Twenty-One Week Renaissance

Some of you may recall a previous blog entitled "Eleven Week Freak-Out," which described the dark dark days of my first trimester, during which I could not think straight or get anything accomplished, and I was sent to the edge of a break-down because of a poorly arranged spice cabinet.

I am happy to report that now, in my 21st week, things are much much better. I have been given the gift of some sort of Second Trimester Groove Hormone. I no longer seem to be in a mental fog. I've been cooking, and sewing, and doing crafts. I've been getting bills and tax stuff squared away, making phone calls to doctors and hospitals and anesthesiologists, and organizing and filing paperwork. I've been taking walks and going to yoga class. Today, I planted 50 tulip bulbs in my front yard, sustaining only very minor gardening injuries, mostly of the blister variety. I got the bulbs from Kevin as a Christmas gift. They have been sitting patiently in the fridge, pretending it's winter, for the last six weeks. I never have had any luck with tulips, but I am hoping these will grow and bloom nicely.

Unfortunately, the Groove Hormone has arrived at the same time as the Clumsiness Hormone, and I continue to drop things with alarming regularity. But I have been extra careful during my various projects, and the worst that has happened is one broken bowl.

This groove, I fear, is sure to be followed shortly by a meltdown. Kev probably fears this more than I do. He has developed a simulation of me over the years which predicts my behavior with uncanny accuracy, and it tells him the groove never lasts very long. The third trimester may be my downfall. So I intend to get as much done in the next few weeks as possible. I'd better go start on the spice cabinet...

Dear LarryFeathers,

Please blog a new blog. Now that you know the peanut is a girl, how about a new drawing? Or surely you've been to the beauty parlor recently. You could blog about that. Or you could be a good citizen and warn people about that game that made you lose everything on your hard drive. Or something. We like LarryFeathers.

Hey New Albany! Good Show Alert

For those of you in Kentuckiana (or, if you prefer, Indyucky) who like good music, I HIGHLY recommend this show:

The Asylum Street Spankers
2.9.06 Thursday Louisville KY Bomhard Theatre at Kentucky Center for the Arts 8pm 800.775.7777

This is a great band from Austin that is a big inspiration to the PPHPHB. They have a web site if you want to google it. Warning: There will assuredly be cursing and off-color remarks during the show. But there will also be really great music and hilarity. You will have fun.

Setlist.com

Uncle Dave's comment inspired me to do some looking around on the web, and I found a site called setlist.com. The most recent set list for Van Morrison that I could find was for a show back in November. It included the following:

Set 1: The Way Young Lovers Do, This Love Of Mine, They Sold Me Out, Keep Mediocrity At Bay, Magic Time, Jackie Wilson Said, It Once Was My Life, Georgia, Brown Eyed Girl(new latin ersion), Moondance, Stop Drinking, Days Like This, Don’t Worry About A Thing, Sometimes We Cry, Cleaning Windows, Have I Told You Lately(LV version), Precious Time, Help Me, E:Gloria

I can handle something like that. Looks promising. Thanks, Dave.

Weekend Update

1. Tula, my adopted penguin, has hatched two chicks. So far, all is well. Right now, they are very small and fragile, but soon, the good Dr. Mike Bingham will take photos of the chicks to send to me. So, congratulations to Tula. I am very happy for her. Baby penguin photos will be posted immediately when I get them.
2. I purchased tickets to see the great Van Morrison on March 6. My friend john_clarke is going with me. We don't have very good seats, but we will be there. I never thought I'd get the chance to see him, so I am really excited in spite of the concerns listed in the previous blog. I hope he will do at least one song from Astral Weeks.
3. Next weekend I am going to Paris (TX) to see my friend Whitney and her kids. Whitney called today to tell me that Hattie, who is 3 1/2, asked her, "Who is that nice girl that always wears pajamas?" She meant me. It's true, I mostly wear pajamas. But usually only inside the house. It is required for the band.
4. Fun fact: Rain falls at 7 MPH.

What Do I Do? What Do I Do?

I have a dilemma. Van Morrison is coming to town. And I LOVE Van Morrison. I have always wanted to see Van Morrison. His Astral Weeks album is my very most favorite album of all time ever. And as far as I know, he has never been to Dallas, at least not during my fan-dom. So, I should definitely go, right? But here's the thing. What if I go, and he's really really terrible and old and fat and can't sing and only does songs I've never heard? That would be a huge let-down. I would be devastated. Dangit. Well, I think I am going to have to go, because it may be my only chance. Dang. What do I do?

OK...here is some drama for you. The cops just pulled up out front, because, I'm assuming, Rush Knucklehead is at it again. Yep...cop approaching R.K's house...Cop is knocking at door...R.K. can't hear him because guitar is too loud...cop is walking around front yard, looking up at window..."Limelight" solo continues to blare...cop is at door again...no answer...cop wandering around...cop returning to cop car...cop moving car to R.K's driveway...getting out again...music stopped...cop is knocking at wrong door (it's an up-and -own duplex)...should I go tell him...no...R.K's dog out on balcony looking at cop...cop going back to car...cop sitting in car perhaps writing citation?...music still stopped...RK on balcony...spies cop car...goes back in...comes back out...oh no! Cop leaving...maybe he just gave him a warning. Dangit!

I think my neighbor Ron, of Dog Party fame, is the one who called the cops. He told me he has called the cops on him three times before. Clearly, it isn't working. But, at least he seems to have stopped for today. Ah, sweet silence. Now, what do I do about Van Morrison?

Things That Baffle Me

1. People that talk on their cell phones while using public restrooms
2. People that litter
3. People that throw cigarette butts out their car windows during "explosive fire warning" days
4. People that are mean to little kids, old people, or animals
5. People that make stuff up to impress other people
6. People that don't give you a friendly wave after you let them in front of you in traffic
7. People that go hauling a$$ down the median when traffic is slow/stopped on the expressway
8. People that park their shopping carts in the middle of the aisle and just stand there blocking
9. The behavior of my garbage collectors
10. People who don't hold the door open when they know you are right behind them
11. People who don't wash their hands after going to the bathroom, especially in restaurants
12. People who talk on their cell phones in cars or restaurants
13. Other

If I had my own island, Taratopia, all of these things would be grounds for removal from the island. Maybe I'd let people have one warning first, but generally, poor citizenship would not be tolerated. Plus, there would be 4-day work weeks and 3-day weekends, mandatory nap time, and people would have to eat dinner with their families at least 5 times a week. I was going to make the island a Mustard-Free zone, but then Kev wouldn't come and live there with me. There would be no cars because it would be a small enough island to walk or ride a bike everywhere. There might be a trolley. I like trolleys. There would be owls. There would be no Jethro Tull music.

Wednesday Shout Out

Happy Birthday Dad!
You will be a great Grandpa!

Love, T., K., and the P.

Also, a very happy birthday to my friends Heather and Tracy, who have the same birthday as my dad.

The Pirate Ghost

This afternoon when I got home from working at my parents' house, I came in, checked email, put away some groceries, and other stuff. Then I went into the TV room, and noticed that right in the middle of the floor, there was a paper scary pirate mask that was left-over from a birthday party from 13 months ago. There was no reason for this mask to be in the middle of the TV room floor. I certainly didn't put it there, and I didn't remember seeing it before I left the house this morning. I didn't even know we still had it. So I was a little freaked out. I went to the back of the house to check if there were any bad guys or robbers in the bedroom or the bathroom. I checked to make sure the back door was locked. Then I checked to see if the stereo and tv were gone. Everything seemed just as I left it in the morning, with the exception of the scary pirate mask on the floor. So I called Kev at work and asked if he, by any chance, had been wearing the pirate mask last night and then forgotten to put it away, instead, leaving it on the floor. After all, he was up later than me, and who knows what he was up to. He was quite amused, and eventually, after milking my pirate ghost panic for as long as he could, told me it must have fallen out of one of the music books he'd been using. So, there was no pirate ghost (or bad guys or robbers) after all, and I continued with my Tuesday. The remainder of day has been pretty uneventful.

Crash

As predicted, my domestic groove came to a screeching halt during dessert, when I dropped and broke a bowl whilst serving ice cream. Luckily, I dropped it before I put any ice cream in it. It would have been a shame for any ice cream to go to waste.

Question: Does being pregnant make you clumsy? I keep dropping stuff. I hope I don't fall down.

Domestic Sunday

I have just finished making the first dress for the Peanut. I think it turned out pretty good, and I'd like to have one for myself. It is supposed to have a ruffle at the bottom, but I put in on backwards, so I just cut it off and did a straight hem. Next time, I will be more careful pinning on the ruffle. Things were going well, and I guess I got cocky. While sewing, I also put a brisket in the oven because my family is coming over for dinner to celebrate my dad's birthday. So it appears, at least for today, I am in a domestic groove. It is sure to be short-lived. I better take advantage of it and go clean something.

Meanwhile, Kev is practicing his trumpet. He is really getting good. I heard a very admirable attempt at some Squirrel Nut Zippers a minute ago. Now he is playing Taps. That always means trumpet practice is coming to a close. He must be having lip fatigue.

Best news of the day: It is FINALLY raining in Texas.

Perhaps I spoke too soon...

I am presently being treated to a late-morning performance by none other than the Rush Knucklehead. Fortunately, most of his loud obnoxious over-guitaring is being drowned out by construction noise. It is surprising that construction noise could possibly ever be preferable to anything, but in this case, it is. Keep those power saws going, fellas!

Belly

When I am transferring laundry from the washer to the dryer, I can no longer approach the washing machine head-on, but I have to come at it sideways because my belly is in the way. I think that's funny.

The Naked Running Man

One morning when I lived in my old apartment, the one with all the elderlies, I decided to walk down to Benny's Bagels for a breakfast sandwich, some coffee, and a newspaper. I used to go to Benny's a lot, because the bagels are pretty decent there, and because the guy who works there is nice. We don't know his name, we just call him Chef because he looks like Chef on Southpark. He is also the lowest of all low talkers in the histrory of low talkers. He makes Kev seem like a real loudmouth. Chef's mouth moves, but all that seems to come out is a low-frequency series of grumbly sounds. We learned quickly that we have to be very clear when placing our order with Chef, because if he has any questions, we won't know what he's asking. Anyway, I don't go there much anymore, because one day I was sitting at the bar by the window and I saw some ants. I don't care for ants, especially when they are near my food. But on this day, there were no ants, so I enjoyed my sandwich, coffee, paper, and visit with Chef, and headed home happy.

For some reason, I took a different route home than usual. I decided to walk up La Vista, which is a sort of busy street with mansions and stuff to look at. As I was walking, I noticed that a girl was walking toward me on the other side of La Vista, kinda by Swiss Ave, if you know the neighborhood. She was wearing a black t-shirt dress, which reminded me of high school. It got me to thinking about how during our junior year, a couple of times a week, Mrs. Harper, our first period Bible as Literature teacher, would parade my friend Whitney out into the hall and make her stand with her arms at her sides to see if her fingertips went beyond the bottom of her t-shirt dress or mini skirt. Inevitably, Whitney, who was lucky enough to be tall with long arms and fingers, would be sent home to change, while the rest of us discussed the literary merit of Jesus' parables, or somesuch. If I had been wearing the same thing, my fingertips wouldn't have come near the bottom, and I'd have had to stay. No danger of that, though. I pretty much only wore jeans and concert shirts that year.

So anyway, as I was thinking of poor Mrs. Harper, I started to notice that something about the girl across the street didn't look quite right. She looked very beaten down and forlorn, as if she'd had a really bad night the night before. Then, on closer inspection, I saw that she wasn't a girl at all. She was a dude! In a dress!. Now, this was too much.

By now, the dude in the dress was approaching the car wash, where a girl was spraying her car. I was just about directly across the street. Suddenly, the dude grabbed his dress at the bottom, and pulled it up over his head and took it off, and underneath he was COMPLETELY naked. All he was wearing now was some black tennis shoes, which he used to run down the alley behind the carwash, never to be seen again, at least by me. And thank goodness for that! It was quite a shocking sight on that nice sunny Saturday morning.

Anyway, then I saw some people a few houses up. They were having a garage sale, and they had a little kid, so I went and told them to keep an eye out because there was a naked man running around. And then I went home and probably called Kev.

I hope I haven't told this story before. I am starting to forget what I've already blogged. Have a good weekend, and watch out for streakers.

Weird

I just got home from Central Market, and when I got out of the car, noticed that my neighborhood smells like buttered popcorn.

My Bacon Number

Fun Fact:
I am no more than four degrees from Kevin Bacon. My friend Gordon was in a movie called Schtickmen with this dude named Oliver, who was in a movie with Laura Linney, who was in a movie with Kevin Bacon. And if the Oliver dude is the same Oliver dude I think he is, I've met him a few times before, which would put my Bacon number at three.

UPDATE: My Bacon number = 3. Just googled Oliver Tull, it's the same dude. I once played Smashball with Oliver in Teitze Park at a Shannon and Troy picnic.

Fun with Sewing

So, the other day, Kev told me I should make something for the baby. I was going to crochet something, but my crochet skills are pretty limited. Then, I was going to go to the cool MAKE store from previous blogs, because I saw they had classes on to make crib sets, but now they don't have those classes anymore, so I am going to take a screen-printing class, but that's another story. Anyway, today, I went to the fabric store to look for something to make for the baby, and I found this inexpensive and easy pattern for a little shirt-dress and jeans combo. I bought enough fabric to make 4 shirts (one for 9 months and three for 12 months), and two jeans (one for 9 months and one for 12 months). For the shirts, I got two groovy floral 60s-looking prints, one print with little duckies, and one with a sort of western paisley print. I am so excited. I wanted a monkey print, but I couldn't find one.

I also saw lots of patterns for baby-room accessories, so after we figure out our decor, I may go back and get one of those.

I hope I don't have any sewing disasters. Last night, I almost had a cooking disaster. I made some beef and barley soup, which was pretty tasty. The left-overs were designated for tonight's pot-pies, but as I was pouring the soup from the pot to the tupperware container, the handle slipped and I dropped the pot. There was soup all over the floor, and we were expecting company in 10 minutes. Luckily, I caught the pot and saved most of the soup, and Kev was there to clean up the floor. But it could have been bad. I typically don't handle cooking disasters very well.

I went to the prenatal yoga class at the hospital fitness center the other night. It was so great. I felt like a noodle after it was over. I wish I could go every day.

That's about it. Sorry this blog is boring and mommy-intensive. Next time, maybe I will blog about the completely naked man who ran down the street one day.

Nothing to Blog About

After winning the Dread Pirate (tm) and finding out the Peanut is a girl, the rest of the week has seemed pretty uneventful. I can't think of anything really blogworthy to blog a blog about. The constant battle with our trash collectors must be getting old to you guys by now. Let's see...

Oh. Yesterday, a complex of condos where I used to live caught on fire. It was a six-alarmer, and over 100 people are homeless now. I couldn't tell on the news if my old building was involved, but the whole thing is freaking me out a little. I lived there for a long time. Luckily, it seems no one was hurt, although one lady may have lost her cat, which is horrible. Especially if it turns out the fire was caused by someone being irresponsible and careless.
I lived in some apartments before I married Kev which were mostly occupied by the elderly. I was in constant fear that one of them would fall asleep (or worse) with a lit cigarette and burn us all up. The one exception to the elderly, was a younger girl that lived right upstairs from me. She was stompy. But the worst part was that every Friday and Saturday night, she went out, and that meant going through her pre-going-out ritual, which involved stomping even more while listening to either Journey's Greatest Hits or (good grief) Huey Lewis and the News at top volume. I'm glad I don't live there anymore. It's quieter here, and there's no one to burn us up with their careless smoking habits. Even the Rush Knucklehead has been quiet lately. Last time I heard him was on a Sunday morning at about 8:30. It lasted about 5 minutes, and my guess is somebody finally told him to knock it off. Haven't heard a Canadian Power Anthem since.

Well, maybe something interesting will happen this weekend. There is potential baby accessory shopping, which could lead to a bloggable tale or two.

PPHPHB Story

We sent a copy of PPHPHB Vol.3 to my friend Tracy in San Antonio. She was listening to it while she was driving her 4th grade son, Shane, to school. When Blue Christmas came on, Shane said, "Is THAT Kevin?" and Tracy said, "No, that's Kevin's dad." And Shane said, "Elvis is Kevin's dad???!"

Heh heh.

And the Winner is...

So, apparently, Marty owes Kim one movie with popcorn and candy and a drink, because as most of you know by now, we found out this morning that the Peanut is in fact a Peanutess. The even better news is that she is doing well and growing just like she is supposed to and everything is where it should be. We are very pleased and excited (and relieved). And an added bonus is that we have been having a MUCH easier time thinking of girl names than boy names, so that decision should be a little less complicated. Alas, no Ramekin or Plaul.

We got to bring home a video of the whole sonogram. Modern technology is pretty amazing, I tell you what. The baby was squirming around all over the place, but the doctor managed to find everything he was looking for. They told us the baby has long legs, so maybe she will be nice and tall like Kev, and play soccer too, since she is so kicky. It's gonna be a long time until June. Don't know if I can stand the wait.

By the way - thanks for all the input on the baby accessories poll. It is really helpful.

I am anxious to hear which movie Kim will choose...

Quick unrelated note to Kim and Marty - we made popcorn and it was good.

Oh, I Almost Forgot...

to tell you guys that on Saturday, I beat Kev and LarryFeathers at the Dread Pirate (TM) game, even though they kept making fun of me and calling me the Whiney Pirate, and even though I have generally poor Pirating skills. Aarghhh.

January

Yesterday when it was January 6, Kev and I went to White Rock lake to take a short walk and look at good birds like pelicans and cormorants and ducks and night herons. While we were there, I got HOT, and then we got ice cream from the ice cream man (Fudge-Banana Bomb Pop!). People were flying kites and racing their sailboats. Did I mention it was JANUARY?

I told Kev it must be good to be the ice cream man, because everywhere you go, happy people come running toward you, smiling and waving money. But Kev reminded me that if you are the ice cream man, you have to listen to the ice cream man theme song ALL DAY LONG. That would be a beating. I think maybe the ice cream man union should lobby for getting some new songs so they can have variety, and thus be happier and more productive.

Monday Informal Poll

Hello, and this is for people with kids. Kev and I are about to have to start shopping for baby accessories, and I would like to know what you think are the top 5 things we MUST have, as well as the things you think are a waste of money and completely unnecessary. We know we have to have a crib/changing table and clothes and stuff. But I am talking about all the extra stuff they (the baby industry) make you think you have to buy. Thanks for the help!

PS. Please don't say we don't need a baby monitor, because Kev is AGAINST baby monitors and I am FOR baby monitors, and if you say we don't need one, Kev will say,"SEE! I told you we don't need a baby monitor," and then I'll really have my work cut out for me trying to get one. Thanks.

Gosh!

Do you like Napolean Dynamite and his best friend Pedro? Then you will like their commercials for the Utah State Fair by following this link:
http://jakehilton.com/2005/09/02/napoleon-dynamite-videos

There are three videos and five audio clips. My favorite is the last one, Pedro's song. Pedro has rhyming skills. Thanks to Larry for sending these to me.

Dream Theater*

My dreams tend to be about one of two things. Either I dream of some kind of disasterous attempt to get from Point A to Point B, like being in an elevator when the cable breaks, or being on a plane that is crashing; or I dream about wildlife, often in peril, sometimes not. Over the past few months, I have had several, like at least 6 or 7, dreams about seeing an owl in the wild, and then running around excitedly telling people, "I have finally seen a real owl in the wild!," only to wake up and be sad that it's not true.
Even though it is usually not very interesting to hear about other people's dreams, I am going to blog about the one I had last night because it is all I can think of to blog about today, and you guys are probably kinda sick of Christmas Talk and Peanut Talk. So last night, I had this dream that I was suddenly back in 1997 or 1998 or sometime around there...late 90s. Anyway, so I had to decide what to do since I knew the future, and suddenly I thought, "I must save Peter Jennings!" So I decided I would go to Peter Jennings and tell him to go to the doctor and have his lungs checked, and tell him that whatever he did, not to start smoking again after September 11. Then Dream Tara thought, hey, wait a minute...September 11, I can STOP September 11! So in my dream I was urgently trying to come up with a plan for how to save Peter Jennings, and then get people to believe me about September 11, and then I woke up and had to go to the bathroom, which has become a thrice-nightly occurence (please somebody tell me my bladder will go back to normal after the baby comes). Then when I got back to bed, I started thinking about how of all things I could change, the first thing I thought of was Peter Jennings, and then I thought about in just those few years between 1998 and now, how many bad things could have been stopped, or people could have been saved from like the tsunami and Katrina, and so forth. And this kept me awake for a while, but I finally went back to sleep until the next time I had to go to the bathroom. I think I'd rather dream of owls.

* Dream Theater is a really terrible band that you might like if you are into Rush and Queensryche, but feel like listening to something harder. Dude. They probably actually spell "theater" with an -re, like theatre.

Three Reasons to be Happy Today

1. Texas beat USC. Woo-hoo!
2. John Stewart will host the Oscars (Chris Rock = Not Funny)
3. The Office is back tonight.

Final Week of Mystery

One week from today, Kev and I get to find out if the Peanut is a boy or a girl. So if you were planning to wager, you better get your bets in quick-like, because it won't be long until the mystery is solved. I can't wait.

Whatever it is, it has started doing a little kick-boxing routine, which is nice and kinda tickles. I am pretty sure this was brought on by Kev's delicious New Year's Gumbo.

I hope all y'all are off to a good start in 2006. Happy New Year!

Part 6 - Meet George Jetson, His Boy Satchmo?

I have spent the morning putting away Christmas. I usually feel very sad on Christmas-Tree-Putting-Away-Day, and have post holiday let-down. But this year, I have a lot to keep me busy and a lot to look forward to, so I feel pretty OK about it. Anyway, I thought since Christmas is put away, I better finish up How I Spent My Christmas Vacation once and for all. I shall try to be brief.

When December 26 rolls around, the fun is over for most people, but not us, because that day is Kev's birthday. This year, I got him a trumpet, and I'll be a monkey's uncle if he isn't already getting pretty good at it. The initial honking has decreased tremendously, and yesterday, I overheard him (how could I help but overhear him?!) playing a pretty good likeness of "Come Back to Sorrento." So, I am pleased that he likes his trumpet and that he is making such a real effort to learn to play it. I am hoping that if he puts his mute on, it will be quiet enough for a trumpet/melodica duet.

Kev's dad had been just about to explode with excitement for Kev to open the birthday gift from him. He gets more excited about Christmas and birthdays than anyone I know. So we didn't know what to expect, except that it was most likely something futuristic. And indeed it was! We were pleasantly surprised when Kev opened a small camera which attaches to your computer so you can have video conferences with others who also have cameras. It is just like on the Jetsons. Below, you can see us talking to Kim and Marty, all the way in L.I.N.Y. (Kev's sisters each got one too). These things are great. It is so much more like a real visit than a phone call. We used it to talk to the whole family on Kev's birthday, and it was almost like being right there at the house. We got to see everybody, including the dogs, and show them our Christmas toys. It will be great when the baby comes. There are a couple of small issues, like people talking at the same time, and occasional computer glitches that freeze people on the screen. But overall, it is really cool. And there is an endless amount of silly camera schtick, like fake-walking-down-the-steps and crashing the Starship Enterprise camera angles, etc. that you can do when you run out of stuff to talk about. Everybody should get one of these, especially if you have out-of-town friends and family.
I don't know if I have mentioned the ridiculous unseasonably warm weather we are having. But I guess if it isn't going to snow for Christmas, it might as well go ahead and be sunny and 72 so that we can grill out and have birthday picnics in December. Since I can't bowl at the moment, Kev decided he wanted to have a birthday steak. So he grilled one, and a hamburger for me, and we ate in the back yard. It was really nice to spend the afternoon outside.
So, overall, I think Kev had a pretty good birthday and Christmas in spite of being so far from home and not having any snow. And THAT is how I spent my Christmas Vacation. The end.

Part 5 - Christmas Goes on...

Christmas Eve continued with a great giant dinner at my parents' house. It was some good eats, just like Thanksgiving. After dinner, we played the Dread Pirate(TM) game with my dad and LarryFeathers. It is a really cool game where you get to have a pirate ship and sail around having skirmishes with other pirates and invading islands and collecting jewels and doubloons. I was a pretty terrible pirate, and by that I mean weak and inefficient. I lost all my skirmishes and most of my invasions were complete failures. Sometimes, it is possible to become the Dread Pirate, which is good because you get special priviliges and extra treasures. Kev was the dread pirate for most of the game, and he ended up winning (as usual). I don't know if I would like being the Dread Pirate, because everyone gangs up on you, and I would probably take it personally. Anyway, it is a really fun game, and I want to play again because we didn't even get to use hostages and mutinies and other interesting rules.

On Christmas morning, we went back to my parents' house for Christmas breakfast tacos (mmm...) and more gifts. My family got us lots of nice things, some for us and some for the baby, including several things called "receiving blankets" which I got laughed at for asking what do you do with these? Apparently, you use them to wrap your baby up like a human burrito, which keeps them calm and happy. I am glad I don't have to be wrapped up in one of these blankets, as I like to be able to move my arms and legs about at will. But they are very very soft, and some have little ducks on them, and I do like that. LarryFeathers gave us a nice bird clock and some money to start a college fund for the baby, which was really cool. After gifts, we all watched Napolean Dynamite, which may have confused my parents, then ate more food, and then Kev and I went home. It was a very nice day. Thanks to everyone for the nice gifts.

Coming up next...Birthday Fun for K...

Penguin Update

Here is a photo I received today of Tula, my adopted penguin, in her burrow on Isla Magdalena off the coast of Chile. The good Dr. Bingham informed me via email that the penguins there have finished laying their eggs, which should hatch in 40 days, at which point I will hear from him again. I also got a map to her burrow and a photo of her colony. This is so cool. Tula looks like a very nice and serene little penguin.