Good-Enough Weekend

Torrin and Mira roasting hot dogs (mmmmm pig parts!)

I finished another bead project--yay!

And my kitties love each other.

Good enough weekend, minus the whole football parking thing on Saturday, where once again our intelligent Husker-fan-parkers were overheard referring to the Indian Center as the Indian Reservation. Yes, this is the Rez where all the drunken white folks are. :/

We're Not in Kansas Anymore...

Last Saturday, after we finally left my workplace, we got ready and headed south to Kansas. First to Lawrence, where we Haskell Avenue'd it up meeting another Mommy from Mira's birth club. Such encounters are always fun--it's like meeting a celebrity, because it may be your first time actually meeting the person, but you've seen them in pictures and already know so much about them. We stayed several hours, the kids played, and all was dandy. Then we headed over to Old Chicago to visit an old friend of PGG's who's attending Haskell Indian Nations University.

We capped the night by jaunting over to Topeka, where I have a long-lost auntie. She's my mom's eldest sister, but we just met her for the first time last summer (my mom is adopted--actually my dad is too but we don't know who his biological family is). We stayed the night with her and her rumpled Schnauzer. I was sufficiently creeped out by a picture on her dresser whose subject looked like a male version of my mother, complete with semi-glaring half-scowl. His name is Larry, and he's a brother of theirs, now deceased. I am envious of her knowledge of the Omaha language but not her cigarette habit...I'm slightly concerned that she will inadvertently burn her house down one of these nights as she chain-smokes half asleep.

Worst Friday Ever.

Okay, so yeah it's technically Saturday now. 5:45am. I'm still at work. That about sums it up.

Mira on the subway

Long time no post.

In the mean time, I've reached the quarter-century mark...driven to Chicago and back...and caused a major fiasco at work with the too-sensitive and community-sore-spot issue of football parking. Since I couldn't be there, it was left to warring families and bull-headed staff members. Next week, I'll be back. Ugh. My birthday in Chicago was less than fabulous...beginning with my inagural (and hopefully last) birthday tow. Hey, at least it was a cheap tow for Chicago, only $170, and our friend there covered it--for which I am grateful.

For lunch on Saturday before taking Flamenco to the airport with her loyal doggie friend, we went to Ginos East for some authentic Chicago deep dish pizza. I'm still a sushi-craving fiend, and yes I know you're not "supposed" to eat sushi while you're pregnant, but that's what we had for dinner. Note that there are several sushi options which include cooked items. Had it not rained the entire time we were there, it would have been much more fun.

Better luck next year!

Like Wildfire

Another Sunken Gardens shot here.

So they've finally caught on to the baby bit at work. The Friday before last Nosy Coworker #1 finally asked. Then yesterday, Nosy Coworker #2 asked. This is noteworthy because both are guilty of regularly inquiring whether I was expecting when there was no reason (that I know of) to suspect so, yet for the past 6 months when I actually have been didn't pose the question. #2's asking yesterday was followed shortly by his son learning of the news. And his son? Is currently staying with Viktor Krum and TCO. Yay. Today, two more Poppy inquiries. Eh. Whatever. I'm 26.5 weeks along now, which translates to roughly "six months pregnant." A typical pregnancy is based on a "due date" figured to occur after 40 weeks, or 10 lunar months.

Some stupid news of the day: Harry Potter lost his virginity at 16 to an "older woman," and scientists have linked a gene to males' likelihood to cheat. Meow and growl!

Politico

Generally, I avoid politics since it's so...polarizing. But I think that now that we know both VP picks, the Presidential race has gotten more interesting. I do think it's a shame that there's so little choice in voting...I'm still not sure how I feel about the whole caucus/primary/electoral college process in general.

It does seem that McCain and Obama both made VP choices that emphasized what the other had that he himself was lacking. And I think you gotta give McCain credit for making an unexpected selection (whereas Obama's seemed like the safest move).

While at the YMCA this evening, they had Glenn Beck on the TV screen and I glimpsed this book title: If Democrats Had Any Brains, They'd Be Republicans. Okay, whatever, Ann Coulter's book is probably pretty funny. But I always wonder, why is it then, that with more education, people are more likely to have democratic political views? We've all heard that college campuses tend towards liberalism...do we need affirmative action for conservatives to enter the education field or what? ;) Would the more education thing hold true if professors were more evenly split between conservative and liberal views? Is educating young minds more attractive to the liberal mindset, and if so, why? Cuz dem Republicans are too busy makin' an honest dollar while the Democrat tries to convince him it's really his? 'Cause da Dems are so good at spewing hot air while the Republican finds a way to market the exhilation?