uh oh I did a "meme"

I got caught in a meme. Blame Cookie. (I always do)

1. My uncle once threw me in the pool. I was little and it was hilarious, I'm sure.

2. Never in my life will I learn to not procrastinate.

3. When I was five, I was still kinda afraid of water.

4. High school was a fun time, but I'm glad it's over.

5. I will never vote Republican.

6. Once I met my knitting and blogging friends, I found another community of support and fun.

7. There’s this boy I know who married me and made me secure.

8. Once, at a bar, I had a roommate do the splits on the bar. She also liked to do roundoffs going home.

9. By noon, I am already behind on my to-do lists.

10. Last night, I made dinner, fed Emelia, and tried to study.

11. If only I had better time-management skills.

12. Next time I go to church will be never unless it's a wedding/funeral.

13. What worries me most is losing my loved ones.

14. When I turn my head left I see Darrell's junk.

15. When I turn my head right I see outside and the trees. I often look that way to guess the weather coming in.

16. You know I’m lying when I say that I'll be on time. I try!

17. What I miss most about the Eighties was turned-up collars. They were funny.

18. If I were a character in Shakespeare I’d be the narrator.

19. By this time next year, Emelia will still be surprising me, I'll be halfway done with school, and hopefully have a better clue.

20. A better name for me would be just my last name. It seems to work.

21. I have a hard time understanding how people can be so inconsiderate of others.

22. If I ever go back to school, I’ll not be sane. This is it, I tell ya!

23. You know I like you if I say so.

24. If I ever won an award, the first person I would thank would be: my family for being there.

25. Take my advice: drink more water and get massages. Take your vitamins, too.

26. My ideal breakfast is more savory than sweet. Usually. Don't forget the coffee and the idyllic view.

27. A song I love but do not have is: quite a few. I forget.

28. If you visit my hometown, I suggest you try to keep it simple, see the architecture tour, get a massage (see a theme?), and meet me for dinner.

29. Why won’t people try to park better?

30. If you spend a night at my house, you will have to deal with Emelia. Sometimes this is easy. The cats, however, will be by to sniff your face somewhere around 3am.

31. I’d stop my wedding for a drink. Then finish it. However, already married so no worries.

32. The world could do without people who are inconsiderate.

33. I’d rather lick the belly of a cockroach than the belly of a hungry lion. Ew? on both.

34. My favorite blondie is Bleen!

35. Paper clips are more useful than some people I know (stole this one from Cookie)

36. If I do anything well, it's care a lot about my friends and family.

37. I can’t help but have nightmares when I'm stressed.

38. I usually cry because I worry too much and love a lot.

39. My advice to my nephew/niece: don't have any, but I'll count my cousin's kids: Listen to everything we tell you about Grandma Mary. She totally rocked.

40. And by the way, I need to get back to work.

boing!

ME is learning how to dance and sing, just practicing for her Grampa's birthday next week.



Mostly, she wails on in a story-telling type voice. Her expressions are hilarious and oddly sincere. Hopefully, she will amuse herself and/or nap today so I can get more (always more until Dec 12) homework done!

thanks to Sally

whee! We have these six adorable new outfits (ok, we got them about a month ago) from our cousin, Sally. Thanks!!
Here's my current favorite, sans hat as the battery died. Maybe I'll edit this later.

woo hoo!

what a difference a week makes

Wow.
That's my enlightened observation on the past week, my first full week of classes.
There's a shitton of work for us to do, new terminology to learn/understand/deliver, my apartment is a mess, Emelia shat yesterday like crazy, and ...I am feeling the whelm of Overwhelmed.
I'm going to talk to a professor about helping me to figure out a manageable work-load plan. It's not pretty.

But this is! See how E can touch the ground now? As recently as a week ago, this was not the case. After all that poo (pause a moment to think of my poor sitter) yesterday, I was sure she'd lost weight, but here's a little fact to disprove that theory. (ugh Let's not talk about "theory") Pretty cool, but also frightening that she can grow an extra pound or whatever in a week, enough to stretch herself down an inch to reach the floor and hoppity w/out support.
We're still at work on her sitting without flailing painfully to the floor, and I think she's decided that crawling is for sissies that can't cry to convince a Bigger Human to move them. Lately, E also makes these fish faces when we're eating, like she's trying to eat our steak/cheetos™/beer by proxy. It's funny.

She's napping right now, after a day filled of not-really-napping, and I've managed to read ONE entire 14-page article for school. Let's note that this doesn't put even a scratch in the paint finish on my school work car. ew, not a great metaphor. Anyway, I have a lot of work to do and group project team members would likely appreciate my ass getting some gear on.

Right after I finish staring at my lovely little napping angel...that is, if angels poop.

time marches

It's starting. Had the first two days of orientation, which could be called "Introducing the Program, Fire Safety, and 43 Other Ways to Freak Out". Actually, it was nice to get a gist of the professors, the setting for our theory classes, and where the fridge is. A couple profs and the admin, Maria, also took it upon themselves to help me get situated in a room that I share now with a Research Assistant. I can pump easily and without hassling everyone else in there, and even have a key. Really super cool. The RA is a sweetie, and a 2nd year so it's nice to also have someone to talk to sometimes.

The program load is ridiculous--18 credits. Maybe after it's all said and done I will feel otherwise, but it is going to be hard. Uber suckage hard. The department seems organized and quite supportive, so I guess it's just how life will be for 4 months. After this, the program is supposed to make more sense and settle into a good deal of field work and hands on. Very research heavy, but in order to stay abreast of the newest innovations, I am going to have to really get comfy with research. Eh, I'll try to pretend I'm reading another type of knitting blog!! Maybe I can incorporate knitting into a therapy program somewhere down the road. Oooh the possibilities!
There is a new addition to the dept, a Professor Barocco (I'll find her real spelling later) and her specialty is the connection between Primary Care Givers (often mothers) and their children. I've already talked to her a bit and she seems helpful and cool. This place is full of resources, I tell ya.

Emelia has taken well to her days without me, it seems. Between D and a sitter, she was fine eating the expressed milk by bottle, but when I came home she went right to nursing no problemo. A relief, there.
We're getting her better with sitting up, and she's becoming more and more aware of her environment. Barring her being a Terrible Two someday, I'm excited to watch her grow. Yeah, I said it again, so what? I'm her enthralled mother!!
So here's a treat of her falling around the place, just being completely overwhelmed by shininess and the hiccups (Her feet are on a pillow as she's barely too light to touch the ground. Give her a week.)

Here's one of her sleeping. Because isn't that the cutest? She wakes up with a smile most of the time.

lullaby

Oh, how Emelia loves to hear her Grampa sing! I now have an ace in the hole if she gets fussy, I just have him sing to her over the phone.




M.E. loves being talked to over the phone. I think. She gets all smiley and tries to find the person. With her babbling, it'll be hilarity indeed when she starts talking back!

Countdown to school. We go for the 4 (!) month check up tomorrow, do last minute round up of laundry and errands. And here we are--on our anniversary is Day #1 of our 2-year commitment (takes all 3 of us to do this school thing). Whoo-hoo!

On a fun note, I found an AP group on Ravelry. We're everywhere! I hope to keep my bonding with E up by slinging her when I'm home and studying. I'm hoping that osmosis will keep our connection fresh and she won't feel as alienated as I'm afraid she could be. It will also be easier to do once Chicago goes below 2,482 degrees Fahrenheit!

In a few days, there is yet another Gramma invasion. It will be too short, but it will be dear. Maybe I'll make pie, as requested by the Seester Unit. (*waves*)

ok, now for a bit of studying before I crash out. ciao

bath time

Oh how I'm going to miss this simple pleasure one day. In the meantime, it's happy time!




After this, she seemed sleepy. But then! O noes, she was kick kick kicky until 12.30am.
School is going to be so much fun on 3 hours' sleep.