Birthday of the Day

New Cousin Shout Out

Welcome Baby Katy (Katie?)! And congratulations to Darlene, Pat, and Ryan. We can't wait to see her. Glad you are all well!

PS: Nice of you to name the baby after her Uncle K and Aunt T (K-T)!

Two Faces of Peanut

One is a Mommy face. One looks like Daddy. Can you guess which is which? (Hint: Daphne only looks like me when she is distressed)

Shout Out to Two Martys

My lucky little Peanut has two Uncle Martys. Actually, she has one Uncle Marty and one Great Uncle Marty. That doesn't mean that the one who isn't Great isn't great. He just isn't Great. Happy Birthday to both!

New Addition

Figured i might as well post these while I have a minute. This is before we put some furniture in.

Daddy's Little Fatty

Have just returned from my first trip to Central Market with the Peanut, and I will say it was a success. She cried (screamed!) all the way there in the car, so I thought the trip was doomed, but she fell asleep just as I pulled into the parking lot, and slept the whole time I was shopping, and is in fact still asleep in the car seat, which is how I am able to blog. It is my first full day going solo with Daphne, and I am a little scared, but I intend to prove to myself I can handle it. Our friends in New York have a two-year-old boy and infant twins, so I reckon I can deal with one good little baby for 8 or 9 hours (shout out to Nate and Angela and their crew).

Had a nice weekend with Kev's parents who came to visit. They stayed in our new room, which is finished. I will post pictures sometime, but I can't say when. I was telling them over the weekend that when I was pregnant, I had these big ideas that after the baby came, every morning I'd take her to the lake or the Katy trail for a walk, and then she'd take a nap while I did laundry or other chores, and then I'd leisurely read a book or magazine, and it was all very blissful and serene. HA! I've been assured those days will come...don't know if I'm buying it. I'll be lucky to get a shower today. I know it's gross, but I may have to choose between a shower and a nap, and I'm gonna pick nap. Well, time to see if I can get the baby out of the carseat without waking her up. It's time for her to eat (again!) anyway.

Come visit us...we have room now!

Real Smile...Not Just Gas

About the Peanut

Name: Daphne Claire

Age: 3 weeks, 1 day

Weight: 8 lb, 6 oz.

Eyes: Still blue so far.

Hair: Red (?!) and unruly

Likes: Sleeping, eating, bath-time (especially hair washing), toys, making funny faces, taking walks with daddy, swinging on the front porch, playing on the Gymini.

Dislikes: Diapers, diaper changes, being woken up from napping, having to wait more than thirty seconds for food.

Best friends: Ralph Monkey, Mommy and Daddy.

It has been quite an adjustment, but we are all doing well. Sorry I haven't had much time to call people or email or blog. I usually try to sleep when I have a block of time. Daphne is great, we are so proud of her. She is more and more alert every day, and she keeps us entertained with funny faces and baby noises. Hope you are all well. More blogs coming soon...

The Peanut Has Landed!

Well, our Peanut (aka Daphne Claire) finally arrived on Monday June 5 at 1:25 in the afternoon. She is doing great, I am recovering nicely, and Kev and I are very proud and tired parents. The whole process was a great experience, and not anywhere near as scary as I thought it would be. The first picture is from Tuesday, when we brought her home, and the second one is from Thursday, when she was all dressed up in her Uncle Jeff outfit, and getting ready for Game One with her Mavs pacifier. As you all know by now, the Mavs won Game One, so all in all, I'd say it's been a pretty great week. Time to go enjoy a rare opportunity to nap. More soon!

MAVS WIN!
MAVS WIN!
MAVS WIN!

February Belly / June Belly

In the time it has taken the turkeys at the garage to fix Kev's car, my belly has grown this much. Take one last look, because after tomorrow, the belly will begin to disappear. Hopefully very quickly.

It is our last weekend as a family of two. We spent most of today dealing with the trim carpenters, who seemed to need more supervision than some of the other crews we've had. Maybe tomorrow we can actually do something fun, like see a movie. Something where I can sit down, because standing up, and especially walking, require a surprising amount of effort. Especially outside in the hot hot heat.

I'm not sure how much blogging will be done in the next few weeks, but I will try to at least get up a picture or two of the Peanut when we get her home, and maybe I will even publish her name for those of you who have been trying to figure it out. My dad had a dream that we named her "Cribby." I assure you, that is not the case.

Tonight is Game 6 of Mavs/Suns Western Conference Finals, and I am hoping the Mavericks can just finish them off tonight so I won't have to be worrying about how am I gonna watch Game 7 on Monday while I'm in labor. We are thinking about painting my belly like a basketball with "go Mavericks" or something on it, and then sending a picture to Mark Cuban to see if he will send us some of his spare money, or at least some tickets to a game next year. His behavior is really embarrassing to the organization, but he does give out a lot of free stuff to fans when they do wacky things.

OK, well, I'm signing off now so I can go have a baby. Talk to you later...

And It Was All Yellow

So here is some continued house progress. Yesterday, the outside crew primed the exterior, and today they came back and painted. Looks pretty darn good, I think. It looks like it was always part of the house. Also yesterday, the inside crew put down the hardwood floor. They are going to have to let it acclimate to the house for a few days, and they will stain it on Monday when I am in the hospital because it is apparently stinky. I thought the trim would go up today, but I don't think anything happened inside. Maybe tomorrow.

Tomorrow is my final doctor's appointment before the Peanut comes. I would be kinda glad if they decided to admit me tomorrow, except that my doctor is on vacation, so I need to wait until Monday if I want her to do the delivery. I can't believe it is only 5 days away.

I just realized that if the Mavs/Suns series goes to Game 7, it will probably be on Monday night. Does anyone know? I guess I can check the internet. If so, I will have to make sure the Peanut comes before tip-off. Then we can all watch Game 7 as a family. Too bad I don't have any Mavs-wear for the baby. She's a big Josh Howard fan.

Kev's car is supposed to be done tomorrow or Friday, but I'm not gonna hold my breath. Those turkeys have been stringing us along for months. I think they should just give us a new car at this point. I'd like a sage-colored Passat wagon or Suburu Outback, please.

The Sprayer

This morning as I was leaving to go celebrate Memorial Day with my family in Garland, the construction crew was arriving. I didn't expect them to work today, since it is a holiday and all. But there they were. They worked yesterday too, even though it was Sunday. I said to one guy, "You're working today?" He didn't speak much English, but he replied, "Yes, I am the sprayer." Um, OK. So when I got home from celebrating, I saw that the sprayer had been very hard at work, spraying the walls with texture. The sheetrock crew was back too. These guys really work hard. They work so hard that I'm not really even mad at them for breaking the curtain rod in my bedroom. If I wasn't so pregnant, I would make them a cake or pie or something. Anyway, the room is looking good and more importantly, nearing completion.

Speaking of pie, my mom made the best Memorial Day fruit pie today. She got the recipe from a recent Martha show...it is on the Martha Stewart website and it is called mixed berry slab pie or something like that. It is GREAT, and we had home-made ice cream to go with it. I recommend this pie for your next gathering, especially since berries are in season and so delicious. My mom said it was easy to make.

One week from today, the Peanut will arrive. It is very hard to believe. I am trying not to freak out, and so far I am doing a good job. We will see how I feel next Sunday, though.

The Home Stretch

Well, if I was going to bet the trifecta, I think I'd go with this:

1. Kev's car
2. Peanut
3. Room finished

I don't think my belly button is going to pop out, and it sadly seems very unlikely that LarryFeathers will ever blog again. The ridiculous auto shop finally received the part from Germany, and the car could be ready today. The room is still scheduled for completion on June 9, and the baby is still scheduled for June 5. I am officially 38 weeks pregnant, and I am finally feeling like someone who is 38 weeks pregnant. There are all kinds of new weird little pains and sensations, and I am uncomfortable more often than not. That's OK though. I have felt great most of the time up to this point, so I can't complain. The computer is misbehaving now, so time to stop blogging. Have a good holiday weekend.

UPDATE: Well, the turkeys at the garage now tell us Thursday or Friday on the car, and the Peanut is acting like she wants to come out, so I think it'll be neck and neck between those two at the finish line. I'd still bet on the room completion to show. We have sheetrockers here now...pictures to come soon.

Fixing a Hole

Behind the plastic-covered bed, there used to be a window. They patched up the hole today, and this is what my bedroom looked like when I got home. There is dust everywhere, and my usual path to the bathroom, which I have memorized and follow many times nightly in the dark, is completely blocked. It will all be worth the inconvenience in the end though. Glad things are moving along.

Padded Room

They did the insulation today. Looks kinda better from the outside, huh? Sheetrock tomorrow I think.

Hot Hot Heat

It's hot already. It makes me sad that I won't be able to take the Peanut out for a decent stroll until probably at least October. Once again, I will not embrace the heat. But since nobody likes a complainer, I will try not to dwell on it in this blog. As a sign that I mean what I say, here are some good things about summer:

1. Berries
2. No school zones
3. Baseball

Well, that's all I've got.

Question

Can I rub my own belly for good luck, or does it only work for people outside the shirt?

(See two blogs down if confused)

More on the House

So, the outside is now pretty much done, except for painting the siding. I think this means we can probably call Dish to come out and put the satellite back up soon. That will be great...we'll be able to watch the Mavs/Suns series, which can't possibly be as exciting as the series with San Antonio, but should be good nonetheless. By the way, if you missed that San Antonio series, you missed some of the best basketball in the history of basketball. It was pretty amazing. Anyway, our house has passed the inspections for electrical and HVAC, and we are supposed get the framing inspected today. If we complete that trifecta and get another green card, we should be getting sheet rock on Friday or Saturday and then hardwoods installed Monday. That just leaves trim and painting and finishing out the closet. I'll try to get a decent picture of the inside soon.

Separated at Birth?

Me and Buddha.

Teachers

In 7th grade I had a math teacher named Mr. Mezzles. His name was pronounced like "measles." He was very mean, and I think he had a chip on his shoulder because of his name and because he was very short and bearded, so he looked like a troll.

In high school, there was a teacher named Mrs. English. She taught English. My English teacher was named Mrs. French. There was also a teacher named Miss Spell, but she taught Physics. She was sorta crazy, and always wore socks and sandals. My French teachers were named Madame Parrot, Madame Moula, and Monsieur Tanton. Madame Moula, in spite of her name, appeared to be very poor. Monsieur Tanton was nice, but ALWAYS had sweat rings, even in winter. Years later when I was a substitute teacher at my high school, I was shocked one day in the teacher's lounge to discover that Madame Moula and Monsieur Tanton were smokers. I don't know why this was shocking.

What's More Annoying?

The Snuggle Fabric Softener Bear or the helpful paperclip pop-up on Microsoft Word?

Pioneer Days

I never could have made it as a pioneer. I like having all mod cons. As you know, we haven't had TV for a few weeks. Not THAT big of a deal, biggest whip is not being able to watch basketball. But on Friday, things got worse. The computer crashed, so we were without internet all weekend. The computer is now mostly repaired, but we are still not using the internet because we don't have an anti-virus loaded yet. So, no TV, no internet. All weekend, I had no idea what was happening in the world. I had no idea of the weather report. No email. No bloggability. Plus, inside our house were the many mosquitos let in by the construction crew, so we were fighting bugs all weekend. I think we killed most of them. Kev is a skilled mosquito killer. Anyway, I'm glad I'm not a pioneer.

So, sorry if you have commented or emailed and gotten no reply, that's why, and I'm sorry. I am at work now, and hope to get to some email and blogging before my client arrives.

And when we can use the internet at home again, I'll put up a few pictures of addition progress. Estimated finish date: June 9.

P= 14 days!

Back View / Side View

It looks like some electrical stuff was done today too. Things are progressing. Noise isn't too bad. Worst part is mosquitos are getting in. I just got bit right under my eye.

Me-oh My-oh

Yesterday I made a big ol' pot of Jambalaya. I should have maybe made it a little spicier, but it was still good and reminded me of being in New Orleans. New Orleans has some of the best food ever. Kev must have liked it, because he took this picture. Anyway, if you have never had Jambalaya, you should make some. It is really fun and easy to make. It is so good that the great Hank Williams Sr. even wrote a song about it.
The only thing I didn't like was that this time I had to take the tails off the shrimp myself. Usually the fishmonger has already done that gruesome task for me. It is almost worse than cleaning chicken.
We are going to have it again tomorrow night, and freeze the rest for the days ahead when I am too tired to cook.

Speaking of which:

P=19 days...

Roof

It's beginning to look a lot like a real roof. Maybe shingles today?

Touchdown Arthur Jefferson!!!!!

Well, last night we were up until midnight listening to the great Mark Followill and his over-excited call of the Mavs game in a scary and stressful OT victory over the Spurs. Sometimes Followill gets so excited that you can't understand a word he says, and it takes a few seconds to figure out what actually happened. But that's OK. Especially when the alternative is listening to the Frankensteinian Glowing-haired repetative Bill Walton and his ABC crew. They are terrible. Anyway, it was a great game, and it puts the Mavs up 3-1 in the series. They are certainly proving themselves.

In other sports news, Triple-A Sacramento's Tim Rall has not played in a while, and I was worried, but as it turns out, he's on the DL. I can't find out any info on his injury, so maybe Marty can help us out. I am just glad whatever it is hasn't gotten him sent back to Midland, at least as far as I can tell.

And the 1st-place Rangers FINALLY beat the Yankees.

There is your sports for today.

Palo Pinto Circus

We now live under the Big Top.
But I think we are a little closer to having a roof.

Mother's Day Flowers

Use your imagination. Is it just me, or do those flowers look like big ol' owl eyes?

The Horses are on the Track

The following is a list of things that should maybe happen during the next few weeks, but we don't know the timing or order. Which comes first? Place your bets!

1. The Peanut will arrive.
2. My belly button will go from innie to outie.
3. The guys will finish our addition.
4. Kev will get his car back from the ridiculous garage.
5. LarryFeathers will blog.

The weekend was good. We went to the lake for a Mother's Day picnic with my mom and dad and LarryF. I thought it was fun because the weather was great and I even got to play a little smash-ball. Last night, Kev beat me at Stratego and then we played with Lincoln Logs (much more my speed than Stratego). AND the Mavs won game three on Saturday.

Now the builders are here, and it's about to get loud, so I am heading out. Maybe we will have a roof when I get home.

Countdown to Peanut - 21 days

Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters

We have very little roof left. I fear critters may invade. Will be glad when roof work is done.

Busy Weekend Ahead

I am at my office, and I have rarely been so happy to come to work. It is SO loud at my house today. They are doing roof work, and whatever they were up to this morning was making the whole house shake. I have a client coming over this afternoon, so it may not be an easy session. We'll see how it goes.

Tonight, I think we are going to the movies. You know what that means: BBQ chicken wrap! Woo hoo! Then, tomorrow morning, we are going to a class at the hospital to learn, as Kev says, how to "operate the baby." We will learn infant safety and CPR, plus bathing and caring for newborns and stuff like that. I think it will be a good class. Tomorrow night, I am going to Larry Feathers' house to watch the TIVOed season finale of the Office, which I missed because we have no TV. Then, the 3rd game of the Mavs/Spurs series is on, so I will stay over there and watch that. Sunday is Mother's Day, and we are all going on a picnic. I am looking forward to being outside. It is supposed to be cool out.

So, not a lot of down time, but staying busy is good. Countdown to Peanut: 25 Days.

Moving Right Along

Continued progress on the room. Thankfully the air is cooler and the rain has stopped. Work on the roof starts soon.

Sad/Happy Blog

As I type this, our Dish is coming down. No more TV for us. Glad I got to see the Mav's game last night.

On a happier note, berries are back in season, and they are delightful!

We Have a Wall!

This is the progress so far. It is all blurry because I could not keep the lens from fogging up due to exreme humidity.

Noisy Day on Palo Pinto

I've got to hand it to the builders. They are really working hard. I feel sorry for them, because it is REALLY hot and humid today. I'm actually kinda worried about the one guy who appears to be about 80 years old. We now have a floor. It looks like a big stage. It makes me want to get out my tap shoes. I'll go out and take a picture after the guys leave so I can put it here on the blog. Anyway, whatever they are working on today is making a lot of noise. The lady next door who has a day-care center in her house is probably not having much luck with nap-time.

Meanwhile, I am working hard to get all my proverbial ducks in a row before the arrival of the Peanut. I have a long list, and I've been checking things off, but it's wearing me out. Kev has been working hard too, assembling various baby accessories like pack-n-plays and bouncey seats and strollers. We've been practicing how to use all that stuff...it is more complicated than you might think.

Tonight is game 2 of the Spurs/Mavs series, and I still have confidence in the Mavericks in spite of Sunday's loss. I am making chicken marsala for dinner, which is a big step for me, as I've had a strong aversion to it through most of my pregnancy. We'll see how it goes.

Countdown to Peanut = 27 days.

Boo!

I am working on a list of people to haunt if I am ever a ghost. I won't hurt anyone, just play tricks on them. Here is what I have so far:

1. Rush Guy: I will steal all his Rush CDs and replace them with Celine Dion, John Denver, and Kenny G. Then I will set his radio to the smooth jazz station and make it come on really loud in the middle of the night every night. I will re-string his guitar backwards. Then I will get a ghost friend with some technical skills to make his amp only go to volume level one.
2. Elizabeth Newman (builder of McMansions): I will hide one shoe from every pair she owns. I will replace her hairspray with something that smells bad. I will gather up all the Elizabeth Newman signs and put them in her yard.
3. Rachel Ray: I will hide her giant salad tongs and put green dye in her toothpaste.

That's all I have so far. And then when I finish all that, I will go to good people's houses and do nice things for them, like doing their laundry or baking them some key lime pie or brownies.

The Daytona Beach Incident

Last night, I was awake for a long time in the middle of the night. These days, I wake up a lot, but I can usually go back to sleep. Not last night. There was a big loud storm, and I was up for two or three hours. I tried to hypnotize myself back to sleep, but it didn't work, so I finally gave up and decided to let stream of consiousness take over and see what would happen. Stream of consiousness can take you to strange and unexpected places, and last night, for no reason I can think of, it took me to a trip to Florida I took when I was 5 or 6 years old. My grandparents frequented Florida, and this particular time, my aunt, uncle, and two cousins joined them and I was invited along. My family didn't go because my brother was too little, and I guess my parents had to work. I don't remember a whole lot about the trip, but here is what I DO remember:

We rented a house a couple of blocks from the beach. The house was very weird to me because instead of grass, the whole yard was rocks. The house also had a waterbed, which I thought was SO cool, but I didn't get to sleep on it. I am pretty sure I slept on the couch in the living room. One day, we went to the beach, which I don't really remember. Now, I need to tell you that when I was a little kid, I had really good hair. It was long and sort of wavy and thick and soft. This was, of course, many years before I was struck by lightning, turning my hair to frizzfrocks, which has only been out-done by my current pregnancy-induced hay-head. But that's another story. Upon returning from the beach, my good kid hair was full of tangles because of the wind and salt-water. My Aunt Sarah decided to comb the tangles out. This part, I remember well. The conversation went something like this:

OW!
Hold still, Tara.
OW!
Hold still, Tara.
You're hurting me!
Hold still!
OW!
Patty's (my mom) gonna kill me if we have to cut your hair.
I want my mom!
Hold still!
OW!

This went on for at least half an hour, as those were some pretty stubborn tangles, and my aunt didn't have the good tangle-getting-out skills that my mom had. She was pulling and yanking and cussing and it really really hurt. I was not happy.

The next day, it was time to go to the beach again. It was then that I was informed I would be wearing my grandma's shower cap, so that any subsequent tangles could be avoided. Even at my young age, I knew this was a serious fashion no-no, but I was just a kid and did what I was told. Somewhere there are photos of me on the beach in a shower cap. It was SO humiliating. After that, I decided I wanted to go home, and I made a lot of noise about it, demanding that we must cut the trip short and return to Indiana, where people didn't force other people to wear ridiculous headgear in public places. I didn't get my way, and I am pretty sure that may behavior caused my grandpa to stop speaking to me for several hours. Later that night, we made up and watched the Major League Baseball All-Star game together, rooting for the National League because we were Reds fans. That is my best memory from the trip.

We also went to Disney, but to be honest, it didn't make much of an impression on me. All I can remember is my cousin Curt whining to go on Space Mountain over and over again. I think he got his way, too.

Hypnosis at the Dallas Palace

So, after our big day of bird-spotting on Sunday, we had to get home and get ready to go to Kev's work party at Southfork Ranch. I hadn't been there since I was a kid. My grandma Kelly and I think my great aunt Mary were in town once in the 80's, and we took them to Southfork to watch them filming some of the outside scenes of Dallas, which was in it's hey-day at the time. It was kinda cool, and we got a few autographs, but on the other hand, it was kinda boring, because they had to do take after take of the same scene, and it was really hot, and we had to be very still and quiet. Somewhere, I still have a photo I took of "Sue-Ellen" with my Kodak Disc camera. Remember those?

Anyway, Sunday night, Kev and I arrived at Southfork ready for an evening of fajitas and hypnosis. The ranch looks pretty much the same. Now, they do tours of Ewing Mansion, and host events like proms and work parties. Our party was in the Dallas Palace, which we got to by passing Miss Ellie's Deli and then parading ourselves through the gift shop, which sells mostly high-end lady's western-wear - colorful skirts and vests with lots of fringe and bolo medallions - as well as cowboy hats and leather accessories.

There were several round tables set up and ready, and after a short time designated for engaging in co-worker small talk, they opened up the fajita buffet and we got food. There was only one guy at our table prepared to volunteer for the hypnosis show, which didn't bode well for the hypnotist since he had 14 chairs ready up on the stage. I kept trying to get Kev to volunteer, but he said he was too much of a skeptic, and he didn't want to get up there and have it not work.

We ate our fajitas, which were pretty good, and then the company president got up to introduce the Master Hypnotist and start the show. The Hypnotist gave a little introduction, actually a pretty dang long introduction, explaining hypnosis, debunking some myths, and describing how he had used hypnosis to do many miraculous things, like solving crimes and stopping smoking and curing fears and so forth. He got my attention when he told of a lady in Oklahoma City that he had hypnotized, and how she delivered shortly thereafter a ten-pound baby with no anesthesia and no pain. Then he started asking for volunteers. Up went the one guy from our table, and a couple of other people, and then the poor hypnotist had to really start cajoling the crowd. He promised that if we were hypnotized, it would be like having 8 hours of solid peaceful restful sleep, and that we would also sleep well that night, and be more relaxed than ever, etc. All the while, Kev is nudging me and trying to force my hand up, and I'm saying "no way" because I am shy and 8 months pregnant and don't want to be on any stage in front of 100 people. But the poor guy was having a hard time getting volunteers (keep in mind this is a room full of very rational-thinking engineers) and the next thing I knew, I was headed up to the stage. After all, it has been months since I have had 8 solid hours of restful sleep, and I could use it.

I figured I would be super-easy to hypnotize. I am able to put myself in deep relaxation at yoga all the time, and I have a very active visual imagination. So I got up there, and he started the show (he finally got his 14 volunteers), and I'll be damned if I couldn't relax at all. When all was said and done, he only hypnotized 3 of the 14 people, and the rest of us had to leave the stage. I think under different circumstances, it would have worked, but here is my theory about why I didn't get hypnotized:

• I was nervous in front of all those people. I kept thinking that with an audience that big, there was probably at least one person looking at me. I don't like people looking at me.
• The chair was uncomfortable. I kept figiting around.
• The chairs were too close together. I was sitting between the company president and another guy, and their shoulders and arms kept touching mine, and I don't like that either.
• I had just enjoyed a delicious sopapilla, which was causing the Peanut to kick frantically with joy.

So, the guy went through his routine, and my heart was beating really fast and I was NOT getting sleepy and my eyelids were NOT getting heavy and I was starting to panic, thinking "It's not working! What do I do, what do I do?!" which made it worse. Then he told us we were going to forget our names, and he went along asking us one at a time what our name was, and I was happy to discover that 10 others besides me still knew good and well what our names were. We were then asked to join the audience, and the show proceeded with the three people who forgot their names. It was pretty entertaining, and I was glad to be in the audience, because those three had to act pretty silly, and it was all video-taped, so people are going to watch it later.

So, that's the story of how I didn't get hypnotized at the Dallas Palace. I would try it again, though. But not in front of an audience.

PS. When we got home, it was after 10pm, and guess who was at it. Rush guy. He is just about the worst guy ever.

Porch Time / Rooftop Beatles

On Saturday, the weather was sunny and delightfully cool, so we spent a lot of time on our porch. Unfortunately, the view from the porch (left) includes a large dumpster full of dirt and the McMansion across the street. But it was still a pleasant place to spend a Saturday. We ate breakfast out there, and lunch. And then we decided to play some Canasta. So, I got the cards, and Kev put on some Canasta-playing music (the great Herbie Hinkle) and we began our game. However, while Kev was inside putting on the CD, the Rush guy arrived home from his loser job and I feared we were in for it. Sure enough, Herbie Hinkle was soon drowned out by the screeching diddly-diddly-diddly of WAY too loud Rush songs (the same three or four as usual). It was truly a beating. His landlord, who lives downstairs, was outside, and she did not appear to be bothered by the noise in the least, which is a very bad sign. Then she began to mow her lawn, and I was never happier to hear a mower. However, even the mower did not overpower the loud and obnoxiously poor Alex Lifeson impression coming from above. After sticking it out for three hands of Canasta, we finally went inside.

That night, after Kev's soccer game, we decided to go out somewhere. We ended up at The Public House, a rooftop patio on Lower Greenville that is shared by three different restaurant/bars. It was pretty cool, because there is an actual view of downtown from up there. I'll take the camera next time. On the roof next door, there is a little three-sided house/stage, and performing that night was A Hard Night's Day, which is a local Beatles cover band that has been around Dallas for years, but that I had never seen. They were actually pretty good. They wore Beatley-looking suits and everything. The best part was a little old man in the crowd who did some elaborate and indescribable dance moves with lots of spinning and occasional arm flourishes. It was very entertaining.

Rooftop dining is where it's at when the weather is good.

This is a Painted Bunting.

Spotting the Bird

Just when you think Dallas is void of any and all natural beauty, along comes the Cedar Ridge Preserve. It has actually been there all along, previously known as the Dallas Nature Center, but we have just never been there. Until Sunday, that is. It was a really nice day, so we decided to go check it out and do a little hiking. There is Kev at the start of the Cattail Pond Trail (click to enlarge). Before we started the hike, we talked to a bird man who told us that first Painted Buntings of the season had been seen on that trail that weekend. I was excited, as I haven't seen one before, and they are really pretty and colorful birds. But I didn't think we had a chance at all to spot one, because I don't know their habits or their song, and you guys know how my luck has been with owls. (I am still having the dreams, by the way). Anyway, as we were walking along, there at the top of a tree as if posing for us, was my first Painted Bunting in all its colorful glory. We actually spotted two of them. They were too far away to get a picture, but I will get one off the internet and put it on here so you can see how pretty they are.
Here's me at Cattail Pond. Betcha can't even tell I am 8 months pregnant!

Here is a cool butterfly that we saw. There were tons of butterflies and dragonflies on the trail.
Cactus Flower. So pretty.

So, if you are looking for something to do on a nice day, I recommend going to Cedar Ridge Preserve. You will have a nice hike and see some cool birds, and it is very peaceful and serene.

Construction (or Destruction?)

Here is the progress on our addition so far. Sadly, the guys took the cool Bobcat truck away before I could take a picture. At the moment, a building inspector is here, and any further progress depends on his report. As you can see, we still have our satellite. It will probably be removed just in time for the next series of the Mavs play-offs.

Sports Update

Update to the Update:

MAVS WIN! Bring on the Spurs/Kings!

Tim Rall had a great outing last night for the Sacramento team...He pitched 2 and 2/3, giving up no runs or hits, and struck out 3. Way to go, Tim!

Please see LarryFeathers in the comments for more sports.

Well, it looks like the Mavs should be moving along to the next series, as they are up 3 games to none against Memphis in the first round. What a game on Saturday! I hope some of you watched it. I almost feel sorry for the Grizzlies after that one. (Their coach looks like the Nazi guy from the Blues Brothers, by the way.) Game four is tonight, and if the Mavs win, they will face either the Spurs or Kings in the next round. Bleach, you should pay attention to the Mavericks, not because of us all, but because they are great, and with the exception of their ridiculous owner, they are a bunch of really good guys. No thugs on this team.

Now for a little news on the Official Minor League Baseball Player of the LRHS, the great Tim Rall: The deceptive Long Island Leftie started off the season in Midland, playing Double-A ball for the Oakland organization. His stats looked really good, and it appears he has been moved up to Triple-A, which is not only a good move baseball-wise, but also location-wise, as Sacramento is about a million times better than Midland. If any of you have ever been to Midland, you know what a horrible place it is, only slightly better than its sister city, Odessa, which may be the worst place in Texas. So I hope Tim gets to stay in California in spite of a rough start. I have gotten all my info from minorleaguebaseball.com, so some of it might be inaccurate or not quite up-to-date. Maybe we can get an update from our reporter in the field, Marty. He is very inside.

The Stars were a real disappointment.

Somehow, the Rangers are in first place in spite of being not very good.

And there is your sports update.

Coming Attractions

Coming soon to the LRHS:

• Hypnosis at the Dallas Palace
• Porch Time
• Rooftop Beatles
• Spotting the Bird
• Sports Update

And, by request, a photo-journal of construction.

But this morning, I have no time to blog. Please check back later...

At Last

Just arrived home to find construction on our addition is FINALLY underway. There is a dumpster on the lawn, and some very exciting-looking noisy trucks digging up dirt out back. Maybe they will let us use some of the dirt to level our back yard so it won't be a swamp next time it rains. Anyway, I am glad Kev isn't here, because I think he would feel a little sad about not getting to drive the cool trucks himself. I bet if they leave the trucks here overnight, Kev will go sit on them. I might even go sit on them myself. They are cool. I took some cokes out to the two workers. I think they appreciated it. I am happy to report that at least for now, we still have TV, so I shouldn't have to miss the Office tonight (which is a new episode, by the way). At some point though, the Dish is gonna have to come down, and unless we find a temporary spot for it, we will be without TV for the duration of the building. That wouldn't be so bad, except the Mavs are in the middle of the play-offs, and I don't want to miss it. I think they really have a shot this year. If they can just get past the Spurs. Ooooh, that Mike Bibby makes me crazy. And don't even get me started on Tim Duncan. Go Mavericks!

PS. Pau Gasol from the Grizzlies looks like he comes from Jesus' time.

Please Leave Alaska Alone

Senate Republicans have proposed giving all American taxpayers a $100 rebate to offset gas prices. Nice, huh? However, attached to this proposal (once again) is opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling. How many times are we gonna have to go through this?

And $100? WOW! THANKS! As if that helps much. That's about 2 tanks of gas in the car I am currently driving. I'll give all the senators $100 to leave Alaska alone and start thinking about legitimate long-term solutions instead of short-term quick fixes with irreversible consequences.

Nothing to Blog About

I have nothing to blog about. I am at work. I have had a cancellation, so I am free for the next 30 minutes. Plenty of time for a blog, that is if I had anything to say. I could blog about the builders at my house, but they haven't bothered to show up yet. I am trying to keep from complaining about the trash men, so I've got nothing there. Even the Rush guy has been quiet. Oh, here is one piece of gossip. The girl who moved into the McMansion across the street just had a baby...a boy named "Jensen Drake." I am glad we are having a girl. Boy names are difficult. Uh...I have been playing the melodica a lot lately. I think the Peanut likes it. She is very still while I am playing, but starts kicking me when I stop. She also has been getting hiccups a lot lately. Um...what else? I hope there is a new episode of The Office this week. It has been reruns for a few weeks. Oh yeah, this Sunday, Kev's office is having another party. You may remember the Christmas Party with the Snake guy. This time, the party is at Southfork Ranch (home of TV's Dallas), and the entertainment will be a hypnotist. I am trying to get Kev to volunteer to be hypnotized, but I don't think he will. I think it would be fun, but I don't think I should volunteer in my condition. Well, that's all I've got. Maybe something interesting will happen soon.

Friday Shout Out

http://www.thetrustmusic.com/home.html

or

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=17232330

Happy birthday to my cousin Jeremy. He is the drummer for a cool band called The Trust, so check them out with the links above.

Defeat

Today I had to make some copies, so I went on an errand to Kinko's. Here is the conversation I had with the Kinko's dude during the small talk and chit chat portion of our transaction:

Kinko's Dude: (Noticing my belly) How many months are you?

Me: I have six weeks to go.

KD: So you must be starting to diet, then.

Me: No, I don't think I am supposed to diet. I am supposed to eat more.

KD: But in the third trimester, you will get a lot bigger.

Me: Yeah, I guess so.

KD: How many kids do you have?

Me: This is my first.

KD: REALLY???!!!

Me: Yes.

KD: This is only your first?

Me: Yes.

KD: Wow! How old are you?

Me: (Shocked silence)

KD: Sorry.

Me: It's OK. I'm 37.

KD: Wow. It's hard to have a baby once you're past 30.

Me: So, how much for the copies?

People Watching, Etc.

On Sunday night, Kev and I decided to go out for a nice Easter desserty treat. Actually, I was craving dessert and wanted a treat, and Kev just went along for the ride. We went to Mockingbird Station. Our favorite gelato shop was closed, so we sat on the balcony of the Trinity Hall pub and ordered a creme brulee (which we split) and some coffee (decaf). There was a nice breeze and there were lots of people-watching opportunities, as there usually are at Mockingbird Station. This time I noticed a sort of alarming trend...men wearing capri pants. I suppose it was only a matter of time. In fact, I think Kev predicted it about two years ago. I tried to picture Kev in capri pants, but I just couldn't. Maybe if it catches on, I'll get used to it, but now I think it just kind of looks weird. If you are a boy, and you have a hot capri pants opinion, please feel free to share.

As I am trying to avoid any and all production of cortisol, I shall refrain from commenting on the 101 degree day we had on Monday.

Today I had a sonogram, so I got to see the baby, which was cool. The first time, she looked like a peanut (hence the name), the second time, an alien, but this time she looked very human. The doctor noticed some hair on the back of her head. I hope she doesn't come out with a mullet.

Mavs play-offs basketball starts this weekend, so that is exciting.

When I was young and still lived at home, whenever we would have pizza delivered, LarryFeathers would make someone else answer the door. Then he would hide around the corner and make goat noises while we paid the dude for the pizza. It was pretty funny. Feel free to try it next time you get delivery.

Dangit

Tom and Katie stole our name.

Just kidding.

I am so tired of celebrities.

Speak of the Devil

Happy Easter, everyone, and I apologize for the inappropriate devil talk on this particular day. But I have the increasingly rare combination of a story to tell and some time to blog, so there you go.

When I first went to the baby doctor last fall, she projected the Peanut's due date as June 9th. There was soon thereafter some joking around with friends about how we hoped she wouldn't be 3 days early, as that would make her birthday 6/6/06, or 666, which is a number often associated with the "beast"(devil). I didn't think too much about it, and laughed it off, as I am not really a supersticious person and think such talk is silly. But then, this past Friday night, we went to the movies (Inside Man is pretty OK, but not great, by the way) and there was a preview that went like this: You see a park on a gray day, and a sort of scary looking dog sitting on the ground minding his own buisiness. Then the camera pans over to a kid on a swing. You see him from behind, and he is wearing a red British-looking prep-school uniform and he is swinging slowly, and the swing is going creak...creak...creak...and then the camera goes around to the front of the boy, who is maybe 5 or 6, and he is just sort of staring off into space, and then he turns and stares VERY creepily into the camera, and the movie announcer voice says something about him being born on 6/6/06, and some scary dramatic music plays. I looked wide-eyed from the screen to Kev to my belly in distress. Then I laughed.

Now, here's the thing. My doctor has recently decided that if the baby doesn't decide to come out on her own beforehand, we are going to induce labor early in the morning of June 5 (like 7:30am). She said on average, it then takes about 12 hours. So as long as the baby arrives before midnight, which I fully expect she will, we will not have to worry about the 666 thing. And frankly, I'm not worried about it anyway. But then today during breakfast, Kev and LarryFeathers were going on and on about trying to get my doctor to change the date, because while they don't buy into such deviltry silliness, other people might, and thus give the Peanut a hard time about her birthday for the rest of her life. I couldn't tell if they were just trying to get me going, or if they were really serious about trying to change the date. Now, I can't very well go in in there and look my doctor in the eye and say, "Well, you see, now we're going to have to alter the plan a little so I don't have a possible devil baby." How embarrassing. And I told this to Kev and Larry, but they kept on insisting I was making a big mistake taking a chance like that. It was a stressful meal.

So, that is my Easter story about the devil.

On a happier note, here is a little song you can sing (if you want) to the tune of the Oscar Mayer balogna song:

Our Peanut has a first name
We think it's pretty swell
Our Peanut has a second name
And that one's nice as well

We'd love to tell you if we could
But we don't really think we shooooooould...
'Cause if we did, it wouldn't be
an S-U-P-R-I-S-E.

Happy Easter everybody!

Saturday Shout Out

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIE!!

Hope you have a great day!

Peanut Palace

The Crib (click photos for larger view). The little white cabinet in the corner was built by my grandpa in the 40s. It was used for my dad's diaper storage, and then for mine, and now for the Peanut's.

It didn't take us long to fill the book/toy shelf.

Changing table/ Dresser. Cool bunny rabbit band art from Whitney.

This chair is gonna see a lot of action soon. It glides.

The parents are ready. Especially the one with the belly.

We think poor old Ralph is jealous. We caught him trying to take over...

Waste

So, I just found out I have to get new license plates for my car before I can have a new registration sticker. Apparently, this is something that is supposed to happen every 7 years, and this is my 7th year. Here is my question: WHY? There is nothing wrong with my current license plates. They are in great shape, and I have recently even memorized the number. Now, I will have to get whole new plates with a whole new number, which will probably take me another 7 years to memorize. And what am I supposed to do with my old perfectly good plates? Does the state of Texas plan to recycle them for me? Or will they just go into a landfill somewhere? This may seem kind of trivial, but if you think about it, it is really stupid, and a waste of time and money. Who makes these dumb rules? I need to know where to send my letter...

Happy Anniversary, Kev!

Love,
T.

Serenity Now!

I have just witnessed the garbage men once again hurl my trash bin thoughtlessly onto my lawn, but I am not going to let it bother me today. I am calm and serene. It's all good.

We had a nice weekend. We went to Dallas Blooms at the arboretum on Satruday morning. It was raining, but that was fine. We had a little picnic lunch and walked around looking at the tulips and azaleas. It is beautiful there.

It stopped raining out, and we had dinner on the porch, as well as breakfast on Sunday morning. It is threatening to get hot, so we are enjoying the outdoors while we can. I made a jambalaya, and it turned out good, so I was pretty proud of it. No kitchen disasters this weekend.

Last night we took a walk and saw some bats. I think bats are cool (unless they are flying at my head which happened one night last summer), and I hope they stick around and eat the mosquitos that torment us every year.

On previous recent walks and outings, we have seen unicyclists on parade and a pair of bag-pipers. So you never know what you might see if you go outside and pay attention.

The Peanut is most likely coming nine weeks from today. The final countdown has begun. I hope that will be enough time to pick a name.

Hope you all had a good weekend.