tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175564462013-05-23T22:36:57.070-05:00What kind of a word is strangeness? I sure hope it's a noun.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.comBlogger436125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-48512490269571561842013-05-23T11:20:00.001-05:002013-05-23T11:20:30.397-05:002013-05-23T11:20:30.397-05:00

This pregnancy wasn't planned. We had started talking about the possibility of trying this summer to give Caleb a little sibling, but we hadn't entirely agreed on that timeline. No, we weren't preventing. But considering it took us months to get pregnant before, while actively charting, I didn't really think we were in the market for an Oops. And, yet, that's precisely what happened. Pregnancy 

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com2http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2013/05/dark-can-be-funny-right.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-45179376732679014522013-05-20T16:03:00.000-05:002013-05-20T16:03:05.386-05:002013-05-20T16:03:05.386-05:00

So, yeah, still (probably) pregnant. Still in a bit of denial here. Obviously, some of my nervousness comes from the fact that Caleb is so young. He still doesn't sleep through the night (well, maybe 1-2 nights a week he will), so I will go from no sleep while pregnant to no sleep while in the NICU to no sleep with a baby to no sleep while pregnant to no sleep with a baby (hoping to skip the

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com3http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2013/05/why-being-pregnant-scares-me.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-12393493257317760882013-05-07T10:51:00.000-05:002013-05-07T10:51:00.296-05:002013-05-07T10:51:00.296-05:00

I gotta get in shape. No, really. I gotta. A couple of weeks ago, I ran a 10-mile race. Well, ran is a bad word. But when I signed up for it in November, it sounded like a good idea. I was sure our family would settle into a routine where I would be able to go running on a regular basis, and paying the registration fee for a race was a sure-fire way to make sure I wouldn't bail on my need to

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com0http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2013/05/getting-back-to-running.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-72257602976771174252013-05-01T09:10:00.003-05:002013-05-01T09:10:44.795-05:002013-05-01T09:10:44.795-05:00

Years ago, a coworker did this crazy diet -- he consumed nothing but lemon juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper and water for ten days. It looked miserable during the ten days, but he kept saying how he felt really good. He lost a pretty significant amount of weight, and then switched to a vegetarian diet, and is still thin today. I was intrigued, so I researched it. Called the Master Cleanse, it

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com2http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2013/05/cleansing-body.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-33698014825026711872013-04-30T10:28:00.001-05:002013-04-30T10:28:32.739-05:002013-04-30T10:28:32.739-05:00

So, my brother-in-law is driving me crazy. We call him Uncle Z, and he's RB's only brother. Sigh. A little background. When RB and I started dating again (that's another story for another day), things were fun and carefree between us. RB was living in Dallas and I was living in Austin, so one of us would make the trek, and we would enjoy an immensely fun weekend of lazing by the pool, eating

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com0http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2013/04/dealing-with-uncle-z.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-56287634247829076812013-04-26T16:37:00.000-05:002013-04-26T16:37:00.459-05:002013-04-26T16:37:00.459-05:00

Turns out, Caleb can't hear. I'd been lamenting to friends that he hadn't started "conversing" with us, and didn't seem to respond when I came into daycare unless he could see me. I was told that I was overreacting, and that he was just being stubborn and ornery early, and I should just get used to being ignored. I'm his mother, after all. But it still didn't seem right. So, when he had his 6-

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com4http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2013/04/calebs-latest-health-fun.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-86255329723896398312013-04-25T12:48:00.002-05:002013-04-25T12:48:49.039-05:002013-04-25T12:48:49.039-05:00

Yes, I am a slacker. I don't mean to be, but I am. Turns out I'm having trouble fitting in the things I *want* to do with all the things I *have* to do. So, something has to move around and make room. I'm making room. I have tons I want to write about. Partly because there is lots of stuff that I need to get out of my brain and process on a screen, but also partly because I need to re-find my

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com0http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2013/04/i-know-i-know.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-4102460432814625632013-02-23T06:23:00.001-06:002013-02-23T06:28:07.500-06:002013-02-23T06:28:07.500-06:00

Check it out! I'm blogging from my phone! Who knew there would be an app for that? Now, it's just a matter of whether I really want to write posts on my phone, what with the annoying autocorrects it tries to force on me and the thumb cramps that are inevitable.n the plus side, though, I'm laying in bed with my computer in the other room, and I'm still able to post. That's a pretty sweet tradeoff,

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com0http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2013/02/entering-21st-century.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-50118798828912447192013-02-01T11:23:00.001-06:002013-02-01T11:23:46.279-06:002013-02-01T11:23:46.279-06:00

Caleb was doing better with the cough. We were even able to skip the rescue inhaler a couple of times, which was awesome. And then he got another virus. It's not terribly surprising that he gets sick. RB and I work full time, and Caleb goes to daycare. We like the facility and the teachers, and he's in a really small class. But he's still around 4-6 other babies on a daily basis. And it's winter

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com0http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2013/02/updating-cough.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-65135013818217055862013-01-22T13:30:00.000-06:002013-01-22T13:30:00.067-06:002013-01-22T13:30:00.067-06:00

Caleb is six months old today! It's amazing how fast time has flown, and how lucky we really are to be here today. I can hardly believe it. And so, this seems the perfect time to tell about how that day went down for us. Six months ago, today, I went to church with my mom and sister who were in town because it was the weekend of my baby shower (I was seven months pregnant). As we were leaving, I

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com1http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2013/01/6-months-old.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-50820807233784565682013-01-17T14:05:00.002-06:002013-01-17T14:05:57.694-06:002013-01-17T14:05:57.694-06:00

I used to run quite a bit. I started out liking triathlons, and realizing that I needed to train so that the run at the end of each race didn't kick my rear so badly. So, I got this book (yes, really -- with the old '70's-style running shorts on the cover and everything), read up on the psychology of training and how to avoid injury, and started running. I trained for a half-marathon, and started

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com0http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2013/01/gotta-run.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-21276933587379507892013-01-11T13:32:00.001-06:002013-01-11T13:32:12.437-06:002013-01-11T13:32:12.437-06:00

So, it turns out that the chest x-ray we had done in December wasn't quite as clear as we were led to believe. The quote from the pulmonologist was "They told you this was normal?" Anyway, so we have bronchitis. And now we're working on learning a new medicine delivery mechanism. We had finally gotten pretty good with managing the nebulizer treatments (even if that meant that RB and I were

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com2http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2013/01/ugh.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-64962709159632596062013-01-04T09:27:00.001-06:002013-01-04T09:27:43.051-06:002013-01-04T09:27:43.051-06:00

I am SO over this cough that Caleb has. He is so little and so sweet and so happy all the time. And he's had this stupid cough and the associated wheezing for seven weeks now. That's nearly a third of his little life. A third. He'll be 24 weeks old on Sunday, and it's broken down into thirds -- the first third was in the NICU, the second third was our "normal baby" adjustment time, and the last

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com1http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2013/01/calebs-cough.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-32548499092126866382013-01-03T13:58:00.001-06:002013-01-03T13:58:45.247-06:002013-01-03T13:58:45.247-06:00

Since I was away for a while, I was thinking that I kinda need to do a reintroduction to myself. And since I just had to do this Get To Know You type exercise, I thought I would share the results here. What is your favorite color? Why, yes! Every shade of blue IS my favorite color! Except when I'm also loving green and red. Or purple. But never pink. There is no such thing as a good shade of

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com0http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2013/01/reintroducing-myself.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-77572813838562393022012-12-30T22:02:00.001-06:002013-01-03T13:59:39.226-06:002013-01-03T13:59:39.226-06:00

I am blessed beyond measure, and there are so many reasons why I was so close to not having what I have today. Caleb was so early, that if he'd been born 50 years ago or in a country with less fancy medical care, he would be dead. During my pregnancy, I had low progesterone, and required supplements in order to keep him around and growing. The previous pregnancy wasn't so lucky. How did I

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com1http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2012/12/whos-big-baby.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-73596805657513311732012-12-14T05:54:00.003-06:002012-12-14T05:54:49.281-06:002012-12-14T05:54:49.281-06:00

One of the pieces of advice I was given at my shower was: "Don't try to make a happy baby happier." I ended up having Caleb the next day (story for some other time), but I remembered this little gem. As he's gotten older and more interactive, he is definitely a happy baby. We enjoy talking to him and dive bombing him and whatever, and he just smiles and laughs. He only cries if he's tired or

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com2http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2012/12/torturing-caleb.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-28510518393175212422012-12-06T16:45:00.000-06:002012-12-06T16:45:08.424-06:002012-12-06T16:45:08.424-06:00

Continuing in my Online Bible Study on the book "Greater", this week we are looking at the life of Elisha. Not Elijah, the one everyone knows, but Elisha, his successor. I knew he was a prophet, and I knew he watched Elijah being taken up to heaven in a chariot, but beyond that, I really didn't remember much of anything about him. In reading about Elisha's calling, there were several other

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com6http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2012/12/responding-responsively.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-27239237405609515152012-12-05T17:13:00.001-06:002012-12-05T17:13:48.569-06:002012-12-05T17:13:48.569-06:00

I have launched into my first online Bible study after reading about them for a while. In this study, we're reading the book "Greater" by Steve Furtick, and each week we have assignments and discussions around the chapters of the book. While it took me a little longer to dust off this blog and get in back in working order (there sure were a lot of comments in Chinese and Russian!), this post

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com0http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2012/12/its-time-for-greater.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-461685264579543532012-12-04T13:01:00.001-06:002012-12-04T16:45:28.619-06:002012-12-04T16:45:28.619-06:00

So, I'd abandoned this place of writing for a very long time. Three and a half years to be exact. Wow. Lots has changed in that time, and I think it's time to resurrect this for a few reasons. I doubt anyone is still following this thing, but in case they are, welcome back! Hmm....Here's the quick update. GB and I officially got divorced. We still keep in touch -- he's remarried with a

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com2http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2012/12/returning.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-79371541110113444502009-04-21T09:00:00.000-05:002009-04-21T09:01:07.900-05:002009-04-21T09:01:07.900-05:00

Yesterday afternoon, I was on my weekly conference call with some folks in the New York University office. About 20 minutes into the conversation, one of the NYU folks made a comment about some sort of thunderous noise that seemed to shake the building. But they laughed it off that they must be exaggerating. Two minutes later, the fire alarm went off in their building, and the call was cut short

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com1http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2009/04/these-things-dont-happen.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-58955928270292499722009-04-17T17:03:00.000-05:002009-04-17T17:03:52.896-05:002009-04-17T17:03:52.896-05:00

"Dream Attack" by New Order on Technique"The Voice of God" by 4Him on The Basics of Life"Touch of the Master's Hand" by Wayne Watson on How Time Flies"Existential Blues" by Tom "T-Bone" Stankus on Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary Collection"Concerto No. 1 in E flat" by Franz Liszt on Favourite Piano Concertos"Total Devotion" by When In Rome on When In Rome"Jamie G. " by Joe Jackson on Laughter &

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com0http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2009/04/friday-random-ten_17.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-62540678090222707882009-04-03T13:32:00.000-05:002009-04-03T13:32:00.550-05:002009-04-03T13:32:00.550-05:00

"Gardening At Night" by R.E.M. on Eponymous"Weight of the World" by Erasure on The Innocents"No One Loves Me Like You" by Jars of Clay* on If I Left The Zoo"18th Floor Balcony/It's Just Me" by Blue October on Foiled"Oh Very Young" by Cat Stevens on Greatest Hits"Missionary Man" by Eurythmics on Greatest Hits"What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye on The Big Chill"Rain Down" by Delirious? on World

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com0http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2009/04/friday-random-ten.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-10272153982705380322009-03-29T22:09:00.000-05:002009-03-29T22:09:00.603-05:002009-03-29T22:09:00.603-05:00

The second weekend of the tournament is now complete, and I only picked 1 of the Final Four. Preposterous! How can UNC be the only school I expected to see at this point in these games? At the beginning of this weekend's games, I switched gears from rooting for my bracket to rooting for the underdog in virtually every matchup. Because a messy bracket means a happy Heather. I think it's probably

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com1http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2009/03/1-of-4.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-62007050607125472342009-03-27T12:04:00.001-05:002009-03-27T12:04:00.436-05:002009-03-27T12:04:00.436-05:00

"If We Are the Body" by Casting Crowns on Casting Crowns"A Fifth of Beethoven" by Walter Murphy on Saturday Night Fever"F.O.D." by Green Day on Dookie"I Eat Cannibals" by Toto Coelo on Living In Oblivion"Let You Down" by Dave Matthews Band on Crash"Pancho and Lefty" by Merle Haggard on His Epic Hits: The First Eleven"Thank God I'm A Country Boy" by John Denver on The Very Best of John

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com0http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2009/03/friday-random-ten.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17556446.post-1799845785590212272009-03-25T07:33:00.001-05:002009-03-25T07:33:01.007-05:002009-03-25T07:33:01.007-05:00

The house is the only really complicated thing that we have to figure out how to handle. We only bought it a year ago, and while the market in Santa Barbara hasn't tanked like it has in other parts of California, I seriously doubt we could break even at this point. So, we'll probably refinance it (which was the plan when we originally purchased) to something a little more manageable for one or

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15019916492989415983noreply@blogger.com1http://strangenessofheather.blogspot.com/2009/03/dividing-household.html