Wednesday, October 29, 2008
More Starbucks name test
Today at Starbucks I said my name was Geneva. They spelled it Geniva and when the barista read it out she said Genina. Guess the name is weirder than I thought and the baby is doomed to a life of spelling her name. Or maybe Starbucks employees are not the best test group for this?
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Genera
So I've been trying out the baby's name when I go to Starbucks for spell-ability and general coolness. (This is because they often ask your name when you go there and then write it on the cup, in case you aren't as frequent a visitor as Chris and I.) So basically, when they ask my name I say "Geneva" and then they write it down and ideally they would say something like "What a cool name!" or some such. Well, it's not really working out that way.
I've done this 4 times and gotten only 1 correct spelling, and it was from a person I'd had before so she'd had time to process the name. Anyway, the 3 spellings were Jeneva, Genevia, and (inexplicably) Jeannine. Today I was all excited because they spelled it right but then the woman who read the name out called for "Genera." I guess that v did look kind of like an r, but still isn't Geneva more likely to be a name than Genera?
Now for some photos. Remember me at 27 1/2 weeks? I felt huge then. Here's a refresher:
And now, recreated as closely as possible at 36 1/2 weeks:
Even bigger, huh? Also, Chris tried to capture a photo of me on my bike but you can't really get the full effect here.
I've pretty much stopped biking to work because my legs are banging my belly when I pedal and I feel like I showed off my bad-assitude enough by biking up through the 8th month of pregnancy. On the weekends though when we want to go some place nearby I still bike because it's just so much faster than my now customary semi-waddle and it also takes a lot less energy. What's funny about it though is that when people see me they get this instant guilt/panic feeling and cease to think reasonably. It's a little like when you see a cop and slam on the brakes in spite of the fact that you were already going 5 under the speed limit. Anyway, people see me and are sure they're violating some right of way and do something stupid like stop to let me go by while I'm at a stop sign and they're on a street with no stop sign. As a biker, such unpredictable behavior is not really appreciated because, for example, I fully expect them to be going because they have right away, but since they're slowing down I can't figure out what they're doing until they're close by and practically stopped and waving me on and really it would have been faster if they'd just carried on their normal speed and I'd gone behind them. Anyway, Chris also thinks there may be some guilt associated with the fact that if I'm 8 months pregnant and biking, what's their excuse for riding around in the car?
In other news, we still have extremely cute kitties, in case you had forgotten:
I've done this 4 times and gotten only 1 correct spelling, and it was from a person I'd had before so she'd had time to process the name. Anyway, the 3 spellings were Jeneva, Genevia, and (inexplicably) Jeannine. Today I was all excited because they spelled it right but then the woman who read the name out called for "Genera." I guess that v did look kind of like an r, but still isn't Geneva more likely to be a name than Genera?
Now for some photos. Remember me at 27 1/2 weeks? I felt huge then. Here's a refresher:
And now, recreated as closely as possible at 36 1/2 weeks:
Even bigger, huh? Also, Chris tried to capture a photo of me on my bike but you can't really get the full effect here.
I've pretty much stopped biking to work because my legs are banging my belly when I pedal and I feel like I showed off my bad-assitude enough by biking up through the 8th month of pregnancy. On the weekends though when we want to go some place nearby I still bike because it's just so much faster than my now customary semi-waddle and it also takes a lot less energy. What's funny about it though is that when people see me they get this instant guilt/panic feeling and cease to think reasonably. It's a little like when you see a cop and slam on the brakes in spite of the fact that you were already going 5 under the speed limit. Anyway, people see me and are sure they're violating some right of way and do something stupid like stop to let me go by while I'm at a stop sign and they're on a street with no stop sign. As a biker, such unpredictable behavior is not really appreciated because, for example, I fully expect them to be going because they have right away, but since they're slowing down I can't figure out what they're doing until they're close by and practically stopped and waving me on and really it would have been faster if they'd just carried on their normal speed and I'd gone behind them. Anyway, Chris also thinks there may be some guilt associated with the fact that if I'm 8 months pregnant and biking, what's their excuse for riding around in the car?
In other news, we still have extremely cute kitties, in case you had forgotten:
Friday, October 24, 2008
Prop 8
Last night at 4:30 in the morning I was laying awake thinking of what I have to say about California's Prop 8 so I think I better write about it so it doesn't keep me up again tonight. I need all the sleep I can get. This was prompted by the fact that I consider my coworkers to be great, reasonable, nice people, and yet there was a car in the parking lot the other day with stickers all over it that said something like "Vote yes on prop 8! Protect traditional families!" and I just wanted to do something bad to them. Like get a marker and write on their car or leave them an ugly note or something. (I know, evil, huh?) Prop 8, for those not living in California or who haven't picked up on it from the tone of the above, is a proposition to amend the state constitution to define marriage as only between one man and one woman.
People who are in favor of this proposition seem like the most irrational group of people I have ever heard from. I don't think I've actually talked to any of them about their views but I've heard the advertisements and seen their commentary on news articles and so on. A common argument is that gay marriage will harm traditional marriage, but, uh.... how!?!? How could other people's marriage possibly affect mine? Ok - I can think of a way. Like if you see other people in a bad, unhappy marriage then you might be more grateful for your own, or the opposite. But down the road of trying to understand the rational thought behind the Yes on Prop 8 people lies only confusion.
But what was keeping me awake thinking about it last night was the only rational argument I have ever heard from a Yes on Prop 8 person. I have no idea where I read it or if the guy thought it through to its logical conclusion, but it has kept me thinking about a fundamental flaw in current marriage law. The general idea is that the word "marriage" is overloaded. It means first what I'll call "civil marriage," which is the one where you go to the court house and they give you a document and now you can change your name with less trouble at the DMV (among other things). It also means "religious marriage," which your personal church defines. (More on that in a second.) It seems that a lot of people are objecting to the state changing the definition of marriage because they think the state is trying to change the definition of "religious marriage" (because people are easily confused). The fact is that "civil marriage" and "religious marriage" are really not the same thing. It's easier to see if you consider divorce and the Catholic church. The state recognizes divorce, right? It's the dissolving of a "civil marriage." The Catholic church does not recognize divorce. And all the laws and stuff about divorce that the state institutes don't affect that at all - the Catholic church (or any other church) is free to keep on saying "we don't recognize this divorce thing." Presumably this is true about marriage as well. The state has one definition, and no church has to recognize it because the state doesn't care what you have to do for "religious marriage." Like when Chris and I got married in a Catholic church we had to go to this class where they taught us about natural planning for birth control (among other things) as a requirement of them being willing to marry us. See? Marriage can have different rules for civil and religious versions.
Anyway, here's the logical conclusion and the only way I would consider voting for anything even resembling Prop 8. The state, to eliminate confusion and also to really separate church and state, should no longer recognize any marriage. They should come up with their own new term (domestic partnership? civil union?) and any two consenting adults can have it and it gives all partnerships the same rights. And if you want to get that marriage thing also, well, go for it. You can have them done at the same time if you want and if you can find a church that agrees with your partnership and has someone who can legally perform civil unions as well.
Now I've said my piece. Maybe I can sleep better tonight.
People who are in favor of this proposition seem like the most irrational group of people I have ever heard from. I don't think I've actually talked to any of them about their views but I've heard the advertisements and seen their commentary on news articles and so on. A common argument is that gay marriage will harm traditional marriage, but, uh.... how!?!? How could other people's marriage possibly affect mine? Ok - I can think of a way. Like if you see other people in a bad, unhappy marriage then you might be more grateful for your own, or the opposite. But down the road of trying to understand the rational thought behind the Yes on Prop 8 people lies only confusion.
But what was keeping me awake thinking about it last night was the only rational argument I have ever heard from a Yes on Prop 8 person. I have no idea where I read it or if the guy thought it through to its logical conclusion, but it has kept me thinking about a fundamental flaw in current marriage law. The general idea is that the word "marriage" is overloaded. It means first what I'll call "civil marriage," which is the one where you go to the court house and they give you a document and now you can change your name with less trouble at the DMV (among other things). It also means "religious marriage," which your personal church defines. (More on that in a second.) It seems that a lot of people are objecting to the state changing the definition of marriage because they think the state is trying to change the definition of "religious marriage" (because people are easily confused). The fact is that "civil marriage" and "religious marriage" are really not the same thing. It's easier to see if you consider divorce and the Catholic church. The state recognizes divorce, right? It's the dissolving of a "civil marriage." The Catholic church does not recognize divorce. And all the laws and stuff about divorce that the state institutes don't affect that at all - the Catholic church (or any other church) is free to keep on saying "we don't recognize this divorce thing." Presumably this is true about marriage as well. The state has one definition, and no church has to recognize it because the state doesn't care what you have to do for "religious marriage." Like when Chris and I got married in a Catholic church we had to go to this class where they taught us about natural planning for birth control (among other things) as a requirement of them being willing to marry us. See? Marriage can have different rules for civil and religious versions.
Anyway, here's the logical conclusion and the only way I would consider voting for anything even resembling Prop 8. The state, to eliminate confusion and also to really separate church and state, should no longer recognize any marriage. They should come up with their own new term (domestic partnership? civil union?) and any two consenting adults can have it and it gives all partnerships the same rights. And if you want to get that marriage thing also, well, go for it. You can have them done at the same time if you want and if you can find a church that agrees with your partnership and has someone who can legally perform civil unions as well.
Now I've said my piece. Maybe I can sleep better tonight.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Economic good news
I was reading this article yesterday that has mostly snide commentary about the benefits of economic downturn. I really thought this part (the serious part) was very interesting though and hopeful:
Also, most of you probably know that since I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle last year I've jumped on the local food, victory garden, can-at-home trendy bandwagon. It might not be just a fad though because there was just this huge article in the New York Times Magazine about what the next president should do to help this trend along and why it's good for global warming, health problems, homeland security, etc. Anyway, it's called Farmer in Chief and I definitely recommend it - it's very interesting and filled with very concrete ideas about what the next president can do in terms of farming, public policy, and even his home life to help the US be a better place. (A few of them at the end get a little iffy, but most are excellent ideas.)
To be honest, there really are some genuine upsides of a recession. We use less. We become more aware. We drive less, walk more, produce less crap we don't actually need, churn out fewer pollutants, become highly attuned to waste and excess, dial into opportunity, travel locally, skip vacuous trends, become less fickle, appreciate bargain wines, breathe cleaner air, save, appreciate, savor.
Also, most of you probably know that since I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle last year I've jumped on the local food, victory garden, can-at-home trendy bandwagon. It might not be just a fad though because there was just this huge article in the New York Times Magazine about what the next president should do to help this trend along and why it's good for global warming, health problems, homeland security, etc. Anyway, it's called Farmer in Chief and I definitely recommend it - it's very interesting and filled with very concrete ideas about what the next president can do in terms of farming, public policy, and even his home life to help the US be a better place. (A few of them at the end get a little iffy, but most are excellent ideas.)
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
News worthy? Not so much
Here's an update although I can't say that much of it is exciting.
Dottie has started hiccuping. She hiccups for awhile almost every day, sometimes as much as 3 times a day. It seemed cute at first but it makes her really squirmy which isn't that comfy.
Dottie appears to have found her launch position. I hope they don't want her turned some other way because she's hasn't moved from this one in weeks (although my OB said she wasn't lodged in there...). I know she hasn't moved because I can feel her little feet up under my right ribcage all day long. And when she kicks she bumps her little noggin against my pelvic bone or my bladder. Fun, huh?
I took the kitties to the vet today and the vet and her assistant were remarking on Marie's polydactyl feet. They asked if I knew how many toes she had, and I said 5. Whereupon they told me that's the normal number for a cat's front foot, but she clearly looked polydactyl to them. Out of curiosity they pinned her down (Marie was not best pleased with this) and dug around between her toes and found a 6th toe that I had no idea was there. Weird, huh? Furthermore, they pointed out that she had 5 toes on the rear foot (normal is 4?) and the 5th one is a dew claw. Apparently it's very uncommon to have dew claws on a rear foot. Very educational. Oh, and we've been instructed to get more serious about Isaac's diet and brushing his teeth. He's just going to love us.]
Last weekend was filled with awesome hanging out with people. Two whole dinner parties, quite a bit of baking (which is surprisingly tiring) and lots of plain ol' hanging out. It was quite excellent really.
Dottie has started hiccuping. She hiccups for awhile almost every day, sometimes as much as 3 times a day. It seemed cute at first but it makes her really squirmy which isn't that comfy.
Dottie appears to have found her launch position. I hope they don't want her turned some other way because she's hasn't moved from this one in weeks (although my OB said she wasn't lodged in there...). I know she hasn't moved because I can feel her little feet up under my right ribcage all day long. And when she kicks she bumps her little noggin against my pelvic bone or my bladder. Fun, huh?
I took the kitties to the vet today and the vet and her assistant were remarking on Marie's polydactyl feet. They asked if I knew how many toes she had, and I said 5. Whereupon they told me that's the normal number for a cat's front foot, but she clearly looked polydactyl to them. Out of curiosity they pinned her down (Marie was not best pleased with this) and dug around between her toes and found a 6th toe that I had no idea was there. Weird, huh? Furthermore, they pointed out that she had 5 toes on the rear foot (normal is 4?) and the 5th one is a dew claw. Apparently it's very uncommon to have dew claws on a rear foot. Very educational. Oh, and we've been instructed to get more serious about Isaac's diet and brushing his teeth. He's just going to love us.]
Last weekend was filled with awesome hanging out with people. Two whole dinner parties, quite a bit of baking (which is surprisingly tiring) and lots of plain ol' hanging out. It was quite excellent really.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
The Nursery
At long last! The photos you've been waiting for. Some before/after shots of Dottie's nursery. Presumably you can tell the difference. One bonus shot at the end. Be sure to note the lovely garden wall hanging by my sister and the quilt made by my mama on the crib. Also, the custom border on the curtains to match the quilt! It's all very cute!
Freakish carrots
One of the first things I decided to try to grow in my garden was carrots, because I love them so much. I got a bunch of different types and everyone I talked to said "oh carrots! Those are so easy! I grew those in kindergarten!" or the like. Anyway, the first seeds I had wouldn't sprout. The 2nd batch I soaked and then planted. These sprouted and looked pretty healthy above ground (in the few patchy areas they deigned to grow). Then I picked them and they're seriously freakish. Tasty though. I think the soil might have been too hard.
Oh, and also I have picked 50ish pounds of tomatoes out of my garden by this point? These guys became pasta sauce, thanks to my mom's great amounts of energy.
Oh, and also I have picked 50ish pounds of tomatoes out of my garden by this point? These guys became pasta sauce, thanks to my mom's great amounts of energy.
Cat glow
I was napping the other day and Marie decided to curl up on top of me and Chris took a photo. But she was in the bright spot and I was not, so she just glows...
Baby Sinjin
He was born almost 10! Anyway, he was being very cute last night and here's the evidence.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
A cute feeling
So I believe everyone knows that there are cute sights and sounds. Like kittens - both cute to look at and they make cute noises. I've never noticed a cute smell or taste though. And until very recently had never known a cute touch. But the baby has recently started moving very strongly with a limb poking out, and if you have your hand in the right place you can feel a little foot or elbow or whatever press against you. That's a cute feeling if I've ever known one.
Coming soon: before and after photos of the nursery, as well as garden photos.
Coming soon: before and after photos of the nursery, as well as garden photos.
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