Songs from my Head - the running tally

Although this post is dated December 31, 2014, this list was first published sometime in 2005. I intend to update it with each and every song of note that gets stuck in my head over time... 

..."Sunspots" by Bob Mould...
..."Do You Want to Touch" by Joan Jett and The Blackhearts...
..."We Are Young" by Run (I don't know how this happened)...
..."Wise Up" by Aimee Mann...
..."Dashboard" by Modest Mouse...
..."Soul Meets Body" by Death Cab for Cutie...

..."She Sells Sanctuary" by The Cult...
..."Within Your Reach" by the Replacements...
..."Smackwater Jack" by Carole King... 
..."Wise Up" by Aimee Mann...
..."Moon, Moon, Moon" sung by Laurie Berkner...
..."Everlasting Everything" by Wilco...
..."Crossfire" by Brandon Flowers...
..."Shake Your Groove Thing" by Peaches & Herb...
..."The Underdog" by Spoon...
..."Bootylicious" by Destiny's Child (and how the hell did this happen, you ask? Listening to the Top 00's on Yahoo)... ..."Tick Tock" by Ke$ha (I'm so ashamed - I do NOT know how the hell this happened)...  
..."Don't Stop Believing" by Journey...
..."Jerk It Out" by the Caesars...
..."Hey There Mr. Blue Sky" by Electric Light Orchestra... 
 ...Anything from Kings of Leon...
..."Poker Face" by Lady GaGa (can't get it out of my head!)...
..."Good Day Sunshine" by The Beatles...
..."Rock with You" by The King of Pop...
..."Don't Stop the Music" by Rhianna (freakin' infectious song!)...
..."Puff the Magic Dragon" sung by Peter, Paul & Mary...  
..."Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" sung by Nicole Kidman from Moulin Rouge...
..."The Dynamo of Volition" by Jason Mraz...
..."Bushfire" by the B52s... 
 ..."Jolene" by Ray Lamontagne...
..."Boogie on Reggae Woman" by Stevie Wonder...
..."You and I Both" by Jason Mraz...
..."Accidentally Kelly Street" by Frente...
..."Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse...
..."Spiralling" by Keane...
...You're the One That I Want" from the movie, Grease...
..."Life Less Ordinary" by Carbon Leaf...
..."Diablo Rojo" by Rodrigo y Gabriela...  
..."Breathe Me" by Sia...  
..."I Grieve" by Peter Gabriel...
..."This Is Our Life" by Mary Beth Maziarz -- put on my iPod by my honey-man... 
 ..."Trapped in the Drive Thru" by Weird Al Yankovic...
..."White & Nerdy" by Weird Al Yankovic...
..."Something" by The Beatles...
..."Witchcraft" by Frank Sinatra...
..."Concrete & Clay" by Unit 4+2 (from the Rushmore Sndtrck)...  
..."Cherry, Cherry" by Neil Diamond (oh yes!)...  
..."Maps" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs...
..."I Need a Hero" by Frou Frou (a cover of the song from Footloose!)...
..."Your Hand in Mine" from Explosions in the Sky...
..."Girls And Boys" from Blur...  
..."Give It Up" Kylie Minogue...
 ..."An Honest Mistake" by The Bravery...
..."Been Caught Stealing" by Jane's Addiction...
..."Thank You" by Angie Mattson, because my honey-man is so good to me...
..."Penny Lane" by The Beatles...
..."No One" by Alicia Keys (I do not know how this happened)...
..."Wake Up" by Arcade Fire (I listened to this album on repeat for several days in Keystone)...  
..."Money" by Jesca Hoop (I've been whistling it for 2 days now)... 
 ..."Here (In Your Arms)" by Hellogoodbye...
..."Everything Comes Down to Poo" from Scrubs...
..."I Feel Fine" by The Beatles...
..."Hush" by Deep Purple...
..."This Fire" by Ferry Corsten...
..."Into the Dark" by Ferry Corsten (it's all Daly's fault!)...
...Never My Love" by The Association...
... "Promises" by India Arie ...
... "Baby, I Love You" by Aretha Franklin (from our Wedding Luncheon) ...
... "Simple Gifts" by Yo Yo Ma with Alison Krauss (from our Wedding)...
..."Dance Me to the End of Love" by Madeleine Peyroux (from our Wedding Luncheon)...
..."White Wedding" from the Billy Idol...
..."Loathing" from the 'Wicked' Broadway Soundtrack...
..."Xanadu" with Olivia Newton John (I need help)...
..."Defying Gravity" from the 'Wicked' Broadway Soundtrack...
..."An Honest Mistake" by The Bravery (over and over again)...
..."Young Folks" by Peter, Bjorn & John (Needless to say, I'm whistling a lot)...
..."No Brakes" by The Bravery (Reminds me of an old boyfriend, although this song is from 2005. Funny how strong old associations can be, springing up anywhere.)...
..."Fire" by Ferry Corsten...
..."Fergalicious" by Fergie (HELP. ME. PLEASE.)...
..."Burn for You" by Kreo' (this one is a common repeat)...
..."Everything She Wants" by WHAM! (oh yes!)...
..."Day Tripper" by The Beatles...
..."Southern Man" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (I am my father's daughter)... 
 ..."Six Minutes" by Boy Kill Boy (it's one of their most annoying songs, but I LOVE it!?!)...
..."Bitter Sweet Symphony" by The Verve (gunna be stuck whistling the strings for the rest of this week, I'm sure)...
..."Smile" by Lily Allen...
..."The Cool, Cool River" by Paul Simon...
..."Death on Two Legs" by Queen (how did this happen?)... 
 ..."A la Bahia" by SiSe (on repeat)...  
..."Obvious Child" by Paul Simon (I can still remember this drums session like yesterday! = goosebumps!)...
..."Burn for You" by Kreo (got a club party goin' in mah office!)...
..."This Is It (Your Soul)" by Hothouse Flowers (some MAAAYJERR H.S. flashbacks goin' on here!)... 
 ..."Feels Just Like It Should" by Jamiroquai (lots of quirky head jerkin' goin' on here)...  
..."Rabbit Pushing Mover" (what that means, I dunno!) by Toy... 
..."Hard Headed Woman" by Cat Stevens... 
..."Lovely 2 C U" by Goldfrapp... ..."Invincible" by Ok Go...
..."I AM THE WALRUS" by The Beatles, of course... 
 ..."Morning Yearning" by Ben Harper...  
..."Powerless" by Nelly Furtado...  
..."I Gotta Know" by Nikka Costa... 
 ..."American Pie" by Don McLean... 
 ..."(Everybody's Waiting for) The Man With the Bag" sung by Kay Star... 
..."Baby, It's Cold Outside" sung by Dean Martin...  
..."Belief" by John Mayer... 
..."Gravity" by John Mayer... 
..."Listen Up!" (AGAIN!) by The Gossip...   
..."What Sarah Said" by Death Cab For Cutie... 
..."Bang" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs...  
..."Do What You Want" by Ok Go (of course)...  
..."No Cheap Thrill" by Suzanne Vega... 
..."Over and Over Again (Lost and Found)" by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (odd vocal approach, I admit, but to me, the music is infectious)... 
..."Heal Over" by K.T. Tunstall (over and over and over again)...  
..."A Million Ways" mixed with some "Here It Goes Again" - both by Ok Go...I'm lovin' em... I dreamt in Ok Go last night!?!... 
..."Living After Midnight" by Judas Priest... I've never had this happen before. Dammit, JACK FM!...  
..."Pretty Little Thing" by The Fink... 
..."Listen Up!" by The Gossip...  
..."Les Filles A Canon" by Jean Leloup... 
..."Some Title in French" by Jean something-that-means-The Wolf-in-french... 
..."Creep" by Radiohead, of course...  
..."Butterfly" by Crazy Town...This song is addictive...  
..."Footloose" by Kenny Loggins... Later on, "I Need a Hero" played over a restaurant intercom and I was in heaven!... ..."Girl and the Sea" by The Presets... 
 ...A most guilty confession: Not only do I have track #10 of 'that' Ace of Base album stuck in my head - - I actually OWN the CD...  
...Still runnin' on "Suzie" by Boy Kill Boy (soooo LOVE the BRIT POP!)...  
..."Displaced" by Azure Ray... 
..."Suzie" by Boy Kill Boy (I'm a total sucker for Brit Rock/Pop!)...  
..."Canned Heat" by Jamiroquai (under the influence of SYTYCD!)...  
..."Don't Panic" by Cold Play...  
..."People are People" by Depeche Mode...  
..."Layla" by Eric Clapton...  
..."Here Comes The Sun" by The Beatles...  
..."New Slang" by The Shins...  
..."Ready, Steady, Go" by Paul Oakenfold...  
..."Heartbeat" by Annie...  
..."Stranglehold" by Ted Nugent (God help me)...  
..."And She Was" by Talking Heads...  
..."A Sorta Fairytale" by Tori Amos... 
 ..."Fast Love" by George Michael... 
..."Tainted Love" by Soft Cell... 
...Nikka Costa's "Everybody Got Their Something"...I can SOOOO listen to this song over and OVER and over (you get the idea?)... ...Interpol's "Evil"...  
..."Toxic" by Britney Spears...Yes, I confess - I love this song AND I know ALL THE FREAKIN' WORDS - oh help me. There's no hope... 
 ..."Ooh La La" by Goldfrapp... 
 ..."Destination Unknown" by the Missing Persons (When this one gets stuck in my head, it's there for DAYS!!)... 
..."Daydream Believer" by the Monkeys (Nope, no shame at all, I tell ya!)... 
 ..."Truth" by the Dixie Chicks!...  
..."Rich Girl" by Gwen Stefani... FUNNY NOTE: My honey-man overhead me whistling this and thought I was rockin' it to a tune from Fiddler on the Roof! ~there's the 10-year age difference making itself known...  
..."Don't Bring Me Down" by ELO... 
 ..."New Beginning" by Tracy Chapman...  
..."Vanilla Sky" by Paul McCartney...  
..."Dream On" by Depeche Mode... 
 ..."Bigmouth Strikes Again" by The Smiths... 
 ..."Goody Two Shoes" by Adam Ant... 
 ..."Soul Meets Body" by Death Cab for Cutie... 
 ..."Starry Eyed Surprise" by Paul Oakenfold...  
..."Parklife" by Blur...  
..."Your Kiss is on My List" by Daryl Hall & John Oates (yes, I am a nerd and I have no shame)... 
 ..."Goodnight and Go" by Imogen Heap... 
 ..."Let Go" by Frou Frou... 
 ..."Tangerine" by Led Zeppelin... 
 ..."Brass in Pocket" by The Pretenders...

Recounting the Day, as to Why I'm So Tired

Beginning at 6:30-ish am -

Began a load of laundry in the wash.
Helped my honey-man steer the angel boy-O through his morning's departure, for him to head out with his dad for the airport to return to Utah.
Breakfast of pumpkin waffles with peanut-butter refused by the toddler, in favor of nothing but 1/2 a cup of milk and nothing more.
Cleaned the kitchen; cleared the dishes, wiped down the counters and kitchen table, began a full dishwasher's load, and swept and mopped, all while Jellybean read stories to her lil' furry friends in the front room.
Changed over the load of laundry to the dryer and began a 2nd load in the wash.
Played dress-up together for nearly an hour. I was the evil witch, commanded to cackle every 10 minutes or so.

Tried for 10 minutes to get Jellybean to consume something non-liquid, to no avail; "No thanks, I'm not hungry, mommie."Painted fingers and toes, hers and mine, while watching an episode of Dr. Seuss (a first for us both) and her 1st time ever at-home TV watching of Sesame Street, brought to you by the letter 'J', no less!
10:30 am -
"Mommie, I'm hungry." Me: Okay, you can eat your untouched waffles leftover from breakfast. Her:  "No, I'm not hungry, mommie."
Made Tapioca pudding together - her 1st time, both making it (she loved it!) and eating it (she absolutely hated it!).
An an early lunch together at 11am, and yes, she did eat her waffles first.
Changed over the 2nd load of laundry to the dryer and began a 3rd load.
Over 2 n' 1/2 hours -no exaggeration here- of playtime together at the kitchen table with Playdoh.
Followed by 30 minutes of Playdoh clean up.
Watched 2 episodes of The Muppets, season 3.
Read 6 libary books and then laid the Jellybean down for a late afternoon nap.
Made 'Bean with Bacon' soup on the fly to satisfy an enormous preggers craving.
6pm -
Had dinner with mah honey-man before Jellybean woke (very late) from her nap.
Fed (read 'forced' and/or 'bribed') Jellybean dinner, negotiating 6 big spoonfuls of soup for 3 SweetTart hearts from our candy dish, purple, orange and pink, to be exact in her request.
Remembered the last load of laundry, waiting still in the washer, to be moved over to the dryer, and asked my honey-man to do it please.
30-minute long shower with the Jellybean, complete with the drawing of a dozen or so different zoo animals using her bath crayons, which Jellybean dutifully cleaned up at the end using her "brown brush with soap, please."
Bedtime for the girlie by 8:15pm, followed by 20 minute visit with my honey-man, folding laundry together, and 30 or so minutes tidying up, aka attending to the explosion of toys left downstairs.
Bedtime for mommie...after I finish this via cell phone-written blogpost... 10pm-ish.

P.S. My thumbs are sore now! and I'm tired. and oh yeah, I'm pregnant.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry.

Her Latest Top Ten - Keep in Mind, She's only 2 n' a Half Years Old

My toddler's latest Top Ten List, her most favorite song(s) listed first:

1) Firework by Katy Perry TIED NECK N' NECK with the cover of Sing by Pink Martini - - If you ask her for her favorite song, just one, she'll tell you both 'Firework' and 'Sing,' every time.
2) Bad Romance by Lady GaGa - - Both my honey-man and I, we cannot believe how much she enjoys this song.
3) Here It Goes Again by OkGo TIED NECK N' NECK with Always on My Mind by The Pet Shop Boys
It should be noted that the first time she heard 'Here It Goes Again,' she interrupted the song about 30 seconds into it, yelling at me from her car sear, very frustrated, telling me that "They're singing too much! Too many words, momma! I don't know what he's saying momma! What's he saying!?!"
4) Hot n' Cold by Katy Perry - - She calls this Katy's Elmo song, having seen on YouTube Katy Perry's Sesame Street spoof of Hot n' Cold with Elmo. 
5) Rolling in the Deep by Adele - - For now, this one barely has an edge over Adele's Rumor Has It...
6) Rumor Has It by Adele - - Lots of head banging and sing-along for this one. 
7) Monster by Lady GaGa - - To ask for this one, she says, "Momma, I want 'That Boy is a Monster' please?"
8) Victor Vito by Laurie Berkner
9) Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles
10) Twinkle Little Star by Jewel

NOTE:  "Mayor John" is no longer listed amongst her top ten.

Post-Tonsillectomy: What I Did & Didn't Do

Clearly, I did NOT blog... More on this soon.

Her Favoritest Fluffy Lil' Friends

Over the last year, some definite favorite stuffed animals and/or dollies have become apparent and remained favorites, now that my lil' Juli-bean is two years old. I find it interesting to see 'who' she's most attached to and would like to make note of her faves now, to see someday down the road which of them survey on her list of favorites.

Going in rank order, beginning with her #1 favorite:

1. 'Merry' - This is her little brunette, red-dressed Carters doll, given to her for her first Christmas in 2009 as her first babydoll. Parts of Merry's darling ensemble are red and white candy striped tights and little brown mary jane shoes. "Merry Christmas" is embroidered in green thread on the front of Merry's dress. Merry is entirely soft with felt-like plush skin and her red dress is a fine red velour, which my daughter tickles between with her fingers in her sleep. There's also white furry trim at the cuffs and hem of Merry's dress, and she wears a red velour cap with the white furry trim sewn around its brim as well. My lil' babe dearly adores her 'Merry' and wants to take her in the car on the way to school, and she wants to sleep with her nightly. She shows Merry all the donuts in Krispy Kreme's display case, among other things for which she holds great enthusiasm. Whenever we travel, Merry goes along. I recently decided buying a 2nd, back-up 'Merry' was well overdue, so yesterday I found and bought one on eBay, already shipped out this morning.

2. 'Chuckie' - this is a darling pale mauvish-pink piggy made by JellyCat, made out of a material that can only best described as super thick, matte chenille-like corduroy. One of my honey-man's brothers from Montreal, he was here for some business in March, and brought him along as a gift. Although a relatively new addition to her brood of stuffed friends, Chuckie is a clear favorite right now, insisting sometimes over Merry, that Chuckie sleep with her in her crib. She often likes to take him along wherever we go, and she'll hold him up, atop her shoulders - - like she does on her mommie and/or daddy's shoulders, she says. I'm gunna have to find a picture of this! Done. It's absolutely precious. Like Merry, she loves to show Chuckie everything.


3. 'Bun-bun' - this is what we call her 'buddy blanket' bunny made by Bunnies By the Bay - - and we bought her a 2nd one of these as her back up over a year ago. One is kept in my car at all times and the second one is kept in her crib at all times -- TO BE CONTINUED

Her Top Ten, Plus One or Two or Three or More

Here's a listing of our lil' sweet potato's Top Ten favorite songs, using the one to two words she'll say to refer to such songs/artists, and each is paired with either the actual song title she either wants me to sing or what she wants to be played. DISCLAIMER: Although all this doesn't truly qualify as a list limited to a mere ten top songs, whatever, its my blog post:

Popular = Refers to the song's actual title, which is from Broadway's Wicked. For over 3 months' time it was her #1 request whenever we were in the car and she wanted me to always sing along to it (and still does). She'll contribute one or two lyrics to the sing along effort, here and there, always timing her "popular"s and the one "pop-u-LAR" perfectly. I think the record for the most times we've played "Popular" on consecutive repeat during any one drive is 10 times and this happened just last month -and it could have gone on longer, but my honey-man gave me a desperately pleading look come replay #10, so I then gave her a "last time" warning... and she cried. But daddy was happy!

Cuppycake = a song that's no more than a minute long, sung by a little girl, Amy Castle, and it's sickenly sweet and toohtahlee adorable to the Nth degree, given to us on a mix CD for xmas '09. She likes to both listen to it and to have me sing it - - sometimes she does NOT want me to sing it though. I can't compare to the original, honestly. I've been singing and playing this one for her for over a year, but only in the last couple months has she put in requests for it by name. Link HERE and lyrics must be shared:

You're my Honeybunch, Sugarplum Pumpy-umpy-umpkin, You're my Sweetie Pie You're my Cuppycake, Gumdrop Snoogums-Boogums, You're the Apple of my Eye And I love you so and I want you to know That I'll always be right here And I love to sing sweet songs to you Because you are so dear
Florence = referring to Florence + The Machine and this is currently her #1 request in the car, but it could be any 'Florence' song from Lungs, although her favorites are 'Dog Days are Over,' 'My Boy Builds Coffins', 'Cosmic Love,' and 'You've Got the Love' and the only one she refers to using anything more than 'Florence', is 'Rabbit Heart' -which she asks for as "Raise Up"- - So yeah, she basically likes the entire album, so I count it as one of Top Ten, as she refers to all of it as 'Florence.' SIDE NOTE: Her father isn't all that fond of 'Florence' tho, so I take great joy in the fact that our lil' sweet potato requests 'Florence' all on her own without any need of suggestion [<--- read as 'coercion' there] from mommie. Oh, and one time when 'Kiss with a Fist' was playing, she spoke up sllooowly and quietly from the backseat, "uhhh ohhh" and then declared, "She's mad!"

Mayer John = much like 'Florence' this is how she refers to anything by John Mayer, but "Gravity" is her favorite 'Mayer John' song due to the remarkable and miraculous calming effect it has upon her when she's fuzzy, as well as his entire Continuum album. We've kept this CD in the car for over a year because of its healing powers over her.

Jiggle = this is for Woodie Guthrie's "Little Sack of Sugar" - to be sung by either mommie (me) or Elizabeth Mitchell's cover which we alllll love at our house. The lyrics are darling so I must share ~

Chorus:
Jiggle, jiggle, jiggle, jiggle, tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle
Little sack of sugar I could eat you up

Jiggle, jiggle, jiggle, jiggle, pickle, pickle, pickle, pickle
Little sack of sugar I could eat you up

Hey, hey, hey, little sack of sugar
Ho! Ho! Ho! Little sack of sweet

Hee, hee, hee, my pretty little angel
So pretty, pretty, pretty I could eat your feet

Hey, hey, hey, little honey-bunny
Ho! Ho! Ho! Little turtle dove

Hee, hee, hee, little sack of 'taters
So pretty, pretty, pretty I could eat your toes

Chorus

Hey, hey, hey, my tootsie wootsie
Rangle, tangle, dangle and a honey and a tree

Ho! Ho! Ho! My butterfly-flitters
So pretty, pretty, pretty I could eat your nose

Chorus (begin quietly and then pick up in volume and speed)

Goo goo google and a coo and a cuddle
Kick your foot like a bicycle pedal
Pretty little hoe down and a one eyed frog (hold long on the 'frog')
So pretty pretty pretty I could gobble you whole (hold on the 'whole')

Chorus x 2

MacDonald = ONLY the funk version of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" by Rufus Thomas or a family sing along.

Truly = this is actually something she only knows by my own lil' version in which I've inserted her name, however the original song, an old parlor song, "I Love You Truly" may be better known from ole' Perry Como. It was something both my mum and my Grams sang to me as a child. Lyrics please? Well, there posted on Wikipedia (which I linked above), but okay (I'm such a nerd):

I love you truly, truly dear,
Life with its sorrow, life with its tear
Fades into dreams when I feel you are near
For I love you truly, truly dear.
Ah! Love, 'tis something to feel your kind hand
Ah! Yes, 'tis something by your side to stand;
Gone is the sorrow, gone doubt and fear,
For you love me truly, truly dear.

I should note that I do not sing the lyrics of the second verse in any way - - instead, I sing this:

I love you truly, truly I do
You are my angel, my baby, that's you
You are my sweetest flower, my (insert her name which refers to a flower)
I love you truly, truly I do

Hush = as in "Hush, Little Baby" and for this one, we have some of our own additions, like buying a pony and some hay, and if it doesn't let you ride, momma's gunna buy you a car to drive, and if that car don't start, then we go into the horse and cart.

Lullaby = Brahm's Lullaby, better known by some as "Lullaby and Goodnight. This one, like "I Love You Truly," but worse, I have my own lyrics, only borrowing the tune and the "lullaby and goodnight" repeat.Harp = this refers to a song from Putumayo's Celtic Dreamland compilation CD called "The Dove's Return" by Áine Minogue that involves a great deal of absolutely gorgeous and quintessential Irish harp playing, and she loves it come bedtime while we rock in her chair together a bit before I lay her down for bed. I tend to play it when I'm sick and can't sing.

Sunshine = "You are My Sunshine," of course, but sung in the style of Elizabeth Mitchell.

And the one song she asks for by it's entire name, and she asks for it every night as her last song, is "Rockabye Baby".

P.S. Doh! I almost totally forgot, because it's been a while since this last had a strong listening streak, but it should be mentioned... She LOVES Jason Mraz - - anything by Mraz is golden for her! So much for 'top ten' although I was already pushing it in terms of defining any of this to a mere ten. She loves so much music.

Halloween Costumes for The Future, Present, and Past

Absolutely certain we'll have to dress our sweet potato girlie as Princess Leia at some point whether she'll want to or not... other Halloween consume ideas on her mommie's "Wish List of Halloween Costumes for The Future" (NOTE: I began writing this post the 8th of October):

Bumble Bee
Ladybug
Cheshire Cat
Pocahontas
Cowgirl
A Cookie or a Donut (and one of us parents can dress as a carton of milk!)
Witch
Red Devil
Tiger
Bunny Wabbit
Scarecrow
Dorothy from Wizard of Oz
Raggedy Ann

Hmmm... the above list requires she be willing to dress up for Halloween until she's 16 years old! We'll see about that.

She was a dragon last year (Smaug!) and the costume still kinda fits (just barely), so we were planning to reuse it, as the angel boy-O is certain - - make that was certain-- he'd be Frodo again for this Halloween. UPDATE: Just as I suspected, her big bro just returned home from a weekend at Disneyland with plans to be something else than Frodo: The Mad Hatter! Which is a fantastic idea... cuz perfectly enough, I now get to cross something off the lengthy "...Costumes for the Future" list: She'll be the Cheshire Cat!

Halloween Costumes of My Past: Note, I don't remember Halloween before my last year of preschool - - and the person who could tell me, who would remember, she isn't around anymore.

Age 4 or 5: Geisha girl wearing vermilion kimono with a floral and maple leaf printed pattern, and my hair spun in buns round on each side of my little head, complete with coral pink paper fans pinned therein.
Age 6: I'm really not sure - - I have no memory of either my Halloween costume, nor of trick-or-treating my kindergarten year. I would guess I was either a clown or a witch. I'm leaning towards circus clown. I do remember watching the older kids in my school's Halloween parade held in the upstairs gym though, and I remember thinking there sure were a lot of kids dressed as McDonald's 'Fry Guys.'
Age 7: I think I was either a clown or a witch -? Probably a clown again.
Age 8: Witch, I'm sure of it!
Age 9: I'm almost certain I was a witch again.
Age 10: Pat Benatar/Punk rocker - - far too much detail to explain this one. It was great and ridiculous all at once!
Age 11: Scarecrow - I hadn't liked this one at first, but by the night's end, I thought myself that I was freakin' adorable.
Age 12: At the time, I was going for a 'bum' look, donning old over-sized clothes and a scruffy brown hat, and I had a thin layer of Vaseline spread about my cheeks, chin and jawline, rubbed with coffee grounds (which were supplied by a neighbor, who's daughter, Kathleen, was also dressed as a bum as my trick-or-treating partner that year). The grounds were meant to inspire an unshaven look. We were out on our own until nearly 10pm. We thought we were the coolest.
Age 13: I was a Paisley Ghost - and my pillowcase of candy was stolen by some 15 year olds who rushed me. As I turned around to defend myself, it became utterly pointless with a stupid paisley bedsheet over my head, unable to see much detail.
Age 18: I'm fairly certain I did something, but I can't remember - - I should ask Mikie if she remembers.
Age 19: This one, only fellow Ricks College graduates would understand: I dressed as an early-married, early pregnant, Mormon Ricks College student, complete with a teeny, fine print floral patterned Sunday dress and a fake preggers belly - - Mind you, I didn't make it out the door dressed like that(not enough guts to do it), although 3 of my roommates with the same 'costume' went out and made a night of it that year.
Age 20: Zan, the boy-half of the Wonder Twins duo. This was the same Halloween a roomie and I decided to deck out all our friends from our apartment complex as superheros and villains, utilizing all sorts of creative arrangements and treatments of colored tights and long underwear, using both original purchase colors and dyed versions to match our needs, and various felt and/or satin appliques... We had Green Lantern, Poison Ivy, the Riddler, Cat Woman, Supergirl, Superman, Spiderman, Flash, Bat Girl, and Jayna, my other Wonder Twin half, roommate and fellow costume creator. And we all went out in public together as a group, each dressed in character, also behaving in character... like Chris, as Spiderman, who actually sprang atop a grocery cashier's checkout, looking out for Dr. Octopus, or James, as Flash, who ran 'Flash-style' up and down the grocery aisles when we had descended upon a Smith's grocery store in search of 35mm film when I'd run out. At check-out, film in hand, 'Flash' was nowhere to be found and the cashier actually used the store's PA system: "Flash to Checkout 10, Flash? Would Flash please return to the store front to Check out 10, Flash to check out 10." We also had dinner together at TGIFridays before our evening festivities truly began... Humpht. I guess by now I could have easily described the Pat Benatar costume from A to Z after this long-winded portion of my recounting costumes of the past.
Age 21: a Nerd from the 60s
Age 22: a Death bunny, all pasty faced with thick, black eyeliner, fake lashes, and black lipstick, wearing a long, straight, black-haired wig, a short, black velvet shift, and torn black pantyhose over burgundy tights, and a pair heavy heeled, black platform ankle boots. I was dressed like that all day long and it really freaked out a number of Provo, UT locals while I drove and walked about town.

This year I'm gunna be a witch whether the rest of the parents wanna dress up or not! So, I've got a little less than a month now to work on my witch cackle!

AGAIN: I began writing this October 8th...

Sooo My Witch Costume UPDATE: I have acquired a black gown with a scoop neck, elongated sleeves, and a hacked up hemline with a slit. I've also scored a black, kind of see-through cape with a hood that has a glittery purple-plum colored spider's web pattern printed all over it, and I've got some dark green and black striped tights to be worn with black, high-heeled ankle boots that don't reach beyond my ankle so that the tights will be more visible. The dark green of the tights is meant to compliment the green sheen seen in the plume of black feathers atop my witch's hat, which is a satiny black with a plum colored sheen to it, and also has 3 satiny plum colored fabric roses, front and center, and a black netted veil that hangs with little black plastic spiders here and there. The hat is what inspired this whole effort: It was my Grandma Joanie's witch's hat. I also have kind of Lady Liberty green costume makeup (more on the gray side than on turquoise) to be applied to any and all visible skin. Ohhh, and direct from Hong Kong (no really, I'm not kidding: post-marked from Hong Kong), I've got some long fake lashes that have a bit of purple feathers set to be aligned with the outside corners of my eyes. And then black lipstick.

Toddler Property Laws: Our Sweet Potato's New Code of Conduct

1. If I like it, it's mine.

2. If it's in my hand, it's mine.

3. If I can take it from you, it's mine.

4. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.

5. If it's mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.

6. If I'm doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.

7. If it looks just like mine, it is mine.

8. If I saw it first, it's mine.

9. If you are playing with something and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine.

10. If it's broken, the parts are still mine

This list made me laugh so hard, reading it and hearing my own girlie's teeny voice in my head, "my banana," seeing her act out each of these 'laws' to the letter these days. She's not too fierce yet with the whole 'mine, mine' mentality, but it grows stronger each passing week.

Thank you for this, Leslie! ~you rock~ OXO

Racked Up n' Inventoried - - Um, is that even a word?

We successfully installed our roof rack on the Matrix the other night - - and although the Thule cargo bag meant to contain up to 17 cubic feet of gear lays, oohh, about 15 inches in length past the rear rail bar, it'll work (fingers crossed).

Our camping trips of the past, were, um, well, excessive in terms of readiness. We've been quite, let's say, thorough in terms of our planning; planning for anything that may possibly be needed. For this latest trip, however, off to Yellowstone with two kids in the car who will need room to breathe, it calls for seriously brutal consolidation measures.

I spent a couple hours in the garage last night running an inventory of sorts. This was a feat in itself, rummaging around FOUR different bins of camping/hiking gear, and although they're highly organized, the sheer volume to sort through was daunting all at once. At least each bin is categorized by types of gear... You can -no, you should- skip this next part- - This is another listing inventory exercise of mine meant for my benefit (I love lists, um, because I'm a total dork that way, amongst other ways):

1) Light-producing/propane/fire-related bin: 2 massive citronella candles, one bug-attracting-killing lantern thingy, box of wooden matches, butane lighter, grilling charcoal, 2 packs of fire starter, spare newspapers stash, 2 pivoting handheld flashlights, 2 LED lanterns, one which has a remote control for inside the tent, 1 propane lantern and a duel-fuel lantern. And we'll be taking only the LED lanterns this trip due to our highly curious, highly assertive sweet potato. Oh, and this bin also holds 2 axes (did I spell that plural right?) and a few bungees for hanging up lanterns.

2) Our 2nd largest bin contains all our cooking supplies: 5 gallon collapsible water container, 1 gallon water container with side handle, two 1-qt containers, 3 collapsible food storage containers with lids, our 'french toast dipping' container with lid, butter container with lid, 8 various teeny-tiny spice/condiment containers (creamer, sugar, flour, french toast spices, ketchup, mustard, mayo and our favorite grilling spice mix), 1 medium sized mixing bowl that our sauce pan with lid sits inside, 2 mess kits, 1 dutch oven, 1 cast iron fry pan, 1 massive non-stick frying pan, a non-stick griddle, 1 splatter screen, 6 roasting sticks, an extra-wide roll of heavy duty aluminum foil, large roll of 1/2 sheet paper towels, 2 mesh mess drawstring bags for hanging up wet and/or dirty dishes, a 6"-deep bin for washing dishes, a 9 cup percolator and a large enamel, 16 cup percolator as well, and and we have enough serving gear for 8 people - - plates, bowls, cups, and mugs, plus a red tool box that holds all our cooking utensils; 2 chef's knives, 2 flat n' 2 rubber spatulas, 2 small whisks, 2 stirring spoons of varying lengths, a small grater, 1 can/bottle opener, various tongs (3), enough nylon flatware for 8 people, a set of kabob skewers, other spices, dish soap, extra matches, an extra butane lighter, small plastic grocery bags and small Ziplocs, and a container for herbal teas and cocoa.

3) Our largest bin holds all our sleeping gear: 2 floor pads, a queen-sized air mattress, 2 uber large, multi-heavy-duty Mexican wool blankets, n' 6 different sleeping bags - yes, 6 for a family of 4... Two of them are meant for below freezing temps. And we have two 'truckers' blankets as well. [BACKGROUND INFO: Early 2001, I'd bought an old Honda Civic hatchback from a trucker who lived in my neighborhood at the time. The car had belonged to his wife, who had also been a trucker. In the car I'd later found two matching, very old, navy, gray n' orange plaid, merino wool throw blankets in the back, but he didn't want them - - they had been he and his wife's car-cuddling blankets, he'd told me, and he asked me to please keep them and use them well. They're very soft and cozy, and one of these blankets was the very blanket the angel boy-O had asked me for, after our first trip to the Santa Monica beach together in 2004. The boy-O slept with that blanket for several months after I'd given it to him. A couple years ago, before a camping trip to Zion, he had suggested, all on his own, that we keep the two blankets together for campfire-cuddling, thus the 'truckers' blankets are now our campfire blankets.

4) This bin contains all our containment/shelter-related gear: A roll of large, black trash bags, other various trash bag sizes, gargantuan Ziploc storage bags to keep things dry, a container filled with various bungee cords, 3 different kids of lashings, some plain old rope, 3 tarps (two 6x9, one 9x12), and our 6-person tent. And there's a red, child-sized, folding camp chair kept in this bin as well. It had been the angel boy-O's chair and now his lil' sissy will be using it. Written along the back in casual hand-type font in yellow print, reads "Little Camper."

We also have 3 other folding camp chairs - - but I'm almost sure we won't have room for them this trip (despite my honey-man's insisting) = I don't imagine we'll really need them, with all our running around Yellowstone during the day, coming back to our campsite for dinner, juggling our lil' pee-wee, getting her to bed, etc. Hmmm... maybe after the kids are out, we could sit n' soak in the forest sounds n' campfire crackle... but we could sit on a log, side-by-side n' do that just as well, and with our campfire-cuddling blankets! For sure we'll be taking the girlie's Kelty pack. Oh, and we should bring the 5-gallon shower bag for easier hand rinsing... And now the random rambling has begun. There's more gear I could list, but I've got other things to do... like write about our sweet potato's vocabulary development!

P.S. I told my honey-man that his juggling pins WILL NOT be coming on this trip... especially when every time he's brought them camping, he only brings them out the very morning we're packing up to leave camp! For the sake of principle alone, he winds up juggling for the 5 minutes before we pull out, just so he can say there was reason to bring them. I love my little clown-man, I mean, mah honey-man.

Our Lil' Book Worm

Our baby sweet potato girl is a book worm! Her head teacher has confirmed she loves books and more so than any of her classmates. She LOVES "Circle Time," always eager to sit beside her classmates in a semi-circle for daily reading time.

Her definite very first favorite book was "Sounds" from Hinkler Books, part of their Baby's Firsts series. It simply features images of all sorts of things with the sound each makes written across the page bottom. She will still bring this book over, climbing into my lap, ready to hear me read the sounds.

Her second favorite book was a solid tie between Piggy Toe's "Ten Little Ladybugs" and Harper Festival's "Cow Moo Mee" - - she still loves them both, although only recently did she rediscover the "Ten Little Ladybugs," eager now to point out and identify all the different bugs and animals.

Her third favorite book is from Cartwheel Books, "It's Spring," by Samantha Berger. Our lil' sweet potato still really loves this book, nightly, and now points at each of the animals featured, trying each time to use the sign for birdies.

Her fourth favorite book is one of my very favorites - the illustrations are so darling - from Chronicle Books, "My Friends," by Taro Gomi.

Her fifth favorite, a well known classic, "Goodnight Moon" from Harper Festival. This book didn't hit her favorites list though until she was about 11 months old.

We have tons of books for her to read, including a number of great Priddy Books, and nearly a dozen from the fantastic Touchy-Feely board books series by Fiona Watts from Usborne Publishing, but all the aforementioned "Top 5 Favorites" have been the ones she wants read to her, over and over, sometimes each read repeatedly in one sitting.

Not until her first birthday, did she really add new titles to her Top 5 Favorites rotation. It should be noted that we haven't yet been able to trust her to handle paper-page books with care, so the majority of the books we read and give her are all board books... but she has, like, 30 or 40 of them now since her first birthday for which I'd encouraged people to give her board books ~ yay me! Lookin' out for my lil' book worm!

Sooo, her latest BIG BIG favorite that she wants read every night now (along with "Goodnight Moon" and "It's Spring") is a Sandra Boynton board book from Little Simon books, "The Going to Bed Book," given to her for her 1st birthday. She loves this book and will point to all the animals, and she will turn round and look up at me, wanting me to identify each of geanimals as she points to each of them, like the moose and the rhinoceros.

A recent new favorite is another Harper Festival pub, "Harry the Dirty Dog." She goes nuts pointing out all the doggies and birdies and trees and flowers and the butterflies and she just gets soooo excited. She doesn't really let me read this book though - - she wants to flips through the pages faster than I can read them.

Another new favorite is "The Paper Bag Princess" from Annick Press. I think it's the voices I use though to read it that she finds the most amusing - - she doesn't yet know/recognize/appreciate this lil' books fantastic message for young girls. I'm really looking forward to the day I can try to teach other similar lessons, especially important for today's growing girls.

Lastly, the book for which I'd written a blatant plug last week, "On the Night You Were Born," from Feiwel and Friends... It isn't yet on her favorites list, but it's getting close (due to repetition) and all the ladybugs on one of its pages near the book's end. Ha!

Preparing for Zee Baybee Girlie-Girl

Here's what I've done over the last 3-4 weeks' time to prepare for our baby girl's arrival... WARNING: I did not type this list merely for a blog post; it was already typed up and I've just added some details... because I am THAT neurotic.

Rewrite Lamaze class and birthing class notes.

Type up and print 2 copies of a list of all the phone numbers for those we plan to call from the hospital.

Create and test out a 12-hour long iPod playlist for the hospital.

Charged a bunch of rechargeable batteries for the digicam, iPod boombox, and camcorder.

Pack hospital bag: Cell phone chargers (his and hers), OB records in an envelope, my laminated info. sheets for drug options, phase positions, breathing, and labor stages, one notebook, 2 pens, our phone numbers list, Travel Scrabble (my mum played Scrabble while in labor with me), iPod and portable iPod boombox with cord and D batteries, a digicam with extra batteries and an extra storage card, package of Jolly Ranchers sweet-sour suckers, lip balm at the ready, cornstarch powder for back rubs, tingling minty lotion for foot rubs, swim trunks for my honey-man so he can join me in the shower or a bath for warm soaks to relieve back pain, snack foods for my honey-man, our toiletries bags, my make-up case,slippers, 2 pairs of thick socks, a nightgown with button-down front for easy nursing access, 2 nursing bras and handful of nursing pads [SIDE NOTE: I was told the hospital could stock me with enough nursing products for months' time, buhht I'd rather be safe rather than sorry when it comes to leaking!], 2 pairs of 'post-maternity' underwear (and oh, aren't those sooo attractive!? - ekk!), an outfit for leaving the hospital, and baby's take-home outfit.

Buy and wrap some lil' gifts for the angel boy-O to be given to him from his baby sister. [SIDE NOTE: He doesn't read this, so this here won't be giving anything away: I got him two swim noodles for the pool and a big bottle of blowing bubbles for him to eventually use to entertain his little sister!]

Finish reupholstering the blasted kitchen chairs.

Finish the glider chair cushions.

Choose and buy ribbon for the baby's drapes and three small frames to be hung in the baby's room.

Paint four canvas artwork pieces (still haven't finished the owl) for the baby's room.

Paint three small frames for " " .

Paint the frames of two embroidery pieces for " " .

Paint and hang a wall shelf for " " .

Dig out the baby books we have in storage for " " .

Dig out the old baby items I have from my own babyhood for " " .

Hang the window tint in " " .

Finish sewing the backdrop drapes (I still need to hem and hang) for " " .

Score some canary yellow frame matting for the three framed art pieces that once hung in my childhood bedroom, to now be hung in our baby's room.

Doctor a diaper changing pad to fit the changing table-dresser combo we have from when the angel boy-O was a babe.... as we discovered all diaper changing pads measure 32" these days, and the changing table we have measures 27" long. Got it done, but what a makeshift hackjob - - lots of duct tape involved!

Sew the binding on the tricot baby quilt before my Grams gets here and gets after me again for not having done it months ago.

Launder the rest of the baby's clothing and blankets, etc.

Launder all the floor and bathroom rugs.

Clean all the bathrooms from floor to ceiling.

Clean out and reorganize the pantry.

Clean out and reorganize the laundry room.

Stock our kitty-care supplies: 40 lb bag of cat food, 2 boxes of litter, 3 tubes of hairball remedy, one container of treats.

Stock household products: Vitamins, family toiletries, TP, tissues, paper towels, kitchen and bathroom cleaners, laundry products.

Stock the freezer: Extra loaves of the breads we prefer, frozen dinners and pizza, prepared meals, containers of homemade chili, chicken breasts, juice, ice cream, margarine and butter.

Stock the fridge and pantry: - - I've 'stocked' the fridge twice now, two weeks ago and again this past Friday.

Clean the patio and chairs and reorganize all my potting/gardening supplies.

Replant the roses, mint, and sedum plants in the backyard (I'm 1/2 way done with this).

Design the baby's birth announcement.

Thank you notes for baby gifts received (although we're really waiting for the angel boy-O's arrival for his spring break, cuz he wants to help us with 'em!).

How the Days and Weeks Pass

Sitting here on the couch with my laptop, going over my "Things that MUST be done before the Baby arrives" list for the umpteenth time, I began to think about how the last couple weeks have totally flown by... and as my mind began to wander, I logged into my Bloglines account and began to scan through the latest RSS feeds from Cute Overload and I Can Has Cheezburger, and I realized in a moment of belly shaking (and belly aching) laughter, I've fallen into a strange daily/weekly routine of sorts over the last couple weeks:

Mondays = Hate 'em more than ever! I need this day to recover from my weekend.
Tuesdays = I've ahhhlmost got my game on, almost.
Wednesday = The best, most productive day of the week for me.
Thursday = I want it to be Friday.
Friday = I want to go home.
Saturday = The day starts slow, so I spend the rest of the day over-doing it in an effort to make up for the slow morning.
Sunday = I pace it much better than Saturday, but still do too much.

A TYPICAL DAY:

5am-ish: Around this time, I've gone to the bathroom for what will be the last time before I must actually wake up for the day.

6am-ish: I'm so physically uncomfortable, I can no longer sleep without waking every 10 minutes or so, and I spend 30-40 minutes like this until I finally give up and get myself out of bed.

6:30am-ish: Once I do finally get out of bed, I spend 20 to 30 minutes getting dressed and made-up for the day, and during this time, I'm absolutely incapable of carrying on a coherent conversation. Instead, all I can manage is quiet, subtle moaning noises and looks of confusion if and whenever my honey-man actually tries to illicit any information from me before I've had something to eat.

7am-ish: Before I can have my breakfast, I will begin the first of what will eventually amount to several trips going up and down the stairs. With that first trip back up the stairs, I am hoping I'll remember all the items I'd forgotten to bring with me my first time down the stairs, so that I won't have to go upstairs again. This first effort is generally futile, considering my still empty stomach, and consequently, what little brain power there is up and running... but because of the low brain power, I bother with the initial return trip upstairs anyhow.

7:30-ish: I'm finished with breakfast, and now, with a full stomach, I'm remembering everything else I wanted from upstairs, and I am now very slllowly moving up and down the stairs, retrieving the rest of the items I'd forgotten to bring downstairs.

8am: I should be at work by this time, but more often than not, I am usually not so. Occasionally, I do shock 'em and arrive even a titch early, but those days are now few and far between.

8:15-8:30am-ish: I arrive at work and most everyone who works with me on a daily basis knows that although I can stand there and listen to stories about how so-n-so's last night was, I'm not truly coherent. Mind you, this is NOT an entirely new development. It's a well known fact that until 9am hits, you can't talk to me and expect me to have my shit together, and I'm like this whether I'm pregnant or not. NOTE OF CLARIFICATION: It's not that I'm cranky or bitchy or irritable in the mornings. That's not it at all. I'm just not all that capable of higher mental functioning in the AM.

9am-ish: I am now awake enough that those who work with me can actually talk to me and I can comprehend and respond intelligently.

10am-ish: I've drank at least 44 ounces of water and have already spent at least 20 minutes of the day going to and from the bathroom. And I'm hungry.

10:30am-ish: I've snacked on something and have finally picked up enough momentum that things are actually starting to get done, work-wise.

Between 11am and 3:45pm-ish: I've gotten a lot of stuff done (although some days are definitely more productive than others), and I have snacked on at least 5 different foods: an apple or a banana (or both), a light string cheese or a yogurt or a hard boiled egg, and either baby carrots with spinach dip or bagel chips with hummus (or both), and a very small handful of some kind of nut. And I have drank at least another 44 ounces of water, and have probably gone to the bathroom at least twice every hour, amounting to at least an hour of my day having been spent in the bathroom.

By 4pm: By this time, I am feeling pretty fried. My back really aches, my legs ache, and I may have a light headache coming on. I want to go home. I can't think anymore without some special moment of time granted in order to think clearly before I answer a question - - it's just about as bad as when I first arrived to work. It's not at all uncommon for someone to ask me a question, and I'll begin to respond like I know exactly what I'm about to say, but instead, I completely blank out, and I have to apologize and ask that the question/subject be repeated for me.

By 5pm: If I have not spent the 5 minutes necessary to properly prep myself to be out the door by this time, I could very well wind up in the office past 6pm, "just trying to tie up some loose ends" before the next business day.

By 6:15pm: If I have not eaten something more by this time, my patience with anything or anyone is NON-EXISTENT. I must have food, whether it be a bowl of cereal or a piece of peanut butter toast, I gotta have something to eat or I will explode with crankiness. SIDE NOTE: I don't really eat meals anymore.

6:30 to 8pm: It could be anything.

8pm-ish: Snack time and more water... and if I'm going to take a warm bath, this is about the time it will happen for me, and I will spend at least 45 minutes to an hour in the tub. If I take a bath, the rest of my time before bed will pass by with greater mental focus.

9pm-ish: If I have not granted myself some time to decompress, either by taking a bath or spending at least 30 minutes to an hour of downtime reading or dinking on the Internet, my body will be nearing full-protest mode. However, this hour may very well be the time when I finally lounge with my laptop to cruise my favorite frivolous websites or to catch up with world news. It's no coincidence that this is also about the time of night when I tend to get a bit giddy... uncontrollable fits of laughter regularly happen between 9 and 10:30pm. As does a small before-bed snack and more water.

Only over the last week had I consistently tried to go to bed before 10pm. It worked quite well one night, but the last 3 nights in a row have been hard - - not much sleep. It's now 10:30pm though, and for a few weeks now, I've been trying to get myself settled in bed no later than 11pm... so I gotta mosey up that way if I'm gunna make it. G'nighty night!

Pregnancy Latests

Trying to record some pregnancy details here from over the last couple weeks, so I'm just going to type 'em as I recall particular details:

I still haven't yet managed to scan any of the photos from our last sonogram.

I'm certain one of the reasons I haven't gained a lot of weight is because heartburn serves me as a seriously severe eating deterrent.

Two Sundays ago, I had heartburn so bad, I was up until 4am, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. This has happened 3 other nights since.

That same Sunday, two Sundays ago, it REALLY hit me that day that I had at that time only 2 months before this baby is to be born... I have been waiting to have a baby for several years, and now that it's about to happen, and there are soooo many expectations involved on so many levels, and from so many directions, I wound up spending that Sunday in tears, bawling about every 2 to 3 hours, feeling absolutely overwhelmed, drowning in a swell of anxiety, feeling wholly inadequate and totally unprepared... which is bullshit, really. But that day? You would have thought the sky was falling!

A week ago or so, I was sitting on the couch scanning through some work emails late at night, and Otis was curled around the left side of my belly... and the baby kicked him about 4 or 5 times until he moved off of me.

On our way to our first Lamaze class, trying to find the location on a dark street, we realized two other cars ahead of us, both driving slooowly, moving in and out from the curb, were most likely looking for the Lamaze class location as well. As one of the two cars made a U-turn to head back the way we'd come, I recognized the driver... My honey-man rolled down his window for me and he waved, and as they rolled down their window, I called out the person's name... His reply: "Angeline?!?" We laughed and then asked him if they too were looking for the same Lamaze class, and his next response: "You're pregnant!?! When are you due?" He apparently had no idea I'm pregnant, and he about flipped when I told him my due date. SOME BACKGROUND INFO: There are many who aren't daily regulars in my office, who are just now finding out that I'm over 7 months along. Well, anyhow, this fellow, he's apparently one of those, having not heard any earlier that I'm expecting, also unable to tell, visually, as he usually deals with me while I sit behind a large desk. I told him it was okay - - I didn't know his wife was pregnant, let alone that he was even married!

Last week, I had a huge burst of activity, enough so that by that weekend, I was totally exhausted. I got about 9 hours' worth of napping done by Sunday afternoon.

I was in a meeting this Wednesday, sitting against a wall with a colleague sitting directly to my left. I was tracking the meeting minutes on a laptop, and during a long pause in my typing, our baby sweet potato girl went into what I call her teeter-totter rock... It's quite the visual presentation! I'm hoping to catch it on video somehow... Anyhow, so she's rockin' away, and in my left peripheral vision, I could see that my colleague had turned his head, staring down, wide-eyed at my moving belly.

I had the chance to watch a friend's darling 9 pounder, 5.5 week-old daughter for a little while during the day earlier in the week. She totally passed out on me! She was lying on my chest, situated on her tummy with her tiny arms hung slack, out along my ribcage, and her bitty legs tucked in with her tinsy bum settled atop my sizable pregnant belly like she was set on a shelf. As long as I lounged back a bit, I was working hands free!

Still no sign of any stretch marks.

My OB gave me the green light yesterday to begin using Zantac to combat my chronic heartburn! YAY!

And now it's time for bed!

P.S. We think we've chosen her name! More on that soon.

Nothing But Good News

We saw our perinatal doc on Tuesday, and then I saw my regular OB GYN just yesterday. Overall, we've got nothing to share but good news:

1) I've gained only 11 pounds thus far and my doctors are very pleased with this (and I have zero stretch marks thus far -Knock on wood!)
2) My last blood test for anemia was negative; my iron levels are perfect
3) My gestational diabetes test also came back negative; my sugars are perfect
4) Our baby sweet potato girl managed to gain over a pound since Nov. 24th
5) She now weighs a respectable 3 lbs plus one ounce
6) She's approaching 15 inches in length
7) Tuesday's sonogram also revealed she has A LOT of hair already
8) She's now positioned in such a way that she can (and does) kick the underside of my left ribcage 24/7
9) If anything is to go wrong with her kidneys, heart or nervous system, it would show by now... but everything looks great, no problems.
10) My perinatal doc suspects our wee one now has a strong chance of going to full term!

We were also given a recording of Tuesday's sonogram - - the office burned a DVD of the whole thing, which begins with a big baby yawn!?! Very cool. I hope to soon post a couple stills from that sonogram once I scan them.

Over the next 6 weeks, I'll be seeing my OB every 2 weeks. Thereafter, I'll see my OB every week until delivery. As for my perinatal doc, I'll see him again, early the first week of February, and 4 weeks from then, I'll see him again and every week thereafter until delivery. I can't believe we have only 66 days until she's due?!?

Piggy in a Cat Suit

This post was originally written in May 2008, apparently forgotten until now:

Between our two cats, Otis has always been better known as our bigger kitty. At a year old, fully grown, Oatie weighed 17 lbs. Upon meeting Otis in 2004, my honey-man declared Otis was actually a piggy in a cat suit, and he soon devised a "weight reduction plan" for the little fuzzy barrel with four limbs. Oatie has since maintained a solid 15 lbs for the last 3 years now, and consequently, he's much more active than he had been at 17 lbs.

Nonetheless, Otis has never been known as our particularly active cat... Owen, on the other hand, he often behaves like an total spaz, sprinting and rushing around the house, up and down the stairs, literally bouncing off walls and furniture, periodically stopping abruptly mid-sprint, like a freeze-frame shot, poofed like a racoon, to then sprint off elsewhere. "Ninja Kitty" has been one of Owen's most applicable nicknames...

Here are some of the nicknames the boys have acquired over the last 5 years they have been my fuzzy babies:

OTIS aka "Oatie" or ...
Lovebug
Cuddle bug
Cuddle monster
Loverboy
Pillow kitty
Lil' Motor
Piggy
Fluffy tummies
Fuzzy muffin
Fatty-cat
Lil' Lap warmer

OWEN aka "Owenster" or ...
Le mew
Meow-man
Little Man
Lil' Meatloaf
Squeakers
Mr. Underfoot
Nippy-licker
Tootsie warmer
Zee Zen Mastah
Sneaky sleek
Handsomest kitty
Birdie-boy

P.S. I almost forgot one for Owen, reminded only a moment later, as he chased Otis from the top of the stairs and down, across the living room, to the top of the TV... it's "Lil' Shit"

Mah Personal Driving History: An Auto Accident Recap

Until 3 or so weeks ago, every auto accident I was ever responsible for had happened while I was either driving in reverse, or coming out of reverse. [TRANSLATION: By 'responsible for,' I mean to say they were car accidents that were entirely my fault... The headers for those babies are highlighted below in dark red.]

#1 My first car accident: Sometime in the Fall of 1989. I was 14 years of age, driving on a minors permit... My step-mum had given me the chance to drive the family home from church that Sunday in our beige '87 Oldsmobile Delta 88. My father was not with us. While keeping such a very close eye on the rear of the car and where it was going while backing out of our parking spot, I completely failed to also mind the front of the car! The front passengers nose of the Oldsmobile made a respectable dent in the neighboring car's rear drivers door before we realized what I was doing. We left a note on the windshield of the damaged car, and if I recall correctly, I paid the owner (who was Matt Harger's father) $75 to have the door dent knocked out and repainted.

My 2nd accident (this one was ridiculous): Early June, 1993. I was out and about distributing open house invitations, very last minute, for my high school graduation, and I had stopped at the home of who was my father's boss at the time. The house next door to his and the house directly across the street, they both had garage sales going strong, with cars parked all along both sides of the street. As I backed our white '85 Chevy 4x4 Blazer out from his driveway, I stopped the Blazer a mere 2 inches or so from a red, totally-unseen-by-me, tinsy Lemans sedan. As witnesses later told me, from reverse, I shifted the Blazer into drive, and it rocked backward (as it always did when one would move into 'drive' from reverse), directly into the rear drivers door of this tiny red car, and the Blazer practically lifted the thing an inch off the ground, onto its curbside tires before I drove off. And I SWEAR I DID NOT NOTICE A THING!! I was driving a freakin' tall-sitting, very huge 4x4 Chevy Blazer!?! So anyhow, the owner of the car saw it all happen, and frantically, very angrily (I was told), he ran to his car and he drove after me for a few blocks before making his move to dramatically cut me off, just as I was turning into the development where we lived... I thought the guy was a stark raving lunatic!!! As he pulled alongside me during my right-hand turn, he drove right out in front of me, slamming his brakes, coming to a complete stop! I'm still stunned that I did not then slam him right into oblivion. He then jumped out of his car, drivers door left open, his car still running, and he ran back toward me, shouting obscenities and yelling all sorts of things. Seeing that this behavior of his was apparently meant for me, although not knowing how so, I had begun to roll up my window and only left it open a crack, yelling back at him that I didn't know what he was talking about, bursting into tears and begging him to please stop yelling. The man scared the living holy crap outta me, because I honestly didn't know what I had done. Once he realized I was a merely a clueless and terrified teenager, he quit shrieking at me, and he calmly explained himself, and as I reasoned in my mind that his story could very well be true [I WAS DRIVING A BEASTLY 4x4 BLAZER!!! - the same vehicle in which my step-mum had unknowingly taken out a couple mailboxes, driving in reverse!], I told him to follow me back to the point of the accident, and we'd exchange information. By that time, my father's boss, who had had his neighbors come over to his home, asking who I was - - and his wife may have seen the accident happen too, I can't remember for sure. He had already called my parents to let them know I was in trouble. I do remember I was sooo mortified and upset and just bawling, so worried about the repair costs. I had also been convinced my father was going to kill me and that I would not live long enough to see my H.S. graduation that very week... Both my parents told me they were just so happy that no one was hurt! If I recall, it cost a lil' more than $300, out of pocket to repair the fellow's car.

My 3rd accident (not only ridiculous, but totally stupid): Late summer, 1994. The 'Fudmobile' was long gone, and I was home from college for just a couple summer months, working at Baskin Robbins (I made the cakes!). Whenever I got to drive myself to work, rather than ride my mnt. bike, I drove my parents' white Toyota Camry, and I always parked at the rear of the store in the very last parking spot to the farthest left, away from anything or anyone else. Well, this one evening, for some unknown reason, I parked in the back, right behind the back entrance. Done with work and about to drive home, I put the car into reverse, barely glancing behind me, and forcefully backed the Camry directly into the store's dumpster! I moved the damn thing a whole inch, and left one nicely scratched 1 inch-long groove in the Camry's rear bumper. That cost me $180.

My 4th accident: Shortly after New Years, 1995. Me, Suzanne and Melissa were driving up to Rexburg, ID from SLC, UT, returning from our Christmas break away from school. We were riding in what was Suzy's car (a beastly, heavy hunk of metal, a maroon '78 Oldsmobile, or was it from '72? I'll have to ask her. I'm not positive, but I think it was older than we were!), and we were only 45 minutes away from our destination. [SEMI-RELATED TANGENT: I think Suze had inherited this car from a grandparent. Although unarguably better than no wheels at all, both the odometer and speedometer did not work. I don't remember the gas gauge working either, although that may have gone defunkt come the following spring. Oh and it had no AC, and that became important when we worked together in Park City, UT, that following summer! END OF TANGENT]. There was a lot of slush and black ice on the highways that night and we were often driving under 30 mph to avoid trouble. I had an old, green, rusty pick-up truck riding our butt, and I was refusing to go any faster, nor was he making a move to pass me anytime soon. I took our speed down to 25 mph, hoping to encourage this jackass to make his move to pass me... and it worked. He took off from behind us, and as he passed us pulling further ahead, he cut me off, and he tapped his brakes. In turn, I tried to gently, but quickly engage our brakes... and inconveniently did so while driving over a patch of black ice, and I lost control of the car. Remarkably, we made a full 360 and a half, flat spin off the road without flipping over and without hitting anything or anyone. We stopped 3-4 inches shy of a reinforced barbed wire fence, AND our tire tracks revealed that we had passed less than a foot away from a standing highway directional sign post which measured 13" in diameter. We all had had our seat belts on... so instead of bodies tossed around, all we had was Suzy's snowboard thrown towards the front dash, along with my CD player, both me and Suzy's two CD disc zip-cases, a few bags of received Christmas gifts, and two freshly made, boxed quiches also thrown forward, made by Melissa's sister. The quiche went everywhere, and although a shameful waste, indeed, it had a nice comical touch. Other than an expensive midnight tow, nothing at all happened to the beastly car! I must say we were remarkably lucky!

My 5th accident: Some cold month in early 2003 (I think). I was leaving a local 24-hour Kmart, very, very LATE at night, like 2am-ish? Why was I at Kmart 'round 2am? Although irrelevant to the whole explanation of this accident, I had gone there to pick up some more fine grit sandpaper for a dresser I was refinishing in the garage that night, and apparently, I just couldn't wait until daylight. Anyhow, as I backed outta my parking space, I failed to notice the diagonally-angled triangular curb jutting alongside the drivers side of my car, parallel to me. As I pulled into drive, I ran over the very end corner nub of the curb and blew out both my front and rear passenger side tires. My cousin, Jay, he came to my rescue that night... changed both my tires. Bless him!

My 6th accident: Either late July or early August, 2004 (I've apparently forgotten when - I'd have to look it up). It was dark out and raining hard, a Vegas cloudburst during what they call 'monsoon season,' and I was not even a block away from home. I was listening on a radio report talking about just how bad the weather was, and all the flash flooding around the valley, and all the auto accidents already reported that night, including the locations of some major ones. I was the first car waiting in the left-turn lane, and as the left-turn light clocked green, time for me to make my move, I looked left and right and left and then, as I began to sllloooowly nose out into the intersection, I looked right again, and directly into the oncoming headlights of a big, black Lincoln Navigator. Actually, I only recognized what it was as the thing drove off.... It was a hit and run. They didn't even slow down, and once two other fellow drivers who had stopped beside me were able to confirm I was physically okay, neither one was willing to wait around in the dark and the rain as a witness, nor did anyone give me their contact information. And no one was able to offer the license plate of the Lincoln Navigator. They took out my front bumper and the front passengers fender and tire. It was really great (heavy sarcasm)!

My 7th accident: October 27th, 2006. My Holy Cow Crash... This LINK HERE says it all.

My 8th accident: June 8th, 2008. Some girl rear-ended me HARD... the story is HERE. And my car is in the shop for repairs right now.

My 9th and latest accident (Yup, the 2nd accident this very year!): Almost 3 weeks ago, October 23rd, 2008. The initial story HERE and the final result HERE... and I had wondered about this one. I couldn't believe all those scratches were my doing... and as it turns out, they weren't! Thank you again for your spectacular and most appreciated honesty, sir!