs are a dumb reason to get pulled over." So I have tried to be on top of when our tabs are due. And the tabs of every car in the greater metropolitan area, apparently.

Here's a little license plate trivia, in case you didn't know. You have a one-week grace period to get new tabs. For instance, if your tabs expire in November, you have until December 8th to get new ones.

I can't wait to see what color the 2007 tabs will be!

Nothing big

I really don't have anything of great importance to say. I just figured people might get sick of seeing the picture of Sally after a while. Not as sick as one might get of seeing "Cabin Fever," but that's another story all together...

Jackson has made the kicking a pretty regular thing. In fact, I was reading in bed the other night, and out of nowhere there was a quick "kick, kick, kick," and I just started laughing. Out loud. I was home alone. Other than the cats, but I laugh at them a lot. Anyway, I guess it kind of dawned on me (as it does on a daily basis) that there is a baby in me and it is alive. I know that's kind of obvious and you'd think I would get used to the idea after almost 5 months of pregnancy, but I'm a slow learner.

Speaking of learners, as of tomorrow I have survived the first quarter of my second year as a middle school teacher. Survive is really the wrong word, though. I have a fantastic group of kids this year. I have yet to hand out a single detention, and only 4 of my 105 students are failing. Pretty successful in the world of "Oh, we had to turn that in?"

Speaking of turning things in, I got an e-mail from my thesis advisor at Bethel today and he liked my first chapter! Yay! Apparently the whole "only one space after a period" thing didn't hang me up as much as I thought it did.

That's all for now. Besides the fact that I can't believe it's November 9th. That makes March 15th a mere 4 months away. Holy cow!

A ditz? Seriously?

You are Sally!

Which Peanuts Character are You?


I thought the description was on the right track until I got to the last part. Do you all really think that about me? Come on! I mean, I know I have my blond days, but they are few and far between. Hardly worthy of the actual "ditz" label. :) It's fine, really. I enjoy Sally!

Hard habit to break & Acrobat baby

Habit
I am presently writing chapter 1 of my Master's action research project. I am not a big fan of APA style writing, having first learned MLA. But this paper has to be in APA, so I am doing my best to learn as I go. One of the crazy rules is that there is only one space after a period. Do you have any idea how hard that is when you have been typing with two spaces after periods for YEARS? I keep having to backspace. It's interrupting my flow. And I have pretty good flow for late on a Friday night if you ask me!

Baby
The placenta buffer on the front wall of my uterus (see post from last Friday) has proved to be no obstacle whatsoever for little Jackson today. I started feeling him moving around when I was lying in bed this morning. Whenever I do feel him, it's when I'm lying in bed, very still and quiet. So I figured that was my daily dose. But no! I continued to feel his little flutters all day. It was delightful.

When you feel small...

You've probably heard this, as I had, but someone reminded me of it today and I thought I would pass it on.

When you are feeling insignificant or unimportant, remember:

Amateurs built the ark; professionals built the Titanic.

Let the nerve-wracking begin!

This summer, I made a slew of doctor's appointments at my clinic. The most recent was today--a follow-up for my ultrasound that took place last week. This was just a chance to go over all of the results of the ultrasound, since the technician can only report abnormalities to a physician. The appointment was scheduled for 4:00 today.

I got a message on our answering maching yesterday afternoon when I got home from school. It was my clinic, and they were wondering if I could come in at 2:30 instead of 4:00. Without thinking about it, I called back and said that the earliest I could be there (Minnetonka) was 4:00 because I wasn't able to leave my school in Coon Rapids earlier than 3:15. They said that would be fine.

So I am sitting at my desk this morning while my kids are taking a quiz, and out of nowhere I think, "Holy crap! What if they wanted me to come in early because something is wrong on the ultrasound?" Then I calmed down and heeded the wisdom of my mother, who said that they probably were just trying to fill in cancelled appointment times. Fine, that makes sense. But I still couldn't shake the fear, and I started thinking about how I haven't been feeling him move around as much as the books say I should, I have been having weird pain on the sides of my abdomen when I get out of bed in the morning, and I am STILL SO TIRED everyday.

I got to my clinic with time to spare and sat in the waiting room with a two-week-old Newsweek magazine. Come on, it was that or Golf Digest. In an OB waiting room. Go figure. But I digress. The nurse called my name in record time. I explained my surprise and how I'd had to wait an hour and a half last time I came in. She laughed. She probably thought I was exaggerating. :) She took my weight and blood pressure, and within only a few more minutes my nurse practitioner walked in. She took me through the ultrasound techno-speak and explained that everything was perfectly normal. (Yay!--I mean, I totally knew it would be).

Now--on to my concerns.
1) Not feeling him move around. Granted, I shouldn't listen to all the books and websites so closely, but it seems like people were coming out of the woodwork asking if I was feeling him like crazy. Sure, I had flutters, but they were few and far between. The logical answer? My placenta has made its home against the front wall of my uterus. It is acting like a buffer between me and the baby. Obviously, he'll eventually be big enough to feel, even through the placenta. This is also the reason my doctors always have such a hard time finding his heartbeat. They had to work around a big blob of placenta!
2) Pain on the sides of my abdomen. My doctor is dubbing this the "pain of the month." I forget what it's called, but it's totally normal. Kind of a muscle spasm deal. Anyway, just knowing that it's "normal" eases some of the pain right away.
3) STILL being tired. Yeah, there's no saying goodbye to this. Oh well. Two out of three isn't that bad.

I have three more monthly appointments. In February , my appointments occur every two weeks, and in March they are weekly. It's a little weird. I know that it's going to be here before I know it! It's so exciting.

Oh, Baby!

Well, my parents decided they couldn't wait until Saturday night, so there's no sense in not telling you!

Our ultrasound was this morning and it was so amazing! There is a little human being in my uterus! In the beginning the technician explained that she would take pictures of all of the organs and bones and everything. Then she asked, "If I'm able to see the gender, do you want to know it?" We said, "YES!" So on she went with her little tool on my belly, pointing out everything she was stopping for. "Here's its spine, and here's the bladder, and there's its stomach." It was all very fascinating.

Pretty soon she got to the kidneys and carefully measured both of them. Then out of nowhere she says, "And here are his two testicles and penis." Dan and I looked at each other like, "Holy cow! We're having a boy!"

The woman proceeded with the rest of the exam. Then she printed out a few pictures for us to take with us. There are a couple of good profile shots of his head. Then there is one that clearly shows his "boyhood." The last three are profiles also; one sucking his thumb, one "waving," and one holding both of his fists by his face like he's about to punch something. :) It's so fun to look at them and think, "Hey, little guy. We're going to meet you in a few months!"

So, blogworld, I'm excited to introduce to you our yet-to-be-born son, Jackson Reed Bennett. All 9 ounces of him. (This is where I would insert a scanned picture of one of the ultrasound shots if we had the tools to do so. Sorry that we don't...). :)

So much to say!

Hello, all. I feel very sporadic in blogworld of late. I think school has once again taken over many areas of my life. But, 'tis MEA weekend. The time when teachers rejoice, for they weren't sure how much longer they could last without a day off. So, I will take the time to write. Nothing profound, but something.

I was thinking about pet peeves the other day. It was weird. It felt like so many of my pet peeves were happening in a very short period of time. I will share a few with you. Come on, peeve with me. Nope, that sounds weird.

1) Stupid drivers. This is a very general pet peeve. The thing that happened the other day was just beyond insane. If a driver wishes to turn right onto Weaver Lake Road from East Fish Lake Road, he or she must wait until a green light. There are two or three signs clearly stating "No Turn on Red." I have seen people ignore this rule many times. On one occasion, I even saw one get caught by a lurking police officer. On this particular morning this week, I was the first in line to turn right. I was waiting patiently for the green arrow. The idiot behind me just thought I was out to lunch. He proceeded to honk as if I could go and just wasn't watching. I ended up getting a kick out of watching him fuming behind me.

2) Parents who make excuses for their kids. We had parent/teacher conferences last week and the week before, so we experienced this one more than once. One particular mother heard her son was passing every class except for reading (mine), and proceeded to explain it away with a family history of illiteracy. I wasn't impressed. Besides the fact that her son isn't passing because he has failed to turn in numerous assignments. But whatever. They'll hear what they want to hear. And apparently say whatever the hell they want to say.

3) People who announce how much their clothes cost. Scenario:
Beth: Hey, Heather. Cute shirt!
Heather: Thanks! It was $20.
Beth: Wow, that's a great deal.
Me (safely in my own head): Who cares?
My general rule about announcing prices about what you are wearing: It's only acceptable if you bought something at Tiffany's for less than $20.

Well, enough ranting. Now, onto some more exciting stuff.

Dan and I had dinner at France 44 with the Malettes tonight. Besides the fact that it rocked, we saw Frank Vascellaro (KARE11 news anchor) and his wife Amelia Santaniello (WCCO news anchor) . I only watch KARE11, but I'm not a fan of Frank. He kind of bugs. But still, it was like our own little celebrity sighting. I know, I'm kind of pathetic. When I worked at Brueggers as a high schooler, Tim McNiff (KARE11 sports turned morning anchor) used to come in all the time. I guess I miss it.

Tomorrow's exciting event is my 20-week ultrasound. We are (hopefully) finding out if we are having a boy or a girl. You know, as long as "it" is facing the right way to see "stuff." Or the lack of "stuff," I guess... So that will be fun. I want to name this child. I will tell you all, in blog form, but not until after Saturday night. That's when my parents are finding out!

I have to go now. Through the course of writing this blog, I have somehow gotten into an episode of Martha Stewart Apprentice. I have to go watch the boardroom now. Oh my, who will get fired? Of more concern is why I care. :)

My turn

So, there's this awesome website discovered by Ashley and blogged about by Jan, Jeff, and Christi. When you type the year you graduated into "search," you can see the top 100 songs of "your time."

Well, as Christi is the self-proclaimed granny of the group, I'm going to have to label myself the baby. Sadly enough, some of these songs are still on the radio quite frequently.

Without further ado, a portion of the top 100 songs of 1999:
1. Believe, Cher
2. No Scrubs, TLC
5. ...Baby One More Time, Britney Spears
6. Kiss Me, Sixpence None the Richer
7. Genie in a Bottle, Christina Aguilera
8. Every Morning, Sugar Ray
10. Livin' La Vida Loca, Ricky Martin
13. Slide, Goo Goo Dolls
15. I Want it That Way, Backstreet Boys
17. All Star, Smash Mouth
22. Save Tonight, Eagle-Eye Cherry
32. That Don't Impress Me Much, Shania Twain
33. Wild Wild West, Will Smith
42. Mambo No. 5, Lou Bega

And the list goes on and on and on. It was a big year for Shania Twain, Goo Goo Dolls, Britney Spears, and Sarah McLachlan. Not to mention the fact that boy bands as we now know them were just making their mark on the music world.

Here's one more interesting piece of 1999 music trivia, speaking of boy bands. The number 45 song was "(God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time" performed by N*Sync. The number 100 song is the same title performed by the country group Alabama. Whoa.

So check this out. And if you're like me, you'll be humming a different song every other minute for the rest of the day. Enjoy!

Fun times

There's a chill in the air.
Students are actually concerned about grades.
The book fair has been successfully set up in the foyer.
Ah, yes, it must be conference time.

Our first of three nights of conferences was last night. I saw eleven parents in a span of five hours. It was almost painfully boring. I'm blaming the "Oh my gosh, it's winter" panic that many Minnesotans have the first time in the season the temperature drops below 40. Anyway, I had brought a book from home just in case things were slow.

After grading a number of papers and organizing next week's lessons, I decided to pull out the book. It was "Belly Laughs" by Jenny McCarthy (yes, THAT Jenny McCarthy). This is her very irreverent and somewhat profane, yet extremely hilarious take on pregnancy. I thought I would get a couple chapters read between chatting with my team English teacher. As it turns out, I read this book cover to cover in the time I was just sitting around last night. Sometimes I laughed out loud. Sometimes I was scared out of my mind. I must share some of this treasure with you...

From a chapter on Morning Sickness:
"Strangers gawked at me as they saw me gagging in Aisle 3 holding up some cheese. It's hard having these symptoms in public when you don't look pregnant. If I were nine months along they would look at me like "oh look, poor little pregnant lady doesn't feel so good." Instead they looked at me as if to say, "Don't bulimics puke AFTER they eat?"

Her chapter titles alone, although the most inappropriate part of the book, are worth making the trip to the library.

Title on cravings: "Can I Have a Mustard Sandwich with Pickles, Anchovies, Peanut Butter, and a Little Cottage Cheese?...Oh, and Throw a Few Fish Sticks on There!"

Title on hating skinny people: "Die, Model Bitch, Die."

As you can see, my night wasn't a total waste of time. Now I need to find more material for Monday and Wednesday nights next week. But if I prepare too much, Murphy's Law will punch me in the face and we'll have parents coming in back to back for the entire five hours.

Happy autumn, everyone. Have a beautiful weekend!

The Lover's Hermitage

Love, you are my hermitage,
my dwelling for ever.

Just as a happy bachelor
may aspire to be a hermit,
so as your husband(wife) do I dream
of being more married.

Your body is a path leading
through a golden wood;
your love is a clearing
in the center of the forest.

Here have I built my home,
here in you alone.
With you I know a solitude
deeper than my own.

One table, one rocking chair
by the hearth of you--
and in your face a window
brighter than the sky!

Your words are quieter
than my thoughts.
Gladly shall I spend my life
in the cool still hush of you.

When you smile I'm warmed
like earth in the sun.
Your laugh is the brook
at my doorstep.

Gentler are you than breath,
stranger than death.
Just to touch your hair
is more peaceful than sleep.

Surely all my wandering
finds its end in you.
In your brown eyes
may I safely die.

Love, you are my hermitage,
my dwelling for ever.

Bloggers of the world united

So this morning at church was the great unveiling. Actually, it was the great meeting of fellow bloggers. But after a while, it felt more like an unveiling. Like the face I hide behind the writings on this page has lost its anonymity. I felt exposed.

But I also felt a little bit of community. It was nice to put some faces to a few names.

On another note, a couple fellow bloggers asked how I have been feeling. And it occurred to me that I never really annouced with great rejoicing the end of my "morning" sickness. Which is surprising because it was a rather glorious time! The end of that road came just in time for school to start, in fact. I'm feeling much more normal. Well, as normal as you can feel when you are wearing jeans with a maternity panel in them. (I'm hoping they get more "comfortable" as the baby grows into them...).

Welcome to those who didn't know my name until this morning. And to the "regulars," thanks for being faithful. :)

Surprise!

I rolled out of bed at 5:45. I took my shower and fed the cats. I killed a giant centipede. I got a banana and sat down at the computer, turning on the television. I didn't even look at the screen right away. As I ate my breakfast and navigated to yahoo.com, I overheard Kare 11's Kim and Tim reporting about the devastating effects of last night's storm. I finally turned my eyes to the screen.

What? Schools are closed? Is there some kind of weird weather phenomenon happening that causes all of those small-town schools to shut down? Wait a second. Fridley. Osseo. Robbinsdale. These were metro schools. I waited until the beginning of the alphabet. But even when I saw Anoka-Hennepin, I could hardly believe my eyes. The state's biggest school district doesn't close for anything. I had to watch three cycles of the closings to finally get it. We were closed! A day off! My friend and fellow A-H teacher called to make sure I had heard about the closing. Lucky for her, she got the news before she got in the shower. I had to finish my breakfast and dry my hair before I could return to my still-warm-and-cozy bed.

It was a lovely surprise and a blessing for this stuffed-up, coughing pregnant woman. And we got a beautiful day to boot! Happy autumn!

Getting to Know You

Getting to Know All About You...

Nothing like a little musical theater moment courtesy of The King and I.

So, I'm jumping on the bandwagon with this one. Bloggers everywhere are doing it. And I probably wouldn't have if someone didn't add me to the "people I want to do this next" list. But Julie did. And I thank her for it.

Things I want to do before I die
1. travel to Europe with Dan
2. learn to kayak (dad, that would be your cue)
3. get my doctorate in literacy education
4. be published
5. go back to Haiti (Lisa, that would be your cue)

Things I can do
1. cook
2. sing
3. bear children
4. teach
5. tip a canoe

Things I cannot do
1. take sudafed before bed
2. walk on stilts
3. produce sperm
4. cut my own hair (it didn't stop me from trying in 10th grade)
5. consume alcohol without breaking out in a bright red rash

Things that attract me to my husband
1. his eyes
2. his heart
3. his hugs
4. his passion for kids/youth
5. his thoughfulness

Celebrity crushes
1. Matt Damon
2. Ben Affleck
3. MacGyver (there's a story...)
4. Tyler Florence
5. Richard Gere

People I want to do this next
1. Lisa
2. Dan
3. David
4. Vicki (this would require you getting a blog--I mostly put you on here to connect you somehow with the number 4) :)
5. Jackie (because she hasn't posted in like 2 months)

See? That was fun. Now you know random, useless information about me. Go find a way to use it.

Now, that feels different

For those who read my earlier post and actually did pray for the meeting with my professor, thank you.

As it turns out, I don't have to revise anything! Definitely a God thing. It doesn't mean that she thought my portfolio was flawless, but it was good enough to get by the first time. And from what I hear, most other license applicants have had to rewrite at least a couple of entries. So I felt very proud and lucky and thankful.

And so tired. So I came home, crawled into bed and slept for almost two hours. I remember having a dream about John Heder. Nothing specific, just that he smiled a lot more than Napoleon Dynamite.

Random. Maybe I didn't get quite enough sleep to make up for last night...

Holy long day, Batman

I went to the doctor yesterday afternoon. Just a monthly, routine appointment with my OB. Even though our day "officially" ends at 3:25, I had gotten permission from my principal to leave at 3:15 in order to get to Minnetonka by 4:00. I got there with a few minutes to spare and took my seat in the waiting room.

4:00. 4:15. 4:30.

Finally, I was called in, which didn't mean anything. The nurse took my blood pressure (100/58, thank you very much), recorded my weight (won't be sharing that one, thank you very much), and said the doctor was running a little late but he'd be with me as soon as he could. After reading GQ, Good Housekeeping, and Reader's Digest in the waiting room, I surveyed the magazine selection in the exam room. Child, Parenting, Working Mother, Glamour, More (for woman over 40), and Organic Living. I settled in with Working Mother and my box of kleenex, as I'd been battling allergies all weekend and was getting to the point where I could hardly breathe.

4:45. 5:00. 5:15.

A nurse came in and told me that the doctor was almost finished and he should be right in. Whatever. Let me get back to my reading.

5:20. 5:25.

A new nurse came in and said the doctor was very sorry and he would be with me in five minutes. I forced a smile and blew my nose.

True to the new nurse's word, the doctor showed up at 5:30. An hour and a half after my appointment time. And, of course, I wasn't with him for more than ten minutes. We heard the heartbeat, he checked for swelling in my ankles, and asked if I had any problems or questions. (Why the hell are you running so late?) The one good thing was that before I left, he faxed in a prescription for Nasonex, since I can't take my "go-to" Claritin and Benadryl knocks me out for weeks at a time.

So as I left, I decided to stop at Bruegger's for some chicken spaetzel soup. When I walked in, an hour from closing time, they were ALL out of soup. Very bummed. So I got a sandwich. Not quite the same healing elements, but still dinner.

When I got home, Dan offered to run to Target to pick up my prescription. He called me from the pharmacy saying that they didn't have any record of the prescription being faxed in. After a bit of an ordeal, they called the Park Nicollet urgent care line, pulled up my file, saw that I had been issued the prescription, and were able to fill it. Dan arrived home with Nasonex and sudafed.

Stupidly, I took both and went to bed. When my mom was going through chemo, she got a terrible sinus infection in the middle of everything and ended up having a horrible time with sudafed. In her own words, it was like speed. Not that she knows what that's like, the little hippie that she is. Anyway, she couldn't sleep. And neither could I last night. I slept for a couple hours, then woke up at midnight and was WIDE awake. To the best of my recollection I fell asleep again around 4:00, and dozed off a couple times before my alarm went off at 5:30. I feel like a zombie. I probably should have called in sick, but I'm saving my sick days so I can get paid during my maternity leave!

Well, that was a lot of babbling. If you made it this far, thanks for sticking with me. :)

On another note, I would greatly appreciate your prayers this afternoon. I am meeting with my professor at Bethel to review my portfolio, and find out what I will have to re-do. (See post "Mean People Suck"). I'm not really looking forward to it, but I'll be happy to get the meeting over with.

Thanks, all! Have a nice Tuesday. It sure looks lovely outside!!

Picture painting

I'm a big fan of Sara Groves, and every once in a while I get in a "painting pictures of Egypt" mood. I've been in that mood lately, and I'm not sure why. Where the future seems like a hard place to be, and you make the past seem better than it actually was in an effort to justify going back. Anyway, I'm sharing the lyrics below.

But first, some exciting news. Sara is starting a tour in October with Jars of Clay, Chris Rice, and Donald Miller, amazing author of Blue Like Jazz. You can learn more at saragroves.com.

Painting Pictures of Egypt

I don't want to leave here
I don't want to stay
It feels like pinching to me either way
The places I long for the most
Are the places where I've been
They are calling out to me like a long lost friend

It's not about losing faith
It's not about trust
It's all about comfortable
When you move so much
The place I was wasn't perfect
But I had found a way to live
It wasn't milk or honey
But then neither is this

I've been painting pictures of Egypt
Leaving out what it lacked
The future seems so hard
And I want to go back
But the places that used to fit me
Cannot hold the things I've learned
And those roads were closed off to me
While my back was turned

The past is so tangible
I know it by heart
Familiar things are never easy to discard
I was dying for some freedom
But now I hesitate to go
I am caught between the promise
And the things I know

I've been painting pictures of Egypt
Leaving out what it lacked
The future seems so hard
And I want to go back
But the places that used to fit me
Cannot hold the things I've learned
And those roads were closed off to me
While my back was turned

If it comes too quick
I may not recognize it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?
If it comes to quick
I may not appreciate it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?

I love "it wasn't milk or honey, but then neither is this." It's like coming to the realization that the past really wasn't good enough to do all over again, but being stuck where the present/future don't seem like a comfortable place to be either.

I'm just thankful that although I don't know what the future holds, I know who holds the future. He hold me too.

A brand new year!

This past Tuesday brought with it a fresh batch of seventh graders. And although I'm glad tomorrow is Friday, it has been a great week.

My schedule is really a dream. I have prep last hour (perfect for those eventual pregnancy doctor's appointments!). My biggest class is 24 kids and it is supported with a para. I teach all five of my classes in the same room. Most teachers have to travel among classrooms because there aren't enough to go around.

A three-month break for the summer is an obvious perk to being a teacher. But the first week back in the swing of things makes me really realize why I do what I do. And I like it!

Ah, Katrina

I guess it was just a matter of time before I figured out what I wanted to say about the devastation in the south. Not that I have much to say now, but little things keep popping into my head.

The name Katrina means "pure." A word synonymous with "clean" and "innocent." When I see pictures and footage and read stories of the disaster, the last words that come to mind are "clean" and "innocent."

What fascinates me is the wide variety of ways people are reacting to everything. From Kanye West making a complete idiot of himself during the relief concert on Friday night to the Minnesota man who is opening his house to a family of hurricane victims rent-free for a year. From the little boy who brought a bag full of quarters to the red cross booth at the state fair because "the kids down there don't have any toys" to John Grisham (a Mississippi resident, by the way) giving $5 million to the relief fund.

We (teachers) went back to school last week. We are planning on kicking of the school year on Tuesday with an announcement to students that we are conducting a "diaper drive." I think it's awesome. I can't even fathom how long some babies have gone without being changed. Oh, the things we take for granted.

It is so easy to be overwhelmed by the vastness of it all. I even caught myself thinking, "What good is my measely $20 going to do when the need is so big?" But something inside me thought about how many people must think that. That the need is just too big and what we give won't be enough. But I think if everyone who entertained that thought actually gave into it, we'd be depriving the relief effort of so much. Every little bit counts.

I am reminded of our theme as a staff this year. It revolves around the Starfish Story. (Please click on the link and read if you aren't familiar with it). The same can be applied with Katrina. It's wonderful to think about a man opening up a house to a family of seven hurricane victims. A house that he had fixed up and was planning to rent out. But when I see the masses of people who are still stranded and without anything, I think, "What difference does it make if he opens his house to that one family? There are still a million families who are hurting." But it does make a world of difference for that one family who was blessed.

Lord, have mercy.

We survived!

Last night marked the last of our six summer weddings. I feel bad that we cheated a little along the way--skipping the reception of the fourth and skipping the fifth all together. But we are done. And it was glorious!

The ceremony was in the cutest, most cozy little church in Minneapolis--Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church. The drive around the lake just to get to the church was outstanding. The houses are enormous. The reception was at the Women's Club of Minneapolis. Very elegant. And I'm ALL about the dessert buffet. Awesome.

So congrats to all who tied the knot through the duration of this lovely summer. They were all beautiful and tons of fun. (Despite my frequent rantings...).

It really doesn't end, though. Our next is October 22nd. :)

Hooray for high pollen counts!

Yes, the pollen level is at 10.5 on a 12-point scale right now. The pollen "forecast" for the next few days is quite high as well.

In case you are curious, the primary pollens at this point in the season are ragweed, nettle, and chenopods. :)

If you are a fellow allergy sufferer, please delight in the fact that you can take whatever the heck you want to relieve the symptoms. All my pregnant self is allowed to take is benadryl. Unfortunately, if I did take benadryl, or any other "safe antihistamine," I wouldn't be coherent until at least Tuesday.

So, this weekend, I sneeze. Anybody with me?!

CD recommendation of the month...or year

At the high recommendation of the amazing and talented Joel Hanson, I picked up the recent Tim Hughes worship CD on Sunday. It's been playing in my car ever since. It's a great collection of really solid songs. Like the following!

When the Tears Fall
I've had questions, without answers
I've known sorrow, I have known pain
But there's one thing, that I'll cling to
You are faithful, Jesus, You're true

When hope is lost, I'll call You Saviour
When pain surrounds, I'll call You Healer
When silence falls, You'll be the song within my heart

In the lone hour of my sorrow
Through the darkest night of my soul
You surround me and sustain me
My defender, forevermore

When hope is lost, I'll call You Saviour
When pain surrounds, I'll call you Healer
When silence falls, You'll be the song within my heart

I will praise You, I will praise You
When the tears fall, still I will sing to You
I will praise You, Jesus praise You
Through the suffering still I will sing

When hope is lost, I'll call you Saviour
When pain surrounds, I'll call you Healer
When silence falls, You'll be the song within my heart

-Tim Hughes

Well, we talked ourselves right out of that one

Whoa...two posts in one day. Watch out, blogworld.

So tonight is our fifth of six summer weddings. Needless to say, we are BURNED OUT! And we've gotten a little lazy. Two weeks ago, we attended the ceremony and not the reception. But that's a WHOLE other story...

We totally talked ourselves out of the wedding tonight. I'm on worship this weekend, so we knew that I would just be meeting Dan for the reception. But Dan's working until late this afternoon and didn't want to shower and rush out again. Nevermind ironing wedding-appropriate clothes, which takes my husband about an hour. It just became completely not worth the hassle and we are skipping. I could care less--I've never met these people. It's a college friend of Dan's and his girlfriend of many years.

Here's the bonus. Unfortunatley, we don't have their new address to send a gift. So, we have a giftcard to Marshall Fields to have some fun with. I'm thinking a new shower curtain is in order. Hold me back.

Here we go

I've heard and read that pregnant women have weird dreams. I have had weird dreams my whole life, so I was anxious to see how much weirder they could get.

Lately I haven't been sleeping very well. I blame it on my trips to the bathroom every two hours. Needless to say, I haven't had time to dream. Or something like that.

This all changed last night. For some reason, I fell asleep fast and I can only remember getting up once on account of my bladder. AND, I had a dream. Here it goes...

It was the first day of school. I had somehow turned into the meanest middle school teacher ever because I had homework due on the first day. And it wasn't just a little assignment. They had to create a movie about their lives and present it to the class. They seemed to enjoy it.

In the middle of class, I decided it was time for lunch. (Leave it to the pregnant teacher to decide she wants to eat). So I sent the class to the cafeteria, but it was a half hour early, so the lunch ladies were not happy with me. I remember feeling bad about screwing up, but my class had already gone through the lunch line, so it was too late. So I got a piece of pizza and headed back to my classroom.

On the way back, I ran into my friend Nicole. Nicole is a fellow teacher. She teaches fourth grade in New Hope. Not sure what she was doing in a Coon Rapids middle school. But she saw my pizza and decided to grab some for herself.

Seeing Nicole is the last thing I remember. I probably had cats jumping on my bed or some other interruption. No biggie. The dream was going nowhere fast.

What does it mean? Am I going to be a crazy pregnant teacher?

Stupid people suck, too

I've done three things to prevent blog spam, and as of this morning, it was working. I was excited. I thought I had won.

Then my last post got four random comments. It's a little annoying. I don't care about your diabetes site, and I certainly hope you aren't serious about bookmarking my blog.

GET LOST, BLOG SPAMMERS!

Music therapy

After my not-so-stellar day (see previous post), Dan and I went out for a sandwich at Bear Rock Cafe last night. Since it was basically a perfect September evening, we strolled around the Shoppes at Arbor Lakes for a while. We checked out some super expensive, really awesome digital cameras at National Camera Exchange. (Our digital camera was ruined when we tipped the canoe in the BWCA...). We also sat in those awesome massage chairs at The Sharper Image. Also very expensive, but that didn't stop me from sitting there for a good ten minutes. We moved on to Borders, which actually had some stuff we could afford. Jackpot!

Last week I happened to catch a group called The 5 Browns on the Kare 11 Today Show, and I wanted to get their CD. I love that this Borders has so much music. It's almost as good as the Har Mar Barnes & Noble. Anyway, The 5 Browns are Juilliard-trained, piano-playing siblings. They are incredible. Four of the songs on the CD are five pianos, ten hands. Amazing sounds. The rest are solos and duets. Also amazing sounds. I listened to the CD in the store for about five minutes while Dan browsed the Fantasy Football magazines. After hearing only a few songs, I knew I had to buy it. So I did, and when I got home, BONUS, it's a duel disc. I didn't know what that meant until I read the instructions, but basically there is a CD side and a DVD side. So I actually got to see a couple of the songs played and an interview with the siblings. So cool. I still haven't heard the whole CD (I keep replaying Scenes from West Side Story), but I'm anxious to hear the rest.

So, if you are a fan of piano music (and if you aren't, you should still give it a try), go out and get this!

Mean people suck

Middle schoolers live for screen printed t-shirts. This one is one of my favorites. Click here to buy one for yourself! But I digress.

My five-foot professor made me cry today. She made me very small. (And not in a "fit into size 6 jeans" sort of way). For the record, I didn't cry until I was in my car and driving away from Bethel as fast as I could. (Screw their 19 mph speed limit. Seriously.) Okay, let me back up.

I met with the reading education department head today to turn in my portfolio for licensure and fill out the right forms and everything. There were a few instances that classified this woman as "mean" during our time together today. First of all, when she took my portfolio (without opening it for a second, by the way), she assured me that she would go through it all by the end of the week and that I would probably have to revise some things, so I shouldn't get too excited about having it done. Awesome. Then she went on to address my participation (or lack thereof in her eyes) in a reading clinic we conducted in July. Forgive me if I was in the throes of morning sickness and wasn't thrilled to be driving 45 minutes everyday in rush hour to take part in the most unorganized clinic setting EVER! She took my "half-heartedness" (her sweet words) as a red flag for my participation in the whole program. (By the way, this portfolio is the end of the licensure program, and the masters is done by April. Nice timing if you seriously are concerned about me). She just kept going on about how I don't seem to have a passion for doing this and she wanted to make sure I wasn't just staying with the program because I had already taken this many classes. THEN, as we were talking about my being pregnant, she had the guts to tell me how hard it will be complete the last class with a newborn and that I would probably have to finish the class at another time. "Because right now, it all seems fine, but once that baby comes, it won't be!" I'm not stupid. I know it isn't the most ideal situation. But frankly, her skepticism makes me even more motivated to do it!

So as I'm completely stomped into the dull carpet of her poorly-lit office, all I want to do is scream, "CAN'T YOU TELL MY PREGNANCY HORMONE-INDUCED EMOTIONS ARE A LITTLE FRAGILE RIGHT NOW?" But I didn't. I smiled, nodded, and left.

I left so hurt, discouraged, and questioning of my abilities and future plans. I don't think it was her job to make me feel this way. But for some reason, she felt the need to do so. Unfortunately, she isn't just the department head. She is our primary professor for this program and I'll have her for a class again in October. Hooray!

This is reality

I have been in training all week for new English Language Arts curriculum that our district's middle and high schools are adopting this year. It's a fabulous curriculum, and one of the things that makes it so fun is that it includes lots of movie clips. There are clips from Cool Runnings, October Sky, Hook, and more that tie into thematic elements in the units.

Today we watched a clip from E.T. I haven't watched this in years and watching the clip made me want to see the whole movie. Anyway, from this clip has come the "funny movie quote of the day" which I will share with you now.

This is in the last 10-15 minutes of the movie. Elliot and his brother have escaped with E.T. in the van and told their friends to meet them at the park with bikes. So they all get to the park to proceed with the plan. These friends that are meeting them haven't seen E.T. yet, and as Elliot opens the back of the van, the boys are struck silent and still. Elliot explains that E.T. is an alien and they need to get him home. As Elliot begins to unfold his plan, one of the friends gets smart and asks, "Can't he just beam himself up?" To which Elliot promptly replies, "THIS IS REALITY, GREG!"

Indeed it is. :)

Bonus!

This is silly, but I'm excited.

The same pregnancy hormones that make me want to fall asleep in the mid-conversation or be careful about what I eat because I never know if it will stay down have some benefits. My fingernails are growing like mad! That's right. My otherwise thin, weak nails are strong and of decent length. Someone said my hair is probably growing faster too. Can't tell yet. I'm just enjoying having nails long enough to click on a table for the first time in my life!

Yes, cheap thrills. But I'll take them when I can get them.

:)

It's alive!

When I saw my doctor for the first time two weeks ago, it was too early to hear the baby's heartbeat. No big deal. She was very upbeat about it and reassured us that it usually isn't audible (with this crazy doppler machine) until 9-12 weeks.

So we made an appointment for today to give it another shot. She tried again with the doppler. (It's basically like a microphone that she pushes and prods into my belly). After at least five minutes of pushing and proding, she said, "Well, he's not going to cooperate with us today." I was a little disheartened and nervous, but before I could say anything, my doctor proceded, "So, let's take a peek!" I really didn't want to do an ultrasound because my insurance only covers one, and I didn't want to "waste" it this early. Well, she assured us that this would be coded differently and wouldn't count as our one ultrasound.

Instead of a regular "on the belly" ultrasound machine, this was a sort of camera-wand thing that went "into" me and right up to the uterus. (That wasn't too graphic, was it?)

At first, the screen was pointed away from me, so instead of watching it, I was watching my husband, doctor, and ultrasound technician watch it. Then the music to my ears from the technician. "There's baby...and there's the heartbeat!" I said, "Let me see!" So she turned the screen and my doctor pointed everything out to us. It moved around a little bit so we could see the little buds of arms and legs, and the ever-present heart fluttering away. It even stretched out perfectly so the technician could measure from it's head to butt and see that it is measuring exactly what it should for 10 weeks.

I've known I'm pregnant for about 6 weeks. I've been exhausted for at least that long. I've been nauseated for almost that long. But there is something so amazing about actually seeing this little being that's taking up residence in my amniotic fluid for the next 7 months. I've just been believing it's there. Now I know it is. That's cool.

Now the nausea (which is supposed to go away by the end of the first trimester--only two weeks away) seems a little more manageable and March 15th seems WAY to far away. :)

FYI

People are stupid. It appears as though allowing "anonymous" comments is pretty much the same as inviting spam into your e-mail inbox. It was getting ridiculous! So I changed some things in the settings of my blog to only allow comments from registered users. Sorry if you aren't a registered user (mom, dad, Vicki, etc), but maybe this will be the push you need to become one! You don't have to actually have a blog in order to be a registered user. But I digress....

Have a happy Friday and a fabulous, autumn-like weekend, everyone!!!

:)

One with nature...quite literally

I've missed a lot in blogland this past week. But I think I have a decent excuse: Dan and I were in the Boundary Waters.

We set out with friends last week with plans for a lot of canoeing, portaging, and camping. And we certainly did a lot of all three. Overall, the trip was really a blast, but we did have our fair share of adventure.

If you heard about the fires up there, I'm sure your first question is if we were close to them. We were! Not too close that it was scary, but close enough that it was fascinating. We saw the huge clouds of smoke and the planes dumping water at the source. It was actually pretty amazing.

As we set out the first day, we were dealing with a little bit of wind and quite wavy water. Dan and I have never canoed together, and our tipping the canoe withing 200 yards of shore showed that quite clearly. We still aren't sure what happened, but we were in the water before I could say, "I think we're going to tip." The cold water was shocking at first, but eventually felt kind of refreshing. All of our stuff was pretty wet, so that was a bummer, but it ended up drying in no time. Shortly after we got everything packed up and tried again, we decided to switch partners. I got the great end of the deal, paddling with a former Boundary Waters guide. Not sure how I lucked out. Maybe they felt sorry for the pregnant woman. (Speaking of which, my dad was very pleased that his grandchild has already been plunged into the waters of the BWCA.) The rest of that first day was pretty windy, but our solace came at the end of a very long portage, where a perfect campsite was just waiting for us.

The second day of paddling was very calm, and we ended the day early at another great campsite. That night, we had a fantastic time around the campfire, enjoying shooting stars, northern lights, and loon calls. Ahh, Minnesota.

The third day was another windy one with two-foot waves on the water. It was a struggle to get to the campsite that afternoon, but luckily we got the one we were counting on. Our adventure that night was sleeping on a hill. We were on an interesting slope, so we had to sleep diagonally in our tent. In the middle of the night, we ended up scrunched at the bottom corner of the tent and had to squirm our way back up, only to keep falling down the hill until morning. Not to mention the ants that moved in....

The last day of canoeing was another calm one (thank goodness), and we got back to our outfitter by early afternoon. After a stop in Grand Marais for lunch, we headed to Blue Fin Bay, just south of Lutsen. It felt great to finally shower, relax on the deck facing the breezes of Lake Superior, and enjoy sleeping on a real bed.

Now we're home. Getting to everything we left here for a week. Dealing with mosquito bites, bruises, scratches, and sunburn. Realizing that I have class tonight and don't feel like going. I'd rather sit outside on a rock and watch the stars. Although, seeing the kind of stars that we saw is nearly impossible this close to the city. What a shame.

So, I'm back in the saddle. And even though it's nice to be home, I can't wait to do it again someday!

Growing

I like to grow things. I prefer growing things like flowers and plants, but once in a while I end up growing green stuff on left-overs in the fridge.

My favorite thing about spring is taking a trip to the nearest garden center and buying flats of flowers and bags of soil. My bare deck becomes a beautiful sight of potted and hanging plants.

My latest growth? A baby. In my uterus. I’m pregnant! Come sometime in the middle of March, Dan and I will be the proud parents of a little one. We’re beyond thrilled! I’ll try not to bore you with the details of the months of childbearing ahead of me, but I’m sure there are a few pregnancy stories in the future of this blog.

We had our first doctor’s appointment this afternoon. It was very helpful to get some questions answered and it made the whole thing that much more real. My nurse practitioner says the baby looks like a little shrimp, all curled up, right now. Next time I see her, it will apparently look like a jumbo shrimp. I'm hoping that somewhere down the line it will actually resemble a human being.

So far, the first trimester has brought mandatory daily naps, an unpleasant, constant nauseated feeling, and an awareness of my habits and how they affect the being growing inside of me. My doctor says the rather distasteful side effects are actually good. They mean I have a good amount of pregnancy hormone in me and everything is doing what it's supposed to. Nice to know when I'm working to keep down crackers and soup.

It's funny. I find myself faced with this reality once in a while. I'm not just pregnant. I'm going to have a baby. This state of being pregnant will actually end, and we will have a child. Sometimes it's still really beyond me. It needs to sink in. I think it will. When I can't button my jeans or zip my winter coat, when I demand that my husband fetches me Dairy Queen in the middle of winter, or when I cry at the baby food commercials. Watch out, hormones.

So, today, we celebrate. It's fun that we get to tell people this secret we've been keeping (rather unsuccessfully) for about a month. Yay!