yum yum yum

just got back from my step class and ONE of my neighbors is most definately making burgers on a grill/bbq b/c i can smell the meeeeeeeatt and i am drooooooling. literally. boo. wonder if they would mind sharing. ah, i will just make waffles. (clearly similar in food groups.). pretty much i feel food is amazing at this juncture in my life. yum yum yum. no worries. still only 6 pounds up. I ain't scared; I still weigh less than #'s i have seen on my scale non-pregnant. that's all i'm sayin.

i might be on my post work out high BUT i had to work hard to NOT overwork myself in my class tonight. i am pretty sure i could challenge, um, someone REALLY fast to a sprinting competition and WIN! right now. just sayin. i hope this energy sticks around for a few months.

i am watching 'the biggest loser'. god, i love this show. make FUN of me at your own will. i don't care. i love trainers bob and jillian. scary news about sugar in soda. eeks. (i like to pretend i don't know that i possibly consumed 50 plus pounds of sugar in a year by drinking ONE 12 ounce soda a day. i am blocking it out.)

i found this today: HOW AWESOME IS THAT? There are some sweet baseball pictures in the 1910 News Collection.

as a follow up to my earlier post about labor and delivery AND as part of my personal research: IF you read this blog and IF you have kids and have been through labor/delivery and wouldn't mind sharing your labor story or maybe your moms stories (what you know) with me i would love to hear it (send to me at h.kathleen@gmail.com). No judgement, (I have NO idea what i am going to do yet!) just sharing if you can. I got an email from my friend Mel with hers tonight and it made me happy. If it's too scary, please sugarcoat accordingly (not too much!). thank you. i know no one can really TELL YOU but it's nice to hear other women's stories.

17 weeks, 4 days

ono. are you in there?

here are some updated preggo pics - you can see from these more normal clothed pictures why people who don't know me wouldn't necessarily ask me if i was preggo. :)

our food size for this week in an onion - karl brought me one home and drew a face on it, so i thought i should include little onion ono in my pictures. roxy wanted to eat little onion ono. hopefully she does not feel the same about the real ono when he arrives (the debate rages on; i still say BOY, karl still says GIRL). the baby pool (yes, with real money) will begin SOON as i figure out how to create it.

i feel great. and i have gotten SO MUCH done lately. man, i wish i was this productive non-pregnant. seriously, it's crazy. karl and i have given goodwill like 8 boxes/bags, my kitchen is reorganized, our living room is painted, the laundry (in it's entirety!) is almost complete, and there is, as always, more to do, but i have lists and motivation. what more could a girl need? who wants to come over?

Anyway, I spent a lot of today reading books about birthing/labor. As most of you know, the thought of an epidural is waaaaaaaaay more scary to me than labor, so i am researching both epidurals and my options. And, yes, that means i am considering a more natural, drug free birth. read, considering. i will let you know. or well, maybe i won't, as, well, i am not really asking for your opinions about my body and pain tolerance (not being mean, just honest!). anyway i am just sharing some thoughts that i am having as we are creeping slowly toward the halfway point! (holy crap)

17 weeks, 2 days

omg she IS married

so, hey, this is karl. i know he hasn't gotten much blog play lately, so i thought i should give you a short update on him. and remind myself of warmer times simultaneously since the weather and my gas bill are both depressing. i asked him what he wanted updated about himself... no response. so hopefully i throw enough out there but not too much. okay... um, he is training for his second marathon (march in lr if anyone wants to come watch!). He ran a 16 last weekend and is running an 18 miler this weekend. yes, in the cold. and yes, you could run that far too (if you wanted to of course). please don't tell him he is crazy b/c he devotes a lot of time and energy and motivation to running and his heart is happier than the rest of ours. :) sorry for the slight rant; pet peeve of mine in response to any training program... running or otherwise. don't say you can't do it. just admit you don't want to.

he is coaching 7th&8th grade basketball again (third year) and his team is UNDEFEATED this year. which makes me happy since i am pretty sure his team didn't win one game in the past two years combined. they are the cutest bunch of kids and very respectful to their coach. (he finally made them start running laps at practice!! hehe!) i like to go watch them play and him coach though i get entirely TOO emotionally involved in the games i attend. nevertheless, pretty awesome.

on the job front, things have calmed. AS IN: IT IS STILL THERE! he. it *looks* like there will be an office in LR. Will keep you posted of course, but it appears Cincinnati is out of the picture for the moment (my slight excitement at the prospect of moving crushed, but, really, cincinnati isn't really where i would move, so no worries). Details are still being finalized and companies still changing hands, but it seems as if everything is going to be okay for us to remain in LR.

i will do a baby hills update this weekend. onofre-pintobean-brisket-poppy insertyournicknamehere hills seems to be okay in his incubator (did i tell you that my GP told me i sounded like a 'perfect little incubator' at my first appointment? hehe. let's hope he is right!!) to get your "kat preggo fix" i will leave you with some food details from today and yesterday:

diary of a preggo:
dinner: pulled pork shoulder, biscuits, corn (TODAY)
lunch: roast beef plate, mashed potatoes, carrots (TODAY)
lunch day before: beef brisket, double potato salad (YESTERDAY)

yum. MEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT. and i am hungry again. hamburger, anyone? no, WAIT, a HOT DOG!

16 weeks, 6 days

i can't tell you this week's baby food/fruit size

please believe i take these pictures at the end of the night and i stick it out a little. i have yet to have a stranger comment. (read: i can still hide it!) i am up 6 lovely pounds. yee haw. i'm going to attribute a solid two to, um, my chestal region.

i can't tell you this weeks fruit/food size. it begins with avo and ends with cado. ::RETCHING:: i honestly didn't believe in food aversions but when i think of guacamole i just...well, i just can't, so let's change the subject and hope for no more fruit/food sizes related to mexican food.

here is what my US reminded me of (warning: it's from the last unicorn (retched yet awesome 80s movie; and one of my all time favs) and you will probably think i am nuts after this video but it's my blog and i will post whatever i want!) :THE SKULL SPEAKS. not the baby itself, just the freaky skull & bones part.

in general i feel great - i can't express this enough; i forget i am preggo half the time - but tonight i have a bit of a migrane. boo. i think i shall go ni ni. more news to follow...

16 weeks, 2 days

skull and crossbones, cardinal and straw

dear friends and family and perfect strangers that i have made fun of,
i would like to make a confession. 1. ultrasound pictures kind of freak me out (this is still true even after this morning) 2. i may or may not have been weirded out by seeing your personal US alien pics. 3. i am sorry. ish.

i was dead set on not showing anyone the pics or posting them on the bloggity. i mean, they really are somewhat freaky, right? (am i crazy!? i mean the whole 'growing another human being in your body' concept is a little freaky itself, so actually SEEING it should be too, right?! make fun of me at your own will.) ANYWAY, i was fully prepared to keep them to myself. AND what did i do all day? Oh yea, I walked around my office clutching the little scraps of paper to me, and dreamily accosting all the people that don't know (which is pretty much the whole office as i just told my boss yesterday) that "I HAVE A PICTURE TO SHOW YOU" and then forcing them to study the US pics and say things like "adorable. congrats." and what not. like yes, a skull and the outline of some bones and a spinal cord is just the cutest thing and a sure indicator of how adorable my child will be. and i won't apologize for it. it was super fun to share. (i do admit it!)

(this may be a longish post). karl and i had a great ultrasound this morning. i was so nervous and anxious. (i have severe test anxiety - no matter the test. i attribute it to attending a competitive all-girls school. ah, high school. i thank you for so many things!) ANYWAY, i didn't sleep much/well with all the excitement.

the doc asked that i try to go in with a full bladder so i chugged a bunch a water before hand. thankfully, we didn't have to wait long as i have the worldest most ridiculously sized bladder. i still paced around the exam room while karl begged me to sit down and relax. i asked him if he was nervous and/or anxious and he said 'no i am sure the baby will be waving at us in just a few minutes'. ARGH - i have no idea how he was so calm. it kinda pissed me off. but, thankfully, he was SOOOOOO right.

OH AND we told the doc we for sure did not want to know the sex.

doc said everything measured and looked great. he is very no-nonsense which i appreciate since me no likey the doctors office. it was very matter-o-fact. big sigh of relief. so far i am three for three on puking the morning of my doctor's appointments. ah good luck vomit. what would i do without you?

16 weeks.

i have nothing to say.

i think this is a first in the history of my blog. i have nothing to say. for real. i don't get it. someone give me a topic. HELP. surely, i have news. i have talked to lots of people. i just can't think of ANYTHING. maybe i should delete. GO AWAY WRITERS BLOCK; you are ANNOYING.

my feet are cold. my hair looks pretty today. i can't stop eating sunflower seeds. i got a raise. karl got a raise. he got a bonus. um. somehow we went to the same college, got the same (similar) degrees from the same business schools, got the same grades. SO WHY DOES HE MAKE SO MUCH MORE MONEY THAN ME? just sayin.' some days it bothers me, some days it doesn't. (raise time makes it bothersome). i know he works in corporate, and i have switched jobs, and there are pros and cons about both and all and vomitey voms. BUT STILL. i know we are both lucky to have jobs and like them (and rec. raises). BUT STILL.

karl and i have this thing that we do: we call it the million dollar challenge. i won't tell you all the details but it is (loosely) a competition - has to do with making money, contributing... (blah, blah). I just finished checking our 07 budget and working on 08. Pretty much he is KICKING MY ASS. somewhat embarrassing. ah, well. such is life. money is the devil anyway.

on a positive note, my husband can't keep track of $$ to save his life. AND I CAN (that is the positive part)! TAKE THAT. that is how we are debt free!! (well, besides those pesky student loans.) i always tell him if it were in his hands, he would see how fast he could race each pay check to zero. (and eat $1 hungry man meals for the days before his next paycheck; true and disgusting story.)

there. that was semi-interesting, right? kinda? i'm pregnant. you have to say yes.

15 weeks, 5 days

naval orange please.

here is my bebe fruit this week. a naval orange. yuck0. we had a lovely weekend filled with FOOOOD and friends. we got to hang with john and leslie for a bit and had a ball (per usual) played 'loaded questions' (it is a good thing the baby can't hear anything b/c we got pretty rowdy. earmuffs.). i made kristen go to ihop with me (even though she had just eaten) where i proceeded to eat a hamburger, french fries, coke, and a short stack of pancakes with maple syrup. (i made her order the pancakes!) It was not so much a craving as just not really normal. :) i have not experienced any dramatic cravings - i am more on the food aversion train. i haven't eaten mexican food since we got back from mexico. the thought of guacamole makes me want to vomit. like, i honestly could not force myself to put a tortilla with lettuce and meat on it in my mouth. i am getting icky tummy just typing this. it is very bizarre (i really can NOT do it; even if you gave me money!) as i love mexican food. (i can't even eat cheese dip people!!)


things on the agenda this week:

• my eval with my boss. :)
• karl's eval with his boss :) (hopefully we will both be richer at the end of the week)
  
• doctor's appointment on friday

AND THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THIS BLOG:
::AHEM::
everyone please go say HELLO to bridget on her new blog! YIPPY. aren't they all STINKIN' adorable!?!?

15 weeks, 3 days

i was just about to...

i was just about to write this great post about how great i feel and how cute i look and how much energy i have and on and on with the puking rainbows and sunbeams and what not, and I thought i would make karl take a picture of my cute belly (seen here post a big dinner; it is always big at night and after food) and post a little belly pick for everyone to see. AND THEN I UPLOADED THE PICTURES. and they all looked ridiculous and/or HIDEOUS in some fashion or another and i almost threw the computer at the wall. for real. but karl paid for this computer and it was a gift and i probably shouldn't break it. (so i gave the keyboard a few hearty smacks). then i thought what the hell. and here it is. you aren't looking at my face and hair anyway, right!?!?

14 weeks, 5 days

arlo is watching the dog whisperer.

shhh. he is learning how to be nice to other dogs and share with his sister. oh cesar milan. you even get my doggies to watch television. arlo also wants to show you his hitler mooo-stache and his little old man beard.

i have been hitting the gym this week! oh january in the gym. i recognize NO ONE. my class tonight was packed with people i have never seen before. i give them till mid-march. maybe.

the belly is getting bigger. but no 'stranger comments' yet. 14 weeks, 4 days.

why do the weekends seem so fast sometimes

i am happy to say that karl and i had a very productive weekend. i took the christmas shite down all by myself - gleefully, i might add, as i was not sad AT ALL to see that stuff go packin to the attic. though i don't understand my husband's lights-on-tree method. those strands were deep and tangled in that dang tree. ah, well, what do i know about tree lights? NOTHING! (well, now, how to rip them off!)

one of our constant resolutions (new years and all year!) is to de-clutter. so i did a little of that. AND we finally picked a paint color and started painting the freaking living room. this is something that we have intended to do since we moved in (almost three years ago). with the whole we might relocate (have to sell our house!) question floating around in our heads, we have been really trying to get to those types of things. IT IS A GREAT COLOR. i am in love. (we had to go back for a second color. the first was a little pastel. we are NOT pastel people.) i will now be a little more sad if we wind up moving; it is a happy, calm living room. and i love it. the picture doesn't do it proper justice. i will post another when it is all restored to order. it is a rich kinda greeney browney beatifulness... you can see the strip of the REJECTED color by the closet door. that is as much as we got on the wall before looking at each other with wrinkled ICK noses and heading back to the paint store. (and i didn't even cry! this was a nice change for karl.)

big UPs to chandle and david. there are some hot wedding pics from their big day in las vegas' red rock canyon. congrats to them both!! don't they look great!?

let's see. onofre - this is the baby's name-in-womb by the way... named after one of our friends from our mexico trip whose sex was questionable (think pat from SNL). our dear friend jenny can't say onofre; she says ononofre. spanish isn't her strong suit but it makes for funny fetus naming. either one works for me. sometimes we just say ono. ANYWAY onofre is the size of a large lemon. so far he has been sized as such (in increasing order): poppyseed, appleseeds, sweet pea, blueberry, rasberry, green olive, prune, lime, plum, and peach. what a yummy baby. according to the baby bibles, yum yum weighs about 1.5 ounces and is about 4 inches. there are probably teeth (creepy and in the gums obviously) and hair and eyebrows (start of). aparantly there is lots of stretching, yawning, hiccupping, and all around baby acrobatics going on 'in there' but i can't feel a darn thing except the lovely migranes! i also have a daily preggo book - yea they make a daily one that gives you THE EXACT DAY (haha. right.) stuff happens such as the baby's spleen maturation and when your dilated breast veins will EXACTLY appear. it is a little much BUT today does say the baby's neck is defined and the head now rests on the neck instead of shoulders. (tyra would be pleased. you know how she can't stand no-necks.)

14 weeks, 2 days

baby or ipod: you make the call

so one thing i find a little (lot) crazytown:

with karl's insurance (which is pretty fabulous) this is what we have to pay in medical costs for baby:

One co-pay for ALL my doc visits: $15
One co-pay for the hospital: estimated b/w $200-$250 dollars. (not sure what drugs that covers)

so, essentially, it will cost less for prenatal care and to birth my child than to purchase an ipod nano.

that's a little (lot) messed up.

have a good weekend. i am going to smoke crack while jumping on a trampoline. (both on the list of no-no's for pregnant women.)

14 weeks.

preggo my leggo? leggo my preggo?

i am in bed. oh yea. it's 8:30. growing a human inside of you requires a lot of sleep. we spent NYE in glorious TULSA, OKLAHOMA. (a quick, single night trip!) i made it until MIDNIGHT and even had a sip or two of champagne. we spent a loverly evening with matt dill who is leaving for SINGAPORE for two years and ryan sheehan. and, of course, we hit the munsells and the knights house for some tulsa loving. freaking flatlanders. we will miss COY matthew terribly; he actually DOES have a blog: cmdill.blogspot.com where he already has some singapore pics from his last visit. i'm not gonna lie; it looks pretty sweet and i desperately look forward to some updating (karl and i may be a bit jealous). he leaves tomorrow the 3rd - send lots of good travel vibes his way b/c i believe the flight is almost 24 hours. we shall skype with him often i hope. AND if you can believe it I DID NOT TAKE ONE SINGLE PICTURE of us ringing in 2008. HORRIBLE aren't i?

so instead i will show you my beer gut. B double E double R U-N. the white top was taken a few hours ago (we are taking that tree down this weekend - the damn thing finally decided to smell this week. go figure.) and the green top was taken a week or so ago. the christmas tree pants are a wardrobe staple these days (totally hot, right? - think they will hold up until july? i FULLY intend to wear them to L&D). so, what do we think? Is it A BUMP?!?!? HA. that little thing in there is the SIZE OF A PEACH (more on this sizing thing later; it fascinates me) this week so the bumpage is still pretty easy to hide. THOUGH when you press on the beer gut, it's pretty hard. most beer guts are soft and squishy. (i know, from experience.) PLUS lots of people have those few extra holiday pounds going on so i feel safe for another few weeks. i have also stealthily been adding some flow-ey tops to my wardrobe. not one person (unawares of the 'condition') has said a thing to me so far. i waver between enjoying this fact and wishing that they did notice. i won't be telling my boss for a little longer so KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT. i have some bare belly pics, but i can't decide if they are blog-appropriate.

13 weeks, 5 days

still no word on karl's job situation. it is a waiting game. and not a very fun one.

happy new year!

so yea. karl and i are expecting, adding a new addition to the family, pregnant, have a bun in the oven, knocked up, in the family way, eating for two, preggers, with child, um... i am running out of pregnancy slang... please contribute your favorites in the comment section.

bridget got her wish: we were pregnant at the same time!! not very long since she delivered mylee jayne shortly after this picture and i didn't actually know i was pregnant until a few days after this picture.

so this is our big BLOG announcement!! *HOPEFULLY* we have gotten to tell most of you in person or over the phone. *HOPEFULLY* friends and family that were sworn to secrecy did not tell you. and, if you knew, and you let the secret leak, well, that is dissappointing. for you. and the people that you told. because they got to find out second hand. and that sucks.

so here are the answers to the FAQs:

• i am 13 weeks, 1 day (as of this morning). That is pretty much thru the first trimester/first third. (big sigh of relief!)
• i have been pregnant since BEFORE halloween, i was pregnant in mexico! (BOO!), and for thanksgiving and all the happy hours and christmas parties in between and after. FAKE drinking is FUN. (fooled ya!)
• karl and i agreed not to tell the world until we heard a heartbeat/had an US. we heard a strong heartbeat (160 something) at 12 weeks exactly right before xmas. doc says chances of a miscarriage at this point are SLIM to NONE. yea. it was a great christmas present to share. it made the secret worthwhile.
• my official due date according to the doctor is july 5. but july 4th is much easier to remember.
• we have our first Ultra Sound January 18 at 16 weeks. (i don't know why they measure it in weeks; it is secret doctor code. it is like measuring babies age in months. 18 months old? JUST SAY ONE.)
• we are NOT finding out if it is a boy or girl. it is going to be a surprise. you can buy me things in green and yellow and orange (and even pink and blue if you are bold!). i promise it won't ruin the fun of buying baby gifts or decorating a nursery. (not that you have to buy us any gifts, but if you do it will still be fun!)
• we don't have any names yet. ALTHOUGH john robus hills, eric desjardin hills, and phillip matthew price matheny hills HAVE already been suggested.
• matt price is in the lead in the running for godparent. he has given us a presentation. though, if we have a girl, he might not be interested.
• i am not really showing (i can tell. you probably can't.) i FOR SURE look bigger than that picture above! i will post a picture tomorrow or monday. you can be the judge. it just looks kinda like a beer gut. i have gained two pounds. pretty good for three months. momma said she didn't show till month 5 or so. i can wait.
• um, let's see, this is getting lengthy. i feel good. i have had some morning sickness. (nausea and vomiting both.) karmically, i think that is good. i don't mind puking. it is those girls that HATE throwing up that shouldn't have to do it. i have had some cramping, a few migranes (new to me!) and some bloody noses. and some searing pains in my ass. literally. all of which doc said are fine and normal. i promise to try and not gross you out. it really hasn't been bad at all. i sleep a lot and i feel pretty normal!!

I will stop for now. I will try not to blog SOLEY about the pregnancy BUT i have been keeping it a secret for three months so I kind of need to get some of it OUT of my brain. i still feel nervous it's not real or something is going to happen, but we are really trying to enjoy this time, and i hope i can share a little of it with you all. if you have any more questions or i missed something major, let me know and i will address it next blog.

the great christmas carol debate

so the great debate of chicken dance vs. duck dance (DUCK!) and bbq pit vs grill (BBQ PIT!) and kitty corner versus katty corner (KITTY!) and binki vs paci (BINKI!) and oh so many more rages on.... karl and i discovered one more this christmas... we were on our way back from church with our nephew fisher and were listing to rudolph the red nosed reindeer... and we are singing all the silly parts... rudulolph the red nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose... glows LIKE A LIGHT BULB... they wouldn't let poor rudolph play any reindeer games LIKE MONOPOLPY and so on and so forth and we get the part where they say... YOU'll GO DOWN IN HISTORY... LIKE ____________. You fill in the blank here. Remember the price of our friendship is on the line here if you get it wrong.

blink blink blink blink

so, speaking of careers, we received some interesting news today:

here is one of the many articles about it
here is another one

so we aren't really sure what it means yet for karl and his job. basically, it could mean a variety of things... they could keep an office here and karl would stay there, they might work remotely and he would work from a home office, it might mean an offer for a job in Cincinnati, it might mean a whole new job, um, it might mean many things. and, of course, no one can give a definate answer at this point. we are optimistic whatever the outcome it will be good - karl is great at his job (of course) and a great employee so I (personally) am pretty confident he will be just fine. BUT STILL. geez. merry freaking christmas! don't stress out over the holidays.

more news to come... we'll keep you posted. you might just have a new city to visit: friends in OHIO! (we are destined to never leave the mid-west/mid-south)

things about me: 2007

when i was younger (oh so much younger than today), here are some career choices i did and did not want to make:

think grade school:

things i did not want to be when i growed up:
1. an astronaut
2. a vet
3. a race car driver
4. a dancer (not the dirty kind) (i knew i wasn't graceful even then. we have some video of me at age 4 telling everyone i wanted to be a ballerina and then performing the most horrid, spastic dance you have ever seen. ever. not meant for me. ever.)
5. a cop

things i did want to be when i growed up: (keep in mind these are childhood thoughts)
1. the first woman to play major league baseball (think there is still a chance?)
2. a fashion designer (i drew many outfits)
3. a daycare owner (see? i liked kids when i was 10. now? i still like kids but owning a daycare? i think no. for me.)
4. an author (oh the stories i wrote... in them someone always died or lost a limb.)
5. an artist of some sort (this one lasted till maybe early high school when i lost interest.)
6. a hockey player (this was a brief desire b/c i can't really ice skate very well. well, and i hate being cold.)

things i wanted to be in college:
1. um. i had no idea.

i was always jealous of those people who "knew" where their careers would take them - especially doctors, nurses (no way i could stomach being a nurse or doc), lawyers... you know, the "dream i'm-gonna-be-a-doctor-when-i-grow-up careers" that people just know they want to pursue. and do. and are successful at it.

and now? well, now I work in Advertising for a successful publication company. And I like it. It's fun and my company is great (remember that mandatory week of at christmas? it's paid. oh yea.). I may not do this exact JOB forever, but I'm good at it and my company appreciates me.

Still figuring it out, right? I'm not all growed up yet. I have plenty o time. :)

Christmas Party 2007

isn't it beautiful? leah created it. it makes me happy. we had a great time and came home with some great gifts - a traditional nepalese corta (which karl wore for a good portion of the evening) and a potato pellet gun (it worked!).

laundry is in the wash. mac and cheese and hotdogs and kool-aid were made for dinner. 50 first dates is on the tv. fleecy blankets are piled high. one more week of work until the holiday break.

i can't figure out this photo. but you get the gist. it's FABULOUS.

rudolph ain't got nothin on me

hey guys! i am trying to be cheerful today when all i really want to do is nap so i busted out my rudolph light-up nose that i won from the family christmas snatch at turkey time! (it is cold and raining and the perfect hibernation weather!!)

here are some things i am looking forward to:

• having the week between christmas and new years off (company policy baby!)
• not traveling for christmas
• spending christmas with karl's parents and kim and sean and the boys (we haven't had christmas in LR in awhile!)
  
• leah and blue's annual christmas party this saturday (i am going to make stuffed mushrooms again. both veggie-tarian style (read: MORE cream cheese!) and meat lover style (read: MORE cream cheese sprinkled with bacon!)
  
• wearing a tacky christmas sweater to the party AND possibly to work next week sometime (who is with me?!)
  
• smelling our real live xmas tree (yea it is half decorated. the lights are on. it smells delish. MOST of the ornaments are on. it has no star. it is shedding minimal needles. yum yum yum.)
  
• the sheer number of time i use parenthesis in a post (what? i like them!)
  
• ANTM finale is tonight and, despite this cycle being incredibly lame (sauce), i still have a shot at winning our fantasy league.
  

things i am cranky about:

• bobby petrino leaves the atlanta falcons (mid-season!) to join the arkansas razorbacks as head coach. it is not so much that i am CRANKY about that specifically i am just TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT IT! (bringing it up helps, right?!)
  
• counting down the days until 12/21 (last day before the holiday!) is driving me nutso. yep, nutso. can it please be that day please?
  
• all my friends in tulsa who have no power and will "hopefully get it back before christmas "... yikes. please don't start fires in your homes. that is very risky.
  
• the rain, rain. i like the rain. maybe this should go on the happy list.
  

ok i am going to figure out what my husband is feeding me for dinner. goodnight ya'll. ;)

magazine coverage

look - it's me! (scanned from a magazine). i got to play in a photo shoot for one of our publications at work (a perk of working in publishing)- it is a meeting planner "helper" which is appropriate for me as my last job was as a meeting planner. i have tried to block out that whole period of my professional life! i loved the work, but MAN do you guys remember how miserable i was!!?! thank god that is over. i still feel happy about my decision to leave there. ANYWAY, the article was about different generations and how they view conferences/meetings (i was portraying the gen y-ers... which we are pretty much on the cusp of gen x - gen y BUT i look like i am twelve years old so it all worked out ... the gen y'ers like to bring their lap tops, i pods, pdas, and cellulars to their meetings so they can multi-task!). So there you have it! FUN PHOTOS from me.

let's see. today is my dear friend kristy's bday. Special wishes for a great day to her.

Jennifer and Jeff visited Little Rock this weekend on a whim which made for a fabulous weekend... i love unexpected lovely surprises such as that one. we made a roast and watched movies. i liked it.

My company christmas party was on Friday. It was as lame as i expected it to be, but we still had a good time.

i have a migrane today. at least i think it is a migrane. it's pretty much THE worst head ache i have ever had... there is lots of pain. i don't do medicine, so it's been a quiet day with the lights off. suggestions that don't require pill popping? ANYONE?? it hurts behind my eyes real bad.

oh the weather outside is delightfully warm

things i did and did not do this weekend:

- i bought ONE christmas present. one. and i think i am going to take it back.
- i decorated nothing.
- i got no tree.
- i cleaned minimally.
- i cooked not at all *unless you count heating things up*

maybe this whole get into christmas thing isn't working out.

pretty much i feel like a worthless piece! :) my windows are open (70!) and i am going to take a nap with that nice breeze blowing in!

also, i went to the store (grocery style). Can someone please tell me why milk is like $4.50? Seriously. Karl and I each drink a gallon a week (at the least! and of the 2% variety!). It is becoming a more expensive habit than smoking! I NEED MY MILK. what can we do about this!?