Buried the Lead

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 05:10:00 +0000

I held out for a long time, but I have succumbed to Pinterest.

However, perhaps I don't use it the way I'm supposed to. I've been on it for a couple of weeks now, and I only have 40 pins.

And pretty much all of them are food.

I find Pinterest most useful for recipes. I'm not planning a wedding. I don't have my own home right now. I don't really care about high fashion.

But I LOVE food.

It has been nice to browse through the pages of yummy foods (and the internet in general) and just pin them to my board so I have the recipes in one place. I have always had to email myself the recipes and then figure out a way to print them or save them on my desktop somewhere. Pinterest seems to be a helpful way to organize my recipe life. (Because I cook SO much, y'all.)

What do YOU use Pinterest for?

Look, Santa Came!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 04:12:00 +0000

Luke was very excited to see all the presents under the tree at my mom's house on Christmas morning!

We had to have him open presents while IN the car because he loved it so much.

But he also got a tent that he liked a lot! :)

(Excuse my photos -- I am trying to figure out photobucket's editing software. It's not that same as my Photoshop -- which simply took too long on my computer.)

I DO look like Katy Perry

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 04:23:00 +0000

I am proud to report that when Luke saw a snippet of a Katy Perry video, he pointed at the screen and said, "Ma?"

I am now going to have to figure out if he needs glasses. ;)

*******

In other news, I am going to do my best to update my blog more often this year!

Book List 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:28:00 +0000

Inspired by some friends as well as my 8th grade reading log, I decided to keep track of all the non-school and non-Luke books I read this year (because if I kept track of all the Luke books I read, I would have Barnyard Dance on the list approximately 20000000 times!).

I read a LOT. I love to read. I am always reading something. This year's books were marked by many free kindle books, which I read because, well, they were free. There was a lot of Christian literature on there that I probably would not have read otherwise. I also tend to read books more than once, and there are several books on here that I have read before (is that cheating? I don't know!) -- I marked them with an asterisk, and you'll see that I was rereading a lot when I was studying for and taking my exams. I need to be better this year about writing down all the authors. I could do that now, but I just don't feel like it. ;)

Anyway -- some favorites of the year (for books I hadn't read before):
Columbine by Dave Cullen. I LOVED this book. I thought it was fascinating and I am so glad I bought it.
The Hunger Games Trilogy. I fell in love with this, without even expecting to. I can't wait for the movie.

I also really liked The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards and Skip by Stan Meihaus. However, I must note that both of those authors have personal connections to me -- Kim was a professor of mine in college (I was in her class the day she sold The Memory Keeper's Daughter) and Stan is my cousin. So I am probably more likely to like those books anyway! :)

2011 Books

1. Ender in Exile Orson Scott Card

2. Lake of Dreams Kim Edwards 1/23/2011

*3. Heartbeat Danielle Steel

*4. We Need to Talk about Kevin Lionel xxxx

5. Fat, Forty, and Fired Nigel Marsh 2/20/2011

6. Talk of the Town Lisa Wingate 2/27/2011

7. Leaves book

8. My Life in Film

9. One Night @ the Call Center 3/28/2011

10. Listen

11. Vanishing Acts Jodi Piccoult

12. Testimony Anita Shreve

13. 13 Blue Envelopes

*14. Chasing Harry Winston

15. A Very Special Delivery

16. The School of Essential Ingredients 5/10/2011

17. Heaven is for Real 5/10/2011

18. Wings 5/10/2011

19. Julie and Julia Julie Powell about 5/22/2011

20. Hunger Games Suzanne Collins 5/30/2011

21. Catching Fire Suzanne Collins 6/2/2011

22. Mockingjay Suzanne Collins 6/7/2011

23. Body Surfing Anita Shreve 6/10/2011

24. My Horizontal Life Chelsea Handler 6/14/2011

25. Spoiled

26. Twenty-Something

27. Diary of a Mad Fat Girl 6/25/2011

28. The Truth about Dating 6/27/2011

29. This Fine Life: A Novel 6/30/2011

30. One Day 7/3/2011

31. Sisterhood Everlasting 7/4/2011

*32. From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler 7/7/2011

33. Mostly Good Girls 7/11/2011

34. House Rules Jodi Piccoult 7/14/2011

35. Falling Together 7/17/2011

36. Tempest 7/20/2011

*37. The Chase LJ Smith 7/26/2011

*38. The Kill LJ Smith 7/27/2011

*39. The Pilot’s Wife Anita Shreve 8/1/2011

40.Maggie come lately

*41. The First Assistant

*42. Prep Curtis Sittenfeld

*43. Behaving Like Adults Anna Maxted

*44. She’s Come Undone Wally Lamb

*45. Lummox

*46. The Man of my Dreams Curtis Sittenfeld

47. The Help Kathryn Stockett 9/12/2011

*48. Remember Me Sofie Kinsella

*49. Strip City Lily Burana

50. Skip Stan Meihaus

51. Tell No One Harlan Coben

*52. Skinny Dip

*53. Ender’s Game 10/8/2011

*54. Something is Rotten in the State of Maryland 10/9/2011

*55. The Giver Lois Lowry 10/11/2011

*56. Talk of the Town

*57. The Dive from Clausen’s Pier

*58. The Trouble with Catherine

*59. Good in Bed Jennifer Weiner

*60. Girls in Pants 11/25/2011

61. Stars Collide Janice Thompson

62. Columbine Dave Cullen

63. Beautiful People Wendy Holden

64. Delivered with Love Sherry Kyle

65. Kill Alex Cross James Patterson 12/15/2011

66. Homefires

67. The Perks of Being a Wallflower Stephen Chbosky 12/25/2011

Something new.........

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 03:40:00 +0000

Amongst the exams (I passed!), the teaching (wraps up this week!), Thanksgiving, playing with Luke, and other fun, Hal and I have been cautiously expecting good news.

On Friday, we found out that Luke will have a little brother in April! Nathan will be here sometime around April 20th. His ultrasound looked great, although we have to get some pictures of his heart at our next appointment since he was being stubborn for that particular portion of the scan. We were relieved and so excited about having a household full of two little boys under two! What blessings!

Happy Halloween!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 01:52:00 +0000

From our puppy to yours!!!!

Exams

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 19:01:00 +0000

My PhD comprehensive exams start Wednesday with a lovely little 4-hour torture on theory. I AM SO TIRED OF READING! I can't wait for this to be over. I hope I have studied enough -- because God help me if I fail and have to take these things over again. OMG, I can't even think about it.

So I have Wednesday (theory), Friday (stigma) and the follow Wednesday (law) with an over-the-weekend take home on Methods. Awesome, awesome, awesome.

Then, the verdict will come in November, when I meet with my committee to orally defend my answers. After the defense, they kick me out into the hall and decide if I passed or failed. In the meantime, I'll be puking in the hall! :)

Study recruiting!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 04:04:00 +0000

I am recruiting facebook users to participate in a 10-minute survey about facebook use after a friend or loved one has died. If you are over 18 years old and interested in participating, please visit: https://edu.surveygizmo.com/s3/553551/Digitial-life-after-death-An-examination-of-Facebook-and-mourning. Please repost!

10 Months Old!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:05:00 +0000

(One day, I am going to actually do his month post on time. And then he'll be a year old and I won't be doing them anymore, lol!)

Luke turned 10 months on the 12th.

At 10 months, Luke:
~Waves! (Sometimes I think it's the milk sign. He makes the milk sign/waves a lot while nursing.)
~DANCES ALL THE TIME
~Responds to "How big is Luke?"
~Got antibiotic-worthy sick for the first time (ear infection in both ears and a viral throat infection)
~Weighed 23 lbs., 9.5 oz. at his 10 month sick appointment
~Still only has his two bottom teeth, but seems to be working on others
~Likes to climb on Layla. We have worked to really restrict this.
~Enjoys Elmo's World on Sesame Street
~Loves my dad!
~Loves books.
~Eyes are STILL blue with brown streaks in the middle. I would love it to stay that way.

(Yes, he's holding onto a cable box. He loves electronics.)

(He was attacking me in this picture -- that's why he was so happy!)

9 Months Old!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Thu, 19 May 2011 22:32:00 +0000

Luke was nine months old on the 12th!

At nine months, Luke:
~Weighs 22 lbs., 10 oz., and is 29 inches long
~Has blue eyes with brown spikes in the middle
~Cruises
~Tries to get to the dog's water bowl approximately 10,000 times a day
~Eats a TON throughout the day
~Loves playing in water
~Claps
~Jabbers a lot
~Has two teeth, the bottom two
~Likes playing with my cell phone and the remote, and he'll bang on my laptop
~Laughs a lot
~Will stand up in his crib

8 Months Old!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 02:41:00 +0000

8 Months on the 12th! (and from his photo shoot -- he even flies now!)

At 8 months (to about 8 months, and 1 week), Luke:
~Cruises
~Gives open mouthed kisses
~Has 1 tooth
~Claps (although I am not sure he knows what he's doing yet)
~Likes Elmo's World on Sesame Street and the song at the playground on Sid the Science Kid.
~Feels the fuzzy animals in his books.
~Plays with Layla and laughs at her
~Likes to get into EVERYTHING he isn't supposed to -- like the dog's water bowl
~Is suspicious of grass
~Likes the ABC song the best, but also likes other songs and fun things
~Eats about 6 times a day (and usually once or twice at night)
~Has solids twice a day and usually tastes of whatever we are eating (we're currently curbing that b/c he has a cold and the more solid foods irritate his throat)
~Wants to MOVE all the time
~Is ticklish on his sides
~Laughs at stinky feet games
~His eyes are still blue (of varying darknesses depending on the light) and have brown streaks in them sometimes -- So I guess they are hazel?

We had an unseasonably warm day and took Luke on his first picnic! He got to dip his toes into Lake Monroe and he liked it a lot.

From Today -- ready for the bunny!

Almost DONE

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 04:11:00 +0000

I have a committee for my exams!

At the end of our coursework, we take our qualifying exams. If we pass our exams, we are considered "doctoral candidates" and allowed to do our dissertation. We have four exams -- one in theory, one in methods, and one in each of our concentration areas (for me this is health and media law). We also have an oral defense of our answers. I have had to find four professors to administer these exams, three from the journalism school and one from outside the journalism school. I had my last professor confirm this weekend, so I am ready to go this fall.

This fall.

Because I am DONE with classes in May!!!!!!! I may have said that on this blog before, I don't remember. This semester will one day come to an end and barring some sort of grade disaster, I will be finished.

All that is standing in my way of the end of course work is three classes with a full study each. I have been working on one tonight. I am hoping to get one done by April 1 for the AEJMC (conference) deadline. We'll see how that goes.

6 Months!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 04:21:00 +0000

I suppose I should post this BEFORE he turns 7 Months!

Luke turned 6 months on the 12th. (Yeah, way behind.)

At 6 Months, Luke:
~ Started to CRAWL!!!! On his 6th month birthday, Luke started army crawling (he hasn't stopped since).
~ Was 20 lbs., 12 oz. at his 6th month appointment, and 27 inches long
~ Loves books
~ Likes being bounced and thrown in the air
~ Likes the ABC song
~ Is ticklish on his thighs and also laughs when you tickle his sides/armpits
~ Sits up very well on his own.
~ Likes to take our glasses off our faces.
~ Eats usually about 6 times a day.
~ I would report his sleep schedule, but it's all over the place!
~ Still has blue eyes, but are they turning? Hazel or Brown?

The tickle monster attacks!

Photo Dump

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 04:48:00 +0000

Lots of cute from the past week or two.

Silliness with Daddy. You can see that his face is scratched. Layla got excited the other day and ran into the living room. She jumped over him, but, well, she missed and stepped on his face. Ugh.

Kiddo loves cups.

Blue eyes STILL!!!!

Loves his exersaucer.

Layla has watched a lot of America's Next Top Model and she is trying to smize.

How many creatures can take up mommy's lap?

Again with the police and EMTs!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 15:01:00 +0000

Last night I went downtown to pick up some thai food Hal and I ordered for dinner. I picked it up and went to my car. As I was pulling out of the parking lot, I saw a man lying on the ground. I figured that he probably just slipped on some ice and fell, and kept inching out of the parking lot.

I don't know why I stopped, but I decided to back up and check on him. I turned around and opened my window.

"Are you okay, sir?" I asked.

He looked up.

His face was COVERED in blood. I was like, holy crap.

He said, "Well, no."

I said, "Can I call the hospital for you."

He said, "Oh no, don't do that. I just need some help to the shelter over there." (We were very close to the homeless shelter, where this man lives. He was also a little disoriented, probably both from being drunk (he was) and from hitting his head so hard.

I told him I was going to call the police and I did. While I did that, a couple of others came up to see if we needed any help. A guy got him standing (although that was probably not the best idea. He was very unsteady on his feet and he was losing a lot of blood). The dispatcher said she'd be sending police shortly. She asked if he had been assaulted and if I could ask him what happened. It was around this time that I realized he was probably drunk, too, and I told her that he was pretty disoriented.

Luckily, a young woman who had medical training happened on the scene. Someone had paper towels in their car. I happened to have gloves in my car from my Robinson Scholar CPR kit! (Interestingly enough, the first aid kit I had in my car did not have gloves. Stupid first aid kit! And now I have to buy a new first aid kit because I put it on the top of my car during this and drove off. It flew off into the street. Sad.) She took my gloves and was applying direct pressure to his face. She made him sit on the bumper of a van that was next to him. She said he needed at least 6 stitches in his nose and he had lost at least a liter of blood. (This was kind of an ordeal -- he didn't want to sit and he wasn't steady on his feet.)

I flagged the police down when they arrived. They gave the guy two options -- he could either go to the hospital or jail (I'm assuming because of public intoxication). Wisely, the man chose the hospital. They were very nice to him, actually. They asked his name and determined from him that he hadn't been assaulted but just fell down. They said they hadn't dealt with him before.

One of the officers said, "And you're drunk. Did you know that when you drink, your blood thins and so you bleed easier?" The guy nodded. They asked him how much he had to drink that day. They said, "Now, we don't care, but we need to figure out how much you've had to drink so the doctors can help you." He (his name is John) said, "A couple." The police officer said, "Now don't lie to us, how much have you had to drink." John said, "A whole lot." They said ok.

The ambulance was on its way when the police thanked us and told us we could leave if we wanted (although the girl with the gloves stayed to help until the ambulance got there).

What a night. Seriously. Between this guy and the girl who locked the kid in the car in July -- I've been in a police/EMT situation twice in the last 6 months. Come on, Bloomington, shape up! :)

5 months!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 23:40:00 +0000

I am way behind, but Luke turned 5 months on the 12th!

At 5 Months, Luke:
~ Still has dark blue gray eyes.
~ Rolls all over the room
~ Sometimes sleeps on his tummy (and sometimes he wakes us up because he wakes up on his tummy and is mad about it)
~ Makes all sorts of noises
~ Does raspberries
~ Chuckles when he sees us
~ Had some waking issues for a little while, but is now back to getting up between 6:30 and 8 (and then eating and sleeping for a little while longer).
~ Is enjoying oatmeal. Had had bananas, an avocado, and sweet potatoes. He usually gets some "real food" at about 9 and we start the bedtime routine at 10.
~ Loves cups
~ Will kick his legs up and down in the crib when we go to get him up
~ Loves "Baby Faces" the book (he will smile at all the babies) -- he also likes to be read to.
~ Likes "The Kitty Cat Dance" on YouTube
~ May be sprouting a tooth (he seems to have some rough spots in his mouth)

We met Santa!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 21:24:00 +0000

We went to the mall today and we finally got to meet Santa! We tried to meet Santa Thanksgiving weekend with my mom, but we got all the way to the front of the line, and Monster had a meltdown. So we left vowing one day to return to see Santa.

Today was the day. We got to the mall thinking that Santa ate lunch from 1-2, but he eats lunch on Sunday from 2-3. So we arrived right around 2:15. We were able to walk around Target for a little bit and picked up a gift and then we were back at the FRONT of the Santa line at 2:30. We decided just to wait and we were the first people to see the big guy when he got back from lunch.

I will say that Luke was FANTASTIC this time. He started to stick his lip out near the end, but he was awesome and never actually did cry. His sparkly Santa hat got lots of attention and many people stopped to gush at him. One lady asked if he was 6 months and when I told her he was 4 months she laughed and said her boys were always bigger, too. Another lady in line had a baby 2 weeks younger than Luke and she looked like a newborn next to him! He's a monster child.

We also took a couple of pictures at home...

Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 04:28:00 +0000

Look at what I have to deal with. These are some of my cousins (and my sister, who is on the left). They were apparently pretending to be a boy band?

And my sweet grandparents. My grandfather is a spitfire -- the day before, he climbed up on a chair in the unfinished side of his basement and, unfortunately, fell off. Luckily he was OK. My grandma had surgery last week for a cyst on her spine -- it was pressing in her nerve and causing her a LOT of pain. The surgery went well!

Leggings-as-pants #5,043

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 15:03:00 +0000

I was on campus the other day with Luke in the stroller (when I'm in campus with Luke I look like a walking safe sex PSA -- and the undergrads, you can see them thinking about it). I walked past the bus stop and saw a young woman.

Wearing leggings-as-pants (new people -- I have a crusade against leggings a pants).

And her leggings-as-pants were so tight and sheer that you could see her SPARKLY underwear right through them.

She was sparkling right through the butt of her leggings.

3 months old!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 01:57:00 +0000

Luke was 3 months old on Friday!

Happy Baby!

This is the "Godfather" picture. When we looked at it, I thought he looked like the godfather with his monkey henchmen behind him.

Blue steel?

At 3 Months, Luke:

-- Can roll over from tummy to back.
-- Can laugh (which he has done exactly twice, lol)
-- Coos a lot
-- Has started to eat less frequently, about every three hours
-- Will hold some toys and reach out to touch and hold things
-- Likes looking at and touching other people's hands
-- Needs a bib because he is such a drooler
-- Sometimes likes looking at the TV
-- Doesn't like to be by himself in the back of the car
-- We usually start bedtime routine at 10 p.m. He is usually in bed by 10:30 or so -- He usually sleeps to somewhere between 7:30 and 9 and then goes back to bed for another couple of hours or so.

Happy Halloween!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 04:08:00 +0000

I hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Already 1 month old?

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 03:37:00 +0000

Time is flying!

Introducing...

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 23:09:00 +0000

Making his grand debut on Buried the Lead in a photo where he's about 6 days old (he's 8 days old now) ---

LUKE EDWARD

Born August 12 at 7:25 a.m. He weighed 8 lbs., 4 oz., and was 21.5 inches long.

Jungle Room!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:53:00 +0000

I know I have been out of the blogosphere most of the summer. Truth is, I'm really boring. Lots of data entry, relaxing, cleaning, etc.

We're supposed to have a baby here in about a week (although the Doc thinks he's going to be late -- I guess he'll be just like me!). I thought I would show some pictures of Luke's whimsical jungle room! You'll see mismatched furniture, lots of jungle animals, and a Layla dog who likes to lay in the middle of everything. Layla also goes to Luke's door pretty much every night so we let her in to check things out. Because of our lease, we couldn't paint or do proper wallpaper, but we went wild and crazy on the stick-on border and decals.

The over the door sign was made by our friend Jessica!

(ugh, fuzzy, but you can get an idea of the room itself.)

Books and toys and some awesome blankets.

Hal loves monkeys. :)

The duck has been in my dad's family for a very long time!

My finished artwork. It's hanging over his dresser (which is my old dresser).

Hal's nightstand had to be relegated to Luke's room when he rearranged our bedroom to fit Luke's pack n play (where he'll be sleeping for the first couple of weeks. At least, we hope he'll be sleeping).

Decal Details

A day at the zoo

noreply@blogger.com (Stacie) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 02:26:00 +0000

Hal and I used our day today to walk around the Indianapolis Zoo (among other things). Well, Hal walked...I waddled. :) One of the cool things at the zoo is feeding the giraffes! I fed a 10-month-old baby giraffe, and Hal got to feed Mama, while baby tried to lick his hand off.