thrill seeking behavior

one of those annoying "here's what's been going on for the last 6 months" posts

2008-09-07T16:43:51Z

soo....let's see....

- i'm back at work 40-ish hours a week. still technically "part time" so i can continue to set my own schedule. sneaky, i know. it's kicking my ass though. i'm basically working four 10 hour days. the upside - i'm more engaged at work than i have been in a long time. i'm feeling effective, appreciated, and having fun at the same time. and i honestly think this makes me better for anna when i'm home. so all seems to be working itself out, despite all my fretting.
- mom is coming to visit this week for about 9 days. am overwhelmed by the idea of cleaning my house and de-cat-ing the room she is to sleep in.
- anna is getting bigger by the day...pics and videos are up on facebook
- ventured into the world of making my own baby food today. not because i'm all granola like that, but because i'm cheap. hurray for this lady http://weelicious.com/
- was generally disgusted by both parties' conventions. was generally disgusted by both v.p. candidates' speeches. was generally uninspired by both presidential candidates' speeches. am wondering if i'm hitting political overload at this point. briefly toyed with the idea of doing some campaign work...but honestly, mccain is an arizona senator and i don't think this state has been blue on the map ever. i am, however, constantly reminding colin and his friends to vote. am determined to have the largest young voter turnout ever.
- my second anniversary is nearly upon us. wow. really? only two years ago? seems like a lifetime. but first...
- fancy weekend is even more nearly upon us. am. so. stoked. in ways that only an old married woman with a baby could be stoked. but also in the way that i get to see my best friend under circumstances that are 100% fun-focused. i think the last time that happened we were in miami. and that was waaayyyy too long ago. huzzah!

another reason to love abc family

2008-08-28T15:46:30Z

says casey on greek: "it is time to Baby in the corner for good."

how awesome is it when a show geared toward people 10 years younger than us makes jokes like that?

hypnotized by the chubby white people getting down to an alicia keys song...

2008-08-25T23:59:52Z

you know that feeling you get when you realize you are watching something on tv that you really ought to just look away from? like the america's next top model marathons? and the my super sweet 16 marathons? or the television evangelists who rip phone books in half and jump up and down while telling you to let the power of jesus into your life? this is what is happening to me right now. except it's the democratic national convention. the last half hour or so has been some chick singing a bunch of r&b songs (i know, right?)...and close up camera work of not-that-attractive people dancing. it's like a big dance party usa episode...except with a bunch of hardcore politicos. some people are clearly more excited than others.

so. how does one get themselves a ticket to this hotbed of american culture? just show up? "heyyyy....i heard some hip hop....i'm here to partay...."

i can't wait for the republican version. i hope they do something equally amusing like play a bunch of toby keith songs.

huh?

2008-08-11T13:40:52Z

i'm sorry...i am really behind the pop culture curve here...but am i seeing this right? do the new kids on the block really have a music video in the top 20 right now? is this for real?

amazon prime

2008-08-09T18:39:16Z

worth it? they are constantly tempting me...

back to life...back to reality...

2008-07-24T15:18:08Z

i guess you could say life is back to normal. we no longer have any variety of family member living with us. no vacations planned for a while. the weird upside world of katie living in phoenix has ceased to exist (although that was nice for a bit). work has been really intense, but since i still only have to make an actual appearance three days a week, i'm not minding too much. have been interviewing nanny candidates. (seriously....this is terrifying....let me just tell you....but that's a story for another day). actually - ryan - if you subscribe to this blog, what did you and angela decide to do about childcare? does she stay home?

anyhow, here are some recent pics, for those of you that don't facebook stalk my daughter already.

things

2008-06-23T18:52:46Z

yesterday one of my neighbors was standing in the middle of the street, aiming a hose in the air, and letting the water fall back down directly on him. it looked like he had been doing it for a while, because he was soaked to the skin. and still wearing all of his clothes. including baseball cap and boots. as i drove past i must have been giving him a very odd look. but he just stared back at me and continued to spray himself. that's how hot it is here.

am currently on hold with scottsdale city court, getting ready to beg for another extension on my photo radar ticket court date so that i can go to drivers school. must remember to actually ENROLL in a class this time. yeesh. (eta: i have to go talk to the judge. great.)

mom left. cousin is here, taking over nanny duty. has been a while since i had contact with 14 year old girls. strange creatures they are.

mama fee memorial service was saturday. it was nice that the priest giving the sermon actually knew her pretty well. she gave a very touching summary of all the awesome things about linda. or as many as she could fit into ten minutes anyhow. which clearly isn't all of them. anyhow, more uplifting than expected. and afterward there was some drunken debauchery in the pool. which, i think, is sort of appropriate.

anna continues to grow and change and be just generally amazing all around. last night she slept in her big bed for the first time. in her own room. i cried. and kept getting up every couple hours to go stare at her. good lord. what am i going to do when she goes to preschool...or camp....or college....

ok so...

2008-05-30T05:18:47Z

clay aiken is gay right? i mean this whole knocking up the 50 year old via artificial insemination is some sort of pity sperm donation thing right?

taxi?

2008-05-10T20:13:22Z

how do people with kids use taxis? do they just hold the baby mexico city style? or do keep the babies in their little portable carseats?

anna banana

2008-04-27T22:34:06Z

sniffle

2008-04-24T16:07:44Z

it's always sort of depressing to see jobs that you interviewed for a week ago get reposted on the job boards. even when you didn't actually really want the job. it's still rejection. boo rejection.

random things about today

2008-04-22T15:00:22Z

- the IT nazis finally caught on and blocked our access to facebook. i hate being treated like an 8 year old.
- katie is here and, although the reasons are very much not fun, it is still nice having her around.
- anna slept through the night for the second time last night. my god was it nice to wake up and not hate the world this morning.
- i have a nagging feeling that it might be time to start wearing contact lenses again. the librarian look is wearing a bit thin. for some reason this nagging feeling is causing an inappropriate amount of anxiety. sigh.

really? i'm in trouble for this?

2008-04-15T14:57:31Z

Conversation at the office coffee pot this morning:

Other Girl: Did you hear Katie got married?
Chandra: Yeah, I heard she was only engaged for like 6 days.
OG: Yeah, she never really said why it happened so fast.
C: Well, if he's not military, I'd say it either has to do with pregnancy or immigration.
OG: That was totally bitchy Chandra. *turns on heels and stalks away*

Apparantly I need to practice my gossiping etiquette. Jeez.

random

2008-04-10T18:10:35Z

ever wonder where the word "noggin" comes from?
and ever wonder how we all seem to know what it means? despite its rather infrequent use?

i wish i was....

2008-04-04T00:57:11Z

....the kind of person that could drop $300 on shoes. blue crocodile patterned shoes. sigh.

today.....today was a complete non-contributer

2008-03-29T05:47:07Z

watched the entirety of quarterlife on myspace tv. spent all day no more than 12 inches away from anna (ok, peed once). anna never left my bed.

believe this is a mildly depressive response to the realization that i go back to work next week.

mmmm new music

2008-03-28T15:22:00Z

i've been into buying albums lately. like, whole CD's. from target. but i have a $25 itunes gift card that i might as well use. and i think i remember that, if i really want to, i can buy a whole album there too.

so. what should i buy?

oh dear god

2008-03-21T15:18:45Z

i have to make a seating chart for easter.

i know what they're doing...and yet...

2008-03-20T00:38:47Z

please tell me that it isn't just me that does her online shopping at the same stores over and over, not necessarily because they have the best or cheapest stuff....but because her credit card info and address are already stored, thereby making the whole event completely painless? i know this is their plan. i see their plan and i accept their plan and i validate their plan. amazon.com and gap brands, i salute you. you have managed to procure nearly 100% of my retail dollars by simply being...convenient.

wardrobe malfunction?

2008-03-19T04:09:48Z

what is up with these sailor suit style double button waist pants/belts/girdles/thingies that chicks are wearing on american idol? i assume they are being worn in other fashionable parts of the country and that they will soon appear on the scene in the good ol' land of brown? i'm....non-plussed. i can be down with the wide belt/high waist/tailored dress thing that's happening. mostly because it makes me look skinny. but stuffing oneself sausage style into a popeye costume? really?

things well meaning strangers say in grocery stores

2008-03-15T23:46:03Z

"oh my, she's so little. should she be out shopping already?"
"how adorable! aren't her little feet cold?"
"look at your little one just sleeping away...i suppose babies these days don't mind being toted all over town by their mothers."

please people. she's fine. she's just small for her age. and her feet aren't any colder than mine are in flip flops. really. i promise.

new baby clothes stores needed please

2008-03-08T00:06:09Z

so when i found out we'd be having a girl, i sort of half jokingly forbid my friends from buying pink baby things. it's not that i have anything against pink per se. it's just that i was pretty sure that there would be enough of it coming from all directions without inviting more. and for the first round of tiny baby things, most everyone obeyed. we had a great variety of yellow, green, purple and orange things.

but now that we've graduated to the next size of clothes...everything she owns is pink. i counted 12 different varieties of pink onesies today..pink flowers...pink butterflies...pink hearts...and so on. and they all say stupid shit on them like "little princess" or "too cute." like my daughter is a living breathing candy heart. i now find myself compulsively checking the babyGap website to see if they've put anything new on sale in the last 24 hours, because they seem to be the only ones designing baby girl clothes in more than one color.

which brings me to the point of this post. can y'all send me links to your favorite kids stores? the place you go to buy gifts when someone in your life has kids? because as much as i love babyGap, they are not changing their inventory often enough to satiate my shopping needs. and my shopping need, it is great. :)

rambling update

2008-02-27T23:58:05Z

i know i've totally neglected this blog for the last few months. while i was on bedrest i really had no excuse except that it seemed sort of dumb to post anything when nothing was happening, and i'm pretty sure nobody wanted to here me bitch and whine about being stuck at home all day for two months. then, when things got scary at the end of my pregnancy, i didn't really feel like reliving everything on paper. it was bad enough that i ended up repeating the story to everyone i talked to. then anna was in the nicu for three weeks and in my 3 hour pump-drive-feed anna-drive-repeat cycle i really didn't make time for anything else, including friends near and far. plus i was a miserable hormonal blubbering mess, so nothing i had to say would have been very interesting to anyone anyhow. and then....well then there was the day that i entered the worm hole and came out on the other end in anna world. i swear, if this child even had any inkling of how much control she has over everyone around her she would become an evil superhero when she grew up.

but i'm starting to sort of get into a groove with her now that my parents have left for good (well, until easter anyhow) and i'm finding that my brain is ready to reenter a world that includes both anna and grown ups. (please god, send me grown ups to talk to). so in no particular order, here are the things that fill my days lately:

- the kitchen remodel. that's right kids. it's STILL going on. i have learned so many lessons (some of which i already knew and chose to ignore). never hire a friend to do work for you. never trust anyone when they say "oh, that won't cost that much." never give your husband the checkbook. never assume that just because you know what it is supposed to look like that anyone else does. never order building materials (faucets, light fixtures, etc) from an online retailer (OK, one of the three experiences turned out OK, but that's still bad enough to say never).
- television. or more accurately, digitally recorded television. i am officially caught up on all the shows that went on hiatus due to the strike, and have been maintaining my relationships with las vegas, eli stone, nip/tuck, lipstick jungle, and the occasional move on the encore channels. secret: i love the guy from the transporter movies. not enough to learn his name. but i love him.
- the baby. this is obvious. but i am astounded by this little human's needs. not just the need for food, which is constant. but also her intense need for me and/or her dad. i can see how this could cause people to freak out and think that they maybe shouldn't have had a baby (helllooooo post partum depression). thankfully, it just makes me happy, and even more sure that this is the best thing i ever did.
- work. even though i'm not technically working, i have gone into full blown "re-entry planning" mode. am angling to go back part time...which means rustling up my own part time work to do. so i've been emailing project managers, peddling my services for everything from writing marketing materials to doing completion inspections on hotel corridors. so far i have two "maybe"s. the trick is finding someone who needs help on their project and also has the budget to afford me part time. sigh.
- new work. it is time to start seriously kicking my job searching into high gear. haven't decided where exactly to start. probably careerbuilder. and contacting the company i interviewed with last year. and begging my old boss to hire me. i miss him. i'm not sure i want to make the jump to a contractor though. might hold out for the right public agency job. we'll see. either way, it's time to figure this shit out. no more planning...time for action.

things that are too cute for words

2008-02-20T04:07:51Z

this is what i came home to after grocery shopping on sunday

introducing...

2008-01-16T01:18:01Z

...anna elizabeth reilly