Yay, look who's here!

Please welcome Precious 3.0, also known as Baby Hudson. Here he is with his adoring grandma.Wanna know by how many minutes I missed his blessed birth?Yeah. That would be 10. TEN MINUTES. Who even knew he was going to be such a speed demon?He is tiny and snuggly and precious, and when he cries he makes the same adorable frown that Ethan does. Also I think I may already be his favorite. It's a hunch that I have. Jenny is doing great and was looking much cuter and perkier than any woman 10minutes after labor ought to look.And it's a good thing GH wasn't with me at the hospital because I probably would have dragged him off to a supply closet and...

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I think Yasmin and I are fighting

So despite my best sunscreening efforts, I have to face the fact that I am to be again accompanied this summer by the sheer awesomeness that is Melasma, aka The Mask of Pregnancy.So help me, I'm starting to look like Adolph Hitler.Now, I could be wrong here. But isn't the point of birth control to actually reduce the similarities you share with pregnant women? Because I kind of thought that was what it was for.Here's an awesome pic of last summer's version. And I bet you just thought I had a wicked 5 o'clock shadow . ....

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Rejoice with me!

Remember that one time when we all talked about our financial goals?I said then that these were the things I wanted to start working on:1. Start funding an IRAThis one will have to wait, maybe until next year. But retirement savings is still happening so that's good. Have run a couple of retirement calculators to see how much we will need, just because it's kind of fun when my heart stops dead in my chest like that and my left arm gets all squeezy. (And yes, I always check the "No Social Security Benefits" box because hi, like I am even banking on that). A good guideline seems to be saving 10-15% of your gross income for retirement, leaning...

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Brick and mortar and possibly my new stalker

Yesterday I went to my local Wells-Fargo branch to deposit a couple of checks and proceeded to have this interaction with the teller who assisted me.Teller: "How's your day going?"Me: "Fine, thanks."Teller: "And what are you up to today?"Me: blink.Um, depositing checks? I wasn't quite sure how to answer that, so I sort of just looked at him.Teller, prompting me helpfully: "Are you working today? Or just running errands?"Me: "Um, you know. Getting things done." Things like minding my own flipping business.Teller: "And how has your week been so far?"Me: "Fine." SERIOUSLY. Are we done here??? I don't have to tell you my life story if I don't feel like it.Now, I realize that the guy was just trying to make friendly conversation. I do that as part of my job too, but it seems like you really have...

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As promised

Here is the fruit of my labor. Hold on to your ovaries: I know, right??? Could you just die? (Not that I flatter myself, but my friends do say I know how to stitch a garter.)For the knitters (or should-be knitters) who want to try it, this is the garter stitch wrap top from Simple Knits for Cherished Babies by Erika Knight. I used Debbie Bliss's Baby Cashmerino yarn, which is so soft that every now and then I had to stop knitting and run the skein along my cheek while I purred like a cat. Try it, it's fun!I modified the pattern because I was running out of yarn. Also, no lie, I had the thing almost finished and then realized that it was too...

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Lady of leisure

This is one of those weekends where I work Saturday instead of Friday (blah) but I'm determined to make the most of it. Which is why I will be doing the following today:Watching Cranford. Has anybody here seen this? I've only watched the first episode so far and it is delicious. Plus it allows me to play my favorite game, which is called "Shriek the Name of That British Actor and the Names of the Other Films or Plays in Which You Have Seen Them." Extra points if you can do this before their faces come fully into focus. I tell you. Best. Game. Ever. Is especially fun for those sitting around you.Knitting. Am finishing a baby sweater for the due-in-two-weeks...

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Now that I think of it, she does have very nice nails

Sunday morning I was in a rush to finish getting ready. I applied eye-liner and was confused to see that at the end of it I did NOT look sexy, but rather hung-over and possibly infectious. Turned out I was using the identically-packaged Mary Kay lipliner by mistake. Woops.Only, as I was soon to learn, it could have been much worse. The woman who got up to teach the Relief Society lesson prefaced her talk with a plea for everyone to please make sure they weren't letting their (metaphorical) plates get too full, which could lead to disorganization and rushing and mistakes. Of which she proceeded to give a personal example.She held up two small,...

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A few letters I've been meaning to post

Dear ClearPlay,Our subscription to your service expired three months ago. Since that time, you have not created any new filters that would tempt us to come back. Instead of providing cleaner versions of the movies we want to see (read: the R and PG-13 ones), you have made the somewhat inexplicable choice to focus all your efforts on removing smut, profanity, and violence from PG and G-rated movies such as Ice Age: The Meltdown and Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience.We no longer love you, and we want to find the people who want their G-rated movies edited and go hit them with bricks.ps. Your website is down. Way to suck.Dear library mommies,When I tell you that a certain program/activity is meant for children of elementary-school age, I actually mean that. Please do not avoid eye contact...

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Just a thought

Maybe this is just me being a cranky pants, but is anyone else tired of all the Michael Jackson coverage? Especially since there are other things going on in the world that actually, well, matter? (This is not to say that Michael Jackson's death does not matter to the people who were close to him, because of course it does, but it doesn't actually affect the rest of us in any tangible way.)Here's my beef: To me, this whole media frenzy is not even about him. It's actually about guilt. You heard me. Now that Michael Jackson is suddenly dead, everyone wants to talk about him and play his songs and love him and make a huge stinking deal about the whole thing. Three weeks ago, no one was talking about Michael Jackson except to wonder if his tour was going to be a train wreck or not.But now, NOW,...

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4th of July HL/LL

Hope everyone's Independence Days were merry and bright.Here were my highlights:Watched Season 1 of 30 Rock on DVD. Man that's a funny show.Went to a drive-in movie on Friday night. It doesn't get more American that that, I tell you. Considered finding a set of swings to go sing sad songs on ("Stranded at the drive-in . . . ") but instead just ate my Little Ceasar's pizza and Oreos while watching the movies.Listened to NPR's Reading of the Declaration of Independence. Got teary-eyed.Made an amazing corn/black bean/avocado/tomato/cilantro/garlic/lime salsa for the Family 4th of July Dinner in ProvoThe Family 4oJD menu: Hot dogs, cheeseburgers with bacon & avocado, corn on the cob, salsa & chips, watermelon, cherries, lemonade, Canadian chocolate, and ice cream cones.GH and I brought...

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Here

Last Saturday, I went forth to a solitary film therapy session, one which I have not gone for in a considerable amount of time, taking into account the sheer lack of films recently that attracted my attention long enough.I was taking quite abit of a blind plunge as this film I chose to watch is a local film made by Ho Tzu Nyen simply called "Here", thanks to the deeply engrained mindset that Singaporean films lack substance, depth and everything that contends for a worthy watch. But holy smokes, I was proven deeply and forcefully wrong with this particular visual opus.What this film offered was a meditative reverie for its viewers where time...

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I declare I don't know what the young men are about nowadays

Last night GH had his interview with a local television station. Thanks to your prayers/vibes/visualizations, it seemed to go well. Because there were so many applicants, they're doing a round of phone interviews first. Next week we should hear if there will be an in-person interview.At some point during the conversation GH mentioned something he'd seen on the station's website. The interviewer was surprised and said, "You know, you are the first person I've talked to who has gone to our website. I'm going to make a note of that."If that's the case, then the thank-you note GH put in the mail this morning should really blow his mind.But seriously? None of the other applicants went on the website? Or, if they did, they didn't make sure to work that into the conversation somehow? I knew resumes...

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