Funny, only sort of not

If you want good service, then serve yourself.
-Spanish Proverb

Really funny to come across this having lived three years in Spain. I had no idea, lol. BECAUSE THEY LIVE BY THIS.

Compared to american culture, at least. Restaraunts were slooooooow. Just getting someone to take your drink order AND bring the drinks might take 20-30 mins. This was not fun when I was pregnant and hot and JUST WANTED SOME EFFING WATER OK. Same with the meal, the dessert, the check. I understand it, partly. When they eat out afterwards they tend to just sit and schmooze, they're not in a huge rush like americans seem to be. Ok.

Bag your own groceries in most stores.

And good luck in any small shop or boutique. Having a service repairmen come to your house or anything of that nature was at their leisure, and don't count on getting a call before hand to know they're coming.

Meh, I'm not really as mad as I sound. I understand it's a different culture and that's cool, I can respect that. Doesn't mean I have to enjoy it though!

Ahhhh america. My bitch list is even longer here, trust me. But at least it's far more quick and convenient for me to leave the house and buy something and inevitably be pissed off by some other idiot. LOL.

EPIC STORM

But not here. I have been receiving calls and emails and texts the last few days from all kinds of family and friends. I appreciate the love, I really do, but some of you people (and I'm sure you know who you are) should call me in good times too! It's awfully lonely down here, and I appreciate everyone's concern, but seriously. You can call anytime, and I would love it.

As for the storm, we've really seen none of it. I kind of feel bad for all the folks that rushed out and boarded up, then got the hell out of dodge. Last night was like any other night, except that our normal constant wind was coming from the north rather than the south. Sure, it's a little cloudy this morning, but there was no rain last night. No thunder, and the wind was mild enough that all my dried grass cuttings are still scattered over my driveway and front walk. LAME.

I was even cooking up some of my more expensive perishable food the last few days. Oh well, at least I have a few easy meals in the freezer for a rainy day when I'm not up to cooking.

I thought that perhaps I really messed up Ray's schedule yesterday. He was up very early, and his 11am nap was only 30-40 mins long, rather than the usual two hours. I knew he'd be needing a second nap because of it, and at 3pm laid him down. I decided to take a nap too, and woke after 6pm with him STILL ASLEEP. Whoops. So he stayed up until 10:15 last night, rather than our usual 9pm bedtime, and HE SLEPT. He woke once maybe ten mins later, and then not a peep until 7:30 this morning!!! GLORY BE! It was miraculous, especially since after my own long nap yesterday I had difficulty getting to sleep, and was up till almost 2am.

So the old adage is true, once again. For kids at least, sleep really does beget sleep. You'd think, horrors! Such a long nap! So late! And it did seriously mess with MY ability to sleep. But for whatever reason, it helped Ray. Maybe we just need to go back to having a second nap, even if it's short.

I need to make an appointment for myself, again. Now that I'm nearly finished with the prednisone my hands are going nuts again. Very upsetting to me, after these last blissful weeks with NORMAL hands. I'll admit they've always been something of a point of pride for me, I have long tapered fingers and my fingernails naturally curve in a way that makes it look as though I always have a fantastic french mani. I have pretty hands. Anthony has always told me I should be a hand model or something. :) And now, return of the rash. ARGH. Can I be on a moderate dose of prednisone long term? Because if that's what it takes, SIGN ME UP. Jesus. (Yes, that is my hand, and my engagement ring, which I LOVE and is OMGPERFECT.)



Anthony is going to a big concert/festival today. It's called Nocturnal Dreamland, out east of LA. It looks AMAZING. Infected Mushroom headlining, and Above & Beyond also playing. I'm SO EFFING JEALOUS. Why does all the good shit have to be in CA? I think I'll just cry myself to sleep tonight because omfg so unfair. :( I told him (since I was the one that gave him the heads up on the whole thing) that he better take me to do something really effing cool when he gets home. >:(

I think I may start putting in good music videos here and there, get some of you folks hearing music you may not otherwise ever know exists. Today is Illusion, by VNV Nation. His voice is not incredible, but I LOVE the prose, and how things don't necessarily rhyme but it still sounds great. This song is not really common to their "sound". If you know their style, then you'll still recognize it's VNV Nation, but it's much softer than the majority of their music. Enjoy!

wtfNO

Once again humanity disappoints me. Someone on the Debate boards on babycenter posted this article.

Court Slams Wis. Cops In Coma Sex Case: Police Filmed Man Having Sex With Comatose Wife In Nursing Home

No, no, no. Once again the justice system fails.

Even more disturbing to me was the responses of the WOMEN on this board.

First, the usual "but he's a good person!" BS from the WOMANS sister. "The woman's sister is upset that prosecutors brought charges against him, Kelly said. "She believes her sister's husband was merely expressing his love for his wife and was trying everything he could to bring her back to consciousness," Kelly said. "

So because he had good intentions, it's ok. What if she had said no? If he went slow and tried to make her feel good, but still did it, would it not be rape? WTF? Of course it would be rape! She's freaking comatose people. Many of the women on the board reflected similar feelings, that it was "sweet" that he was "just trying to connect with his wife" because he missed her.

*head asplode*

"My first impression is that it's gross.

But then, when you give the guy the benefit of the doubt, the poor guy could just want a connection with his wife. Maybe he did have some weird hope that having sex with her would wake her up. "

"My first thought was also that it's gross.

Then I thought, well maybe it's kind of bittersweet..."

"Definitely sounds gross but as others have said, it does seem he was trying "by any means necessary" to bring her back. So romantic in such a twisted way."

WTF is wrong with people? Seriously, if it wasn't his wife would they be saying this? Marriage is not OWNERship people. Just because he married her does not mean he can do it without her consent. He had absolutely no RIGHT to do it, ever! There is no marriage clause that said it's the spouses RIGHT to extract sex from their partner, no matter what. UGH. What the hell, honestly. Thankfully after those first few gems some voices of reason popped in (along with my own) saying hell no son! Not ok!

And honestly I think since the police were tipped off and there was reasonable suspicion, I don't think his rights were violated, privacy-wise. I think also that since it's not like this is happening in their home, it's in a nursing home, that's something else too. While I'm all about constitutional right to privacy, I think in a case like this they should be able to use that evidence. And if the police were tipped off why did they not do a rape kit on the woman? Fail, fail, fail.

So now apparently we all need to make living wills that include "If I'm in a coma, no one is allowed to rape me.". WTF (Not that Anthony would do something like this, but still. BLARGH)

Ahoy matey!

Thar be money! WOO!

*runs out for coke, smokes, and power bill* Hallelujah!

Oh god why

Another fabulous day, up at 6 or whatever. BLARGH. Scratch that "get up and watch TV" idea, all it did was wake him up the rest of the way and now I'm screwed till nap time.

Movie review time!

First up yesterday was Baby Mama. Not dying on the floor funny, but it was humorous, cute, and fun. Definitely worth at least one watch if you're in the mood for something light. :) I'll give it 3.5/5!

Hancock came next. Fight scenes were cool, stuff was funny...I found the storyline lacking though. Some flashbacks would have been nice, or fleshing out the plot just a liiiiiittle more would have gone a long way. In the end the story just felt rushed, which is too bad because it was a cool premise. Will Smith was funky too, he looked weird to me. Not sure why. I still love him though. *humps his leg* I'll give it a 3/5.

Breakfast time for me. Ta!

The Good the Bad and the TIRED.

So the good news is, sleep regression at 13 months is nothing new. Most babies go through it.

The bad news is, sleep regression at 13 months is nothing new. Most babies go through it. Which means I basically have to suck it up and just deal for a bit longer.

Oh, I read a few tips that may or may not help. The ones I'm going to try are 1. A set routine for meal time, nap time, and bed time. At the moment bed time is the only sure thing in this house. THANK YOU GOD IT'S 9PM YAY

And 2. Just getting up with him when he wakes at 5/6am/whatever, for an hour or so, and then letting him go back to sleep. A few mamas mentioned this, and I'd prefer that to getting into another cosleeping habit.

Cosleeping has been a really tricky thing for me. On the one hand, I am a BORN CUDDLER and I LOVE IT. Could eat it up with a big old spoon. It's comforting having him next to me, especially when Anthony isn't home. And, he tends to sleep better.

On the other hand I HATE IT. I hate having to be super quiet, or that if he encroaches on my side of the bed I can't easily move him. It keeps me up, worrying that I'll wake him, and I have to be right there with him for fear of him rolling out of bed. (For you safety nuts out there, I do have a railing on the far side of the bed, but I'll have to get it down before Anthony returns.)

I still would like to cosleep next time around during the early months. The last thing I'll be needing with a toddler and newborn is the kind of sleep I got last time. Yikes!

Other than my adventures in (not) sleeping, things have been quiet out this way. We are officially broke as a joke (that isn't very funny) and I'm half way through my last pack of smokes until we get paid. Couldn't even afford a case of coke, so I'll be heavily medicating myself to get through caffeine withdrawal headaches. >.> At least I have gatorade and some V8 fusion juice, and I had juuuust enough money yesterday to get diapers and enough whole milk to last him. Yes, when it comes down to it I will sacrifice for my child. Lol. Woe is me!

I could do with less coke anyhow, I haven't even been liking it all that much lately. And smoking is WAY better when you do less of it. Each one is more enjoyable when you've been putting it off for hours, playing the "I'll smoke after X, no after Y, no after Z!" until you finally give in and AHHHHHHHHHH. So much better. And hey, healthier. I truly don't like smoking. Honest.

Oh! Pictures! I've been taking them again, go me! Ray and I have been to two neighborhood parks in the last few days, the latest one being far superior to the first. I've been bemoaning the lack of kid things to do in the area given the weather around here. It's hard for me to get motivated to go anywhere in the morning (read first few paragraphs of this post for why!) and then Ray naps. By the time he wakes, it's like 98/feels like 103 outside. NOT good weather for baby playing outdoors. Then late afternoon hits, and it starts to cool off, WHOAMG BUGS. The mosquitoes here are insane, most nights the bug spray truck does our street twice. >< Gross!

But this park is nice, leads right down to the water, has a great breeze, and actually wasn't too buggy until about 7, just as we left. I also got some Off! towelettes for spreading the bug repellant love on us. They seemed to work great!

So yeah, pictures. On my picasa. Most recent albums are all labeled September something or other, I'm sure you smarties can figure it out!

Ell. Oh. Ell.

Three truths have become apparent to me today.

1. My landlady is dumb.
2. My dumb landlady thinks I'm dumb.
3. I'm not dumb.

Too bad she doesn't know it!

So this morning she calls and asks if I've moved yet.

...

Bwuuuuhhhhh? I said NO, it was my understanding, when you demanded I continue paying the rent, that I was not being let out of the lease. She goes "I never said you couldn't move, I've been asking you to move for months now". Yeah, a bunch of back and forth and basically she gave us her "permission" to move, but was not going to terminate the lease.

Yeah, I'm still laughing. I don't need your permission you rotten old wench, I need the fucking lease amended! I let her know, since we were obviously on different wavelengths, that unless the lease was ended early there was NO way we would be moving. Absolutely, positively, not.

Honestly, do I just come off as having an IQ of 38? Seriously, do I SEEM that naive and downright stupid? Then, since it is my responsibility as per the lease, I asked that she send me a copy of the pest control bill. She chose that opening to try and put the tree limb trimming on my plate too, since "trees" are part of the "yard maintenance" and trimming is on there. Yeah, I think trimming is something I could conceivably do with a step ladder and hedge-trimmers, not a fucking chainsaw and several men to hold the limb so it doesn't annihilate the third bedroom. The tree was nearly touching the house, but it was not hanging to the ground, or resting on the roof. As I'm not the home owner I do not feel comfortable just lobbing off huge limbs from the neighbors trees, and I never in a million years would have thought of rats using that as an easy access to get in. (Oh yeah, did I mention all the rats that I LET into the house? That the pest guy says don't exist, but the AC REPAIR MEN SAID THERE WERE MICE OMFG EXTERMINATE NOW)

So yeah, I took pics of everything and if she wants to take me to small claims over that shit, and be ground under the salty heel of Navy Legal, then by all means. Let's do it, bitch.

Basically today, rather than get all riled up over her anymore, I'm mostly just amused and mildly annoyed. Silly old bat. Just not worth the energy!

So my question, dear readers (few though ye may be), is this:
If you're renting a property, and your responsibilities according to the lease include tree trimming, do you think something of THIS magnitude is covered? When you moved in only five months prior? (Obviously WELL beyond five months of growth in my eyes)

The tree the biggest limb up top (hard to see for the leaves/smaller limbs) was cut from is on the left in the lower pic. It arced up over the roof, where it hovered a few inches from the shingles. It was not resting on the roof, or obscuring any windows. Nor was it encroaching on the AC unit.

Soup Queen extraordinaire!

I'm great at making soup. Well, for myself. I guess picky people might frown on my soups, but for those of you that have good taste you'd probably enjoy it.

Tonight I had a ton of leftover this and thats in the fridge, so I threw it all into a packet of Maggi boullion. This included spicy beef sausage, peas, steamed corn off the cob, rice, frozen spinach, crab meat (the imitation chunks, that aren't actually imitation but made with real crab meat), and onions. A dash of garlic powder and cumin, and voila! Yumminess.

I exhort everyone to get creative this weekend and throw together some kitchen sink soup!

As a side note, Mike on Desperate Housewives isn't nearly so hot in season 3 without all his confidence and muscles. And omfg Zack needs to lose the hair before I hunt his ass down and go after it with a lawnmower.

In other news, little man seems alot better today. No rash, crankiness at a minimum. After poking around online it sounds like it may have been roseola, aka a few days of high-ish fever ending with a rash. Sounds familiar!

Crisis Averted, I suppose.

So SHE called me while I was at the laundromat wednesday. (Joy upon joy, I assure you.) Told me she wasn't letting me out of the lease, and of course tried to make it my own fault. Blathered on about how the house was too messy to show it, and too messy to assess damages. I said uh, hello? I would move before we do a walkthrough. (DUH.) And I was ready to basically end the lease within two days, and be out and everything. So basically, she had no intention of letting us go in the first place. I asked her, during that phone call, why she had kept asking me to leave then. She then reminded me when she expected the rent and hung up.

Bitch.

So now? Everything in writing, with pictures, before and after repairs, and no more hand-delivered rent checks. The gloves are off, and I'll still be taking my lease to a lawyer to peruse for loopholes. (Sidenote, that's the correct use of "peruse", which really means to look through something deeply, not skim!) Next time it happens we will MAKE a way out of this place, if we have to tunnel out of here.

Roaches are still around, but seem better. Pest guy checked the rat bait yesterday, and no sign of any funny business. He was really nice, too, a little older, and Ray loved him. Actually ran up to him, arms up to be held. He doesn't really do that with other folks, but if this kid doesn't have Anthonys and my intuition with people then I'll be a monkeys uncle.

Ray has been up a ton the past few nights. Started off with a fever around the time we went to the laundromat (one of those annoying off/on afternoon/evening fevers, though it ran fairly high thursday, 102-103), and then up all friday night. That morning (just before his 1yr well-baby appt) he had a spotty red rash all over his belly and back. The dr said it might be measles, at first, then when I explained more about what had happened, decided it might be chicken pox.

And again, joy upon joy. So he's been cranky (for his temperament) and up again last night. The tummy rash hasn't changed but now there's this weird business on his thigh. No more fevers though, so maybe he'll be getting better soon.

Mmmmm, fried rice. Made up some fresh rice last night, sauteed some onions and eggs in and used the easy imitation-only-not-imitation crab meat. Found out it tastes MUCH better than the actual imitation crab from the same brand. All buttery and delicious. Yum.

Despite my kvetching (half the reason I haven't blogged much lately, it'd all be incessant bitching) we're not doing too terrible out here. My neighbor spoils me, and just mowed my front lawn after he did his. I really need to go buy them a thing of gas. Stupid lawn services are like $40 around here (and that's from a nice, cheap guy) just for mowing, and I apparently have recently developed a serious grass allergy. Last time I mowed it (in jeans and a tanktop) I broke out into a monster rash all over my arms, neck and shoulders. It looked (and felt) like poison ivy. Didn't have that problem when I was younger, mowed my share of lawns in my time, and never had this happen.

Thankfully, once Anthony is on this ship he won't be gone more than 2-3 weeks at a time so he'll be able to keep up with the mowing. Ignoring the 6 month cruise next year, of course. But by that time we'll probably be preparing for San Diego, or hey, maybe out of this dungheap! Woo!

Oh Em Gee

Believe it or not, I'm still alive. I've been in hiding, because I didn't want to turn my blog into a bitchfest about my landlady. Suffice it to say, she can't stand that I complain about her busted ass slum we're living in and has been straight rude, mean, and obnoxious. I'm already a nervous wreck 24/7 about it, so I'll keep it short and say that if things go well tomorrow we'll be moving by the end of the month to a great townhouse community nearby. I'm really really excited to be out of this old horrid house, with the roaches and insulation in the AC vents and mice and...yeah.

I'm sad to say goodbye to our neighbors though. The couple next door has three kids and they've been nothing but sweet and helpful. Feeding the cat during my frequent travels, mowing my lawn on occasion, and offering to watch Ray. I'll probably take them up on that offer during the move, and find them a nice gift card for a restaraunt or something in thanks. Can't think of anything else that would cover the whole family as far as a gift.

Been traveling alot, seeing family and such. We had a great time in NY and NH, seeing all the great grandparents, grand aunts/uncles, and first and second cousins and such. Ray loved playing with our cousins, and it was all a little weird for me. There's quite the age range among me and the cousins on my moms side, as my son is only a year younger than my youngest cousin, so I'm really stuck between generations.

So yeah. I'm strung out and probably going to need high blood pressure meds if this keeps up. Things are sounding good on getting out of here this week however, and lemme tell you that will be three million pounds off my shoulders. Tomorrow we will be sealing the deal on when exactly I'll be out of here, thank god. For better or worse, at least we'll have some closure.

Ugh don't think I'll sleep much tonight. ><

Once again, it's been a bit. Oops?

Once again, I've fallen off the bandwagon here.

Just got in from CA day before yesterday. Had an awesome trip visiting Anthony and Shannapance. Lots of silliness ensued, and I ate far, FAR too much junk food. I think I'll yack on the next greasy burger joint I see. Bleh. It was really nice though, and we managed to get Ray sleeping on his own (with minimal screaming, these days), and mostly night-weaned. Shanna and I enjoyed many late nights watching Ghost Hunters or playing WoW. It's really freaking hot out there, and expensive as all get out. Looks like we'll be broke again come this time next year. Lol.

Ray is a walking machine, and more communicative by the day. Today he came over to me from playing, laid cool little hands on my knee, and grunted out a poop. Not two minutes later he brought me a clean diaper. It was great. He also managed to get his hands on a big old pizza crust (only cheese and some veggies on it) and wolf it down this morning as well.

--Continuing this post friday, started it thursday--


(And the stuffed animals were only in there while I vacuumed, although he's at an age where I'm not terribly worried.)

Ray has a real room now! With an actual crib! I emailed a few craigslist folks last night and by this morning had emails and calls. I ended up driving down to flour bluff to pick up a nice oak crib and mattress for only $60. It's in fantastic shape, barely even scratched for having had a 2 year old just move out of it. I also put up some cute safari animal border and stickies on the wall. Just to continue the theme (and add a little extra to the room) I set up his rainforest playmat on the floor. Looks pretty cute to me! (Oh, and you can't really tell but the sheet on the crib is also safari animals.) I get so damn tired seeing boys stuff that's all trucks or sports. It's like, "I have a boy, and I want him to be a construction worker or an athlete!". Both perfectly fine vocations, but backbreaking physical labor is not my first choice for my son. If he ends up really interested in that stuff, cool, but I'm not gonna shove it down his throat just because of the business between his legs.

Anyways. I love my car. I was really worried the crib wouldn't fit, but I folded down the seat 60/40 (with Ray's seat on the 40 side) and drove down there. I mean, we were almost able to lay the crib parts down flat that way, it was SO not a close call.

Crap, Ray is asleep and one of those monster bugs is in my room. If I turn on the vacuum he'll wake up. But grooooooooooooooossssssss. *vomits*

Ok I'm for seriously bored now. Crap.

Between money worries, car worries, Ray being sick and me being just drained, drained, drained, I've mostly been sitting on my tush, watching TV and reading. Just kind of surviving until I head to CA this weekend and get a much needed break, and some much more needed grown up time with Anthony and my best friend.

I went to the beach saturday with my cousin and her boyfriend and his kids. It was alot of fun, a perfect day for the beach, and the little ones all loved the sand and water. I got quite a burn on my legs (my upper half is pretty well tanned already) but nothing too severe, I don't think I'll even peel.

I went ahead and started Ray on the antibiotics for his ear infection, and he's improved remarkably. Back to walking more and more, and getting into everything.

Just found out today that the stupid shippers in Spain gave the car BACK to our friend (after he'd already dropped it off/had it inspected to be shipped) because of an oil leak. At this point, we're going to just cut our losses and try selling it. It's not a perfect car, but I've seen the beaters that people buy on base (cars go through a million and one owners once they get attached to military bases) and so I think we shouldn't have too much trouble getting at least a little cash for it. However, this does mean that we'll be buying my car much sooner (we were going to next year, after we paid off the new one with the tax return) so I probably won't get much of a quality vehicle. Plus it postpones my washer and drier even more. Major bummer.

My house is still a wreck, I've been less than motivated to do much more than just keep the dishes clean. Oh well. Any one of these issues would be a breeze on it's own, but all lumped together I'm pretty overwhelmed to say the least. We should be getting the proper amount each paycheck come july 1st, plus alot of back pay. That will help things immensely!

Thank you AMA/ACOG, but I think NOT.

Dunno how many of you keep up with current news in the birthing world, but there's some scary shit going on. I haven't been blogging much on it since most every birth blog I know of has said it all, and far more eloquently than I. However, I feel that every one, whether they're part of the birthing community, have children, don't have them, male, female, old or young, needs to know about this. I'd like to think that this is all utterly unconstitutional and so shall never be passed, but these days I've lost more than a little faith in the government. I think the Big Push for Midwives said it perfectly when they called this fiasco "Big Brother meets Father Knows Best".

The AMA (American Medical Association) has joined the ACOG (American College of Gynecologists) in frowning heavily on homebirth, and gone a step further in suggesting that legislation be introduced that "supports" the notion that the safest place for birthing and the post-partum period is in the hospital.

I mean...wow. Just wow. It seems every day that passes makes this country a more scary place to live.

The quote in full: (emphasis mine)

Whereas, Twenty-one states currently license midwives to attend
home births, all using the certified professional midwife (CPM)
credential (CPM or "lay midwives), not the certified midwives (CM)
credential which both the American College of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists (ACOG) and American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM)
recognize[1]; and

Whereas,
There has been much attention in the media by celebrities having home
deliveries, with recent Today Show headings such as Ricki Lake takes on
baby birthing industry: Actress and former talk show host shares her
at-home delivery in new film [2]; and

Whereas,
An apparently uncomplicated pregnancy or delivery can quickly become
very complicated in the setting of maternal hemorrhage, shoulder
dystocia, eclampsia or other obstetric emergencies, necessitating the
need for rigorous standards, appropriate oversight of obstetric
providers, and the availability of emergency care, for the health of
both the mother and the baby during a delivery; therefore be it

RESOLVED,
That our American Medical Association support the recent American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) statement that the
safest setting for labor, delivery, and the immediate post-partum
period is in the hospital, or a birthing center within a hospital
complex, that meets standards jointly outlined by the American Academy
of Pediatrics (AAP) and ACOG, or in a freestanding birthing center that
meets the standards of the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory
Health Care, The Joint Commission, or the American Association of Birth
Centers [3] (New HOD Policy); and be it further

RESOLVED,
That our AMA develop model legislation in support of the concept that
the safest setting for labor, delivery, and the immediate post-partum
period is in the hospital, or a birthing center within a hospital
complex, that meets standards jointly outlined by the AAP and ACOG, or
in a freestanding birthing center that meets the standards of the
Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, The Joint
Commission, or the American Association of Birth Centers. (Directive to
Take Action)

Fiscal Note: Implement accordingly at estimated staff cost of $1,929.

Received: 04/28/08

The thought of having CPS take my children because I chose to give birth at home with a midwife is absolutely terrifying to me.

If I can make it

Let's see if I can make it ONE FLIPPING DAY without any kind of service person or repairmen in my house. Jesus.

Day one - Walk in the door and there's no AC. It's 90+ inside and hotter out. We spend an absolutely miserable afternoon sweating our nuts off as it took hours for the guy to fix it.

Monday - Guy installs internet/cable. Woo. Plumber comes to fix sink in my bathroom, which has a leaky pipe. (Idiots who lived here before duct-taped it. NOT WORKING, GENIUSES.) AC guys return because when they first got it running, insulation and grit shot out of EVERY vent. Yuck. That afternoon lawn man comes and hacks away at my jungle of a backyard.

Thursday night, as I'm getting out of the shower, the hot water handle busts and I can't turn off the water. At almost midnight. Plumber coming in the morning, as the fix could take a few hours and I don't want to be up all night with Ray. The bathroom was all drippy and steamy in the morning, even though a window was open. The good news is my water heater is freaking epic, as the water was apparently hot most of the night. Come to my house for eternal showers!

Friday, plumber replaces the faucets, and our final shipment is delivered. (Bad news on the water heater is it's somehow "not up to code" so I guess it needs replacing or some shit. Maybe because it's TINY. Or something. But still, with the eternal water.) Other good news is the water company checked the meter for me and it was "only" about 1000 gallons. Apparently in water world, that's not bad. Of course I've only been showering every other day, one person using the toilet, I almost never wash my hands now (thank you, hand dermatitis) and I haven't done dishes and there's no washer for laundry. So the water bill should be miniscule anyhow.

My computer case is a bit dented on the front, but it's on a decorative area so I figured it was just superficial. Turned on fine, but the sound wasn't working so I went to pull it out of the desk and see if anything was loose. The outside of the case SHOCKED me. Like, the whole freaking thing was electrified. It wasn't a huge shock, but running my fingers along the case it buzzed with electricity. Outstanding. So, rather than 1-damage the pc further, 2-have Ray hurt touching it and 3-start a freaking house fire, I'm using Anthony's until I can file a claim with the moving company and get it replaced. I might opt for claiming the whole pc, and not just the case...I could use some upgrades. I mean, if I still had my dell I would have to anyhow, dell motherboards are soldered to the case. GG.

Well anyway, I'm going to take my boy to the beach, I think.

Long time no see!

Well it's been over a month since my last post, and A TON has happened. I'll try to keep it brief but still give you an idea of what we've been up to.

We left Spain April 21st. We woke up late (slept through the alarm, oops) and it unfortunately set the tone for the entire day. We ending up running to every flight, and being the last ones on every plane. We were told our cat couldn't be on the plane from Houston to Corpus Christi, the last leg of the flight, and so we planned on taking a rental car from Houston and driving the last bit. As it turned out they went ahead and sent the cat (indeed, all our checked luggage) to corpus. We were so tired of the planes and airline food that we opted to get the car anyhow. Man was that a terrible idea! The three hour drive turned into five as we stopped every thirty minutes or so because whoever was driving was getting dangerously sleepy.

We got in late monday night (tuesday morning) and by friday we had looked at three houses, applied for one, and signed the lease. Monday the movers came and we got everything in the house. We had water but no power, so we opted to stay there for one night rather than stay at another hotel.

The following day we drove up to Austin (a lovely three hour drive) and visited with Anthony's family. And some of mine. Lots of fun and eating out. We bought a new car, a 2005 Nissan Sentra with only 19k miles on it. It's a fantastical little car, and I think it'll serve us well for a long time to come. (Indeed, we still love our '97 Sentra!)

Tuesday, May 6th, Anthony started his drive out to San Diego. The next day Ray and I hopped on a plane to SC and we've been here with my parents ever since. It's been a nice, relaxing time, Ray loves them to pieces. And vice versa!

On Thursday we head back to Corpus to finish setting up the house. I'm really looking forward to it...and not. I'm looking forward to being in my own space again, and I really enjoy the Portland/Corpus area. I can't wait to get the house all put together. I'm also dreading it a little, there's SO much to be done and it will be tough getting alot of work done when Ray is still so small. He's nearing the ten month mark, and really gearing up for walking. My little brother showed him how to walk by pushing a wooden chair around, and he's been doing a lot of that. He was even using the kitchen trash can earlier (freshly cleaned, fear not).

He's been handling all the moving and changing better than I could have hoped, but it's still rough. Many nights are a struggle and test my patience, which is wearing ragged. I'm very, very drained emotionally from being in limbo since mid-may and it's taking its toll. Most times when he just refuses to sleep, and cries, I cry too. I'm beyond normal, rational coping mechanisms, and crying is the easiest of the others available to me.

We had a bit of a pregnancy scare. Anthony and I had a major OOPS right before he left, and I was ovulating. I had alot of early symptoms, and my period was late, late, late. Five days. But every test was negative. And then I finally started on saturday, just minutes before I left the house to buy one final pregnancy test that I promised myself I would believe, no matter the results. Saved me $15 I guess!

I was a little disappointed, naturally, but there are still quite a few positives to not having number 2 just yet.

1. I want to breastfeed Ray a solid 18 months, but I also want a little time between babies without any babies on my boobs. MY BOOBS. KTHX.

2. I would like the babies close, but not THIS close. It would be nice to have Ray old enough to understand the baby deal a little better.

3. I want a tattoo. No respectable tattoo artist will do one on a pregnant woman. I wouldn't get it anyway while pregnant. But hey, IT'S A PLUS BECAUSE I'M NOT PATIENT K.

4. Anthony is going to be gone a ton in the next year. He needs more time with Ray, and with the next baby when that happens.

5. I want to get back in shape before the next pregnancy happens, and STAY in shape. Up my chance of VBAC and all that!

6. It would be super nice to have this scar a tad less tender before I stretch it all to hell. Ouch. I cringe thinking about a spawnling kicking me there. *shudder*

There's more, and of course there would be upsides to having one now. But sadly, my sperm donor is not readily available.

So that's the past month in a nutshell. New house is cozy, has a nice little yard. Three bedrooms, two hideous bathrooms, tiny kitchen, fairly new carpet, and new paint. Smells like a freaking pet shop, but not like feces so it's not all bad. Serious carpet cleaning shall commence forthwith. Word on the street is we'll only be there about a year if they shut down the base (and it sounds like they're doing it for realios this time) and we'd end up moving to san diego, I think. Which isn't all bad, but means we'll be in an apartment most likely. Oh, and moving while Anthony is out to sea. I like Corpus. :S We'll see how it goes!

There will likely be another break in my posting coming up, until I get internet in the new place. Obviously that is HIGH on my priority list, so it shouldn't be long. I love everyone, and miss you all! I'm lurking here and there, but I don't have as much time for commenting as I'd like. Soon!