Building a Vegan Army--One Baby at a Time.

2011: Making Time, Doing Things

2011-01-11T11:16:00.001-07:00

I'll admit it: I love the idea of goal-setting and being organized...but, I can rarely pull it off in real life. In real life, I make fitful progress on big things, only finishing when I absolutely have to, and I simply ignore the little things until they either go away or become big things (like having service turned off). While I think I've gotten better in general, I've become increasingly frustrated with this approach to life and I'm particularly worried that this year --with only one income, another baby, and a dissertation to write--it's going to be a debilitating problem that will interfere with some of the bigger goals I'd like to accomplish (DISSERTATION).

So, what did I do? Well, first, I took it out on Josh. I've had a hard time keeping up with the house and sometimes feel like I'm not getting any help. More than that, though, I've also started feeling like we're not taking time out for each other. As a family. So I got upset and declared that we needed to take advantage of the time of year and make some resolutions together. Even just spending 30 minutes together talking about what we'd like to do this year was cathartic somehow and it made me feel a lot less guilty about insisting that we turn the tech off one night a week and then proposing that we watch "Centurion" (which is a totally forgettable movie).

We tried to keep the goals reasonable (I'm redoing my 101 things list in a couple months, so this felt like a good time to work on the little annoying things) and each came up with individual goals and some that we need to work on together.

Josh:
Do dishes after dinner
Take more lunches
Set up dates
Consolidate passwords
Get a physical
Eye exam

Dalyn:
200 words a day
Print pictures
Hang art in the upstairs
Establish baking routine (1 day a week, every 3 days, something)
Teeth cleaning--6 months
Take Eames to the dentist

Family:
BUDGET--get current on little bills, monthly budget, savings goal, research savings options, apply for state insurance, renew AAA, rental insurance renewal...
Learn photoshop/watch tutorial
Road trips (one weekend trip every other month): Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, RMNP, Durango
Organize the office--get rid of the desktop, org books, make space for work
Pay bills on time--divvying up, setting the calendar, autobillpay
Tech-free night per week (crafts/games/local trips/coffee night)
Set up a will
Life insurance--term

I'm particularly excited about going tech-free one night a week and I think it'll give me the time to accomplish some of the other goals I've listed here. Admittedly, most of the time, I'm tired enough by the end of the day that all I want to do is watch Top Chef, but I'm also feeling the need to do something more often that doesn't involve babies or work. I'd like to take better advantage of Eames's 6:30 bedtime. I'm groaning inwardly at the idea that couples need to make time for eachother, but it's amazing how life gets in the way of so many things. So, yes, I'm going to be that woman--the one who schedules time with her partner. And I think I'm going to really appreciate it. Sigh.

Here's to a productive 2011!

Books of 2010: Reading Can Be Fun!

2011-01-04T12:27:00.002-07:00

In honor of the reading I do for fun, instead of for work, I thought I'd keep track of the books I read this year.

Non-Fiction:
Eating the Dinosaur--Chuck Klosterman
Lost Cyclist: The Epic Tale of an American Adventurer and His Mysterious Disappearance--David Herlihy
Spice: The History of a Temptation--Jack Turner
Born to Run--Christopher McDougall

Fiction:
Neverwhere--Neil Gaiman
Stardust--Neil Gaiman
The Bachman Books--Stephen King
Dust of Dreams--Stephen Erikson
Hunger Games/Catching Fire/The Mockingjay--Suzanne Collins
Wizard of Earthsea (Books 1-4)--Ursula Le Guin
Affinity--Sarah Waters

Books I Re-Read:
Camulod Chronicles (Books 1-5)--Jack Whyte
A Game of Thrones--George R.R. Martin

Bean Butt

2010-08-19T18:23:00.002-06:00

It's no secret that Eames is a prodigious eater. Aspen remarked more than once than he eats more than she does. When I pick him up from the neighbors, Kathy basically tells me that he ate. A lot. For the whole 2-3 hours. And played a little.

He's also not picky. He'll eat just about anything I put in front of him--including all the crazy vegan eats that we're known to prepare around here. He likes raw onion, tofu and tempeh in any form, salsa, kale, curries, and every variety of bean known to man.

In fact, Kathy was kind enough to give me her recipe for Cuban Black Beans and we've been making a big batch about once a week. Eames likes them so much that he gets a purple bean stain on his butt.

But, what can I say? Refried beans stick to the spoon well enough that they're the perfect food for Eames to practice feeding himself with. Bean butt, be damned.

P.S. This is not a video of Eames's butt.

The Eames Witch Project

2010-08-18T13:50:00.003-06:00

Warning: May Cause Motion Sickness.

The Highlight Reel: July Edition

2010-08-17T11:47:00.011-06:00

Like most blogs, I generally only share the particularly funny or noteworthy things that happen around here--and I definitely only post pictures that I feel are decent. But, I thought it was time to let you in on some of the day to day operations. The stuff that gets edited out. Here, you'll find some of the updates I send Josh, so he know what monkey business Eames is up to. And you'll find some pictures that didn't make the cut. I think both tell their own story.

All of the following are excerpted from chat conversation had during July 2010. Some may not be safe for work:

07/06/10 @ 9:36am--I just caught Eames standing on top of the console. He used the chair to climb up, stood on top, and proceeded to shuffle through records. I was making pancakes and only realized he was up there when I heard records fall.
07/08/10 @ 1:38pm--I put the pillows in the cases and Eames LOVES them. Which, of course, means that he's rubbing the white pillows all over the floor as he pushes them around and lies on them.

Eames doing the earthquake drill at a SLC hotel.

07/09/10 @ 8:59am--Nico just attached himself to Eames's face.
07/09/10 @ 2:50pm--By the way, your son has figured out that he can climb up the high chair by grabbing the seat and stepping up on the platform.
07/13/10 @ 11:43am--Your son just face planted in the driveway. Scraped forehead and a mouth full of dirt.

With sunscreen in his hair and a scab on his nose.

07/20/10 @ 9:20am--Eames just fell off the arm of the couch and landed butt first in his toy box. He's fine. But it was just like a cartoon arms and legs sticking out hte top of the box.
07/20/10 @ 9:41am--So I just heard a squeal from Eames and I look over and he's standing in his toy box but he's bent over and his head is caught under the rim so his butt is just sticking out and he can't stand up.

Destroying flowers in Louisville.

07/21/10 @ 11:08am--You know how Aspen left her suticase and stuff in the living room? Eames is having a good time going through it.He just found her toothbrush and is combing his hair and Simi with it.

Doing God-Only-Knows-What to Simi.

07/22/10 @ 12:42--Eames keeps trying to bite me.

07/26/10 @ 9:36am--Eames just tore apart every record in the basement. He's on a rampage.

07/27/10 @ 11:51am--I'm teaching Eames how to eat a sandwich. He doesn't quite get it.
07/27/10 @ 12:06pm--There's a character named Eames in Inception. Weird.
07/27/10 @ 1:37pm--Eames just filled Polly's bowl with the hose, then got down on his hands and knees and tried to drink out of it.

We've wasted a lot of water this summer.

07/29/10 @ 3:53pm--Eames is a bit grouchy today and I think I'd rather drive with him than sit here and listen to him bitch.

He does not think I'm funny.

07/30/10 @ 11:08am--Your son is a menace. He's standing on the plastic box you left next to the couch, swinging a broom around his head.
07/30/10 @ 12:41pm--Eames just climbed up his high chair. Again. He high stepped on to the second black bar and pulled himself up.
07/30/10 @ 12:43pm--And now he's pulling on his penis, so...double yes.
07/30/10 @ 12:44pm--Also, polly ate his poop.
07/30/10 @ 12:46pm--Now, he's waving at every bus that goes by--and some of the cars. I'm sure all the people driving by like getting waved at by a naked baby tugging on his penis.

A little poke and giggle.

Excerpts from the Summer of Aspen

2010-07-27T13:09:00.009-06:00

Well, after what seemed like a short visit, Aspen headed back home to California this past Friday. It seems like we hardly saw her, since she was in volleyball camp for half the visit and asleep for the other half (Remember how tiring being a teen was? Apparently, it still is.), but we still got a good dose of teen-ness when we did see her.
________________
Me: Aspen, did you have breakfast?
A: I had some grapes.
Me: You aren't eating lunch until 12. You need to eat something before you workout.
A: ...
Me: Also, you need to stop being passive aggressive.
A: What's passive aggressive?
Me:....
Me: Will you eat pancakes if I make them?
A: Yes.
Me: Of course. Yay tan food!
______________________
Aspen comes home from the overnight weekend camp and leaves her suitcase on the floor of the livingroom. Eames has a great time going through her stuff. He finds her toothbrush and proceeds to brush not only his hair with it but also Simi's.
_____________________
Me (talking on the phone): Hey Kathy. Can you do me a favor and peek out your window to make sure Aspen isn't letting Eames run into traffic?
Kathy (sounding surprised): Oh, I have him.
Me (sounding more surprised): You do?
Kathy: Yeah. Aspen brought to me about 3:30 and said, "Can you watch him? We can't get cooking done. I thought she was going over there.
Me: Huh. She volunteered to watch him at about 3:10. I thought she was outside playing in Jenai's yard. Would've been nice if she's told me...

Me (5:30, in the kitchen): Aspen, you know how when your plans change and you go somewhere else and you have to call and let us know that you'll be in a different place?
Aspen: Yeah.
Me: Well, the same thing applies to when the 15 month old's plans change and he's not where you said he'd be.
Aspen: Oh.
________________________________
Aspen: There's nothing normal about me.
Josh: Name one thing about you that isn't normal.
Aspen: I have flat feet and I pronate.
Me: Most people pronate. But, Nike convinced us it's not natural and now they're rich.
Aspen: Well, I have flat feet anyway.
____________________

Colorado already misses her.

Eames On His Chariot

2010-06-28T17:41:00.001-06:00

...if only he could actually lasso Nico.

Eames Tries to Lasso a Cat

2010-06-24T18:41:00.005-06:00

Please ignore the destruction. I'm in the middle of rearranging...

And I have a one year old.

And he distracts me with these kind of antics when I should be cleaning.

Speaking of His Sense of Humor...

2010-06-16T09:50:00.003-06:00

Loss

2010-06-11T17:23:00.006-06:00

Yesterday, I went to my first prenatal doctor's appointment.

After an hour spent going over my previous pregnancy and mapping out this one, the nurse wheeled in the ultrasound machine.

Neither she nor the doctor could find a heartbeat.

They call it a missed miscarriage. Apparently, the fetus stopped developing a week or so ago, yet my body hasn't quite figured it out. All those plans are suddenly gone. Instead, I have 3 options: 1) wait for my body to catch up, which it hopefully will in anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, 2) use medicine to make my body expel the fetus, or 3) surgically remove it. All these options seem less than stellar.

So, in the meantime, I'm waiting a couple of days to see how things go. It's kind of surreal to still be pregnant, feel pregnant, and yet...not be. That is, I think, the worst part. Realistically, though, the physical part is probably the easiest. The fetus wasn't healthy and nature has taken its course.

Emotionally, it's difficult. I bought "Big Brother" pajamas for Eames on Monday. They're sitting on the table still, because I haven't found time in the midst of summer session to wash them and put them away. Luckily, we could choose to have another baby when Eames is 5 and they'd probably still fit him--slow grower that he is. Last week, I moved the list of baby names we came up with last time around to my laptop, so I could start thinking about names for this one. And, of course, I'd already started making room mentally and emotionally for another baby.

Because it is exciting, this family building. More so than I ever would have imagined. Unlike my career, which I have continual doubts about, I feel like I'm good at this. That it really matters.

So, this is a blow in some respects. But, despite the fact that it sounds cliche, I really, truly believe that everything works out for the best. My life is proof of that. I had already started rearranging our life to fit in a new little person, and this changes things. Suddenly, opportunities that I'd written off for the near-future are feasible. Our life looks different than it did a two days ago--for better and worse.

Undoubtedly, this is sad. And I cried my fair share of tears last night, leaving my eyes swollen and head aching this morning. But, we will heal. I will heal. And, as I was reminded this morning, we have been incredibly lucky. Josh and I found eachother. I never imagined I'd love someone as much as I do him. Aspen is turning into a beautiful woman. My parents are halthy and happy and in love--still--though they are all too far away. And Eames. After a sorrowful night, Eames reminded me this morning that life is so, so good by tangling himself up in curtains and headbutting me and the cats, and walking around with a cotton swab hanging off his lip like a cigarette. His sense of humor is growing each day and that makes me happy. Really happy.

So, for now, we remain three.

Eames's Drinking Problem

2010-05-22T18:32:00.007-06:00

Eames has a drinking problem.

And it goes a little something like this: For his 12 month check up, Eames weighed in at about 18 1/2 pounds, which puts him in the fourth percentile. His height was slightly better at the 17th percentile (and let's not talk about that Luedtke head which is solidly in the 68th--basically, he's lollipop shaped). The doctor assumed that his increased activity and my (probably) decreased milk supply is mostly to blame, so she suggested making sure he gets about 16 (I think) ounces of soy milk a day to make up for the nutrients and vitamins he's no longer getting from me. This suggestion makes sense. Most kids switch to regular milk at this time and soy milk is the highest protein/fat/calorie vegan option out there.

But, Eames doesn't like soy milk. And, it's not just soy milk. Eames won't drink anything but water (and Keflex, which he begged for when he had to take it...mmmmm, tropical-flavored anitbiotics).

Let me provide a little perspective: Eames is an eating machine. He eats all day and he'll eat just about anything you give him. He's enjoyed my tofu egg salad which features a healthy amount of raw onions, tarragon, and chives. He likes a good curry and was particularly happy to polish off the coconut black-eyed pea curry I made last week. He likes black beans and soyrizo and salsa. I could go on. Vegans, at least these ones, eat an amazing variety of food that most adults look askance at and Eames is happy to eat them all.

Exhibit A: Tempeh bacon, rice cheese, and avocado on rye (deconstructed)

The only thing he is picky about is liquid. He doesn't like juice. Apple, orange, and carrot have all gotten spit out. And I even made them fresh. Juiced just seconds prior. He made this face:

Exhibit B: Dark Cherry Passion Tea Lemonade

Vanilla soy milk ended up on the front of his shirt, as did the chocolate variety. And I think the chocolate is still there. As you can see, tea gets a negative reaction too--and it tastes exactly like Kool-Aid. Up to this point, it's been breastmilk and water all the way. And, seriously, I'm not complaining. I know many parents struggle to get kids to drink water and a lot of adults have trouble with it too (looking at you, Amy).

While we were in California, however, we had a breakthrough. We went to an organic deli run by a Christian cult. They happened to have banana milk on the menu, so I order one made with soy thinking it was worth a shot. Lo and behold, he drank it as well as he could considering that the straw was about an inch wide. Of course, he then proceeded to pull the straw out of the cup, spilling banana soy milk across the table, and waving the straw rapidly back and forth which sprayed banana soy milk all over the table and most of us sitting at it. When I tried to clean up the mess, he grabbed the paper from beneath my sandwich and waved it about, until I grabbed it and moved on to the salt and pepper, sprinkling it liberally across the table. But, that's really another blog...

Anyway, I made him some banana soy milk at home this morning. And. He. Liked. It. I blended on large banana, one cup of soy milk, and a quarter cup of coconut kefir together and served it to him in his tupperware juicebox. He drank about 12 ounces of the stuff over the course of the day. On top of that, I ordered a small unsweetened iced green tea from Starbucks and he drank the whole thing (don't even give me guff about Starbucks...I've struggled to be ok with patronizing the place, but the reality is that it reminds me of home and I like that).

Victory: Eames not only drinks it, he HUGS it.

Yes, Eames is officially on the wagon--the banana soymilk bandwagon. I doubt I'll be able to get him to drink however many ounces the doctor suggested, but knowing that he's drinking fortified soymilk makes me feel a little less guilty about the fact that I often forget to give him his vitamins.

I also suspect that this will not cause him to suddenly grow into a regular-sized toddler--you know, one who isn't still rocking 6 month old's clothes. But, that's ok, because he's out-running and -climbing toddlers twice his size.

And good things come in small packages.

California: Leaving On an Aeroplane

2010-05-21T20:39:00.006-06:00

Waiting to Board

California

The Last Resort: Playing with the Camera

Getting Sleepy (on the descent)

Goldilocks?

2010-05-14T16:26:00.004-06:00

When Eames was born, he had orange kinky hair; eventually, it fell out and the strawberry slowly leached out of it. Now, it's about as blonde as can be.
But, I've been watching to see if he gets stuck with my thin, lifeless, utterly, irrevocably straightest of straight hair or if he gets Josh's curls. Today, he's definitely looking curly. Of course, this particular hairstyle is largely due to the combination of sweaty nap hair and tangerine juice from the plate that he was rubbing all over his head. When we walked over to the neighbors today, Will said to Eames, "You look like your dad with your hair all crazy like that."
You know what would happen if I combined sweat, tangerine juice, and my hair? Nothing.

I see hope for him yet.

The Day After

2010-05-11T22:30:00.000-06:00

Mother's Day

2010-05-11T17:15:00.002-06:00

One Year

2010-05-02T13:18:00.000-06:00

While it is Eames's birthday, this post is going to be more about me than him (which is probably something he should get used to).

Birthdays, like the new year, seem to provoke some reflection in me. I've been thinking lately about this past year. Some thoughts are well-trodden: I wonder again and again how the year went by so quickly and I get a little sad that Eames is no longer a baby but a toddler with a will of his own. In fact, the only baby-ish thing about him are those adorably chubby cheeks and even those are slowly fading away. Sure, it seems silly to mourn the infancy of a one year old, but this has been a year of surprises and revelations for me and his infancy has been the source of that.

In short, I have surprised myself. I've never exactly been the maternal type and I feel like I missed out on most of Aspen's childhood; indeed, she more closely resembles a woman than a child--and a beautiful one, at that--and I can't fathom where that time went. But, with Eames, I find myself thinking on occasion that I've actually turned out to be a decent mom. Actually, I would even say that I'm a good mom. Despite a hundred million other things I should be doing (actually, there's only one other thing I should be doing but I dare not speak its name), I have devoted myself to spending time with him and not thinking about or doing anything else. I stopped checking my email incessantly, refreshing Facebook, and reading every blog under the sun; I still keep up, but I do it, for the most part, when Eames is asleep. I stopped worrying about all the things that need to be done around the house. I stopped beating myself up for not writing. I workout or go for runs when I can, and I don't worry about it when I don't. When his first year check-up revealed that he's just a wee slip of a boy (4th percentile for weight and 17th for height), I knew that he as healthy and that I've been doing everything I possibly can to ensure that he grown healthy and happy--both of which, he undoubtedly is.

In essence, I've learned to live in the moment with Eames. I've learned to enjoy him. I've learned not to be distracted, because I'll never get these moments back. When I'm with him, I'm really with him. And, when I'm feeling a little stressed or a little distracted, Eames guides me back, with little cairns that he stacks randomly around the house. Towers of blocks, balls, plastic lids, and shoes that bring me back to these moments. To him.

Aspen helped me grow up and set goals and start to plan for the future--she led me to this place, this time--and she reminds me that it goes too fast.

Eames reminds me to be still. To revel in the small things everyday. To see the joy in the stacking of cups and the herding of cats and the spinning of a record player.

Happy Birthday, Eames!

a-ha

2010-04-16T21:58:00.005-06:00

(This post has nothing to do with awesome Swedish music videos with helmet-wearing, wrench-wielding bad guys. Sorry.)

As most of you know, I've been struggling with my writing process for the last...well, year or two. Whereas, I was once two years ahead of schedule in the program, I am now behind. I'm not sure I've ever felt like such a failure in my whole life.

How did it happen? Well, I have to admit that the dissertation process has been a bit of a blur but I think it goes a little something like this: 1) propose an obvious comfortable topic that seems easy enough to write about; 2) begin to suspect that writing about reality TV from a cultural studies perspective isn't the smartest idea you've ever had; 3) write the history of reality TV and its connection to liveness thinking it'll be useful no matter what; 4) declare cultural studies is dead (about a decade late); 5) climb on the bandwagon and succumb to the sexiness of new media; 6) admit that you know nothing about new media except that myspace is still better than facebook even if no one uses it anymore; 7)write an introductory chapter connecting reality TV and new media; 8) realize that you still don't know why it matters that they're connected; 9) work on connecting them but become convinced that non of it fucking matters; 10) think that maybe Phd's are overrated and suspect that you are, indeed, incapable of writing a dissertation; 11) read a short, provocative article that changes your entire way of thinking; 11) write chair in an elated frenzy, convinced that you may be able to do this after all; 12) to which she says, "Yes! Do it! (translation: please write something!); and 13) finally, get most of a preliminary outline done to send out to committee so they see that I've done something and will continue to do so and hope they don't kick me out.

That has, in essence, been the trajectory of this dissertation process up to this point. Now, I'm starting on chapter 1 all over again, so I can send out a draft of it by the end of this month--with the goal of getting 3 chapter done in the next 4 months. It's the only way I'll make it to the job market this year.

And, while the timeline and the very task of writing a dissertation are extremely daunting, this is the first time during this whole debacle that I've actually felt good. I'm excited about the new angle and I have some clarity--I visualize what a completed dissertation would look like. And it looks fun. Something I can't ever remember talking about with other academics.

Basically, I've decided to take game studies focus on play and apply it to reality TV. Reality TV does two things really well: 1) it gets people to ask themselves what they would do in that situation, and 2) it is fun. When you combine these two things, it seems obvious to me that the genre effectively gets people to play along through a variety of rhetorical strategies and supplementary texts. And, if we can play with a traditional text like a TV show, what are the repurcussions for other texts? Texts in the classroom? Student writing?

Anyway, that's where I'm at now. We'll see where it leads and how it plays out.

Hopefully, it leads to about 200 pages...*fingers crossed*

Say Yes to the Dress

2010-03-24T21:44:00.004-06:00

Mommy was awake with baby from 2:30-4:30. AM.
Mommy was tired.
Baby was teething.
Mommy was having a bad day.

Mommy had to go through baby stuff for the consignment sale this weekend.
Mommy already has boxes of clothes that no longer fit baby.
Mommy also has a box of clothes for Juniper, the imaginary baby.

Mommy's day suddenly got better.
Baby, on the other hand, has had better days.

"You better not post these pictures!"

Winter Olympics 2030: The Training Years

2010-03-16T15:27:00.003-06:00

While you may think that this video is noteworthy for the walking that takes place toward the end, you'd be wrong.

Admittedly, I was pulling for curling as his future sport of choice, but all it takes is one look at those squats and that aerodynamic position to see that bobsledding--or maybe luge--is more up his (icy) alley.

10 Months!?!?

2010-03-09T11:18:00.003-07:00

Eames turned 10 months old this past Monday and, like the other month-birthdays, I'm struck silent by how fast it has gone. This time, however, I promised myself that I'd actually try to write something.

Enjoying the California sun and Ikea toys.

Since I last posted, Eames has become mobile. He's not walking completely quite yet, but he's cruising with ease, taking a few steps to cross short divides, and started crawling in the last week or two as well. Actually, crawling might be a bit strong. Like the steps he takes to get from object to object when he runs out of wall, he uses a scooching method to achieve the same result. He's not using crawling as a full-fledged way to get around yet and he seems far more interested in mastering this whole walking thing than exploring the world of crawling.

Ok. I lied.

Since I began drafting this post (5-6 days ago), Eames has decided that crawling is a viable form of transportation. He spent the better part of the day chasing his (new) ball around the main floor and hollering at the top of his lungs. Watching this video, Josh told me that sometimes he thinks that Eames really has things figured out; then, he proceeded to point out that Eames is basically playing catch with himself and always waits for the ball to come to a complete stop before he goes after it, thus ensuring the shortest distance between two points. Does MIT have a waiting list? For 2027? Egad.

In the past two days, he's also taken to walking to some corner--like where the stairs and wall meet--letting go and walking. He generally makes it anywhere between 5 and 12 steps. Except when he doesn't. Like this morning when he pitched forward and kissed the flooring with his (new, really new, just emerged) front teeth. There was blood. There were tears. Then he was back at it. Only he apparently decided that his left foot was to blame and started taking taking steps with his right foot only, leaving the left firmly planted. This resulted in him turning a very neat circle, beginning near the corner of the wall and ending in damn near the same place. Like just about anything else he does, this elicits a fair amount of bellowing and grunts and laughs that sound remarkably like Barney--after puberty.

But, what everyone seems to be most interested in for some reason, is Eames's sleeping habits. The short answer is that he's still not sleeping through the night. He had gotten to the point where he was waking up around the time I go to bed and again around 2-3:00. This, I could live with. But, sometime before our trip to California, Eames began waking up every hour or hour and a half. What changed?

He learned how to stand up in his crib.

Now, whenever I stumble into his room in the middle of the night, he's standing in the corner closest to the door, directing his rumblings right toward my bed. Except when he's not. Like when I stumble in, following strange grinding sounds only to find Eames gnawing on the side of his (very modern, somewhat pricey) crib. Which now has teeth-like scrape marks on the side panel. So far, I haven't found any splinters in his gums, but with 3 top teeth coming in right now, it's not exactly easy to tell.

Luckily, I have a brilliant neighbor who suggested that he wasn't just really embracing his role as a momma's boy. She pointed out that he may be able to get up, but probably hasn't figured out how to get back down. I quickly dismissed this possibility, pointing out that he often squats and sits during the day. And then it dawned on me: what he doesn't do, however, is lie down. Unless he falls. Yes, Eames is like one of those proverbial cats who climbs a tree but needs a hunky fireman to get him down. Only in this case, the hunky fireman is me (sans mustache).

But, the truth is, even the interrupted sleep doesn't bother me. I'm not getting a ton of sleep. I'm not getting any writing done. I can't keep the house clean. Running is more often a plan than an actuality. And my very cool haircut never looks like it should. But, I commit myself to every moment, enjoying this time before another 10 months--or 10 years--goes by. Aspen reminds me everyday that it goes too quickly.

Happy 10 months, Eames.

Sick Mac. Sick Eames.

2010-01-17T20:51:00.004-07:00

Well, it seems like we've been inundated with sickness the past few days, even though Josh and I have both remained healthy. Both Eames and my computer got sick. At exactly the same time. Exactly.

My Mac laptop, which is about two years and a half years old now, decided that it was suddenly too tired to get passed the start up screen. It was just done tuckered out. And the Apple store confirmed it when I finally made it over there to beg them to do something to help. Indeed, my hard drive crashed and they were unable to retrieve any of the data on it. This had the potential to be bad (like 'Holy shit, I'm pregnant..' bad--without the cute baby at the end). Luckily, I haven't been that productive as of late, so I only lost a couple of paragraphs of dissertation work. I backed up my computer 3 months ago and have posted all my best pictures on Picasa or the blog. So, it could've been much, much worse. Turns out Apple is replacing the hard drive on this model for free (along with the case which had a small chip), so I got a new hard drive with a new operating system and the very valuable program Time Machine all for a low, low price of some random pictures, videos, and files. And the awesomeness of Time Machine will keep this from happening again. Lovely.

In the meantime, Eames was running a wicked temp, threw up on me, slept away 3 straight days, and clung to me enough to make me think kangaroos are really on to something with that whole pouch thing. It really was one of the saddest things I've ever seen. But, today--the day I picked up my like-new laptop--he woke up without a fever and smiling. He was even up for a game of peek-a-boo.

It's nice to have everyone back to normal...though, I guess that means I'm out of excuses and need to get back to the writing. Or started on the writing. Ahem.

Christmas Razzberries

2010-01-11T19:47:00.002-07:00

Merry (Belated) Christmas Everybody!

2010-01-11T19:41:00.003-07:00

The Holidays In Pictures

2010-01-08T20:40:00.005-07:00

In November, I'd planned on writing an ode to six months. But, then we took a long road trip to Arizona, California and Utah (with a quick trip through Vegas for vegan donuts), the semester and all its ensuing madness came to an end, the holidays and Aspen's visit arrived, and I'm just now wondering where the last two months have gone since Eames recently turned 8 months...

Fact is, he's like a different kid. And by kid, I mean he's hardly a baby any more. He 's not crawling yet, but he puched himself backward around the floor. Honestly, though, he's much more interested in walking and wants to stand and move from place to place on his own two feet. He's eating food, real food, though this still hasn't given me a break from feedings and hasn't helped him sleep through the night. So far, he's had kale, sweet potatoes, tofu, lentils, oatmeal, spinach, pumpkin, coconut milk, coconut milk yogurt, banana, avocado, peas, and beets (and perhaps a few other veggies--I'm beginning to lose track).

Anyway, there's so much to catch up on that I'm not even going to try. I'll let the pictures do the talking instead:

Dressed for the winter

Enjoying the Tucson sun
Eames likes his Vans
My other baby
Aspen, Josh, and Eames in the Glenwood Hot Springs
Eames giving me the hard sell

Look Who's Sittin' Now

2009-10-16T10:33:00.005-06:00

So far, the developmental milestones have been kind of underwhelming. I mean, yes, it's cool that he can track things with his eyes, hold his head up, and not root at the slightest provocation, but those aren't exactly the kinds of things that seem important to anyone but the pediatrician. Rolling over had its momentary thrill and I still love watching him reach for anything you happen to put in front of him (which has signalled the end of cooking with him on my hip), but all the biggies (talking, walking, pooping in the right place...) still seem like they are a ways away and Eames doesn't seem in a hurry to do grown-up things any time soon. In fact, he was rolling every which way for a while, but now it appears that rolling over is passe and he happily stays wherever you lay him down.

Anyway, it occurred to me that we should be getting to the point where he's at least trying to sit. He has a 6 month check-up in a few weeks and he needs to stay firmly in the average range (no deviations here). High time we start practicing. So, I set him down on the play mat in front of the toy Aunt Patty got him and guess what? Eames has already mastered that shit:

What I'd forgotten is that Eames doesn't like to approach his new skills slowly. He's an all-or-nothing kind of little guy. When he decided to roll over, he did so by rolling across the living room floor; up to that point, he'd never shown the slightest inclination and then, boom!, look at me rolling toward the front door! Catch me if you can! And, while he's using the toy to stay up in this video, he's already given that up as well.* Clearly, like his mother, he doesn't believe in practice. I fully expect that one of these days, out of the blue, he's just going to look at me and say, "Don't use your rhetoric on me, mother. I'm not interested." I would not be at all surprised.

*I posted the short video, since blogspot wasn't really digging the 5 minute sitting video.

Dial E for Eames

2009-10-14T13:33:00.005-06:00

Since he was born, Eames has had a prodigious chin and, if I'm to be honest, cheeks to match; in fact, I periodically do the finger sweep test to make sure he's not packing anything in those cheeks of his--like he's gained the manual dexterity and mobility to sneak a few cat toys into his mouth while I'm not watching. Hell, sometimes it even looks like he might have a whole cat in there (Pasha or Simi clearly, since Nico is obviously too big).

While discussing the possibility that his cheeks might need their own zip code the other day, Josh mentioned that Eames bears an uncanny resemblance to a certain famous director and TV show host. Pat Sajak came to mind for a minute, but he, to my knowledge, has never directed a film and he's far too tan. Josh was, of course, referring to Alfred Hitchcock.

How did I ever not see that Eames is the spitting image of the master of suspense? The gravity-prone jowls. An extra chin. Melancholy eyes. A fuzzy pate. This kid will be sicking birds on an unwitting population in no time or throwing people off of bell towers or spying on our neighbors...

And I will definitely have to rethink leaving him in the doorway jumper while I take a shower.

Commie Leanings

2009-10-08T21:24:00.006-06:00

In old country I cosmonaut space sheep.
Zen I dreenk Vodka.

What's this? What's this?

2009-09-29T13:56:00.009-06:00

Part of me is appalled that two weeks have passed and I haven't posted anything; but, another part of me is appalled that I feel compelled to detail the minutiae of Eames's constantly evolving world. He seems to be changing every day. He looks at things differently, discusses them earnestly, and continues to grow and grow and grow. However, I also know that I'm probably the only one interested in the amount of drool that comes out of this kid or the new sound that he's obsessed with.

What's this?

So, when he discovered his hand, I kept quiet even though watching him stare at his hand as he slowly turned it and inspected it from different angles before finally deciding that, yes, this too belonged in his mouth was the better part of my day for a solid week. In fact, everything at this point belongs in his mouth, so when he recently discovered that, like the hands that grace the ends of his arms, he has feet on the ends of his legs, I was curious to see what he would do given the my particular genetic limitation.

I can't believe my eyes!

Turns out that in true Luedtke fashion, feet are things to be touched (kind of) but will never, ever make it to the mouth. I've got to give Eames some credit, though. For one of us, he is surprisingly limber, especially with the bulk of his diaper impeding his range of motion. I'm pretty sure he can thank his father for that.

Wake up, Eames, this isn't fair!

So, while finding your feet might be a little thing, I'm with Eames on this one...it's completely enthralling and worthy of contemplating from as many different angles as our flexibility (or lack thereof) allows.

Lyrics (captions) courtesy of Danny Elfman.

My First Trip to the Zoo: A Photo Essay

2009-09-11T10:36:00.006-06:00

"I don't see any lions..."

"Lions are notoriously secretive creatures, my dear. Indeed, during my many travels to the savannah..."
"...I have only once managed a glimpse of the elusive King of the Jungle."
"However, Madam, should we see such a majestic beast, I must insist that you stand back. They are very dangerous creatures and you must avoid direct eye--"
"Look! I see one!"
Rawr!
"That kitty is cute!""I do declare...that lion looks a bit dodgy, but well, erm, I need a closer look.
Right... I think I left my binoculars in the car...Cheerio."

Liitle Things

2009-09-08T13:19:00.001-06:00

Because sometimes, even in the fetid darkness of the compost bin, there are little moments of beauty.

Blowing Bubbles

2009-09-07T23:20:00.002-06:00

I love Josh. A lot. More than I ever thought I could love someone who isn't related to me. But that doesn't mean he doesn't do things that make me shake my head in wonder. Bewildered wonder. For instance, when Josh is deep in thought, reading The Nation or Slashdot or engaging in his bromance with his bearded doppelgangers, he blows bubbles. You know, the kind of bubbles where you gently part your lips forming a perfect, soft bubble that gently billows out catching the light just so....The kind of bubbles that usually catch a dirty look from me as well, because, yes, Josh blows spit bubbles.

Well, it seems that the apple doesn't far fall from the tree:

Introducing Sir Droolz-A-Lot!!!

While there don't seem to be any teeth in sight, the drool is coming on strong. And with it, the bubbles. Eames's clothes are often soaked through from the neckline to the belly button. The 'wet spot' has taken on new meaning. Specifically, it is now the spot that graces the shoulder of anyones who has dares to hold Eames for 12 seconds or longer; also, it is the spot that appears after you have picked him up off the bed/ground/blanket, etc. Indeed, it is concrete evidence that Eames has been in the vicinity.

The side view is even more impressive...

No number of dirty looks or long-suffering sighs will deter him. I've given up on changing his clothes every hour or two. Instead, I let him air dry during naps.

In the battle of nature vs. nurture, well, chalk one up to genetics in this round.

Chowing Down

2009-09-07T21:45:00.004-06:00

From the beginning, our relationship revolved around food. Given our veganism, I suppose that's not all that surprising, but we spent a lot of time eating food and prepping it and sometimes going out to get it. Within a short period of time, we ate dinner together every night and now we sit down at the dining room table to do so. As a result, it's become extremely important to me; I value the time we spend sitting down, discussing our day, and actually consciously enjoying our food and each other's company. More than anything else, it is our space and our time. I've been excitedly waiting to add Eames to the ritual.

Therefore, one of the first things we bought was a high chair--even though I knew we wouldn't need it for quite some time. When I was about 5 months along, we plunked down a significant amount of money for a trendy, over-priced, Scandinavian-style high chair. It's true that we could've saved a lot of money with the very affordable Ikea Antilop high chair or even some run-of-the-mill high chair with a tray. But, it was important to me that he be able to sit at the table with us (not off on his own in a free-standing chair) and I was sold by the fact that the Stokke high chair becomes a regular chair that grows with him over time.

Tonight was one of those nights that made it all worthwhile. Even though he's not eating actual food yet (and still has 6-7 weeks to go before we start that adventure), he is capable of sitting in his chair with us while we eat. So, tonight, while we ate taco salad, Eames got to sit in his chair and play with his toy and keep us entertained.

Coffee at The Cup

2009-09-06T22:50:00.002-06:00

Fall?

2009-09-05T22:45:00.000-06:00

Norman's Birthday

2009-09-04T17:29:00.000-06:00

Leverage

2009-09-03T12:43:00.000-06:00

Sweet Dreams

2009-09-02T10:41:00.001-06:00

The Sleepytime Smack Down

2009-09-01T22:16:00.002-06:00

Dalyn 1, Eames 0

The Many Looks of Eames

2009-08-08T14:32:00.008-06:00

I'll admit it: I really really wanted a girl. Not only are boys dirty and prone to breaking things--usually a part of their body--but, honestly, well...boys stuff kind of sucks. The toys are pretty much limited to dinosaurs and trucks. The clothes are pretty much limited to dinosaurs and trucks. In fact, with the exception of the occasional motorcycle or astronaut, you'd think that little boys had no interest outside of these two things. On top of that, they told me I was having a girl so I collected all kinds of cute graphic a-line tops with matching undies, flowered tanks, and striped dresses. Two baby showers later, I was pretty much set for girls clothes. I was ready.

But, that's all old news. The reason I bring it up now is that the huge biannual Lafaeytte kids consignment sale is this weekend. Six months ago we came home with two bags full of girls stuff for 70 bucks. This time around I decided I was going to consign most of the girl's stuff I've collected. In order to do so, I had to go through all the stuff that I shoved into an extra closet and sort through Eames's outgrown stuff as well. Despite the limitations on little boys fashion, I've managed to collect some pretty cute outfits for my boy. He and I enjoy the fashion game as much as a little girl might. And, to honor our love of all things fashion, I thought I'd put together a fashion show, "Eames's Greatest Fashion Hits."

Ladies and Gentleman, I give you the many looks of Eames!!!:

Classic Eames Onesie (Courtesy of Suzanne)
Kartoons Kataloons Outfit
Zutano Jumper
Baby Susu Cat Shirt

Baby Gap Jumper (Courtesy of Haeja)
Bicycle Onesie (Courtesy of Patty) with Neon Band-aids
Arms Are for Hugging Tee (Courtesy of Nanny)
Question Authority Onesie
Old Navy Striped Tee
Baby Nay Jumper (Courtesy of Haeja)
Wait...What the...?!?!?
Ok, girls do have cuter clothes...

The Early Bird Catches a Crapload of Worms

2009-07-29T22:27:00.012-06:00

The writing has been plugging along. Slowly. I'm just starting to find a rhythm and have been able to write at least an hour a day. Unfortunately, an hour of writing doesn't quite produce what it used to. I suspect that producing children actually dries up your writing supply and makes you overuse the word 'however' and think that maybe this whole doctorate thing is overrated.

However, today, I got up at 6:00, met a friend for coffee (to workshop her conference presentation and part of my chapter), wrote some at home, made a tofu scramble, baked an experimental batch of carrot cookies, washed the bed linens, made a leek and zucchini fritatta, cooked and froze batches of chickpeas, made a doctor's appointment for Eames, washed the diapers, gave Eames a shower, wrote a blog, watched 24 with Josh and The Bachelorette after he left, and listened to Josh read There's a Wocket in my Pocket to Eames as he leaned against my legs and smiled adoringly at his dad. All in all, it was a productive day, which I guess is what happens when you get up at the ass crack of dawn and Josh offers to wrangle Eames for the day.

What did those boys do you ask?:
Notice those books at the top of the picture? Those are mine. Because I was tucked into the very corner of the bed behind my pile of books and a computer screen desperately trying to think of something smart to say while those boys sprawled out across the sheetless bed dreaming of large-breasted women. While I was tempted to join them in their synchronized napping, I persisted and eventually found an intelligent word or two, which surprised Eames, to say the least:
As far as he's concerned, I'm the funny one in the family:
I needed a day like today. There are always more things to do and more words to write...But, with the semester fast approaching, it's nice to know I can get a few things done and not miss moments like this.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

2009-07-28T23:37:00.006-06:00

Sadly, I've always had very fine, very thin hair. My ponytails were often mocked (usually by my mother) for their slim profile (I use the rubberbands meant for bracelets to pull my hair back) and my hair never does much more than stick to my head and hang straight as straight can possibly be without a lot of intervention. The optimist in me has to note that full luxurious hair would make my already large head too big to adequately make it through doorways, but I've always wished to have just a little bend at the very least. The last time I tried to make my hair conform to my wishes, however, I ended up with a very expensive perm that lasted a few weeks then fell out to the very ends so it looked like I had pompoms stuck to the ends of my hair.

The good news is that pregnancy makes me love my hair--if only for a little while. It doesn't make it curl or even give it the slightest bend, but it does feel like I have about twice as much of it. So I've spent the last 10 months or so caressing my own head lovingly, enjoying every damn second of it. Until the last week or two. Now, when I hands through my hair, I come away with strands of it intertwined through my fingers. I'm once again constantly pulling dozens of hairs off my shirt, out of Eames's fingers and his mouth, brushing it off my face, and trying vainly to get that one that's stuck to my back and tickling the back of my arm.

And I'm not the only one. Eames was born with a full head of hair. It was even curly:
And much to our general amazement, it was also bright orange. I'll admit I was jealous of his curls, but I was also desperately hoping that--should he keep this notable hair--he'd more closely resemble Eric Stoltz than Carrot Top.

Now, however, Eames is 12 weeks old...and he has male pattern baldness:
That's right. Where once he had gloriously orange, flaming curls, he now has blond fuzz. And until those blond locks decide to make their appearance, he looks like a 83 year old man.

I'm just hoping he gets Josh's golden curls instead of my flat flaxen strands...

Tom Sawyer Paints a Fence Day

2009-07-07T16:27:00.007-06:00

Our First Date...

I had planned on having a small get together to celebrate Independence Day/Tom Sawyer Paints a Fence Day/Our 2nd Anniversary, but, instead, Josh planned a punk show at Community Cycles that he, as the planner, needed to attend and I, as the mom of a 2 month old, could not (sensitive baby ears and all that). So, Josh went to the show while I stayed home and watched Law & Order reruns with Eames.

One Year...

Sometime around 10:00, when we were tucking ourselves into bed, Josh called. I could barely hear him through the background noise, but he asked me to listen. I pictured him holding out his phone and vaguely familiar music floated haltingly through the receiver, clearly too loud for our cheap phones. I told him it sounded familiar but I couldn't place it. It's Waves of Mutilation, he said. Awesome. Later that night, he told me he gave us a shout-out:

"Two years ago today, I watched a movie with a girl with that song in it. Today we have a 9 week old."

Two Years...

And that, in short, is our story. Part of me wished I had been there to hear it myself, that acknowledgment of our history, our life, our love...But, knowing he was thinking about us and about that first night we met when we bonded over a love of television and he agreed to watch Pump Up the Volume (which I own) with me because he too loves it, made me almost as happy as being there. And lying in bed playing with Eames while I listened to those garbled notes on my cell phone made me glad I wasn't. This is a good life.

And 9 Weeks.

Trekking to the Movies

2009-06-02T17:07:00.005-06:00

While my future is obviously full of "baby's first ______," and I will undoubtedly forget to record most of them, I did want to take note of two that happened in the past month: Eames's first movie and his first smile.

The weekend before last, we decided to go see the new Star Trek. We thought ourselves quite clever; it was the third weekend the movie had been out and we went to a 2:00 show and expected that we'd have the theatre mostly to ourselves in case our wonderfully good-natured child decided to suddenly become the sleepless beast that everyone expects an infant to be. Despite our careful planning, we ended up craning our necks and scanning the width of the screen trying to take in the details of the movie from about 8 feet away. In other words, the place was packed. We hadn't counted on the fact that it was a holiday weekend and one of the rare rainy days Boulder gets during the year. But, Eames did fabulous; he slept through the first half of the movie, woke up hungry, ate, and fell back asleep for the rest of it. In fact, the bigger problem was that I forgot to turn off my cellphone. So, not only did I walk in the theatre with a newborn, I was the asshole whose phone rang about 30 minutes in and couldn't find it in the dark.

In addition to indoctrinating the poor lad into Star Trek culture, we went to the Denver Botanical Gardens on Sunday, followed by a wonderful veggie brunch at Watercourse. It was at Watercourse that Eames flashed me his first smile. Josh and I spent the next two days cooing and clapping and talking and making faces and generally making asses of ourselves in front of our little lump o' baby before Eames finally gave into our pathetic demands and repeated his performance. Now my goal is to catch that elusive gummy grin on film...er, pixel. Don't expect to see it for yourself any time soon.

Posing in front of the Aspens and wishing our Aspen was here.

Well, That's a Surprise.

2009-04-10T06:37:00.006-06:00

Doctor: There's the head, she's head down, and her hand...
Josh: Is that her spine?
Doctor: Yes...and there's a leg. Everything looks good. Did you say they told you this is a girl?
Dalyn: Yes. WHY?
Doctor: Then what's that?
Dalyn: ...
Doctor: That looked like a penis and those look like testicles. Let's take another look. It could just be swollen labia...
Josh: Um, I've seen bathroom drawings less graphic than that.
Doctor: Well, I have 3 boys and I'm 99% sure that's a boy....I was really sad when my third wasn't a girl...But, well, what does that look like to you?
Dalyn: Really big balls.

Baby Crap: A Registry in Progress

2009-03-03T08:40:00.019-07:00

UPDATE: Because this is an unconventional registry, tracking what gets bought is slightly problematic. Therefore, I've assigned a mediator. If you purchase something on the registry, please email Jo (see sidebar) to let her know and she will strike it off the list. Thanks. We're trying to maintain some kind of mystery around here...

So, for several months, I've been attempting to start registries at a couple different stores. Unsurprisingly, I have been overwhelmed and dismayed at the sheer amount of crap (in the sense of abundance and lack of quality) that seems to be part and parcel of this experience. Needless to say, that after one visit to BabiesRHell to look at a crib, I knew I couldn't register there. Target seemed like the next most viable and affordable option and I did manage to find some stuff, which you can see here. Yes, I picked out nearly every organic thing they carry, along with a couple of other necessities. But, after hours spent pouring over their website, I couldn't bring myself to add more stuff that I didn't really want and wouldn't use. Next, I even tried the local hipster baby store, Real Baby, whose stuff is cute but ludicrously expensive--no dice.

But, since loyalty has never been my strongest character trait anyway and--as we all know--I'm a picky bastard, I decided to largely forgo the store registry and come up with my own in the form of a blog. One of the advantages of working on a dissertation is that I have spent countless hours researching baby products, looking for the best deals, and drooling over products that are ridiculously cool and laughably wasteful. What I've compiled here is a list of those efforts (I'm not promising I've found the best prices on the internet and sales end, but it should be damn close).

While we've begun collecting things from thrift stores, craigslist, and sales, we still have relatively little as far as the basic baby props go. I've tried, whenever possible and reasonable, to pick out organic products or ones made from sustainable materials. While I'm well aware that we were all exposed to dangerous chemicals and a lack of seatbelts in our youth, Josh and I have managed to make out lives more and more sustainable despite my consumerist leanings and inherent dismay over used products (I don't even want to discuss the thoughts that go through my head when I think about composting and cloth diapering--I just put head down and do it...well, with the diapering I'm going to give it the old college try anyway). I'd like to continue such efforts even in the face of cuter-than-I-can-stand baby products.

So, without further ado, here is the (un)official Luedtke/Brown registry:

MEALTIME: We love food 'round these parts, so mealtime is first on the list.
1. I'm going to need all the help I can get in this department, so we'll see how helpful My Best Friend really is.
2. Somehow, it just ended up that Josh and I eat dinner together every night--at the table. So, we got a high chair that would allow us to continue the tradition together. But, since I'm worried the little bugger will ruin my table, I think we need the Skip Hop Mate.
3. ~~A Modern Sippy Cup~~
4. God knows, I have enough kitchen equipment to make my own baby food, but I'm still smitten with this little all-in-one: Beaba Babycook.
5. Because you can never have too many snack choices: Snack Storage.

CRAP: The literal manifestation.
6. Faced with the choice of cloth or disposable, I was unpleased with both. Luckily, gdiapers are the one of the coolest new baby-related inventions and the covers work with cloth diapers too: Small 'little g' Pants, Medium 'little g' Pants, and Refills.
7. Infant 12 pack Unbleached DSQ Prefolded Diapers
8. Baby 12 pack Unbleached DSQ Prefolded Diapers
9. All in ones
10. Is it too early to be thinking about potty training? I think not.

FUN STUFF: Because girls just want to have fun.
11. ~~You gotta love anything called a Blabla~~
12. The Boon Ladybug Pod
13. Night Lights
14. A giraffe to chew on.
15. ~~A Piggy Bank~~
16. Because I wish this stuff came in my size.
17. The colors, the cut, the fun. If these dresses came in pregnant-size, I might buy one myself.
18. Baby leg warmers!

NECESSITIES
19. Aspen loved it. We'll see how it goes this time: ~~A Plug!~~
20. ~~A sooped-up umbrella stroller.~~ We never used a stroller with Aspen, but I wasn't committed to public transportation in those days...
21. They may be forced to release inmates in California, but we have no such problems in Colorado: Baby Prison.
22. While fire retardant will never be organic, I still think the big hunk o' latex this kid is going to be (hopefully) sleeping her early months away on should be an ~~Organic Crib Mattress.~~
23. Organic cotton sheets.
24. Awesome art in awesome colors.
25. A simple quilt for a little girl.

THE BIG ONE: For those who'd like to avoid baby shopping altogether...
We've purchased all the typical big ticket items like a crib and bookcases and what not, but the one thing we are still working on is a bike trailer. Since our bikes serve as our primary means of transportation (besides public transit), we're not pulling any punches here. Nothing but the best for our bikes (not surprising for a Luedtke, I know)! We've already got a line on one, but if you'd like to contribute to our quest for this beauty, we'd greatly appreciate it. Otherwise, this is our back-up plan:
Stay tuned for more baby buying (you know, baby stuff, not actual baby buying) extravaganza updates...

Still Alive and Kicking. Barely.

2009-02-28T18:24:00.005-07:00

I'll admit it: I was feeling pretty proud of myself. Much like the last time I did this 13 years ago, this pregnancy was going as smooth as possible. I can't say I felt any different than I did when I was 20...until this week. Last weekend, I came down with a cold that I was sure was the worst ever had by any human being ever. Never mind the fact that the flu has killed bazillions of people throughout history, this seemed like it must be worse than all that. I felt like I got hit by a truck and then backed over once or twice. I ended up with heat rash across my chest, congestion, and an exploding head. Apparently, though, you can't actually have the flu unless you spike a fever, which I somehow managed to avoid even with chills and sweats. Who knew?

However, the cold--despite it's kick-ass nature--was a mere inconvenience. What's worse is that results of my glucose test from the previous week came in and it appeared that it was possible that I have gestational diabetes. WTF?!?!?!?!? So, after suffering from the cold, I managed to drag my sorry butt back to Kaiser for a more extensive diabetes screening on Thursday.

The 3 hour glucose test is the worst test I have ever taken in my life. SAT? Piece of cake. GRE? Did it in my sleep. Comps? Stressful, but no problem. Random drug tests? Pfft. 3 hour Glucose? I will never, ever put myself through that again.

The short version of it goes a little something like this: avoid food and water after midnight, head to lab at 8:00, 1st blood draw to establish fasting glucose, drink cup o' the sweetest, foulest most disgusting Sprite ever imagined, start sweating, feel nauseous, stumble to restroom to splash water on face, stumble into stall for worse, try not to throw up (throwing up means automatic repeat of test), assure random strangers in bathroom that you are not dying or in labor, stumble back to lab for 2nd blood draw, get stuck, roll eyes back in head as you mumble something like "I.I.I. think erjisuefnkjwn..", have 90 pound lab tech try to keep you from passing out on to the floor, move to 'baby room" for rest while lab calls nurse, pass out, mumble something to nurse about being "fine, fine, arghjabfieufb...,"wake up for 3rd blood draw, pass out in baby room again, wake up for final draw, and call neighbor who is lovely enough to pick you up with a steaming thermos full of minestrone soup.

Call me intuitive, but I figured my lousy reaction to some sugar water probably meant that I failed. This, however, concerned me less than I expected. I'm not sure I've ever failed a test in my life, so it does suck that this had to be the first. But, part of me was more exasperated than defeated. I mean, I've gained 14 pounds in 30 weeks; I walk a couple of miles everyday; and, my diet consists of 90% whole organic foods, not to mention being vegan which is suggested to curb diabetes. I'm not sure what else I could do. In fact, all this makes me wonder if my natural aversion to sweets isn't some kind of innate life-saving strategy my body has developed to help me make it through 33 years. Who knows what would've happened to me somewhere along the line if I actually liked chocolate or ice cream...

The good news is that I'm feeling a lot better than I was 2-3 days ago and I even managed to leave the house this weekend:

30 Weeks and Counting...

Middle Names Are a Bitch

2009-02-19T13:23:00.005-07:00

While the name Juniper (which was originally suggested by Patty) came easily to us and seemed like a natural choice, the middle name has not come so easy. I suspect, in part, this is due to the fact that I don't have a middle name and they've always just seemed like unnecessary ornamentation to me. I mean, yes, Aspen got one anyway, but I worked with it by making her middle name Aspen and never, ever using her first name.

So, here's the conundrum. We decided to go with Brown because Juniper sounds marvelous with it (Luedtke's a tough name to match). However, using Brown effectively eliminates any one syllable middle names. The repetition of one syllable names sounds too truncated--like a shot gun. A misfired shotgun. For example, I really like Juniper Bell....but, Juniper Bell Brown is a nightmare. It also makes a three syllable middle name a mouthful. Juniper is long enough on its own. So, that leaves us with two syllable names that don't start with 'B' (too much alliteration) and aren't in any way a color or tree (she's already got one of each). And, really, imagine, if you will, Juniper Blue Brown. I've even played around with using both our last names but, if you put Brown in front of anything, it sounds like a description, not a name.

So, with that in mind, we've struggled to come up with something that works. In fact, we've even taken to randomly plugging street names in the middle of Juniper Brown as we pass by exit signs on our road trips. That hasn't worked either....

UPDATE: While writing this bitch session, Josh and I agreed on a middle name. Thus, it has been decided. Without further ado, her name shall be...

Juniper Paisley Brown

Just Your Average Rutabaga

2009-01-28T14:34:00.000-07:00

25 weeks: Juniper is just your average rutabaga

One of the highlights to my week is getting the weekly email from babycenter.com. Sure, it's nice to know that the baby is normal and get tips on what kind of anxieties I should surely be experiencing (paint fumes, not gaining enough weight, gaining too much, decreased sex drive, names, unsupportive husbands, financial problems, etc.) and the obsessions that should haunt my dreams (finding the right crib, sleeping schedule, disciplinary strategy, daycare, preschool, college, etc.) as an expectant mom. But, believe it or not, I like these emails for two far more enjoyable reasons: the produce of the week and closer-to-human moments.

The produce of the week is really quite simple. Each week the email approximates how big/long/dense your baby should be by comparing it to something they assume most people can identify. This week, for instance, Juniper should be about the size of your average rutabaga. While the produce of the week is a helpful measuring stick, those folks at baby center often pick produce that isn't exactly easy to visualize. How big is a large heirloom tomato or a kumquat or a lychee? To make matters worse, their produce scale clearly hasn't been calibrated in quite some time. At 23 weeks, babycenter confidently stated that she should be about the size of a large mango, which seemed puzzling since the week before she was supposed to be about the size of a spaghetti squash. Granted, I have a natural aversion to spaghetti squash but I'm pretty sure they're a hell of a lot bigger than mangoes. So, I read on hoping for some clarification. Apparently, according to babycenter, a large mango is somewhere around 11 inches long and, while that explains the bigger-than-spaghetti squash evolution, I have to say that an 11 inch mango is not a large mango; it's a mango that's clearly been exposed to dangerous radioactive chemicals and is probably even plotting to take over Manhattan.

Almost as much fun as puzzling over the average size of various kinds of produce is reading about the developmental milestones of a fetus. I save the best of them for Patty, which undoubtedly adds to her discomfort with pregnancy in general. I was particularly proud when, at 8 weeks, Juniper finally lost her tail (having a tail would be convenient, although I still say that it makes it look difficult to ride a bike; at 10 weeks, Juniper could bend her limbs (I like to imagine that she was some kind of stiff-limbed Barbie floating around my uterus, unable to propel herself up to that point); at 12 weeks she, she began to look unquestionably human (an important milestone if I ever heard one); and, at 16 weeks, her eyes began to move closer to the front of her head (her peripheral vision will undoubtedly suffer).

Yes, these moments should remind me of the miracle of birth and human evolution, but mostly I just think it's weird and oh-so-awesome. And, undoubtedly, Juniper will end up being an adorable, human-looking (oh-so-blonde) bundle of joy, but, if she looks like an overgrown piece of produce, it's Josh's fault. I make lovely, beautiful children.

12 years, 9 months: Aspen is just your average almost-teen

I Like Girls.

2009-01-09T14:50:00.000-07:00

My dad said I didn't need to worry--that we Luedtke's have girls--but, I wasn't sure about a certain wild card named Josh. Turns out he was right. On 12/18, we had the big ultrasound where they looked at every possible bump and discoloration while I squirmed on the table with a full bladder and an urgent need to know exactly what kinds of bumps we're really talking about here: girl bumps or boy bumps? Being the caring, selfless mother that I am, I'll first report that everything looked normal and good (spine inside the skin, check. cervix doing its job, check. four chambered heart, check.). And, despite having a technician who was in her second week on the job, I trust that those three lines we saw time and again were indeed girl bumps. Although they did tell us not to paint the nursery pink.

Other than that, this pregnancy has been so easy that there really hasn't been anything to report (much less talk endlessly about, as everyone wants to do). No sickness, no pains, no weird cravings, modest weight gain, etc. I've been trying valiantly to work on Juniper's room while I have the time off, but I seem to have a terrible case of indecisiveness--just like I did with Aspen. Cribs, also, are the bane of my existence which isn't helping the cause any. the ones I want are inevitably too expensive, out of stock, or discontinued. Maybe she'll just have to sleep in a drawer for a while, which would be fine if we even had a drawer to put her in.

Last, the middle name. So far, we got nothing. Aspen? Beckett? Vespa? Presta? Berry? Shmuck? I'm not entirely convinced anyone needs a middle name, much less a Juniper Brown, but we're working on it.

In the meantime, I'll try to drum up some kind of drama to report. Nothing serious. Maybe a little heartburn or some swollen ankles.

I'm Postive, It's Positive

2008-09-12T18:30:00.000-06:00

I've been meaning to write this for the last few days, but I wanted to make sure that I was ready.

On Tuesday morning, I woke up when Josh got up and took a pregnancy test. When I came downstairs at 6:30 in the morning on one of my days off, he asked the obvious question: "What are you doing up so early?" In retrospect, he should've asked the really obvious question: "Are you pregnant?" Why else would I be wide awake so early on a Tuesday morning?

I responded: "I took a pregnancy test. I'm pregnant." Despite fleeting thoughts of doing something cute and charming to give him the news, I just blurted it out unceremoniously. I'm a terrible secret keeper. I got to see more of his half-chewed breakfast than usual that morning.

His response--"Oh"--was followed by a long silence and the sound of me preparing my morning bagel. Much to his credit, he asked, "Should we talk about this?" Of course we should, but after I said yes that we should talk about it, there was more silence. "What would you like to say?" I asked. In those first few moments, there wasn't a whole lot to say. We did go to coffee that morning and talk about it some, and we've continued to talk about it as the days go by, and while Josh was nervous and anxious and excited and afraid that he wouldn't live up to expectations the first day, I think he's getting more excited by the day. And here we are only 5-6 weeks in.

I called Kaiser later that day in a daze. The appointment is still 4 weeks out, which seems like an unnaturally long time. But, then, I'm really barely pregnant. And I don't feel pregnant. But all I can think about is being pregnant. I think that might mean that I'm excited, but I'm certainly nervous as well. I'm scared that I can't be the mother and partner I want to be; I'm scared I'm still too much that 20 year old who was unprepared to be a mom; I'm scared of losing me and Josh and Aspen...

Telling Aspen scares me and telling my parent makes me nearly as nervous. It's weird starting a family that is, in some ways, outside of MY family--I almost feel like I'm betraying us. But, despite weirdness and nervousness and anxiety, it also feels right. I never thought I'd have another child and I'm not ready to share Josh, but I'm excited to see the way this changes our relationship. I'm excited to be with him when he tells all those people he's eager to tell. I'm excited to see him be a dad and Aspen be a sibling and mom and dad be grandparents...

I've been distracted all week and got absolutely nothing done. I took another pregnancy test this morning. The response: "Yes, I'm positive, It’s positive."

36. Eat one piece of fruit a day for 7 days

2008-08-11T16:48:00.005-06:00

My original intent was to include some things on my list that would be easy to check off. Imagine my surprise when I realized that close to two weeks in, I've checked off exactly one thing. Some of these goals, like eating a piece of fruit a day, were meant to inspire a habit. While completing this task was easy, I know it's not going to become a habit. I did, however, discover something: I find fruit inconvenient, meaning that generally I can't really cook with it. However, it just so happened that we had Community Cycles over for a planning day the Sunday before last and we quartered a bunch of oranges as part of the breakfast. Most did not get eaten, so I ate them throughout the week in an effort to check off #36. Already cut up and on a big plate taking up space in the middle of my fridge, this task proved remarkably easy. It was convenient and most of the fruit I like--oranges, pineapple, mango--aren't.

So, if I were a nutritionist or health food magazine columnist, I'd tell me to plan ahead and prep fruit at the beginning of the week. It's a relatively simple change for someone whose diet is already pretty healthy. And perhaps that's what I most resent: the big changes don't apply to me. Those "10 things you can do for a healthier lifestyle or to lose 10 pounds" lists piss me off. Cut out sweets, do 20 minutes of exercise--even walking--a day, include veggies in every meal, cut back on saturated fats...uh-huh, no sweets at all, I ride my bike everywhere (Imagine my delight when I read about a guy in the NYTimes who decided to start riding the 2 miles--2 miles!!!--to work everyday and lost 15 pounds in 2 months), I don't eat saturated fats, and I eat vegetables in every meal--even breakfast. Everyday. Do I really have to worry about fruit too? Maybe I should adopt some (of those) bad habits so I can quit them and reap the benefits.

Or maybe I should just suck it up and eat some damn fruit--while I start thinking about the other 100 things I committed myself to.

35. Make at least One Recipe from Each Cookbook We Own

2008-08-10T18:01:00.007-06:00

Thus begins a daunting task:

1080 Recipes-"Fried Garbanzo Beans"
Fresh from the Vegetarian Slowcooker-"French White Bean and Cabbage Soup" and "Almost Irish Stew"
How it All Vegan- "Sarah's Awesome Chili"
My Kitchen in Spain-"Fried Land Fish" and "Rice with Partridge"
Skinny Bitch in the Kitch-"Dream Bars"
Vegan with a Vengeance-"Tofu Ricotta" and "White Bean and Roasted Garlic Soup"
Yellow Rose Recipes-"Raw Corn Salsa," "Aloha Bread," "Spinach Chickpea Dip," and "Nacho Sauce"

101 Things in 1001 Days

2008-08-01T13:22:00.032-06:00

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Click here for more information.

Start Date: 01 August 2008
End Date: 29 April 2011

Money:
1. ~~Pay off credit cards~~
2. Save $5000
3. ~~Get renter’s insurance~~ (Completed 01.10)
4. ~~(Re)Subscribe to the magazines I read~~ (Completed 12.08)
5. ~~Donate money to a charity~~ (Completed 12.16.08)
6. ~~Set up the direct deposit for the joint account~~ (Completed 09.08)
7. Get my credit rating
8. ~~Keep track of all the money I spend for a month~~ (Completed 01.31.10)
9. Create a budget (Began 02.10)

Work/School:
10. ~~Find a dissertation chair~~
11. ~~Finish proposal~~ (Completed 12.02.08)
12. Finish Dissertation
13. ~~Rework 1150, including a daily schedule~~
14. ~~Plan rhetorical criticism course, including a daily schedule~~ (Completed 8.28.08)
15. Keep a teaching journal (at least one entry a week)
16. Clean and organize office
17. Write a teaching philosophy
18. ~~Update CV~~ (Completed 8.25.08)
19. Graduate!!!!
20. Create a website
21. Submit to flowTV
22. Read one new pedagogical article a month
23. Complete a national job search

Travel:
24. Go bike camping
25. Get a stamp in my passport
26. ~~Visit another place in Colorado (outside the Denver area)~~ (Completed 12.09)
27. Take one leisurely fun trip with Josh (for no other reason than to go somewhere)
28. Take a trip by train

Food:
29. Develop a vegan eclair
30. Make tamales (one attempt)
31. Make vegan apple fritters
32. Eat raw for one whole day
33. ~~Try one new food I’ve never tried before~~ (Completed 8.20.08)
34. Join a CSA
35. Make at least one recipe from each cookbook we own (Began 08.08)
36. ~~Eat one piece of fruit a day for 7 days~~ (Completed 8.09.10)
37. Live off the food in our cupboards/freezer for one week (no shopping at all)
38. Put together a cookzine

Health:
39. ~~Take a daily multivitamin for 30 days~~ (Completed 10.08)
40. Do a half-marathon
41. Set a PR in the Mud Run
42. Run the Bolder Boulder
43. Run 3 times a week for 6 months
44. Run a 7:30 mile
45. Join a softball team
46. Lose 7 pounds
47. ~~Lose 10 pounds~~ (Completed 06.09)
48. Get a full physical—blood work and all
49. ~~Cut alcohol consumption by half~~ (Completed 10.08)
50. Get my eyes checked
51. Get my teeth cleaned twice a year

House:
52. Paint the main floor (Began 09.08)
53. Organize the library
54. ~~Organize the pantry~~ (Completed 02.15.10)
55. Go through kitchen, get rid of old/broken items, and make a list of things we need to replace
56. Get rid of (donate/craigslist/ebay) 100 things (7/100)
57. ~~Transplant the mint~~ (FAIL)
58. Reupholster the couch
59. Refinish the coffee table
60. Replant the cat grass
61. Make a piece of art for the house
62. ~~Set up my dartboard~~ (Completed 8.19.08)
63. ~~Plant a garden~~ (Completed Summer 09)

Movies/TV/Books:
64. ~~Watch the movies on my DVR (the ones I recorded from TCM in March)~~ (Replaced DVR 03/09)
65. Watch every movie that won a “Best Picture” Oscar
66. ~~Watch season 1 of Heroes~~ (Completed 12.08)
67. Read 5 books I own, but haven’t read: The Bachman books, Perdido Street Station,
68. Get rid of all the duplicate books we have
69. ~~Read Haunted~~ (Completed 8.20.08)

Random Activities:
70. See all the Charles Haertling houses in Boulder
71. ~~Go to the Denver Modernism Show~~ (Completed 8.18.08)
72. See an opera
73. See Wicked
74. Go snowshoeing
75. Go tubing on Boulder Creek
76. ~~Establish a monthly poker game~~ (Tried 10/08 and 11/08. Failed)
77. Walk the length of the slackline
78. Spa appointment—must include a facial and massage
79. Do a 14’er
80. Try a new sport
81. Try yoga one more time

Bicycling:
82. Upgrade the components on my bike—by myself
83. Learn how to ride a unicycle
84. Do one long ride a month (40+ miles)
85. Clean my bike once a month

Computing:
86. ~~Download the spellcheck for Word (damn MS!)~~ (Completed 02.10)
87. Update address book
88. Put birthdays into calendar with reminders

Photography:
89. Take another class at Mike’s
90. Learn how to use my camera manually
91. Frame one picture I took
92. ~~Get a picture of Pasha with her eyes open—a good picture~~ (Completed 05.16.09)
93. Complete Project 365: A Photo A Day

Personal:
94. Finish the short story
95. Try to get said story published
96. Get a new tattoo (Begun 12/09)
97. Build something...don’t know what, but something.
98. Write a letter/postcard once a month
99. ~~Dress up for Halloween~~ (Completed 10.31.09)
100. Allow someone to take a picture of me in my bathing suit
101. Make a new list of 101 things

Look Who's Coming to Dinner

2008-06-05T16:17:00.005-06:00

This place needs a lot of things, but one of those things was not another cat. That, however, doesn't seem to matter. Yesterday I brought a new cat into the palace. His previous owners adopted a baby from Ethiopia who, as it turns out, is allergic to cats. So, he needed a home. I had no desire to get another cat, but he's a Devon Rex. I've always dreamed of owning a Sphynx, but know I'll never go through a breeder and so the chances of getting on are pretty much nil. But, a Devon Rex is like the next best thing. So, without further ado, here's Simi:
Look at his curly coat:
He's currently residing in one of the spare rooms to allow everyone to adapt to his presence before the big introductions. Josh, lucky guy that he is, may get the honors since he'll be alone here all weekend while I'm in California. I don't think he knew what he was getting into. Speaking of, we have another new addition to the palace:
At least it's a lot like having a new addition. The real question, though, is what Aspen will call him now. Granola Guy no longer seems to fit.

Black Thumb.

2008-05-13T20:45:00.009-06:00

Tucson taught me many things. I do not adapt well to hostile environments. Heat makes me sweaty which makes me cranky which makes me hide out in my little apartment with the shades drawn--for six months at a time.Desert hippies are scary. One city cannot have too many head shops. Beetles come with antlers that rival any deer. And I cannot be trusted with plants.

In the course of doing time there, I managed to kill every cactus I bought. Cactus that were native to Tucson. Dead. And it didn't take me long. I took this to mean that I should in no way take responsibility for living plants. But now I think I something may have changed. While most of the yard is in dire need of TLC (which I'm slowly but surely attending to), we've had random tulips and lilac and even a baby aspen popping up--in close proximity to me.

At first I steadfastly ignored these obvious signs of life. Then, however, I came home with a mint plant (I blame spring fever) fully intending to kill it for basil mint pesto and it refused to die. In fact, I had to put it in a bigger pot and even gave a cutting its own little pot. Then, I bought a pothos which my mom immediately labeled a loser plant--as in even a loser can't kill it. For a while though, it seemed like my green streak was over. It wasn't looking good despite my care. Noticing that it was an awfully big plant for such a small pot, I transplanted it and it's now looking happy again. It's like I learned to speak plant or something.
Now, in usual dalyn fashion, I'm feeling cocky. My little plant collection has grown to include a table full of (hopefully) sprouting basil (I even bought some crazy rock shit to put in the bottom of the soil to help with drainage which I managed to spill all over the garage, but I think some got in where it was supposed to go), a lemon thyme plant, and two different pepper plants. The real challenge, though, is going to be the fuchsia I just bought to hang in the dining room. I hear they can be temperamental. More so than cactus apparently. Move over Martha...

Spring. I Think.

2008-05-13T20:29:00.008-06:00

While I do love spring, I do not love a tease. We barbecued over the weekend and enjoyed 70 degree weather, but today I huddled indoors doing work since it was 37 degrees and rainy. It'd be nice if it'd make up its mind (though I'm sure many people have said the same of me). I did manage, however, to get some pictures of Pearl Street on my way to a meeting last week.
And, no matter how much I try, I can't help but be impressed by tulips. And daffodils. And seemingly dead stuff springing back to life.

Spring?

2008-04-10T22:14:00.002-06:00

Hello Hypocrisy...

2008-04-09T21:41:00.008-06:00

When Amy packed up and moved to the suburbs, I made fun of her relentlessly. Her reasons for doing so were perfectly logical: more space, more amenities, new baby, and with a much cheaper price tag. However, I still couldn't imagine what madness would prompt a person to move to Temecula, land of subdivisions, chain restaurants, oppressive heat, and even more oppressive soccer moms. I would, I declared rather vehemently, sooner die--or at least be seen wearing Crocs. I couldn't decide which fate was worse.

When I saw Amy's new house, I felt vindicated. Yes, it's beautiful. Yes, it's clean. Yes, it's a great deal. But still...such excess.

Then I moved to Lafayette. True, the heat is tolerable when it's not snowing and the population is certainly more diverse. But I also live on the edge of the plains. Indeed, our backyard is, for all intents and purposes, the plains.

This is not only the 'burbs, it's practically the Midwest. I had grown used to sharing my commute with cattle, but, while heading east, I found myself sharing the ride with bison. And, this morning a fox nearly ran right into me as it casually loped across my path. There is an excess of nature and space here that goes beyond the vast empty landscapes.

Such excess has breached the palace walls. What once seemed like maze of rooms half-filled with boxes and echoes has quickly transformed into a home--though I'm still not sure how. I once sternly lectured Josh on the dangers of 2100 square feet and the compulsion to fill it. But Josh has since gotten used to my afternoon emails, which inevitably begin with, "Guess what I found today...?" Furniture seems to follow me home no matter how much I protest. Hello suburbs.

We are currently looking for a third couch.

Cohabitation

2008-03-05T15:51:00.003-07:00

Signing a lease together was a big deal. But, it didn't really make an impression on me. I mean, I put my name on a piece of paper and put it out of my mind.

Moving in together was also a big deal. Sure, we'd basically been living together since the day we met, but, having never lived with someone before, it was significant. It was also seamless. I barely felt it.

Getting a joint bank account was a pretty big deal as well. The account is only for household expenses and there's no way to do anymore damage to my credit than grad school has inflicted already, but having the checks arrive with both our names on them was exciting for a moment.

Admittedly, this has been the easiest, most natural transition I could ever imagine (even if I couldn't imagine actually moving in with someone 8 months ago). But, it's the books that gave me pause. Josh easily has as many books as I do. Luckily we have the room for a library. But he also has a ridiculous number of manuals and other nonfiction books which challenge my system. How do you alphabetize a book on Linux that has no author? And should it be regular nonfiction or some special computer category? And how many editions does a person really need? More importantly, does anyone really read those things?

Seeing all our books jumbled together was a little disconcerting. Going through them to get rid of duplicates (together we had 3 copies of Fast Food Nation) was even more so. If I turned away for a moment, I'd be unsure whose copy of Wicked was whose, but I felt compelled to make sure mine ended up on the shelf and his ended up in the donation pile. Plus, what happens if we split? Who gets custody of the sole remaining copy of Into the Wild? Or Vegan Planet? Or Nickeled and Dimed?

Suddenly, I understand why people get pre-nups.

Brrr.

2008-01-21T11:58:00.000-07:00

So the projected high today is 12. The low is -1. That would be in degrees. I can't even wrap my head around how cold that is. Polly (the dog) certainly can though. I took her out for a walk this morning. Since it is techinically freezing, I just took her to the local school so she could run around a bit. I let her off the leash and she promptly opened her mouth, stuck it in the snow, and ran along full speed shoveling piles of snow into her mouth. In theory, she was searching for wayward sticks. She succeeded only in making criss-crossing tongue tracks across a beautiful field of snow.

So, where did I get Polly the dog? She actually belongs to Josh, but I figured I better start getting used to her since we signed the lease on a house yesterday. It's true. In just five weeks, we'll be one big happy family living in sin. As it turns out, we found a wonderful townhouse in Lafayette (about 10 miles east of Boulder). It sits rather unironically at the corner of Merlin and Sir Galahad. Clearly, this is fate. But even more remarkable is that we--along with the aforementioned dog and my ever-expanding felines--will be occupying 2100 square feet. In short, it's practically a palace. This could be quite convenient since it's located within walking distance of 5 Mexican restaurants and I'm sure to start expanding right along with my kitties.

Other than the cold and the potential move, I'm just trying to finish getting my classes together. School started last week and I have the first half of each course planned, but I'm still trying to get as much prepping out of the way as possible. My TV class seems like it's going to be great. It's nice to have students who are already interested. Hopefully being forced to watch TV for homework won't take all the fun out of it. Anyway, I promised myself I'd get some writing done today and this , unfortunately, doesn't qualify....

Nico is crying pitifully. I'll just give him a little love first.