stuff that freaked me out today

• Number of women I saw out and about that had facial hair...Not just a few random wiry sprouts either. I'm talking, full-blown, shave-every-day-or-get-5-o'clock-shadow BEARDS.
• Ex-gang member dude that drew my blood for my glucose test...He had 520 tattooed on more than one finger and lots of Old English writing scrawled on his neck. I'll admit though, he did a good job.
• Getting on the scale at the OB/GYN's after my cruise...whatever, skinny people.
• My "new" boss having some else re-do my work for no good reason, but not telling me there is/was a problem.
• Sales clerk at the motherhood store where I had to go to buy some preggers pants...Why do strangers always give me uncomfortably intimate details?
• Mother of extra-loud toddler at Sonora Lab place that had shaved off her eyebrows and then sharpie-ed some back on with a seriously unsteady hand.
• Picking a few items up at the "yucky Fry's"...Why does it smell like weird, old meat and who are all those people meandering aimlessly around the entrance?

i love these guys

I have been wearing these guys non stop for the last month. Granted they are a little bit hideous, but they are super comfy and I'm pregnant so I don't care how ridiculous I look. I'm thinking of buying them in a rainbow of colors....

recently spotted

There is a sliver SUV driving around my neighborhood that proudly sports this flag on its front bumper. I've seen her around many times, and I always wonder if she truly espouses those beliefs or if it's just an "I'm-from-the-South" type o' thing. This morning, I happen to be leaving the school parking lot behind her and spotted another interesting clue about the driver. A window cling that stated, "keep the Whitehouse a White House".

Wow.

harris family jamboree 2008

At the end of the day at Castaway Cay Chillin' on the beach in the Bahamas Pretty sure we're headed to eat She thinks she's cool They're a little excited

winner, winner, chicken dinner

I have to say I wasn't terribly impressed with Gov. Palin's VP Debate debut this evening. She didn't win me over with her folksiness nor her clever quips. I was entertained by her struggle with her false eyelashes though (search Palin and eyelash trouble). She struck me as overly scripted and disingenuous. I also take issue with the number of times she used the word "Maverick".

Despite my own pet peeves, I will admit that Mrs. Palin did not make any huge gaffes as I had hoped she would. I was not so silently rooting for some incidents a la Katie Couric's interview.

Alas, I was disappointed.

deadline

Monday, October 6th is the deadline to register to vote in AZ. If you haven't done, do it! https://servicearizona.com/webapp/evoter/

seriously

This excerpt is from an article Michael Seitzman wrote on Sept. 11th for huffingtonpost.com. It spoke to me on so many levels. Thought I'd share.

Stop voting for people you want to have a beer with. Stop voting for folksy. Stop voting for people who remind you of your neighbor. Stop voting for the ideologically intransigent, the staggeringly ignorant, and the blazingly incompetent. Vote for someone smarter than you. Vote for someone who inspires you. Vote for someone who has not only traveled the world but who has also shown a deep understanding and compassion for it. The stakes are real and they're terrifyingly high. This election matters. It matters. It really matters. Let me say that one more time. This. Really. Matters.

sugar n spice

We are having our third girl. I'm excited and more than a little relieved. I'm not sure I was prepared for a boy and all the rugged items that go with it. After some bitterness, Taylor has reconciled herself with the fact that she won't have a little brother like she wanted. Dylan was thrilled to see the lack of a dangling participle on the sonogram screen. Everyone keeps worrying about Mitchell and his need for male offspring to carry on his lineage, but he seemed unfazed by the lack of penis.

rant

After I returned home from picking up the girls, my neighbor called ... the church-y one. Of course she needed a favor. Of course she wanted me to hop BACK in my car and run and get her kids from school then keep them til she got home. This isn't the surprising/frustrating part. Wait for it. Here it comes.... Her husband was driving home in the car ahead of mine as I headed home. We pulled into our driveways almost simultaneously. Unloading our belongings in sync, mine being girls and school paraphernalia. His being bags or something. We exchanged pleasantries, and I went inside. Two minutes later his wife is calling me to pick up and keep their kids. WTF? How did I become #1 on the Who-to-Call-When-I-Can't-Pick-Up-My-Kids List? Ahead of the father of said children. I was more than happy to be able to inform her that her husband was currently at home. Available to pick up their kids and all she needed to do was give him a ring.

butt problems

Last April, I mysteriously injured my coccyx while riding on one of the rickety-ass rides featured at the Pima County Fair. Since then, I have experienced varying degrees of butt pain while sitting. Being preggo has only exacerbated the problem which has led me to finally complain to my ob/gyn about the situation. She in turn referred me to a physical therapist. WEIRD. First of all, the questionaire she sent me contained entirely too many questions about urine seepage and alleged difficulties with pooping. Then there was the rather disturbing initial phone conversation which involved the words "rectal" and "manipulation". Aside from having to answer uncomfortable questions about the number of times per week I am or am not pooping and whether or not I pee myself when I cough or sneeze, the whole thing went off fairly well. Thankfully I survived my first session sans any invasive internal probing.

cycle 11

Yea for the CDub! ANTM is back. Last Wednesday's season premiere was pretty amazing. Tyra was as ridiculous as ever, which I L-O-V-E-D. This year's opening had a futuristic theme, which featured some extremely low-budget special effects. Not very futuristic. But Tyra tried her best to make up for it by attempting to act like a robot, or "Tyra-Bot". It was very much a train wreck, but like most horrible scenes, I could not bring myself to look away.

pool mouse

I scooped this unlucky little sucker out of our pool Tuesday. Poor little guy. I'm hoping he was accidentally dropped after expiring by a clumsy bird of prey flying over our backyard.

Is it weird that I was compelled to record his image photographically?

cardboard is evil

I hate cardboard because periodically it manages to give me crazy-deep paper cuts. Right on the tip of my finger. Where anything I touch will cause it to burn like fire. Curse you, evil hot chocolate mix box. CURSE YOU!

don't stand so close to me

Recently I'm eating lunch at Taco Bell aka Toxic Belch aka I-Wanna-Get-Explosive-Diarrhea-Immediately. I am attempting to pay the dim-witted girl who has just half-heartedly taken my order when 2 teenage boys saunter/slouch into the place. One of whom proceeds to approach the counter and stands SHOULDER TO SHOULDER with me. First of all, a lot of times I don't want my own family to touch me. Second, why is this AXE-saturated degenerate feeling comfortable/confident enough to saunter over to a 35 year old stay at home mom and rub elbows with her? I immediately poke my unexfoliated elbows in his direction and make unfriendly old person noises. This doesn't make a dent and I am forced to verbalize my displeasure, "Hey, Kid! Watch where you're standing!" I've never sounded so old.

pool frog

This slimy thing has been frequenting our pool hole. Trust me. He is fat and disgusting, and I'm fairly positive he leaves some sort of wretched residue in his froggy wake. Go away, gross froggy. Go away!

midwest extravaganza

Much of our time in Madison, WI was spent this way. See me in the background on the couch? That's about as exciting as it got. We did venture outside for a short while to jump rope with a TELEPHONE cord... Saying goodbye and heading to ChiTown The Windy City Minutes after the ceremony

good news

Got the genetic all clear from the Dr. the other day! Way to go Squishy of the Thin Neck Skin!

squishy makes an appearance

Here is the latest pic of Squishy. S/he is lazing away comfortably in utero. This was taken last week during an extensive exam I like to call "You're-Probably-Too-Old-To-Have-A-Baby-But-Somehow-You've-Gotten-Yourself-Preggers-So-We've-Got-To-Check-It-For-Genetic-Freakiness". I have yet to receive the thumbs up or down as to my newest offspring's genetic normality(or lack thereof), but the Tech performing the exam was quite excited by the thinness of Squishy's neck skin.

Maybe it's just because I'm the Mom, but I fancy I can make out a little nose and some more of the trademark Harris lips.

i shall call you squishy

It's officially real. Today we heard the baby's heartbeat. There were a few freaky moments before that fuzzy "wah, wah, wah" resounded over the speaker when it was hiding from us, and I was having all those fatalistic thoughts I'm prone to have. But suddenly it was there. Nice and strong and fast. I let out a sigh of relief and greeted my new squishy.

activi-yuck

The most recent commercial for Dannon's new poop yogurt kind of freaks me out. Have you seen this thing? It's the one were the two women are hanging out by the pool. The peppy one asks the clearly stopped up one, "Hey! You gettin' in?" The other responds basically with "No thanks, I haven't pooped in weeks; I can't swim." Okay. I talk about poop and pooping a lot. I have friends and family that love the topic equally as much. All this poop discussion has never led to a situation where someone is NOT getting in the pool because they have an over due b.m. Aunt Flo visiting? Yes. Explosive diarrhea? Check. Projectile vomiting? No brainer. But Can't Poop Syndrome? No. Never. Not once. Every time I see the ad it freaks me out a little more. Who is this product's target audience? Should I not be submerging myself in bodies of water every time I experience some intestinal transit slowness?