The coolest thing

New blog look!  I thought it was time to freshen up a bit!

So I've been wanting to tell this story for awhile, it happened in January!  However, I had to hold off for a little while.  But it's just too cool of a story for me not to share, and really, I want to have it here so I can remember it.

I've talked many times before about a group of my friends and their families.  The four of us girls have been friends since high school.  See this post for introductions.  We all lead pretty busy lives, but we try to get together at least for birthdays and Christmas.  At Christmas, we've taken to having a gathering of all the family, with our spouses and kids.  So in January, we made a plan to get together at Gabby's house for food and presents and fun.  Gabby and Pat have three year old little boy named Logan and Pam and Clif have 1 year old Harley.  The kids love to play together and we all get a chance to catch up. 

This time we were cooking pizzas and waiting for Pam and Clif to arrive.  Mandy and I were standing in Gabby's kitchen and talking. Mandy and Nate have been trying to have a baby for awhile, but it hadn't been easy.  I had wondered if she might have good news to report that day, not sure if that was wishful thinking for a "feeling" but I was disappointed that I hadn't been right!  She has PCOS, as well as something called a bicornate uterus.  So we were catching up on that, since I spent quite a lot of time reading up on various infertility subjects.  At one point, she casually mentioned that her period was actually late.  I pressed her for details and she downplayed it, saying her periods were irregular.  I pointed out that she was taking medication for her PCOS, and hadn't she been pretty regular since starting on it.  She admitted she had. I was trying sooo hard not to get excited, but it was hard!  I know how much Mandy and Nate have been wanting to start a family and I just wanted it so badly for them. 

After a few minutes, the others started overhearing our conversation and Mandy started to get kind of nervous about the whole thing, so we started talking about other things. I took her aside later and asked, very quietly, if she wanted me to slip out and go buy a test.  She said yes, so I ran to the grocery store under the guise of needing more chips.  I came back, slipped into the bathroom to hide the tests in a drawer, and returned to the party.  Not wanting added pressure for Mandy, we tried to act casual and she slipped off to the bathroom.

 A few minutes later, I heard the door open and Mandy said my name quietly (yeah I was totally lurking close by).  I joined her and she looked anxious. 

"I think there is a second line but I don't know, because it's so faint!" she told me.

I peered at the test (First Response) and I could definitely see a second line. Then I looked closer. 

"The line that's faint is the control line!  Your test line is using up all the dye!  You're pregnant!"

Omg can I just say it was the coolest thing in the world to be able to tell someone that!  We basically freaked out together in the bathroom and then I asked if she thought Nate (Mandy's husband) would be made that I found out before he did!  She said no and we laughed and hugged.  Then I went to get Nate.  At this point they probably knew something was up and I was totally determined not to give it away, so I just told him Mandy needed to talk to him. 

Then we all just celebrated!  It was just so special for them to find out that way, surrounded by friends and I felt so totally honored and blessed to be apart of such a special day in their lives!  Mandy is now 13 weeks pregnant and everything is going well!  I'm so excited to meet my new little honorary niece or nephew!

And I'd be lying if I said it didn't give me a little bit of baby fever!!!

An interview with...ME!

Lisa over at Amateur Nester has started a new blog series called "On the Journey with..." and she just published her interview with ME!  I don't pretend to have had the most harrowing infertility journey, but I think every story can be related to, so I was flattered the Lisa was interested in sharing it.  Go check it out HERE and follow her blog!

California Girl!

My trip to California was awesome!  If only I hadn't had to, you know, WORK, I would have had even more time for awesomeness!  As it was, we stayed out later than normal (based on my home time zone) so we could cram in more fun!

My flight first flight was a little before 8:00 am on Monday, so I said goodbye to my mom and kids at home (I was the only one that cried!) and Adam drove me to the airport.  He parked and came in to make sure I got checked in and everything was on time, and to eat a little breakfast with me, and then we said our goodbyes.  My layover was in Chicago, so the first leg of the journey was very short.  I had about 2 and half hours at O'Hare.  OH!  When we landed, our plane actually drove on a bridge over an interstate.  Seriously.  Then I got to my departure terminal and immediatly spotted a huge dinosaur skeleton!  I couldn't help buy miss my Tyler man then, he loves his dinos!

Bracheosauras!  I don't know how to spell that! And spell check suggests Brontosaurus!

 I spent some time wandering around my terminal, buying snacks for later and a coffee.  I charged my computer and cell phone for a little while, then bought some lunch.  My flight to Sacramento was long and fairly uneventful, aside for a long 15 minute wait in the aisle for a bathroom to open up (one of the lavatories was occupied the entire time I was standing there--mile high club?  LOL).  We actually landed in California about 20 minutes early, which was awesome!  I called my coworkers, Nova and Mari Lynn from our Kentucky office, who'd arrived earlier in the day and we waiting for me.  After I collected my suitcase, I met them outside an we were off!  We drove from Sacramento to our hotel in Vacaville and got checked in and unpacked and then we headed for San Francisco!  I was in love with the mountains!  I must have taken 30 pictures of just the mountains! So pretty!

I never realized JUST how flat Indiana is!

 Then we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge!  It was amazing!

View from below

We drove around a bit, eventually finding a place to take some cool pictures of the bridge, then we drove to Pier 39.  It was really cool too, tons of people and shops and the ocean breeze!

San Fransisco, Pier 39

We met up with some other coworkers there for a few minutes. Then we went out to the docs to see the sea lions and get a view of the boats and Alcatrez!  Very cool!  I had no idea Alcatraz was so close to land!

SEA LIONS!!!

Alcatraz!

We wandered around, shopping for souvenirs and people-watching.  I got an adorable Tshirt for Tyler that shows an adult and a baby sea lion with your child's head as the adult sea lions!  And a Bib just like it for AJ!  I found a crystal for my mom at the Swaroffski store (WOW could I have spent a lot of money in there!) and then treated myself a little!  There was a little shop where you could pick out you own oyster and see if there was a pearl inside!  Legit?  I don't know, but it was fun! I found a pearl! :)  Nova got a silver one :).  The sales lady of course tried to sell me a lot of very expensive (and pretty) settings, before I finally got her to admit there was a very basic, inexpensive one :)  So I got it mounted on on little setting to wear as a necklace.

Do you see the pearl?

When we were stumbling around we were so tired, we ate dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe.  Then we drove around some more, trying to get back to the GG Bridge. Eventually we found a really good place to take some more pictures!

The Golden Gate Bridge!  And me.

Then we headed back to the hotel.  Eventually we started wondering if we shouldn't have come to our hotel yet.  Apparently, CA has a lot of those exits that don't have off ramps in both directions! Thank God for GPS!  We got back to our hotel around 9:30 pm (12:30 pm Indiana time) and went to bed!

I got up early Tuesday (3:15 CA time) to Skype with Adam and the kids before left for work.  I couldn't go back to sleep (BLAH!).  Around 6:30 I headed down for a quick breakfast before we headed to Dixon, where our office is located.  The training went well and it was great to see everyone again and meet the new hires.  After work, we went to dinner at a little Mexican place where I had a very yummy quesadilla which had pieces the size of pizza slices!

WAY too much yum!

After dinner, some of us drove to the Outlet Mall in Vacaville and had major fun shopping!

The next day we did half a day training and then we all drove up to Napa to Jarvis Winery.  It was amazingly beautiful and really cool!  Outside is a little meadow with a pond with lily pads and lotus flowers.  This place is the first winery ever built completely inside a CAVE!  No kidding!  Apparently the owner, William Jarvis, bought the huge property to build a summer home on.  He eventually sold his business and moved there full time and decided to grow a few grapes and make some wine in his barn.  He took some wine courses at a local college and met a very prestigious wine-guy (I don't remember what his actual descriptive title was lol) and they hatched the idea for this winery.  William wanted to be vary natural, no big factories and such, so when the outgrew the barn he had the cave drilled out.  There is tunnel leading to some impressive doors (just one set of many).  The cave within is shaped kind of like a wagon wheel, with four spokes.  In the center is a waterfall, fueled by a natural underground spring that feeds off into a little stream that runs past the tasting room.  All along the outside ring are barrels of wine, medium sized ones and huge ones where wine is being separated (skins/pulp, etc). At the far end is a really cool set of doors, called Butterfly Doors, because they are joined in the center and fold out like the wing of a butterfly.  They lead to the Geo Room and a ballroom with a starry sky.  The tour ended in the tasting room (of course) where we sampled six wines (a few of us tasted a seventh also).  Unfortunately, I didn't like any of them--they were all pretty strong and dry for me.  I had fun trying them though, and the group had a good time together.  The first wine served was the only white and as he finished serving, our guide was saying to be sure to leave some for later, because the wine tastes differently when it warms up. One of my coworkers, Jessica had just finished downing her glass in one and she said "Whoops!" and we all about died laughing!  She was embarrassed and got a huge case of the giggles!

Entrance to the Winery

Entrance...doesn't look like a cave, but it is!

Inside the cave!

The Geo Room

The tasting room. yes, you have to step on stones in the creek to get in.

Ready for us!

My wine--not a big fan, but it was fun!

Outside by the pond.  Like my new sunglasses?

Nova and I at the Winery

So pretty!

The "Butterfly Door"

The waterfall inside the cave!

After wine tasting we went back to Vacaville for dinner. Oh, let me tell you, people on that mountain drive like CRAZY!  It's all sharp bends and curves and they were literally honking and swerving.  We kept pulling over to let them pass!  Crazy!  We got to town a little early, so we went to a pub next door and Nova and I played pool (she won, but in fairness we're both pretty not-good).  Then we had dinner at an Italian place called Fogo's.  I tried another wine, Reisling, which I sort almost liked.  I had fettuccine and a salad with candied pecans, strawberries, pickled red onions, and vinnegrette and for dessert I had tiramisu.

The next day we wrapped up the training just after lunch.  We made a quick stop at the hotel to change and then drove around for the afternoon. We went back to the outlets briefly and tried to find something else interesting to do. We ended up back in "downtown" Vacaville looking for a historic homes tour, but we never found it, nor did we see anything that resembled a historic home.  Eventually we found an amazing little consignment shop that I could have spent HOURS and a ton of money in.  Unfortunately she was closing at 5:00 pm, so we had to rush through a little. I still ended up with too really cute and cheap tops for work.  Then we headed for dinner at a little place called Merchant and Main.  I wasn't too crazy about the menu, so I ended up ordering a salad and potato skins.  I also had a tasty cocktail with strawberry and lime. 

After dinner we headed back to the hotel. One of my coworkers was going back home Thursday night, and another group was moving to a hotel in Sacramento since their flight was so early.  I could have done the same, but I didn't want to mess with booking another room and another fee etc, and Nova didn't mind getting up early to drive back, so I decided not to.  We went to fill up the rental with gas and then hung out at the hotel for a little while.  Eventually I went back to my room and packed up most of my stuff.  I tried to go to sleep but I wasn't having much luck and then Nova called. She had bought too much and couldn't fit it all in her suitcase!  I went over and "helped" her and then we chatted for another hour. By the time I went back to my room, it was about 11:15 California time.  Since we wanted to leave the hotel by 3:00 am, I didn't get much sleep.  I swear I set my phone's alarm, but I ended up oversleeping!  Thank God I only had to throw on clothes and pack the last of my things.  We checked out and left on time, although sadly without the coffee I desperately needed.

We got the airport, returned our rental, caught a shuttle to the terminal, and got our bags checked and our boarding passes.  We ate some breakfast and when the shops started opening, I bought a few more souvenirs for the family, including a bag of tumbled stones for Tyler (he loves rocks) and a very sentimental item for myself.  Here's a picture:

So it's literally HALF a coffee cup.  My Great Aunt, who was basically another grandmother to me, had a brown half coffee cup that read "You ASKED for half a cup of coffee!" on it.  After she passed away, my immediate family was able to get very little of her possessions, sadly, and the cup was one of the things that was lost in the estate.  I saw it and I almost teared up.  My sister's both want one too!

By the time I was done shopping, it was time to board my plane!  I said goodbye to Nova (I wish I could have brought her home with me!  We had SOOO much fun!) and sat down for a few minutes to rearrange my carry on items.  I was surprised when my name was announced over the speaker, with a request to come to the counter.  Free seat upgrade! Apparently a family was rearranging to sit together so I got bumped to priority :)  More leg room is never a bad thing.

View from the plane home!

The flight was uneventful aside from noticing that we had taken off a little late and we were cutting into my short 45 minute layover in Chicago.  By the time we landed, my boarding pass said my other plane was about to board.  I was able to get off pretty quickly and identify my departing gate (in another terminal, of course).  I half power-walked/half ran down the terminal, across the gateway (legs burning), down the other terminal and reached my gate during boarding WHEW!

The flight was short, only about 35 minutes, which was good, since I hadn't had time to grab lunch.  I made do with a few pretzels and a bag of cookies.  By the time I landed, I just wanted to see my family!  I couldn't wait!  I got to baggage claim and was pleased when the luggage started appearing pretty quickly--usually I have to wait ages for it.  After a few minutes, I spotted my bright blue bag!  And then I realized it wasn't my bright blue bag. And then my bright blue bag still wasn't coming...and then nothing was coming.  There were still several of us standing around.  And them I'm thinking, I barely made my plane, maybe my suitcase didn't?  A check with the office confirmed it.  My suitcase was checked in for a 4:30 arrival in Indianapolis!  LOL Thankfully, United delivers!

So I headed out to the street, calling Adam and watching for our van. And then it was there, my kiddos were there!  AJ was asleep but Tyler was VERY excited to see me and he loved his rocks!  It is great to be home!  It was a very fun trip, but very tiring and I missed my family like crazy!  Next trip to CA needs to include them! I got back last Friday and BOY had I missed my kiddos!!  Tyler missed me, AJ didn't really seem to notice, aside from CEASING the sleeping through the night thing he'd been doing for Adam all week.  Good stuff!

I'm a NINJA! Or maybe MacGuyver.

I have always prided myself on being resourceful.  I love to take whatever little items I can find and bend them to my will.

Today, I tested that skill again.

I was at work and I took my calendar off the wall to write something on it.  I went to hang it back on it's little push pin and instead, I dropped it.  Between the wall and my desk.  My desk has a back on it that goes to the floor. 

First I said, "Oh F---."  Mostly because it's already been a really crazy busy and stressful week.  And also, annoying. If you know me, you know I couldn't just leave it there. It would have made me nuts.  So I had to figure out how to get it out.

I started simple, grabbing my letter opener and trying to reach down with it and push it to the side of the desk.  That didn't work. It wasn't long enough, plus there are a bunch of wires and plugs that were blocking the way.  Then I grabbed our swiffer duster.  It was long enough and worked pretty well, but again the wires were a problem.  That wasn't going to work.  So I turned to paperclips. I can do a hundred different things with paperclips.  I'm always using them for this or that.  So today I took a paperclip, unbent part of it, threaded the other end through the hole in the end of my ruler and taped the paperclip so it couldn't rotate. 

I should mention, my calendar has a spiral bound wire at the top. 


SUCCESS!  I fed my contraption down the narrow space and looped my hook through the wire.  My calendar is a little crunched from the swiffer, but it is back on the wall where it belongs. 

Photographic evidence of my brilliance:

I'm bad ass you guys, you just don't know!

30 Day Song Challenge

Okay, so I saw this on Facebook and I thought it was pretty cool.  They are on day 22 though, so I figured I would just post it here :)  Because it's my blog and I can!


The 30 Day Song Challenge

Day 01 – Your favorite song

 Currently, right now, today "If I Die" by the Band Perry
 
Day 02 – Your least favorite song

Right now I'd say "Forget You (F-U) by Cee Lo.  It's being played too much and I'm over it.

Day 03 – A song that makes you happy

"The Sweater Song"  by Wheezer

Day 04 – A song that makes you sad

 "The Change" by Garth Brooks  Reminds me of Oklahoma City and 9-11

Day 05 – A song that reminds you of someone

"You'll be in my Heart" by Phil Collins (A dear friend that passed)

Day 06 – A song that reminds of you of somewhere

"End of the Road" by Boys II Men. Reminds me of my elementary school.  It was our graduation song and the school was torn down after our year and relocated.  Appropriate, no?

Day 07 – A song that reminds you of a certain event


"This Kiss" by Faith Hill reminds me of my first kiss.  It was playing on the radio when I got home from that date.  :-P

Day 08 – A song that you know all the words to

A song?  LOL I'll go with "Pinch Me" by Barenaked Ladies because I am impressed I can understand all the lyrics.

Day 09 – A song that you can dance to

 LOL I don't really dance.  I do find myself moving to "Raise Your Glass" by Pink

Day 10 – A song that makes you fall asleep

"Jesus Take the Wheel" by Carrie Underwood

Day 11 – A song from your favorite band

"White Horse" by Taylor Swift"

Day 12 – A song from a band you hate

 "Boom Boom Pow" by Black Eye Peas

Day 13 – A song that is a guilty pleasure

"Tik Toc" by Kesha.  Yes I know she's spells it with a $.  I refuse to do that. It's stupid. I actually don't like her at all and I don't want to like the song, but I always end up rocking out to it.  Yeah I sound stupid when I say stuff like that.

Day 14 – A song that no one would expect you to love

 "Love the way you Lie" by Eminem

Day 15 – A song that describes you

"Sensitive" by Jewel.  If you asked me to describe myself, it's one of the first words I would use.

Day 16 – A song that you used to love but now hate

"Hangin' Tough" by NKOTB.  Do I need to say more?

Day 17 – A song that you hear often on the radio

 "All Summer Long" by Kid Rock. So sick of it

Day 18 – A song that you wish you heard on the radio

LOL Showtunes, probably. My favorite Pandora stations are Rent and Glee.  Specifically, I'll say "Without You" from Rent.

Day 19 – A song from your favorite album

 "Haunted" by Taylor Swift

Day 20 – A song that you listen to when you’re angry

"She F*ckin' Hates Me" by Puddle of Mudd.  It's all hate and lalala. Love it. I can't be mad after I listen to it.

Day 21 – A song that you listen to when you’re happy

"I'm Gay" by Bowling for Soup. 

Day 22 – A song that you listen to when you’re sad

 "Still Holding Out for You" by SheDaisy

Day 23 – A song that you want to play at your wedding

"Everything I do" by Bryan Adams.  Don't judge me on that one, it's my wedding song.  I don't care if it's corny. 


Day 24 – A song that you want to play at your funeral

"My Immortal" by Evanescence. I love that song and it seems very appropriate for a funeral.

Day 25 – A song that makes you laugh

 "A Friendly Goodbye" by Bowling for Soup.  Sample lyric to illustrate: 
Ain't that a “b” with an itch
Ain't that a mother trucker
You can go to h-e-double hockey sticks
And f yourself
Cause I'm flippin' gosh darn sick
Of all the “s” words you put me through
So f-u

Day 26 – A song that you can play on an instrument

 LMAO Okay "Heart Shaped Box" by Nirvana.  I rock that mother on Guitar Hero.

Day 27 – A song that you wish you could play

 I can't think of the one I want to list, so I'll put "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton and hope I think of it later.

Day 28 – A song that makes you feel guilty

"Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus. I think she's kind of a brat and I don't want to like this song, it's so Pop-y, but I like it.

Day 29 – A song from your childhood

"I think we're alone now" by Tiffany

Day 30 – Your favorite song at this time last year

Probably "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum

My Girls

Today I had lunch with my girls!  I have several really great friends and these three in particular form a tight knit group.  Here's your cast of characters:

Pam-I've known her the longest, we went to school together from kindergarten through high school.  Her dad and my mom also went to high school together.  Pam and I have been friends for almost 25 years, making her my oldest friend (outside of family).

Gabby-Gabby and I met in the 8th grade at an event for junior high students at the high school we would later attend.  We were both performing in the vocal division and we chatted outside and then ate lunch together.  We've been friends ever since!

Mandy-Mandy and I met in high school, through I can't be sure if we met in freshman year or not. I know we became friends later on.  See, we both had a crush on the same guy.  I ended up dating him for six months before he switched schools and sort of started ignoring me, then I dumped him.  She was very close friends with him throughout this, so she wasn't really a fan of mine :)  Later on, we did become friends and bonded over the romances that never really were.

We've always been a group.  This was really solidified in 12th grade British Literature class which was taught by one of my favorite teachers of all time, Mrs. Redding.  She split our class up into groups of four to work on projects (most notably, a comic book based on Beowulf).  Pam, Gabby, and Mandy were in a group with another friend of ours, but I was in a different group.  Their group was called "The Great Group of Gals".  I was an honorary member.  We've even gotten together a few times with our teacher since high school and to her, we'll always be the GGG.

Since high school, we've led more separate lives, but we have remained close.  Gabby and I went to the same college, but Mandy and Pam went elsewhere, but still in town.  We have always gotten the group together from time to time, celebrating birthdays or holidays, and more recently weddings and babies!

Which leads me to the following explanation of the pairing off of the Great Group of Gals.

In the spring of 2002, Gabby met Patrick.  The story goes that she met a guy on the internet and met Patrick through him (something like that, anyway).  They are pretty much perfect for each other.  That summer, in July, Gabby called me up to see if I might be interested in meeting a guy, a friend of Pat's.  I jumped at the chance, having been single for quite awhile.  So I was set up on a blind date.  And my blind date didn't know he was meeting me until 20 minutes before we met.  They only told him because he looked scruffy and they made him change!  That blind date changed my life.  It was on that date that I met my husband Adam.  We were engaged a year later and married the very next year.

Some time later, Gabby decided to try her match making skills for a second time. This time the lucky victim was Mandy. Mandy is a reptile enthusiast and Gabby just happened to know another!  She connected Mandy with Nate.  They've been together ever since and they will be married in August!

Fast forward to the summer of 2010.  On the Fourth of July, Pam spent some time with another friend of Gabby and Pat's, a guy named Cliff.  They had met at other G&P functions, but last years Fourth of July sealed the deal and they've been a couple since then and are going strong!

This is us on the night of our 10th high school reunion.  I'm on the left, followed by Mandy, Pam, and Gabby.

Pretty unbelievable story, huh?  It pays to stay in touch with those high school girlfriends!  I love these girls!  They are all so funny and we have the best time laughing together.  Pam is so kind and sincere.  Mandy is fun-loving and feisty.  And Gabby is sensitive and sweet.  They are some of the best friends a girl could ask for!

I'm Henry the VIII I am!

Well I'm not, but I'll bet you are singing the song or at least thinking about that bit in "Ghost" right now!  I am, however, thanks to my mother's extensive research on Ancestry.com, related to his very last wife, Catherine Parr.  Seriously!  She had no children with him, so I'm not really related to him by any blood, but still.  She was almost beheaded, but managed to talk him out of it!  She was married to him for about 4 years before he died.  She died shortly after the King, at the ripe old age of 36, probably from complications from childbirth (she remarried 6 months after the king died...not much of a cool down period). She was married 4 times total!  She was widowed by the first 3!  Black Widow?

I have to say, I think that's kind of cool!  My mom is obsessed with Ancestry.  In fact, we're going on a little road trip next week to take pictures of the headstones of our family members.  I think it's cool to learn about people I'm related to.  Who are you related to?

My husbands TV Debut!

Check it out, my hubby's famous!

He's such a dork, but I love him!

Freaky-Me

I visited my optometrist today. It's something I've done since I was tiny--just a toddler. When I was a child up through about 19, I went to Riley Children's Hospital for all my eye care. I was born with something called a coloboma. It's basically a gap in the formation of iris of my eye, causing part of my optic nerve to be very thin. For me, it mostly means that I am legally blind in that eye (the left eye). I can see, but it's very blurry, even with glasses. Here's a picture of a coloboma (not mine):

Incidently, John Ritter had a coloboma. So does Madeline McCann.

In addition, I also have a condition called heterochromia iridum. That means that my eyes are two different colors. My right eye is green and my left eye is brown. It's always been that way, at least since my eyes changed color when I was a baby. Do you know that Jane Seymour and Demi Moore have this condition, too? Most likely, the two conditions are linked, likely the heterochromia iridum is a side effect of the coloboma, but not everyone who has a coloboma has two different colored eyes.

So anyway, today I visited my eye doctor. She's all the way in Greenfield, which is about 45 minutes from Indy. My mom had an appointment too, so we went together, with Tyler. My mom does not travel on interstates. So it was a bit of a drive. I go to this doctor because she offers a service called OptiMap, an alternate to eye dilation. I hate HATE HATE having my eyes dilated. In case you don't know, this involves eye drops, which are evil. It also involves blurry vision and extreme light sensitivity for pretty much the rest of the day. I have had it done countless times, but as soon as I heard there was an alternative, I said "Sign me up!"

The alternate, OptiMap involves literally taking a picture of the back of the eye. I simply press my eye to the lens of their machine, receive a flash of green light, and presto! Instant view of my optic nerves, retinas, etc. Aside from the little green floating spots I see for a minute or so afterward, no muss, no fuss. So here's my right eye. I understand it's pretty typical of a "normal" eye:

And here is my left eye, the "bad eye":

The green light floods through to the back of my eye, in a keyhole-effect because of the part of my iris that never formed.

So my left eye is pretty messed up. And there's no fixing it. When a nerve is damaged, it can't be repaired. So my right eye has done most of the work for my nearly 29 years. It wasn't good to start with (in case you don't know, my entire immediate family needs glasses for various reasons) and has weakened over the years. My doctor told me today it's a good thing I wear glasses, if for no other reason than to protect my right eye. I am at a higher risk of retinal detachment in that eye. That wouldn't be good. I'd be a dangerous blind person.

It was a pretty uneventful visit, my prescription hasn't changed too much. I certainly hope Tyler takes after Adam, who wears glasses but has pretty decent eye sight. I think I might get lucky there...the kid can point out a McDonalds from a mile away!

Nature's WTFs

My twin wrote a blog post ages ago about what she described as "nature's cutest WTF", a duckbill platypus. See it here

Then I saw an article on People: Pets and we had the following email exchange:

Saw these on People-Pets. Thought some of them gave the Duckbilled Platypus a run for it's money in the "nature's WTF" catagory.


FENNEC FOX
The tiny Fennec foxes — native to North Africa — may look pretty cute, but they're actually nighttime predators whose oversized ears are so sensitive that they can hear insects walk on sand. Perhaps they can also get a better listen when they phone home?
Me: Really cute and mildly strange looking in an AW sort of way.
Twin: These are just cute, they’re not creepy at all. I like the big ears. It’s like your cat is trying to eavesdrop.
Me: Hee! For real. It’s all like “I’m not listening…really. Continue.”


With eyes as large as their brains, the furry little tarsiers of Southeast Asia are able to climb within a day of being born. That must make things easier when you take them to your leader.
Me: Okay those eyes could be scary.
Twin: The funny thing is that the eyes open REALLY slowly, so it’s like he’s shocked in slo-mo. I think he’s cute, though.
Me: Oh that’s hilarious. But yeah, he is kinda cute.


STAR-NOSED MOLE
Ahh, it's coming to get you! Well, if you're a worm or small insect, that is. The star-nosed mole, often found in Canada and the U.S., literally inhales its food, taking less than a quarter of a second to find its prey, grab it and digest.
Me: FREAK-Y I kinda threw up in my mouth a little bit when I saw this one.
Twin: He looks like bad things happened to your personal bits or something. On the other hand, check out the awesome press-on nail action!
Me: Ew yeah totally. LOL he does have lee press on’s!


ALBINO HEDGEHOG
Is it a bird? A plane? Nope, just an albino hedgehog, so rare that there's only one for every 10,000 in the current hedgehog population. Though his look is intriguing, his upbringing will be solitary: Because he stands out so much in the wild, he'll have to live in a hedgehog home to survive.
Me: Not that weird and sorta cute.
Twin: Hedgehogs are cute. The end.
Me: Agreed


ECHIDNA
Named for a mythological Greek monster that was half-nymph, half-snake, the echidna seems like something that might want to whisk you away in its UFO. But these little guys are typically harmless — the toothless creatures feast predominantly on insects.
Me: Hee. Does he have a boner?
Twin: Looks like! Look how cute they get when they’re bigger, though!


Me: I must say, he’s cuter as an adult. And more nails.


COMMON-SIAMESE SOFT-SHELLED TURTLE
He may look like a spongy space creature, but this common-Siamese soft-shelled turtle can be a fierce fighter when necessary. The breed, found throughout the world, is known for a disproportionately long neck, which helps the animal to keep its body submerged in water, sand or mud while still getting oxygen from the surface.
Me: Ew. I hear a squishy sound for this one.
Twin: It looks like it’s been microwaved. Me no likey.
Me: LMAO he does looked nuked!


AYE-AYE
My, what really big eyes you have! Though its wiry hair and spooky yellow peepers give the Aye-aye a Martian-like look, the foragers — native to Madagascar — are kind of like woodpeckers, gnawing holes in wood to find food.
Me: I feel like he'd be all hyper-active. Too much sugar.
Twin: This is that thing the zoo’s getting! It’s all strung out and weird looking, like it’s been forced to survive inside of a Starbucks for a year.
Me: They are getting these a the zoo?! And yeah, totally beyond caffeine buzzed


BLOBFISH
It came from outer space! Or actually, cool waters off the coasts of Australia and Tasmania. The blobfish — literally what it sounds like — is a creature rarely seen by humans, that lacks muscle and floats just above the ocean floor.
Me: This guy looks like a loogie.
Twin: But a kind of cute loogie. I feel like he should have been in Finding Nemo, and that’s why he looks all depressed, because his part was cut for Dory.
Me: Gotta disagree here. He looks diseased. I do love that he appears to have a nose.


GOLDEN MONKEY
Though they're cute and furry, little is known about the golden monkeys, making them extra-mysterious. The endangered creatures are typically found in the mountains of Africa, restricted to highland forests filled with bamboo.
Me: Not weird! Cute! And snuggely
Twin: Not weird, just sweet!


PANGOLIN
Often compared to a "walking pine cone," pangolins have hard scales all over their bodies, and can curl up into a ball when feeling threatened. But their craziest characteristic? Tongues that extend into their stomachs!
Me: Okay the tounge part is icky.
Twin: Agreed, but I like this guy. He looks like a porcupine and an armadillo had a baby.
Me: Yeah, he’s got some cute. And more nail action…these animals could use some mani-pedi action.


HORESHOE CRAB
You know that guy who never wants to leave the party? Well, this is that guy in the animal kingdom. The horseshoe crab (with Baker) has been around for half a billion years. If you see one — they're all over the eastern seaboard — thank it for its contributions to science. "We use their blood to screen for contamination in hospitals," Baker explains. "If you've ever had an operation, you owe something to the horseshoe crab."
Me: Cool animal. Low on the cuteness scale, and I wouldn’t want to cuddle him, but he’s got charisma, no?

Twin: If by charisma you mean the ability to make me want to pee my pants, yes.


CORNISH SUCKER
Baker's love affair with this creature began in tidal pools near his home in the UK. "You flip over a rock and you see this weird fish. Yes, it's a fish!" says Baker. He explains its weird look: "Its pectoral fins have fused to form a huge sucker on its belly."
Me: EW. Sort of a speckly turd. I can’t believe this guy admits to having a “love affair” with this thing. And what exactly does it suck?
Twin: It’s an angry slug. I veto this creature.


SILKY ANTEATER
They're fun to look at, but don’t get too close — those razor sharp claws can pull apart concrete in their quest for food! Baker learned the hard way when one grabbed on to his finger. "They have karate moves!" Sounds painful!
Me: On one hand, aw, cause it looks like he’s rubbing his eyes, all sleepy-like. On the other, lethal looking. He’s a cutie though…all fluffy
Twin: “I am so sleepy… HAHAHAHAHA you fell for that! Dumbass.”


MIMIC OCTOPUS
This critter "uses its incredible muscular control to push its bodies into different shapes," explains Baker. "It can be a flat fish, it can be an eel, it can be a jelly fish." Never trust a shape-shifter!
Me: Dude, he’s kinda cool. Not very attractive. He’s like Odo on DS9 (Adam has turned me into almost a trechie)
Twin: It also looks like two naked snails doing it.


HELLBENDER
This slimy salamander — which can be as big as 18 inches! — lives all over the American Appalachians. Baker loves this animal, called a Hellbender, because of its unique gender roles. "The males guard the babies!"
Me: Ick, this guy is majorly slimy. And his tail is flat. Kinda hard to tell head from tail. I don’t get the name though.

Twin: I think that’s its head. I think God stepped on him, and tried to fix it and then was like, nah, it’s cool like that.

My public insists

So I'm back. Yeah, it's been almost a year. But my adoring public insists that I should resurrect this blog. My adoring public is my twin sister, probably the only one to ever read this, but most of the time I'll pretend that others might stumble upon it. So I re-read some of my old posts and decided they were kinda funny. So why not? Maybe I won't right anything worth reading, but so what?

So updates. The biggest one is that I'm about 6 months preggers. It's the weirdest, best, worst experience of my life. I was less than 5 weeks pregnant when morning sickness started and I still get it if I even think about not taking the RX drug that keeps it somewhat at bay. At best, it's tolerable nausea and no appetite. I'm suddenly a complete vegetarian. I can't eat meat or eggs. The only caffeine I indulge in is the occasional frozen coke (okay a little more than occasional. They are my first official craving), or a little chocolate. I lost more than 15 lbs during the first part of my pregnancy. I've since gained back 7 lbs. At one point, I was sleeping 10 or 11 hours a night and was still tired in the morning!

It's also super cool. I'm having tons of fun picking out things and planning the new baby's room. This will be a boy, his name will be Tyler Nicholas. And he's just starting to make his presence known by little kicks and jabs. WEIRD! He pops around a few times a day for a few minutes at a time around my belly button. It feels strange!

That's the most consuming part of my life currently. I'm sure it might lend itself to some interesting blogs. We shall see!

My life in music

Thanks to the Smiley Morning Show (WZPL) for this one! There is a website that tells you what the number one song was on any day. I searched for my birthday and here's what I got!

"I Love Rock 'N Roll" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

YAY! I can rock that one on Guitar Hero!!!

4/30/83 "Beat It" Micheal Jackson LOL oh yeah
4/30/84 "Take a Look at me now" Phil Collins. hee
4/30/85 "One more night" Phil Collins do I see a trend?
4/30/86 "Addicted to Love" Robert Palmer heehee
4/30/87 "Died in your arms" Cutting Crew Right on
4/30/88 "Where do Broken Hearts Go?" Whitney Houstan Ohh I likey
4/30/89 "Like a prayer" Madonna LOVE
4/30/90 "Nothing Compares" Sinead O'Connor LOL
4/30/91 "Baby Baby" Amy Grant
4/30/92 "Jump" Kris Kross LMAO
4/30/93 "Freak Me" Silk Uh what?
4/30/94 "Bump N Grind" R Kelly :-P
4/30/95 "This is how we do it" Montell Jordan
4/30/96 "Always be my baby" Mariah Carey I loved that song
4/30/97 "Hypnotize" the notorious BIG
4/30/98 "Too Close" Next
4/30/99 "No Scrubs" TLC lol
4/30/00 "Maria Maria" by Santana
4/30/01 "All for you" Janet Jackson
4/30/02 "Foolish" Ashanti
4/30/03 "In Da Club" 50 Cent
4/30/05 "Yeah" Usher
4/30/06 "Bad Day" Danial Powter

My wedding day 7/17/04 "Burn" by Usher eh ok. He's hot.

7/19/02 Met my hubby "Hot in Here" Nelly. Don't love it, but that's kinda funny

So weird. Try it out on thisdayinmusic.com