Am I the only one that this bothers?? The answer is yes, I think so...

Okay, so, I am already being tested. I am trying to stay really positive but it is really hard. I love my town and I feel like it should be me in that building down there with the line out the door...not this other guy with a funny name.
So, the pastries are good. The croissants are tasty. The morning buns...loaded with super chunky sugar are good but I'm not such a fan. The scones are huge and quite a deal but it's like eating a giant biscuit...not much goin' on but has lots o' potential. The cappaucino was a mini latte but whatever, I guess that's what American's expect right...even though I ordered it dry, the coffee itself is good and they brew it ONE CUP AT A TIME! But seriously, do I need to be this much of an asshole??
What is really bothering me is that this man is slapping us in the face...well, me in the face. They are charging city prices and 3/4's of the menu is COPIED from Tartine! I mean, not just like an 'idea' here and there, but their items, their descriptions word for word in some cases and their presentation! (The most appalling one to me for some reason is their "little side salad"...I mean, who calls it that and how weird to copy that name word for word.
I guess that I am so bummed because here he is doing EXACTLY what I want, I mean exactly...wine bar, simple lunches and 'great' pastries and yet it isn't even out of his own head, it's copied. I have really good ideas and can do better stuff and it would mean more to me but the one part that is missing is money. He has tons and I have none and I have no idea how to get some...Now I just feel like there is no place for me. I don't fit in as a teacher regardless of what people tell me, I know it's a good job, I know I do it well, I know kids need it, BUT, I don't fit it...I don't fit in in my own town because this guy is here now in a prime location with his pretentious attitude (I know him from before, this isn't just a recent opinion of his personality) and well, that's really all there is for me... I either teach or what? How depressing.
Don't worry, I won't be this down on myself for long but it's really hard to be the one that has to fight so hard for what I want and to make people believe that I can do it but I do need help! I am not afraid to say that but some people think that means I'm not strong enough...That is a bunch of crap.
Anyways, I am going to go finish making MY version of a Frangipane tart and My version of a Fresh Fruit Tart and maybe that will make me feel better.
later.......................

A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved. Kurt Vonnegut

I love this...this is my new motto. Life is too short to feel any other way. If we have learned anything from Tim and Brian, it is that life can be short and you never know what's around the next corner...
So why then do we waste so much time being all closed up and judgemental? I am going to try my damnedest to be open to everyone. It's gonna be hard because there is a side of me that does just love to point out certain things about certain people but I am going to try and not be that way. I would say that I have won half the battle right there with the effort.
Read this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/13/opinion/13fierstein.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
That's really all I have to say for now...I will write more later. I am going to go down and see if this new BRIO Cafe is really all it's cracked up to be...I hope they have a killer croissant!

I wish I had suspenders on my underwear...



I know, that really has nothing to do with this picture but I just wanted to put it up because I liked it and I rarely say that about pictures. This is from when we were staying at the Benbow Inn. We were kinda bored. I just kicked his bootie in cribbage and he was trying to distract me from gloating...


I have completely forgotten what it feels like to have clothes that actually stay up. For some reason all of these crappy maternity clothes, as comfy as they are, fall down constantly. It sucks. I will be lecturing in front of class and I will be shimmying to try and keep anything from moving but as soon as I sit down at my desk all is lost. I am tired of it. I think it's because my hips are disappearing.

We had a dr appt yesterday and everything is right on track. Baby's heartbeat is healthy, I'm right on track with my lovely weight gain and I have all of the typical aches and pains.


How could you not love this face?



Tomorrow Mike and I are leaving with 9 kids for the annual Bay Area field trip. Time to prepare myself for endless amounts of energy, a little drama and wacky music...I used to think that I listened to 'different' music but it is NOTHING compared to this new stuff! It should be interesting, a little bit of everything even some speed metal thrown in. Really looking forward to that! I have a feeling this is going to be a fun one though, maybe the best yet. I have a great group this year, only one whiner but he's harmless and no bitchy girls! I like these kids more than any kids that I have ever taken before so that helps., this will also help me be a lot less bitchy which we all know is a very good thing! We are taking a whole extra day so I think I may be more relaxed because that gives us more time between appointments. I will try and post pictures as we go.

Talk to ya'll when we get back!

Still 27 weeks and 3 days.....

Just wanted to post 2 cool pictures from tonight.
We had a fun time at Hank and Anna's.
Happy Birthday Bob!

27 weeks and 3 days...........

So, we are almost there. It seems like time is going really slow. I am really looking forward to when I get to leave work. I will miss about half of my students terribly but the other half...well, lets just say, we need a break.
I just wanted to post a few videos. One of Jerky. I know that some of you that read this don't like him or cats in general, which I can't really understand, but you don't have to watch it. He just makes us laugh all of the time. He's not mean, he's not gross, he's not anything but just one cool cat.

The others are in order and are from our trip to see Van Morrison. He was awesome. We have a video from the concert but don't blink and listen close!












So there you have it. I will post more pictures of my growing belly soon. It is hard to keep up on this thing but I am trying.
We were given an antique white bassinet by Paulette's mom (Paulette is my boss' assistant and my hero in the HROP office). We stopped by the office on Thursday and she gave me a blanket that she made herself. Then on Saturday, we met her at her mom's house to pick up the bassinet and her mom made us a blanket too! I can hardly believe the generosity of this family, I am blown away. This is on top of that whole set she gave us a few months ago for the nursery. Amazing.
So, that's all for now. I will keep you updated!
Later Taters.

21 Weeks and 6 Days...

Okay, it feels like it is way too early for me to be having such a hard time sleeping! I just know like the last two months are going to be me sitting on the couch with a blanket over me because I can't sleep laying down in bed anymore! Great.

I wanted to put pictures up of the back room so you could see the progress. We were going for 2 colors and you may be able to tell that it is two shades of green but you may not. It just didn't show up as well as we thought it would BUT we still love it regardless. It turned out super cute and cheery. Just look where the walls meet and you might be able to tell.

There you have it. It is almost complete. Now all we need is some furniture! Then it will start looking like a real baby room. Ugh, I've got to go to bed. I have no idea what I am doing 2nd period tomorrow...maybe I can find an incredible, captivating movie on vegetables. Any ideas?HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

21 Weeks and 3 days

Holy Smokes,
I am sorry that I have neglected to write! I thought about it often but honestly, even the thought of the computer made me nauseous! Weird.

It has been an interesting year so far. Mike and I have kind of been hermits. I have been rearranging anything that seems like it needs it and he is working hard in the back room. Right now he is putting the first touches of paint on the walls. It is getting to be very exciting.

I am feeling great. I have a lot of energy in short spurts so I have to use it wisely. I need a lot of naps and I definitely take them when ever the mood strikes and it's all completely guilt free! I love it. I am not sleeping well at night though and that is starting to bug me.

Today I baked a chocolate cake and brownies...not all for me! I was testing recipes. The brownies won. While the stuff was baking I was laying on the bed and decided to look at my bare belly. It was the first time I have SEEN it move. The baby is doing summersaults in there and it totally shows! I still find it amazing that this is happening. In the shower yesterday, I noticed that I am starting to lose site of certain parts of my body...unfortunately that does not include my breasts. They aren't going anywhere!

I am now wearing stupid maternity clothes. Pants mainly. They aren't very attractive BUT incredibly comfortable. I tried to make it as long as I could with my normal clothes but they were so tight around the belly area that it was just way to uncomfortable to even try to worry about vanity. I do wonder what is going to happen to my tattoo though. Hopefully it will just stay down there at the bottom of my belly and not get too distorted.

I obviously have my appetite back. I can eat almost anything but I still have a problem with chicken. I don't miss it at all. It's kind of a gross animal anyways, unless you go buy the free range Rosie birds that you know were raised humanely and not like rats crammed in cages...I should show you some pictures. Anywhoo...enough about that.

Last night we went to Sean and Ar's for Aidan's birthday party. He is now a giant 6 year old. It is hard to believe that the time is moving so fast. I was always told it would and now I believe it. It was fun because we got to see some friends that we have not seen since May! Strange because they just live in Eureka. Oh well, it was good seeing them and really, just like Humboldt, they haven't changed a bit. Carlton gave us one of the cutest gifts yet. I couldn't believe them when I saw them. Check it out...little baby Smartwool booties!

I promise I will try and keep up better especially with everything that is going on with us now. I will put before and after pictures up of the bedroom so everyone can see it. It is going to be very bright and cheerful which is a great thing.

I am going to go finish dinner and cleaning up. Tonight we are having braised lamb shanks with root vegetables and cous cous. Also a salad. Most likely there will be a chocolate dessert as well. You should have dessert with every meal by the way, it makes life way more enjoyable!

More later!

He's here.

Lootah Hall.

He is absolutely beautiful. M&C are parents, it is so crazy.
Check out the most precious little guy in the video.

Check out what I did today. I am pretty proud of myself. I know, the 'living room' is kind of close quarters but I like it better out of the way. Now, we can get that huge dining room table that I want and it will fit in the new spot! Cool!

This show cracks me up...

Well, I guess I just needed a break. It has been so long since I have written anything. I just haven't felt the creative urge. Now that all of these people read it, I feel pressure to be extra witty and well, I just can't do it on command.

I figured that I should put a picture of Jerky up here because it is named after him after all and I haven't been putting pics up of him lately. He is mad at me in this picture because I was trying to dress him up like a witch right before and well, needless to say, he wasn't happy about it. He sure is a handsome devil though, dontcha think?

I have been listening to a ton of music lately. There is so much good stuff out there. I find myself kind of in a rut though. I am drawn to the same types of melancholy men singers...I don't know what it is, but Damien Rice, Amos Lee, Ray Montagne and now this new guy John West are all so talented. What would life would be like without music?

I am almost certain that it would be pretty horrible.

We went to the pumpkin patch on Sunday. This is one of my favorite pictures from the day. I like Marcus, he's funny and turnin out to be quite the ham. Cute picture of mom and Bob too.

This Saturday is ladie's night so there should be more pictures from our partying. We are in serious need of female companionship and want to have a day where it is just girly stuff. Even though I am not exactly girly...shopping and having coffee with the girls (okay, a cocktail, I'm not fooling anyone) is a necessity. So, there you have it.

We had dinner with Mica and Courtney on Saturday. 2 more weeks for her to 'drop her pup' as Euan puts it. Amazing...Mica a mom...crazy. Mike and I haven't had anyone up for dinner in a really long time so we thought that we would make a really tasty dinner. And we did! Well, Mike made most of it. First course was...well, I'll count the appetizers. I made roasted tomatoes and caramelized onions and we had them with bread and cheese, then Mike made Spinach Ravioli with Kabocha Squash and Chevre filling and Brown Butter Sage Sauce, then, Caesar Salad with my homemade croutons, and then for dinner (funny, we've already eaten a ton right? well, you know if you have ever eaten here, it is by now 11pm) we had braised shortribs over polenta and veggies. I made a little fig almond tart for dessert too but none of us could eat it all because we were so full and plus it was midnight. It was a great dinner though and we also had some lovely wines of course.

I like this picture because it looks like Mike is leaning forward because he thought he was going to get kissed or something...cute.

Okay, there you have it, my first blog in like a month. I will try and be better.

Now, go braise yourself some shortribs and listen to Death Cab for Cutie's song "I will follow you into the dark". Such a great song.

Later taters.

sc

Hi there. Here is a video from the fair today. I wanted to go because I have missed it for the last few years in a row. I was excited to be there and ready to buy something funky. I had $40 to spend on something that I didn't need. We walked around the entire plaza and I didn't see one thing. Then the All Species parade started up and around they went. Funny stuff. BUT, it was kind of depressing too because it just isn't what it once was. People used to get really into the parades and the dancing but it was kindof a piss poor showing if you ask me. I mean, why are those people in the parade if they aren't even dressed up? They are just walking around with their arms crossed holding up cardboard signs. Is that what the All Species was like before? I don't remember it being that lame.

Here are the last two pictures. Now you know what my room kindof looks like. Well, I need to go to bed and get some actual sleep tonight. Tomorrow is Friday...woohoo!

Okay, I am having a heck of a time posting pictures. So, it looks like I have to a new entry for each stupid picture, so that's what I am going to try to do until I figure something else out.

Sorry.

Mint Ice Cream is my favorite...

We were able to get into my classroom today. The color that they painted it is nausiating. When they asked me, I picked out blues...blue counter tops, floors, etc. They said, 'oh yeah, that's what I thought you would like!' and then I show up three days ago and it looks like...I don't know...really bright and just gross. BUT, I am refusing to be negative from this point on and I am choosing to be excited instead. So check out the before and afters...there have been a lot of changes and it looks a lot different. I am going to sincerely miss the various flourescent countertop colors but I bet I will get used to the new ones.


The new room is nice with all of the shiny silver appliances. It's amazing that they did this for my program. That makes me feel good...not good enough to stay for years on end, but good! (staying positive as best I can).

Can you fly this plane and land it?
Surely you can't be serious.
I am serious, and don't call me Shirley.

Well, off we go. I thought I would get a good night's sleep tonight but no, of course not. But it should be fun. I will be in my newly remodeled class room with my new, shiny equipment and my kids will all be happy so I BETTER be too!
I am actually going to bed in about five minutes. I just need to go over in my head before I pass out, everything that I have to do for the next three days. This includes the two wedding cakes that I have to do...yikes.

Mike is in all his glory. He loves this. He spent time putting his room together...meanwhile I am sitting in front of the computer putting together a syllabus for the next year. Ugh. I procrastinate soooo much. But we will both have fun in our own ways. I just can't wait until the caterings start. That is when we have the most fun and get the most out of the class.

My neck looks a little tweaked in this picture but it was the only one that we had from the concert.

Okay, wish us luck! We will be sleeping in on Sunday for sure! So don't call before 9:30!

Here are two songs by Ben Harper. He's great and if you don't know what he sounds like, then listen to one or both of these.

Check this one out too. It was soooooo fun.