Chirky

The Best Things in Life Are Free

2009-06-26T14:34:42Z

I'm always on the lookout for unique things to do in Dallas, and it's even better if they're low-cost or free, right? Especially in a city known for its shopping - hey, it's not like we have beaches or mountains here. Or even rolling hills. Or decent camping without driving a few hours. And for whatever reason, big D continues to tear down its few remaining historical buildings, favoring a concrete jungle instead. Don't even get me started on my issue against the city's actionable stance on historical preservation - finding new things to do is FUN to me.

I get excited about children's parades and Chinese New Year celebrations and international festivals and local performing arts and outdoor moving screenings. So when I saw an article in the DMN highlighting free things to do in Dallas this summer, I knew I had to share:

FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATIONS
Allen USA Celebration - For more than a decade, Allen USA Celebration has always been held the final weekend of June - a great way to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA! a week early. Entertainment includes: regional/national acts, including Smash Mouth (a California rock band) and children's entertainers. Other highlights include a children's area with bounce houses, festival food and a fireworks finale. TIP: free shuttle service is offered to/from the event. Cost: FREE.

Celebrate Freedom - A huge (and when I say "huge," I mean HUGE) outdoor musicfest, featuring Christian musicians Kirk Franklin, Newsboys, Jeremy Camp, Selah, and more. Other highlights include children's area, festival food, fireworks. Cost: FREE (tickets required, get info here)

OTHER FUN THINGS TO DO!

Dallas Museum of Art - Admission to the museum will be free each Wednesday in July from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. That's in addition to the usual free days: each Thursday evening from 5 to 9 and the first Tuesday of each month. Cost: FREE. Also, it's worth noting my favorite DMA event: Late Nights. On the third Friday of each month, the DMA stays open until midnight. Highlights include: art scavenger hunts (so fun!), karaoke and dancing, tours, performances, and more. Cost: $10.

Belmont Hotel Poolside Movie Nights - Every other Wednesday night, the Belmont screens a poolside movie at sundown, with the Dallas skyline as a backdrop. The last movie of the summer, Airplane!, is on Wednesday, July 1st. Bring a blanket, no lawn chairs or coolers permitted. Cost: FREE.

]]> Grapevine's Friday Fireworks - Not just for Fourth of July, every Friday the city of Grapevine hosts weekly fireworks shows at Grapevine Lake through September 4th. Cost: FREE. (Be sure to visit the link to view all the fun summer events in Grapevine - there's tons to do!)

Summers at the Nasher Sculpture Center - The Nasher sculpture garden in downtown Dallas is worth checking out, if you haven't been there already. But rather than pay the admission fee, go for free on Thursday evenings (usually 5 to 9, but they're open 'til 10 p.m. through July 30th). You can even do yoga in the garden at 6pm on Thursdays, and watch films on first Thursdays of each month the center (with pre- and post-film chats, if you're so inclined). Plus, now through July 17th the Nasher is showing films on Friday nights, too (think: Sleepless in Seattle, Top Gun, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, etc.). If you're thinking about bringing the whole family, head to the Nasher on the first Saturdays (through August) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for children's activities and more. Cost: FREE, FREE, FREE!

And, of course, don't forget to check out GuideLive.com - Dallas' best resource for events, restaurants, films and more. It's my go-to site when I'm looking for something new to do. Which is almost always.

DFW BlogHer Meetup

2009-06-15T15:22:21Z

I think the best part of the Dallas bloggers meetup was not spilling food on myself. (Have I mentioned how messy I've become lately? I think it's nature's way of preparing me for motherhood. I can rarely go through a day without finding food somewhere on my shirt.)

Okay, well, no. Maybe the best part of the meetup was getting to know all the great bloggers who came out to meet each other! It was a small group, but was fabulous because we had the opportunity to get to know each other, hang out and talk, learn about each other's blogs, and have great conversations about everything from driving traffic to your site, to rodeo queens and big hair, to privacy and censorship, to summertime TV, to topical blogging, to parenthood, to BlogHer. We had a fun giveaway with several gift certificates to places like Charming Charlie, Sip-n-Swap and Target. And then we promised to do it all again soon, very soon. (If you want in on the action, join the Dallas BlogHer group.)

Here's the list of everyone who attended - it was so fun to meet you all!

Jenny from Conscientious Confusion and A Family Is Us
Anuja from Show me the Curry
Hetal from Show me the Curry
Vanessa from Crazy Says What and The Aisle Files
Colleen from Anything But Nice
Jen from The Trendy Mommy and Sip-n-Swap
Marjorie from My Inner French Girl
Kerri from A-Yet-To-Be-Announced-Blog
Bobbi Janay from When Did I Go From Kid to Grown Up?
And, of course, me.

Pics are here and here.

Spread the Word

2009-06-11T13:50:52Z

Let's get straight to the point: I'm having a vocabulary issue. And it's quite a dilemma, something that really peeves me, because I keep hearing variations of this word when I eat. Which is often. Except I'm part of the problem, because I don't know which term is correct.

When you have a slice of butter on your plate, what do you call that? Is it a pat of butter? Or a pad of butter? I've heard it called both, and I call it a pad of butter, because IT LOOKS LIKE A PAD. "Pat" is something you do when you gently touch someone, right? Like you pat them on the back? IT CAN'T BE A PAT OF BUTTER.

Am I wrong about this?

Sand and Sea

2009-05-23T05:24:02Z

Five years ago today, I made the best decision of my life. Five years that's flown by much too quickly. Five years of being married to my best friend, the most wonderful man I know.

And tomorrow, we're taking a little trip to a tiny island in the Caribbean:

Where we'll probably do a lot of this:

And see prehistorically beautiful sites, like this:

But mostly, we'll lie around on beaches like this:

Fear Factor: Childbirth Edition

2009-05-21T22:01:12Z

I know exactly when I began fearing the prospect of giving birth. It was more than 10 years ago, and I was in a bible study with four of my good friends. All of whom, at the time, were Baylor nursing students. And I don’t remember much about that bible study, other than their weekly war stories – stories that made me certain I never wanted to experience a vaginal birth. Ever.

Most of the stories that stuck with me were about ripping. DOWN THERE. They were about pain, large amounts of pain and screaming and blood and pushing and pressure and then the TEARING, and then the weeks and weeks and weeks before it healed, before it no longer hurt to do something as simple as using the restroom. That was 12 years ago. To this day, I cannot stand the thought of an episiotomy. To the point that I generally stick my fingers in my ears, squeeze my eyes shut and mentally sing “la la la” if anyone so much as mentions one around me. In fact, I’ll admit that the idea of having a c-section has almost sounded dreamy to me. With drugs. Lots and lots of drugs. Just in case.

Then, last night Roger and I turned on the television and happened to find a documentary about giving birth. A documentary about giving birth naturally. A documentary about giving birth naturally at home. With a midwife. Not a doctor. Just to clarify.

At first it was kind of a freak show to me – who in the world would want to subject themselves to that? That is the sort of thing for ultra-granola women, not the sort for women like me. I like modern medicine. I like to be pampered. And maybe, I am even a little bit girly. I do not like to writhe around the floor, under a table, grunting and clutching my abdomen. (For anyone who has had a home birth, please accept my apologies: I don’t know why this is what I imagined home births are like. After watching this documentary, I am slightly less ignorant.)

But now? Now I think natural home births are kind of awesome. Most of the women sat in these inflatable spas in their living rooms – sort of like an adult version of a kiddie pool. And when the baby came, it just kind of slid right out, with no screaming or intense pain, et voila! Baby! Or maybe they just were too intimidated to show how much pain they were experiencing because there was an entire camera crew filming everything (and I mean everything). I mean, the producers aren’t really going to show all the horror stories in their promo piece, right?

It was my first time to see a birth – and I got to see several, from the crowning of the head to the shoulders slipping through – but it was also my first time to hear women who remembered their births share that it’s not so scary, so frightening. And they didn’t just talk to a camera about their stories, but they allowed the camera to record every gory detail: from the woman who wanted to put her placenta in freezer bags (why?!?) and keep it, to the woman who went to the hospital to deliver via c-section five weeks early, to the woman who didn’t want to push because it hurt so badly (but couldn’t not push because the baby couldn’t stay in there forever).

So I’ll admit: it wasn’t such a freak show after all. It was just what I needed to convince me that maybe, just maybe, I’ll be brave enough for my planned vaginal birth in four months. Though I’m pretty sure I’ll still want the epidural.

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

2009-05-14T03:53:02Z

I've seen too many gift guides floating around lately, likely because of Mother's Day, and I have to tell you: for the large part, I haven't liked much in them. Is it because I'm thrifty? Or because my taste in things varies so greatly from everyone else's? Because I'm beginning to think that it's the latter, and I can't be alone in this. In any case, here are a few things that I'm loving lately, many of which I've recently purchased:

Stackable Rings

I'm not sure at what point in this pregnancy my fingers started to swell, but wearing my beloved engagement ring and wedding bands is no longer a comfortable option. When I nearly tore my finger off trying to remove them one day, I decided to go up a size and buy something to get me through the next four months. Check out these CZ stackable rings from Target. I bought four for $16, and am wearing two on my left ring finger. They're super-sparkly, which I love, and if I lose one or a stone falls out or they start to turn green, I'll still have two left over! Score!

Modern Crib

Okay, fine. So maybe you aren't shopping for a crib, but it's taking up a large portion of my nights lately. I've been looking and looking for a modern crib in espresso, preferably one that converts into a toddler bed, and let me tell you this: modern cribs in espresso are not cheap. What up, espresso haters? Does everything have to be in cherry or white or natural? And why are there so many sleigh-style cribs? And do people really spend more than $1,000 on cribs? Because that seems like a waste of money for something that will probably be chewed on, used for only a few short years, and then sold on Craigslist for $75. (Or Best Offer.)

Lip Gloss

When it comes to lip gloss, I'm a creature of habit. I love finding a gloss that is perfect for me in color and shimmer and texture, and I'm loyal to that gloss to a fault. For the past six years, I've been wearing MAC lip glass. And frankly, I've been a bit gun shy to try anything new. Aside from Holly's Lipslick in Daring (also great in Hipster!), which is more like a balm in texture than a gloss, everything I have tried has been too gloppy or gritty or thick. It's worn off too quickly or has made my lips chap, and there's nothing more annoying than a perfect pout ruined by dry, peeling lips. So when a friend suggested I try Mary Kay's lip gloss line, I was admittedly skeptical. I've been using this lip gloss for a week now, and I think I just got served. It's perfect in shimmer, in texture, and in color. My lips look natural and feel moisturized. I've been trying three colors, but I keep coming back to one called Cream and Sugar, a perfectly nude and sparkly gloss. And this is where I'll admit it, even though I've been trying to avoid the word: my lips look downright succulent.

Cute Summery Dress, May Double As Swimsuit Cover

I have a policy about clothes, and it pretty much goes like this: it pains me to spend a lot of money on them. I think I inherited that from my mother. I could never be one of those people who spend hundreds of dollars (or, fine, even $70) on one single item, because OMG: think of how many OTHER things I could be getting. Why buy one thing when I could buy six (or three)? Unless I plan on keeping that dress, or that shirt, or those shoes, or that handbag for a loooonnnngggggg time, I just can't justify it. Which is one reason I like places like TJ Maxx, and Ross, and outlet stores. And is another reason I like this dress from Old Navy: multi-purpose! Cute! Breezy for these hot Texas summers! And less than $30! My husband, on the other hand, is just the opposite from me. He buys the best, but always manages to get killer deals. I think this is because not enough men shop, so he has an advantage over women, who are always shopping. Also, he only shops a few times a year, usually when forced by me, so his infrequent sprees and my constantly shopping throughout the year probably amortize out equally. Maybe. Or that's what I tell him, anyway.

Vacations

This is the kind of thing that Roger and I spend our money on: traveling. We love to travel, we love to explore, we love to pamper ourselves. In ten short days, we'll be flying to St. Kitts and Nevis (warning: you may want to turn down the volume before clicking on that link), where we're promised a villa with that exact view. And maybe fewer place settings. I plan to lie around on the beach, indulge in massages, eat artfully prepared food, and exploring the tiny islands' markets, sugar mills and plantations.

Home Accessories

Roger and I have love buying pieces for our home, which I would describe (when it's not being remodeled) as modern-meets-Indo-Asian. A lot of dark wood, interesting ethnic pieces, low-profile furniture, natural colors with occasional pops of color. We've pretty much furnished our home between places we've traveled and trips to ZGallerie, our favorite home decor shop. A very pretty Hindu goddess stands atop this Chiang Mai Table (ZGallerie, $24.95) in our living room, but I have a feeling that the statue will be relocated once our daughter becomes mobile.

Cute Individual Serving Dishes

I am totally coveting these cute little Au Gratin serving dishes (hint, hint, Roger: I'd prefer a set of six, please), $5.95 each at Crate and Barrel. They'd be great for au gratin potatoes, yes, but also chicken pot pies! Individual quiches! Cobblers! Souffles! (Okay, fine. I don't actually make souffle - it scares me - but maybe if I had these I would at least try.)

Deliciously Edible Hand Soap

My most favorite hand soap evah, Cucina Coriander and Olive Tree, infused with olive oil. So your hands stay soft. I love this soap for my kitchen or for my guest bathrooms, and this is why: it's not girly. It's a soap that women and men both love. Which is important to consider when you like to host parties, and the men go into your bathroom and all they find is sweet pea-scented soap or whatever else you found on sale at Bath & Body Works. This soap is deliciously fragrant, lingers delicately, and is amazingly fresh. You want this soap, you just don't know it yet.

I Never Met A Quiche I Didn't Like

2009-05-05T16:29:29Z

I love cookbooks. I love cookbooks and I love cooking (though I hate cleaning the dishes) and I love good food. And I generally like history, as long as it is interesting. (Which, listen: history is NOT ALWAYS INTERESTING.) So when a publisher sent me a copy of the Military Wives' Cookbook, I was intrigued because it's a cookbook (score!), presumably has good food (score!) to cook (score!), and is filled with little historical anecdotes about our country's military wives. And that's all fine, it's a nice little package, but what I really needed to know was this: what about the recipes? Are they good? And the best way to answer those questions is to test a recipe out for myself.

After flipping through the book, I found a story about a bride who defied her father and married the man she loved. Which, I'm totally a sap, so it seemed like a good choice to me. What's more, she married the man she loved (a military officer) in a shotgun wedding, both bride and groom sitting atop their horses so they could make a quick escape. Which I thought was hilarious, considering this took place back in the 1800s. The story was printed along with a recipe for Quiche Lorraine - I don't know what the correlation was there: was it just a good place for the story, or did they serve that quiche afterward? - and my thoughts were suddenly consumed with BACON.

The key to frying bacon is trying not to eat all of it before you need it for the recipe. This is kind of difficult, because bacon is salty and delicious. And it's crunchy, if you're doing it right. I managed to only eat two pieces, so it's a good thing I made extra. (Okay, fine. I ate two-and-a-half pieces, which no one would ever know because you have to crumble it anyway.) Also, you can never have too much bacon.

While the bacon was sizzling, I whipped the cream (the recipe calls for half-and-half, but I generally consider recipes as guidelines, not rules) with the eggs and mustard and seasonings.

And then I took some of the onions from my mom's garden and I cooked them in the bacon grease. This is the best way to do it because BACON. MMmmmmmm. (Also, the onions cook quickly. So don't, say, realize you don't have shredded Swiss cheese, pull out the deli Swiss, and start CUTTING IT INTO STRIPS WITH KITCHEN SCISSORS. That might be kind of lame. But it will probably work. Hypothetically.) Once the onions are done, you should sprinkle them over the crumbled bacon.

It will be very pretty, and kind of remind you of Christmas. And then maybe you'll want some egg nog. Or maybe you're just pregnant.

After you've poured the cream mixture over the bacon and onions, sprinkle it with nutmeg. The nutmeg doesn't really do anything other than make it look pretty, and remind you of Christmas again. And make you want egg nog even more. So maybe you should just bake it and distract yourself with something else.

If you pair a slice of this quiche with something else, like strawberries, you'll be less tempted to eat the entire pie in one sitting. (It was also very good the next morning.) But strawberries probably won't be enough to stop you from going back for seconds. That's respectable. If you do that, it's a compliment. And, really, have you had enough compliments lately? I didn't think so.

The cookbook is organized a little differently than most, in that it's organized by menu. The menu titles are charming: "White Gloves and Hats: A Silver and Crystal Tea" or "Twelfth Night: A Williamsburg Buffet for Eight" or "A Sunday Reunion With Very Dear Friends." See what I mean? It's kind of a throwback to the days of yore, back when it was totally normal to be invited to Sunrise Coffee or Holiday Dessert Coffee or Afternoon Coffee or Breakfast Coffee -- and seriously? How many types of coffee and coffee gatherings are there? (Note to self: Good topic for coffee lovers.)

So my first recipe from this book was a success. And just for you, I've included the recipe after the jump. And I've also included my edits, because I am horrible at actually following recipes.

]]> Quiche Lorraine
Adapted from The Military Wives' Cookbook: 200 Years of Traditions, Recipes and Remembrances, by Carolyn Quick Tillery

1 9-inch deep-dish pastry shell (buy the kind in the refrigerated section and roll it out/bake it yourself - that way everyone will think you made it. Shhhhhhh.)
9 slices bacon (I used 12 1/2, but they were kind of small strips)
8 thin slices onion (best from your mom's garden)
3/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese (no comment)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard (I used about a tablespoon of the Spicy Brown)
1 cup half and half (I like cream better)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper (my spice cabinet is a wreck, so I just ground up some black pepper)
one pinch grated nutmeg

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Bake the pie shell until slightly browned, but not done, approximately 5-7 minutes.
3. In a skillet fry the bacon, drain, and allow to cool before crumbling. TRY NOT TO EAT.
4. Saute the onion slices in the bacon drippings over medium heat.
5. Sprinkle the bacon and onion over the bottom of the pie crust.
6. Spread cheeses on top of the bacon and onion mixture.
7. Beat together the eggs, mustard, half and half and seasonings.
8. Pour mixture over the cheese, bacon and onions. Allow to stand 10 minutes. [This is where I sprinkled the nutmeg, rather than including it in the egg mixture.]
9. Place on a baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes until golden and firmly set. Test by inserting the blade of a butter knife in the middle of the quiche. The quiche is done when a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Makes 8 servings.

Envelope, Please!

2009-04-28T18:41:45Z

It's an odd thing, lying on a cushioned table with my belly exposed, watching the monitor jump to life as the sonogram wand passed over my torso. And there, for the fourth time, was our baby: sleeping soundly, heart thumping.

Yesterday morning was our 18-week appointment. Before our session began, we told the sonogram tech we didn't want to know the baby's gender right away. Instead, we handed her a piece of paper and an envelope.

We saw the baby's bladder, and stomach, and arms and legs. We saw both hemispheres of its brain, took a profile shot with its tiny nose turned up, and then watched as it began to wake up, batting its arms and kicking its legs before settling into sleep again.

The hours ticked by slowly yesterday - no, make that excruciatingly slowly - and the longer I was aware that our baby's gender was there, known, the more I wanted to tear into the envelope and read its contents, or at least hold it up to the light, hoping I would be able to make out whether it was a four- or three-letter word. More than anything, I just wanted to confirm my suspicions. Roger kept the envelope close to his heart, tucked into his shirt pocket, out of my grasp. (Except for that one time I snatched it from him, and he nearly wrestled me to the ground for it. My husband is strong, is all I'll say.)

That night we headed to my mom's house, the house in the country, the house where I grew up. As we drove down the long gravel driveway, I glanced down at my hot pink tee and realized what I was wearing. "I bet you anything mom will assume we're having a girl, since I'm wearing this shirt." Earlier in the afternoon she had been trying to get me to divulge whether our baby was a boy or a girl, and I was having too much fun teasing her to let her know that we didn't actually know yet. We were saving that for just this moment, to share with her, for her to open the envelope and tell us whether our child was a son or daughter.

As soon as I got out of the car, she took one look at me and exclaimed, "You're having a girl!" I raised my eyebrows and looked sideways at Roger. My mom can be so predictable. And then we went into the kitchen, where she plucked the envelope out of Roger's pocket, and finally no one tried to stop her.

I realized I was holding my breath when she peeked up at me and smiled.

Turns out, a mother is always right.

Season's Greetings

2009-04-22T16:32:59Z

We have some neighbors who, let's say, greet each holiday very enthusiastically. Thankfully, the most enthusiastic neighbor is one street over and down a block - so I don't see their house unless I purposefully try to. Which, you know, I've kind of developed a fascination with. So I try to often.

When they put up decorations at Halloween, we didn't think much of it. Some people do that, that's cool, the orange and black lights hanging from their rooftop just provide a little extra lighting for kids trick-or-treating and it definitely spotlights them as a candy-friendly home.

Christmas wasn't that big of a deal, because nearly everyone in our neighborhood pulls out the lights, whether red or multi-colored or classic white, whether large bulbs or icicles outlining the home's frame. That's normal. I get that.

And then Valentine's Day approached, and our one very enthusiastic neighbor put up pink and red lights. With heart-shaped garland draped around the lion statuettes on either side of their sidewalk. And romantic greetings splashed across their windows. With giant candy hearts and cupid blow-up dolls on their lawn, blown full-size by some sort of air-blowing machine. And that was a little weird. Who puts blow-up dolls on their lawn for Valentine's? I mean, I get that February 14th is somewhat of a major holiday. I understand the commercialism of it. But really? Decorating your house like that? That is a little over the top.

And then St. Patrick's Day rolled around. And kelly green lights were donned. Shamrocks graced the lion statuettes. Enormous leprechaun blow-up dolls stood tall in their yard. It kind of became a spectacle, and I decided that if they would decorate for Saint Patty's, then I would be disappointed if they didn't decorate for Easter. Because Easter is totally a better holiday. St. Patrick's Day has no point, other than drinking green beer. Easter has a point.

So I'm sure you can imagine my delight when I was driving down the street a couple weeks ago and I saw pastel lights! Easter eggs hidden around each statuette, with an Easter basket carefully balancing around each lion's suspended paw! Bunny ears perched atop each lion's head! Enormous, pink and blue blow-up Easter bunnies standing at attention - FOUR of them across the front yard! It was so ridiculous it was AWESOME.

I don't know which is better - when these neighbors finally take all their decorations down, or when they put them up. Because putting all those decorations up, making sure the lights outlining their roof are all straight, spacing all those blow-up dolls equal distances from each other across the front lawn - that is a lot of work. And that is a lot of money invested in blow-up dolls. And that is a lot of attic space dedicated to holidays. And I can appreciate the time and money and organization it takes to maintain a full complement of seasonal decorations each year. These neighbors have set a standard for themselves.

Come Cinco de Mayo, I'll be disappointed if they don't commemorate the holiday in some way. Disappointed enough that I'm actually considering whether I should leave a note on their door. Just to let them know that their neighbors care. That we notice the five-foot-tall blow-up dolls in their yard. And as much of a spectacle as those enormous, gaudy decorations are, they're totally better than that one neighbor who doesn't mow his yard until the weeds are a foot tall. (I'm looking at you, neighbor.)

You Have Questions, I Have Answers

2009-04-13T14:30:16Z

Thank you everyone who left comments, emailed, called and sent notes in the mail (Yes! Even notes in the mail!) to congratulate us and to ask how we're doing. The number one question, by far, has been about how much I suffered during our first trimester. And this is the part where most mothers in world will hate me. Or at least roll their eyes with jealousy.

I had no nausea (as long as I ate something every three-ish hours), no vomiting, no heartburn. No smells turned my stomach, I had no specific cravings of MUST EAT IT OR PERISH, and my appetite has neither increased or decreased. I had no exhaustion, no aches, no pains, not even pregnancy dreams. In fact -- other than a missed period -- if I hadn't seen our baby on ultrasound, I might not believe that I was even pregnant. (Which makes this documentary about women who didn't know they were pregnant until they went into labor seem a little more plausible, except really? That expanding belly and those fetal movements didn't give it away?)

The most difficult part of pregnancy for me, so far, has only begun to occur in the second trimester. You see, I've been trying to teach myself to sleep on my side for quite a while - but side-sleeping is painful! I don't understand how people do it. My hips go numb and my hip abductor muscles are shooting with pain and I don't think it's a coincidence that Mario Badescu just sent me an email about diminishing puffiness and tired eyes. Because I am not getting any sleep. Which is why I've started shopping on Craigslist for a recliner that I can use during pregnancy, because that's the only way I foresee getting any sleep: propped up on my back, cuddled under a blanket, and NOT ON MY SIDE. Is this a normal problem? Because I've not heard anyone talk about this before, and I think I've tried every variation of side-sleeping and pillow combination ever created.

(Though I have to admit: it's doing an awesome job of preparing me for when the baby comes. So there's that.)

The second most common question you asked was whether I'm showing yet, and the answer is: just barely. At 16 weeks, I'm still wearing nearly all of my pre-pregnancy jeans, and I've only just begun wearing maternity tops. But mostly because many of my shirts are fitted, and when I wear them and my stomach pokes out, it looks like I'm a little more plump around the middle rather than pregnant. I have exactly five maternity tops: black, pink, blue, grey and white, and I have a feeling that by the end of this pregnancy I might need to burn them. (Though I'll still admit to feeling giddy every time I put one on.)

And the third most common question was about this website. Will it turn into a mommyblog? I don't have an answer to that question quite yet, though I think it's fair to say that I write about my life, and this is a part of my life. Also: I've been holding this news in for a loooonnnnnggggggggg time. You'll have to bear with me while I flush all of the newness of writing about baby, baby, OMG BABY out of my system.

Spelling It Out

2009-04-08T23:24:04Z

When Roger and I miscarried last fall, it was the single most grievous experience of my life. I’ve never cried like that – it was wailing, really, and gnashing of teeth – and I’ve never really understood that level of sorrow, that depth of mourning until October 6, 2008. But I learned a lot, too.

I learned about myself, and my own capacity for feeling, for loving, for trusting. I learned about Roger and his quiet strength, drawing comfort from his protective arms wrapped around me in a way that I had and had never known before. I learned about us as a couple, and who we would become as parents. I learned about the character of our friends, and it changed my own character, the way that I respond now when friends or family members share with me when they have miscarried.

When we were pregnant last fall, we all but screamed it from the rooftops, sharing our good news with nearly everyone we knew before we had even had our first sonogram.

This spring, though, we have waited. And over the last two weeks, we’ve begun telling our family and our friends that, once again, we have exciting news to share.

We’ve seen our child three times now: first as a little blobby lima bean, heartbeat sounding off loudly. The second time, our baby was proving that it likes to dance as much as mama, with its arms and legs performing the most perfect version of the Running Man that I've seen in a while. (Well, for a 10-week-old fetus, I mean.) And the third time, it was sleeping peacefully with a steady 138 bpm.

Later this month, we’ll find out the baby’s gender. I think it’s a boy, and Roger has a feeling that we’re having a girl. Either way, one of us is bound to be right - and we couldn't be more ecstatic!

Why You Shouldn't Use Geek Squad

2009-04-03T16:21:10Z

Last week, my laptop crashed. I've never had that happen before, where it worked fairly well the day before and the next day wouldn't even turn on, so I wasn't sure what to do. And then I remembered the Geek Squad.

Now, truth be told: before February, Geek Squad wouldn't have been on my radar. But I attended BlissDom '09 in February, and Geek Squad was a highly visible sponsor at the conference. I thought: "Hey! They support bloggers! I will patronize them and see if they can help me." Because we've got to support each other, right?

So I took my computer to my local Geek Squad (at Best Buy) and explained the problem. The goal: either to fix the problem, or to recover all the data from my hard drive. While I was standing there, the Geek tried to plug in my computer to "run diagnostics." Except he couldn't get it to power up, so he told me all was lost, and my only option was data recovery.

I blinked.

I understand that my laptop is almost 3 years old. And that laptops need to be replaced every so often. And really, the most important thing to me is the data. Every work-related file I owned was on that laptop, and I couldn't really work without those files. Every photo and video from every trip that Roger and I have taken - both foreign and domestic - was on that laptop. And I was desperate to get those back. And then there were the recipes that I've been collecting for that cookbook I'm writing (the one that I've been writing for the past five years, but still), and they were all lost too.

Data recovery suddenly became all I cared about, so yes, I paid $108 to have them extract my files and folders and bookmarks. It was an easy decision.

Though the Geek told me it would take 3-4 days, I was elated the next day to receive both an automated email message and an automated phone call: my order was ready! My laptop was ready for pickup! And with it, I assumed, ALL MY DATA. I rushed to Best Buy, and excitedly approached the Geek. He looked up my order.

Geek: "Oh, it looks like we owe you a refund."
Jes: Blank stare
Geek: "I'll just put that back on your MasterCard."
Jes: Blank stare
Jes: [This is where it would have been helpful if someone had actually called me to tell me what was going on, rather than sending me an automated message to inform me that my "order was ready."] "I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about. Why are you giving me a refund? I don't understand."
Geek: (as though I'm an idiot) "Because we couldn't pull your data off your hard drive. It's broken."
Jes: Blank stare
Jes: "Well that's not my last option, is it? I mean, it can't just be un-recoverable just because you guys can't get it off. Can't you extract my hard drive and plug it into another computer?"
Geek: "That's what we did. It just kept spinning. Your hard drive is physically broken. The only way to recover that data is to send it off to our White Lab."
Jes: "What is a White Lab? Where is that? What is the cost?"
Geek: "A White Lab is a like a giant clean room, like where FBI-like people take apart the computers of white-collar criminals to investigate them. Our service center is in Kentucky. I've seen it cost as low as $260, and as much as $1,700. Plus $34.95 for shipping."
Jes: Blank stare "Ummm, yeaaahhh. I think I'm going to look into other options. You can go ahead with the refund and I'll take my laptop."

Because I REFUSED to believe that sending my laptop off to a service center in Kentucky was my last option. I live in Dallas. Dallas seems more...advanced...than the entire state of Kentucky. Certainly there is SOMEONE in Dallas who can help me.

A man in Best Buy, who overheard the conversation, stopped me and recommended The Computer Wizard. "He's a computer forensics expert, he's been doing this for a llooooonnnnggggggg time, you should check him out," he says. If he can't help, he'll know who can. [Actually, the conversation was much longer than that. But I'm paraphrasing.]

As it turns out, The Computer Wizard is just two blocks from my house in Plano, Texas. So I took my laptop, with my flailing faith in Geeks, and explained the situation. He listened to me talk (on and on and on) about my Geek Squad nightmare, and how I refused to believe they were my last option, and then I told him about the problem I was having with my computer. And then he told me that just last week, he had someone in his office saying the exact same thing. That Geek Squad told them they couldn't fix the problem. And the Computer Wizard could. My hopes soared a little. So I trusted my laptop to him, and left his office, fully confident that this man knew his business.

And two hours later, he personally called me:

Computer Wizard: "There's nothing wrong with your hard drive. I was able to pull all nine gigs of your data off with no problem."
Jes: Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!! "That's awesome news! Thank you!"
Computer Wizard: "Your [something I don't remember] is broken, but it doesn't affect your hard drive AT ALL. This was easy. So just bring in your new computer and we'll transfer the files over, or you can buy a 16gb flash drive and we'll put the files there."

So in the end, I got all of my data. And I'm so thankful for The Computer Wizard. And no offense to those nerdily cute Geeks with their wrinkly shirts and unbrushed hair, but the moral of the story is: DON'T USE GEEK SQUAD . They're really, really, REALLY incompetent.

Tweepy

2009-03-23T20:14:34Z

Today, when checking email, my heart dropped into my stomach. Now, it's true that I get creeped out kind of easily - I know that, and it's part of the reason why I refuse to watch Freddy Krueger even if it is the middle of the day and all the lights are on in the house. I. Just. Can't. Handle. It.

So when I was going through email today, and saw that a certain person was following me, I stopped and stared, confused. Because the person following me has my same name. And I don't know if you've ever opened your email and seen "[insert your first and last name here] is now following you," but let me tell you: it is both confusing AND creepy, especially because you know it's not spam because spammers haven't gotten that creative yet. (Note to spammers: Don't.)

I've never really thought before about how creepy Twitter can be, but now I'm on the lookout. And I'm fairly certain that once someone with my maiden name starts following me, I'm going to start looking over my shoulder in suspicion a lot more frequently.

[If you want to follow me on Twitter, by the way, please do. Because I'm pretty certain WE don't share the same name.]

Free to Good Home

2009-03-18T03:44:18Z

For the past few weeks, I've been taking a cake decorating class. This shouldn't come as much of a surprise, considering my love for making cakes. I have a ton more than I've ever chronicled on this site, and I figured it was time to up the ante and learn the Proper Way to Decorate.

Originally I thought the class was a little beneath my skill level, consider we're learning how to make stars and drop flowers, and HELLO, I already taught myself to do that. But after this last lesson, what I learned was that I made up how to do it, and I have no technical skill whatsoever. I do not do things properly. And I am okay with that! I didn't do math problems properly in high school or college either, but I still got to the same answer! (Most of the time.) Isn't that what counts? I say that's what counts.

The problem is that I work from home, so I really don't have anywhere to take these cakes once they're finished. And Roger works for a boutique design agency, and it took them an entire week to eat the last cake I made - there just aren't as many people as there is cake. So I end up with a plethora of cakes surrounding me, begging to be eaten, and my thighs refuse to do ALL of that eating. True story.

This week I made a classic yellow cake with buttercream icing. It's a simple, playful thing, in primary colors, with two cute little clowns on top and a decorative border. Also, check out that striped icing - I'm so fancy!

Do you want this cake? I will give you this cake. I have not even eaten one piece of this cake! That is maybe the true miracle.

If you live (or work) anywhere between downtown Dallas and Frisco, I will deliver this cake to you. As long as you are not creepy. (Please let me know if you are creepy.) Share it with lots of your co-workers - you can even take credit for it, I don't mind! - and they will love you forever. (And in this economy, don't we all need to be loved a little?) (Answer: Yes.) (Other answer: You want the cake.)

Potty Mouth

2009-03-17T16:50:30Z

Since we've been involved in what will surely become the longest remodel in the history of home remodels, I've become a lot more intimately acquainted with the inner-workings of a house. Like electrical wiring. (Well, sort of.) And plumbing. And what toilets look like when they're removed from the floor. And let me tell you: it is ... unpleasant.

So when I saw on CNN this morning that there is a new restaurant in Hong Kong called "Modern Toilet," curiosity got the best of me. You know, I understand themed decor. I do. But this place - wow. The toilet lids and glowing urinals hanging on the walls, and seating made of toilet bases aren't what bother me. But eating out of a mini-toilet bowl?

That's one restaurant that I'd keep a lid on.