As If On Cue

So, we're on vacation this week (which may mean more blogging, but it also may mean less). As if the director of our lives had said, "Roll illness," Caetlin woke with a cold Friday morning. It was a nasty one, too, where Friday she was a little stuffy, and Friday night she hardly slept because she could barely breathe. She slept a lot yesterday and has so far had a pretty decent night's sleep tonight, so I'm hoping she'll move through it quickly.

I am also taking Airborne, Zicam, vitamin C, sacrificing chickens, doing a wellness dance, and just generally praying that I won't get sick while on vacation. Caetlin can handle her illness with aplomb; she's still happy and has a great time walking around and playing, despite her runny nose. Me, not so much.

So, tomorrow we relocate with our dearest friends in the world, who brought their adorable daughter Saturday afternoon all the way from Los Angeles, to the mountain house that we have rented for the week. Blogging (if any) to resume on location in the mountains of north Georgia for the next week.

And if you have any extra chickens lying around- feel free to offer them up for my health, would you?

Mark Richt Is My Hero

Following up on that last post, I just have to say...

42 - 30, baby!!!

I was trying so hard not to care if we lost this game. But I have to say, I am ecstatic. Despite some refereeing that could have cost Georgia the game- what the heck was with the procedural call near the end of the first half that wiped out a big gain for a first down and made the Dawgs ultimately have to punt? It turned out to be inconsequential, but jeez, that was such a bogus call, among others- my beloved Bulldogs managed to demonstrate that without Tim Tebow at 100%, the Florida Gators are mere mortals.

I think the importance of the bye week can clearly not be overstated here. Everyone has made a big deal about Florida winning the last 15 out of 18, but it's worth mentioning that each time Florida has won, it has had a bye week the week prior. Each time Georgia has won, I believe we have had the bye a week prior. It almost makes me wish the scheduling could be arranged so that neither team (or both) could have byes before, since it clearly makes such a difference. I would like to see how the two teams might match up on more or less equal footing for awhile.

Still, I'll take it. GO DAWGS! SIC EM! WOOF WOOF WOOF!!

Go Dawgs!

So, in anticipation of this weekend's Georgia-Florida football game (also known as the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party), I present:

AN ODE TO GEORGIA GIRLS

Georgia girls have attitude.

Georgia girls are on the move.

Georgia girls are book smart.

Georgia girls are intellectually curious.

And finally, Georgia girls are just cute!

So, despite that we may get killed if Joe Stafford can't nut up and actually perform like he's capable of doing (shades of Quincy Carter, who was the original choke artist at Georgia), I still just have one thing to say about the game this weekend:


GO DAWGS!

Happy Birthday to My Dad

One of the kind of cool things about having a blog is being able to give a shout out to important people in my life. So, happy birthday, Dad!

In Which I Attempt Humor, And Decide That Pictures Will Have to Suffice, Since Clearly The Humor Ain't Working

I like to call this picture "C-Dawg Wuz Here."

Although I think a better gang name for her might be "C-Note." Because of the hundred dollar bill connection? And her name starts with C? Get it? Huh? Huh? Get it?

(Yeah, I just exposed myself as the whitest, non-gang-iest person on earth with that little vignette, right there.)

Anyway, this was playtime while her bath was running. For nothing other than your amusement (since the humor probably isn't rating high on the amusement scale), I give you a couple more pictures.

UPDATE: Bruce says he can't decide between C-Dawg and C-Note. He says he sees the appeal of C-Note, but C-Dawg might be more appropriate because "Dog!" is one of her words.

Him: "Yo yo yo what's up C-Dawg?? How's my homegirl doin' tonight?"
Her: "Dog!"

Either way, her gang colors are pink and, well, pink, and the members of her gang all wear Pampers Cruisers. We don't want none of that Huggies trash up in here.

(Yeah, still white and non-gang-ish. That's not changing.)

The Playground: A Photo Essay

Last weekend we went to the playground on Sunday afternoon. She was tired, having not taken her afternoon nap, but she enjoyed herself anyway. I brought the camera along and took a few pictures.

We started on the swings, which are her favorites.

Then we walked around a bit.



We stopped for a juice break. All that walking makes a girl thirsty!


Then time for the slide, her other favorite. She likes going down on her belly the best, since she goes faster that way.



We walked around some more, and played near the sandbox.

She was starting to get really tired by then, so we finished on the swings again.

In all, a great day at the playground.

People Can Be So Dumb

So, I've already stated my view of vaccines here. Now I read this story and I wonder what is wrong with people. Can they seriously claim that they think the vaccines are worse than the diseases they are intended to prevent? Really? Would they like to travel to third world countries and see people- mostly kids- suffering from and maybe dying of measles, or whooping cough? Do they want to go to the places where polio is still a problem and see children die and be crippled? Sorry for the hysterical tone of this, but the selfishness of these parents makes me so angry. I think something people may not understand is that vaccination only works when enough people do it. These selfish, idiot parents who choose not to vaccinate are free riders on the backs of me and so many other parents who are, you know, concerned about our children's health. If we all stopped vaccinating, guess what? These diseases come back. For everyone. So by failing to vaccinate, they are putting my kid at risk, not just their own. (Which, I mean, really, why again would you not want to keep your child safe from these potentially deadly diseases? Autism? Based on completely disproven research which has been disavowed by its authors?? Idiots.)

The thing that boggled my mind, though, was the very end of the article, when a pediatrician is on record as encouraging the parents of her charges to take a philosophical objection to vaccines. Wow, that seems to be almost complaint-worthy to the Massachusetts medical board to me. At the very least, it violates "First, do no harm." I guess I'm just flabbergasted that there is a pediatrician willing to go on record as encouraging failure to vaccinate. Like I said, it's irresponsible at best, and malpractice at worst. Also crazy. Really insane.

I think I'm not really cut out to be a typical Yuppie, since not vaccinating is the trendy thing right now. I think I just care about the health of my daughter too much. I'm really concerned about sending her to preschool; I bet there is no way to know how many of her classmates aren't vaccinated.

I Am So Glad They Caught That Poopyhead

Forgive the G-rated names I'm tossing around here. I'm making a concerted effort to rein in my potty mouth. Now that we have a daughter who pretty clearly is listening, if not always able to imitate yet, I think I'd rather not have swear words be in the first 10 words she learns. I still have to work on Bruce, who doesn't realize he says these things so casually.

Anyway, I am SO glad they caught this guy. This story horrified me in so many ways (I am a little ashamed to realize that I probably wouldn't have been as horrified if I didn't have children). I think the worst part of it to me is that the poor baby's mom didn't know, that it apparently happened while the mom was at work and trusting her roommate to watch her daughter. Stiles was the roommate's boyfriend at the time.

(Okay, I'm going to step back a minute here to ask a question...what is WRONG with the roommate?? Both for letting this happen, and for STAYING with a man who clearly likes little girls, and not in the "she's only 15, but she's all woman to me" kind of way, he likes really little girls. What is WRONG with her??)

Anyway, my heart breaks for that child and her mother, and I rejoiced with a terrible feeling of vengeance when I heard they caught him. He deserves whatever he gets, and if he is prison with the general population, I hope they don't kill him. Only make his life as bad as that little girl's was.

Random Observations from the Big Apple

So, I'm here on location in NYC. I've been here since early yesterday morning, and I'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon. I love the city, but I am so ready to be home to my baby and husband.

So, after a couple of hours of TV and a half a bottle of wine for which I overpaid through the nose by ordering it through room service, I am capable only of random observations at this point.

Random Observation #1: Women's Murder Club might be the worst title for a TV show ever.

Random Observation #2: Dirty Sexy Money is ridiculously entertaining, emphasis on the ridiculous. It's more soapy than the hands of a toddler who's just been introduced to the joy of hand soap. I had it on because I wanted something silly- I was more right on the money than I ever could have imagined.

Random Observation #3: There is a seriously strange story on the local news that a woman was found dead in her apartment in the Bronx, while an apparent suicide on subway tracks was found with her name in his pocket. Bizarre.

Random Observation #4: I am maybe not the world's worst over-packer, but I am overly cautious. I tend to pack 11 pairs of underwear for an 8 day trip. I pack for every possible weather condition, and for every possible social situation (okay, not for semi-formal events, but pretty close). I try to make things do double duty to lighten the load, but I am usually prepared. Of course, the time that I decide to pack just what I need and no more (only because I was packing while I was tired, and didn't think to bring more) is the time that I am required to stay an extra day. I will be turning a pair of my underwear inside out tomorrow. I have also had to purchase a new shirt to go under my suit. It's out of the question to wear the other suit- it's terribly dirty and may smell less than fresh.

Random Observation #5: I can't wait for Elizabeth: The Golden Age. I am so stoked to see that movie. I think Bruce and I may get babysitting this weekend to go see it.

Random Observation #6: I miss my husband and daughter so much it hurts. I enjoy the city and I love my work, but I miss holding my baby girl, and I miss snuggling with my sweetie. I miss hearing and talking to and seeing them both, kissing them and feeling the touch of their hands.

And now, the half a bottle of wine is telling me to shut up and go to sleep.

Movies: The Kingdom

Hello folks, we're on location from sunny California, where my brother is managing to get married today. I was able to get some good sleep last night, and the time difference has allowed me to wake up early enough to do a little (probably very little) posting.

Last weekend Bruce and I went to see The Kingdom, which I had been looking forward to for awhile. It looked to have a great cast and was very timely. I will say that the relationship we as a country have with Saudi Arabia scares me; I'm not at all confident that there isn't a sizeable portion of people there who want to kill us, but the leaders and diplomats work together and smile and talk out of both sides of their mouths- it all swirls together in an uneasy, oily mess that will be difficult to untangle until we can develop new energy sources.

Anyway, the movie, stars (on the American side, though I will say that the Saudi cast, especially Ashraf Barhom, who plays the lead Saudi investigator, is excellent), Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman (who knew he didn't have to be funny?) and Chris Cooper. This is a cast that I love love love- Jennifer Garner is so awesome and Jamie Foxx appears to get better in everything he does. Quick plot summary: four FBI investigators more or less scam their way into Saudi Arabia after a brutal terrorist attack on American oil workers to investigate the crime. Hamstrung by the politics of the situation, they work to do their jobs and solve the murders. It devolves into a reasonably formulaic bang-bang-shoot-em-up at the end.

I have to say that I pretty much agree with the linked NY Times review. It works out more like a CSI episode through most of the picture, which is interesting and entertaining; and the movie does not spend a lot of time contemplating the strange relationship we have with Saudi Arabia or any of the broader issues we have in the Middle East. It is a fast paced tense action/crime movie that moves along well, whose cast does a great job.

It suffers from a few plot holes and implausibilities. But the action is terrific- I was totally on the edge of my seat near the end- and the terrorist attack was truly awful. I flinched a couple of times (I find that my capacity for watching violence, particularly violence on innocent people, children, etc., has gone way down since I've had my daughter. I'm just too empathetic).

So, in all, a pretty good movie. Worth the $19.50 we spent for it.

However.

The last five minutes ruined the experience of seeing the movie for me. The last five minutes included a coda that was some kind of moral-equivalence bullshit that drew a direct parallel between the American FBI investigators and the people who carried out the terrorist attack. Is this what Hollywood thinks we are? We can argue about the presence of our military in Iraq, but I think we can agree that they are clearly uniformed soldiers rather than trying to blend in to wreak more havoc, and also, that they aren't specifically targeting civilians in guerrilla attacks, right? So where is the parallel? Also, I haven't seen any news of American terrorist attacks (in the true sense of terrorist attack- attacking innocents to create fear- again, not Iraq) lately. It was almost like the movie felt it had to say something Deep and Meaningful about the Middle East situation, when in fact the film stood on its own really well as a self-contained tense crime/action movie that only implicated the politics of the Middle East by the plot turns involving problems of access and with the subject matter of the movie. That would have been enough, Mr. Berg!

Anyway, after a few days, I can say that overall I enjoyed the movie, but I remain disgusted with whatever message the filmmakers were trying to send. Jeez, I'm no Red-Stater type person, but I was offended by the parallels the movie drew. I wouldn't say it ruined the movie for me, but it definitely took it way down. I would still recommend it as an entertaining matinee sort of movie. Watch for the title sequence, which is one of the better ones I've seen in awhile.

Insomnia Sucks

Ladies and gentlemen, please note the time. Note that I have been awake for an hour and a half. Also note that I need to be up in 2.5 hours to do work. I am considering just doing my work now, except I will have to be asked 400 times why I was up at this hour.

I can't sleep. It sucks, and it's not like me. Normally I am the sleeping champ. Part of it is a ferocious headache that feels like one part sinuses, one part neck pain (maybe from bad pillows?), and one part stress. Advil has made it better but not gone entirely. You know what would make it better entirely? Sleep.

Also, I have a looong day ahead, as I have a late flight to LA tonight for my brother's wedding, and then a 45 mile drive to the hotel from LAX. Score.

How horrible no sleep is! I have never experienced being unable to sleep like this. I'm going to try again- wish me luck.

UPDATE: Surprisingly, went back to sleep right away. I wonder how long I spent watching TV and feeling awake when I could have gone back to sleep. Getting up was rough- I slept an extra hour but there are things I must get done before work this morning so that there are emails waiting for people when they get in. Thus, 6:10 and I'm awake again. Maybe I can sleep on the plane. Who am I kidding?? I never sleep on the plane.

Weekend Roundup

We had a VERY busy weekend, which is why no posts. Let's see...we spent what seemed like half the day on Saturday either grocery shopping or trying to get Caetlin to sleep. She woke up really early and was consequently cranky and tired, and also, unwilling to nap. After the monster trip to Kroger, while Bruce took charge of the napping, I did some shopping at Target and Macy's. Then lunch, playground, and for me, a visit the optometrist- waaayyy overdue. We had company in the afternoon for a short visit, and the babysitter came at 5:30, for us to escape for movie and dinner.

We saw The Kingdom, which I had been looking forward to, and went to a bar for dinner and to watch the Florida-Auburn game. We left when Florida tied it up in the 4th quarter, since I figured it was over- Florida was going to overcome. Boy did that turn out to be a poor decision! We also did more grocery shopping for things we forgot while shopping that morning. Romance, thy name is Kroger on a Saturday night.

We stayed out too late, and Sunday we were up early for church. A co-worker-beginning-to-be-friend recommended the church they attend, specifically the 9 am Mass that has lots of kids. We sat in the back so we could make a quick exit if necessary, but even if it had been necessary (it wasn't- I was so proud of how good she was!), it wouldn't have mattered because there were so many kids there. Including some loud and disruptive kids. So it was great, and I liked the place very much. We intend to begin going regularly.

We drove around after church, since Caetlin was droopy and it was such a pretty day. She napped for an hour, and then it was home, where she ate lunch for 45 minuted or so, astounding her father and making him worry that he hasn't been feeding her enough. (I've teased him unmercifully about this.) She just kept eating, and eating, and eating. A plate of chicken and tomatoes and grapes. A full cup or so of cottage cheese. A serving of mashed potatoes. A yogurt. A bowl of oatmeal. She finally lost steam on that last about halfway through, and when we pulled her from the high chair, her little belly was all pooched out and huge. She then proceeded to burp in my face.

Then it was off to the North Georgia State Fair, where I ate a corn dog and fries and funnel cake, and reveled in the greasy nostalgia of it all. (I regretted the grease later.) Caetlin took the fair in, not really exactly happy or excited by it, but taking it all in. She seemed to find the animals interesting. Myself, I found the people interesting. It was all very familiar to me from when I was a kid- the fair was the highlight of the fall. The rides, the food, the carnies, the games- it was neat to go see it and remember it from so long ago. It's probably been 15 years since I've been to a fair.

Then home, for a nap (which she didn't take), playground for a few minutes, dinner, bath and bedtime. She slept well that night, which was good. Bruce cooked while I did dishes, and laundry, and finally, finally, we collapsed in front of the TV.

There will be more thoughtful posts soon; I had the aforementioned busy weekend, and yesterday was a busy day, but I hope to be able to post a review of The Kingdom, some thoughts about Babble and parenting, some life changes, or really attitude adjustments that Bruce and I are making, and a new photo policy here, sometime this week and maybe this evening.