July 29, 2010

What are you DOING in there?

At the first flutter of movement the baby has, it's hard to tell what you're even feeling. When the baby really gets moving you think, "This is so cool!" because you can imagine it kicking out a tiny elbow, or turning over. The "every once in a while" nature of the movement is so novel and so interesting!

I'm at the point where I'm wondering, what in the world is he/she doing in there?!

A while back I read something that said, "You'll think you're carrying a baby octopus the way it can poke out in all different directions!" I'm not into the whole animorphic thing, but I understand the sentiment now. Moreover I've started imagining what he/she could be doing that requires 18-20 hours a day of constant movement.

Pulling taffy? This activity would reasonably explain the long amount of time he/she likes to stretch all the way out on both sides.

Knitting a sweater? That would explain the elbows that poke out in a fairly consistant rhythm.

Training for the Olympics? Depending on what event it's for, this could work to explain the rolling over at a sometimes alarming rate.

Building a birdhouse? Now I'm just being silly. =)


The one nice thing about the activity? The baby sleeps at night! During the day, forget about it. But at night he/she settles down and I am able to get some (uncomfortable, abdomen-stretched, knees-aching) sound sleep.

Now let's just see if little miss/monsieur wonderful is a night sleeper in the outside world!

July 23, 2010

Six Months and Counting Down...

I thought some or all of you might want to see these. Can you believe I am 29 weeks along? Yeah, me either. Trust me, even though I've known the longest, it's still a shock to me most of all.

Even though I've been enjoying the little one kicking around, I have to wonder... will it ever stop kicking around? I will be eating these words later but... I need it to grow a lot bigger so it can't move so much in there!

Somewhat regrettably, I have only a couple other pictures of my belly from earlier on. Then again, my stomach seemed to pop out overnight - as it does for a lot of women - and until then it just looked like I had put on 7 or so extra pounds in the form of a muffin top. Um, can you say "not photo worthy?"

But I like these pictures. I usually don't like recording myself, or seeing myself in photos or video.. Grandma Frey said pregnancy was becoming on me. I think I agree. I really don't mind the new shape so much anymore. At first it was hard to get used to, as I've always been pretty small (a testament to the power of healthy diet and regular exercise). Never had the flat, muscular abs but, eh, who cares. Now they've disappeared completely, but I know they're still there somewhere!

Anyway... I'm rambling now... before I ruin the whole thing, here's the photos!





July 21, 2010

NOM Marriage Tour

Just a quick update for you on the traditional marriage front...

The National Organization for Marriage has been touring around the country this summer, holding rallies in what seem to be hotspots of pro-gay marriage activity. After seeing some documentation of Providence, RI protestors actually shouting in the face of Brian Brown (president, NOM) while he tried to speak to his crowd, I wondered if maybe they would be visiting Wisconsin?

You'd think Wisconsin in general would pretty much be a conservative state. After all, we have tons of farmers, rural blue-collar businesses and older generation voters. We even manage quite a few state reps with conservative values, or at least Republican ties.

But the city of Madison is just as you'd expect it - a decently-sized, university-centered little metropolis, a city haven for all the hippies, pro-choicers and green living (gag) folks in the state. I mean, it's either here or Milwaukee and everyone knows there are poor people and crime there! Ah, so here the hippies stay.

Which explains why we have a co-op, aka communist grocery store (and another one opening soon... wait, a chain of co-ops? Quite a contradiction going on there, but we'll leave that for now), tons of humanistic/relativistic "churches" and dreadlocks galore. Oh, and drum circles. No joke, there is a scheduled drum circle at the university housing once per week. Uuuuuggh.

So I was thinking about Madison and all the pro-gay sentiment that undoubtedly finds a home here, and wondered if NOM is stopping? I think our capital would make a great location for a traditional marriage rally, don't you?

And guess what? They ARE having one! And it's on Tuesday! Which means... I probably can't go because I'll be at work. But maybe I can swing it for part of my lunch hour or something. The point is, there will be lots of coverage of it and I can't wait.

Is there a NOM stop in your city? Check this link to find out.
Support marriage!

July 19, 2010

Summer in the South

Last Thanksgiving I was fortunate to be able to visit my family in North Carolina, where my sister and her husband had recently bought a house. He is serving in the military - as an officer in the Army - and she is studying at UNC to be a dietician. Over the fourth of July holiday weekend I got to visit them again and, as their home has become a meeting-ground for all of us, my other sister and her two kids came from Virginia, and my parents drove my nephews down from Minnesota with them.

They live in a very woodsy and beautiful area just outside of Sanford which is debatably the most attractive looking area, including the town itself. Unless you like breaded and gravy-smothered pork chops, in which case the locally-owned "Biscuitville" restaurant just might be heaven to your eyes. But not for mine, thank you!

Other than "The Wal-Mart," as it is referred to in the south, there aren't many attractions in Sanford, but we managed to have tons of fun anyway. This time it was easier with a trip to see a nearby town's triple A baseball team (the Fayetteville Swampdogs), the downtown Sanford ice cream shop that's been around over 100 years, plenty of sparklers and playing with all the animals that live in and around the house.

And we weren't resting much, either. We visited both the neighborhood and country club pools, worked out in the gym, held a wii dance competition and went for a two hour-long hike to see a quartz quarry. Throw in several games of baggo and some fun-loving neighbors of theirs (and two more kids) and you've got yourself a nonstop four days of southern hospitality. Never mind that my sister is from the north; she's southern at heart. And did I mention all the great food?

As with every vacation, it flies by and is only captured truly in the photos and memories. I didn't even mention my niece and nephew. Maia is such a joy, truly sweet. The first thing she said, no, whispered to me was "So, I heard you are going to have a baaa-by! Can you make it a girl?" Precious! Check out the photo of her in the kerchief as we drove down for ice cream in my sister's convertible. Adorable.

Oh, and Joe, my littlest nephew? He's old enough to crawl, but since he likes to hang onto things while he travels, he sort of scoots along instead. Fittingly, we have dubbed him Scooter. His little leg gets so dirty from pushing off the floor all day! But what better way to clean that off than a dip in the big corn pot (we all used to get baths in a similar one at my grandpa's lake cottage)? He's got the cutest little sideways grin, too.

As I said, the pictures tell the story, too. Regrettably, I didn't get one of my other sister Lea and I, or my Mom. But there's Christmas for that. Maybe they'll be willing to come up north to see the baby, huh? I sure hope so.




P.S. You may have noticed I posted a video of these pics instead of just individual ones. Did I mention I got a brand new laptop?? It is so slick and easy to use. Of course, it's another piece of electronics I have to learn about (like my camera, whose manual I still haven't read - shame on me!). But it's so much fun and what a relief to not have to bang on it just to get it to turn on, like the old one.
Hmm.. perhaps that's why it broke, huh? =)

July 16, 2010

Announcement

Hello everyone,
As you may have noticed, I have been (even more noticeably) absent from my blog as of late. The reason being I've been TOTALLY preoccupied with my personal life, way too much so to be commenting about all the craziness in Washington!

I figured I owed you an explanation but I couldn't because there were people who read my blog who didn't know my info yet.

So... without further adieu...

I'm having a foot.

And, presumably, there is more baby attached.
Oh wait! I have another photo:


This is confirmed - I am having (at least) one foot, one head and one body!
Due in October. I'll keep you posted.


July 13, 2010

I can't believe people are calling this guy...

..a hero. Really? How is he nothing more then a criminal? A smirking, self-interested criminal?

Maybe they call him a hero because people think heroes are so scarce these days that we have to settle for so much less? Or is it because his fans are just stupid youth, enamored with the idea of someone giving a middle finger to the law?

This guy has a facebook fan page (with 80,000 fans, no less) on which someone says, romanticizing this criminal's decisions, "They can never imprison a mind like yours." What is his mind like, aside from lacking in self-control and relishing in instant gratification? It doesn't take a genius to steal. In fact, though it does require one to be careful to not get caught, it's not exactly a brain surgery-like profession.

He has also been called a "modern day Robin Hood," yet he has only once given money he stole away - to an animal hospital. That's hardly grounds for comparing him to one who risked his own freedom to help others obtain basic necessities, most of which were stolen from them first (*revealing the soft spot in my heart for R.H., which mostly stems from the Disney cartoon version).

Critics say that those who are fawning over him aren't "looking any deeper than the surface." But, even on the surface, this guy is just a degenerate thief, who has taken pleasure in pilfering stores and peoples' homes since the age of 12. He moved on to stealing high-priced planes and crash-landing them in fields of mud. He has a disregard for other peoples' property; does that qualify him to hero status? Lots of people have the idea that any damage is fine, so long as it's done to someone else. Hardly seems special or worthy of noting.

The CNN article queries whether he is merely a "common thief" or a "folk hero." The main argument for his crimes being "folksy?" That he committed many of them while not wearing shoes. No, I am not making this up. My guess is the editors of the story are only slightly older than the criminal himself. How else to explain their

Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill and Johnny Appleseed are folk legends. They are remembered (as real or imagined people) as having done great things which had an impact on others, but not necessarily in a negative or positive way.

Casey Jones, Daniel Boone and Robin Hood are folk heroes. They risked their own lives to give to other people things that which would benefit them - property, safety and well-being.

Bonnie and Clyde, Jesse James and the kid in the article are criminals. They committed acts that only benefitted themselves and, in the process, harmed many others.

If you don't understand the distinction, well... then this kid is going to be the best hero you ever have. And you're missing out on so much if he is.

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