Blind Item Reveal

Well, we had our big ultrasound this afternoon and we are going to be the proud parents of a little...

GIRL!

I was so convinced this kidlet was a boy, but I was wrong. And Nick was right...which I'm sure he'll remind me of for years to come. The bambina is healthy and growing right on schedule, which was a huge relief for this nervous first-time momma. I do have to get another u/s at 28-32 weeks to check on the position of my placenta (right now it's a little closer to the cervix than they like to see at this point) but it shouldn't be a big deal. And we'll get to see our daughter at least once more before she's born...so that's pretty cool.

Blind Item: Boy or Girl?

So we have one week to go until our anatomy scan level II ultrasound (aka the 'penis or vagina ultrasound'). All along, I've thought this kiddo is a boy. I was 100% certain until recently, but now I'm more like 80% sure. The husband, on the other hand, thinks we're having a girl. So, as usual, one of us has to be right and one of us (coughHIMcough) has to be wrong.

What do you think? Guesses will be accepted in the comments until 3pm PST next Friday, 24 July. You have a 50-50 shot at being correct, if that helps. There are no prizes for being right, just bragging rights.

Monday Musings - No. 1, Vol. 16

Today I have the Monday Blechs. This happens occasionally; in fact, I know I've blogged about how some Mondays just hit me harder than others. I fear today's Musings would be more like a Rantings and who wants to read that crap? Not me...and I think you probably wouldn't either. Instead, I decided to cut-and-paste one of my favorite Wikipedia lists of all time: the various aliases (aliai?) used by Ol' Dirty Bastard, may he rest in peace. Some of these you will recognize if you know much about ODB and/or the Wu-Tang Clan. However, some are more obscure and therefore, more hilarious. I've been looking for a 'pet name' for the fetus and haven't found one I like yet. Maybe this list will provide me with one? (Note: I've bolded the ones that make me laugh the most.)

Big Baby Jesus, Sweet Baby Jesus (from ODB: Dirty Minded Documentary)
Dirt McGirt, Dirt Dog
Russell Jones
Osirus
Osiris the Father
Ason Unique, Unique Ason
Joe Bananas
Ol' Dirt Schultz
Old Dirty Chinese Restaurant (from Chappelle's Show)
The Bebop Specialist
Dirk Hardpec
The Man of All Rainbows
Prince Delight
The Professor
Rain Man
Big Box o' Chili
Roll Fizzlebeef
Super Bastard
Peanut the Kidnapper
RJ Tha Mad Specialist
Freeloading Rusty
Hasaan
Ill Irving the Murderer
The BZA
The Drunken Master Styles

Tuesday Vote-Grabbing

I entered a photo into MSNBC's It's A Snap travel photo contest, inspired by the impressive showings of two of my friends, Charles and Josh. (Both of them actually WON in the last two weeks!) I didn't get an email from MSN - or didn't see it - so I didn't know my photo* was a finalist this week until Josh mentioned it on Facebook after I congratulated him on his win.

So the goal now is to Vandalize this contest and get UI alums the three-peat (copyright Pat Riley)! Vote for me here (second row, far left)!

*Actually, the husband TOOK the photo, but I asked him to because I loved the view with the statue in it. It's my favorite of all the Italy photos we came home with last year.

Canadian Fun Facts!

In honor of Canada Day (which is suspiciously close to USA Day, aka 4th of July), I thought I'd blog a few fun facts about our silly neighbor to the north. I know these are authentic, because I got them from the CIA's World Factbook site. And who would know those sly maple leafers better than our country's intelligence agency? Enjoy!

1. Drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic drug market and export to US; use of hydroponics technology permits growers to plant large quantities of high-quality marijuana indoors; increasing ecstasy production, some of which is destined for the US; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering because of its mature financial services sector.

2. International Disputes: sovereignty dispute with Denmark over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Ellesmere Island and Greenland; commencing the collection of technical evidence for submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in support of claims for continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from its declared baselines in the Arctic, as stipulated in Article 76, paragraph 8, of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

3. Birth Rate: 10.28 births/1,000 population (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 192 .

4. Education Spending: 5.2% of GDP (2002) country comparison to the world: 63 .

5. Natural Hazards: continuous permafrost in north is a serious obstacle to development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and North American interior, and produce most of the country's rain and snow east of the mountains.

6. Major Industries: transportation equipment, chemicals, processed and unprocessed minerals, food products, wood and paper products, fish products, petroleum and natural gas.

7. Imports (Commodities): machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, crude oil, chemicals, electricity, durable consumer goods.

8. Military Expenditures: 1.1% of GDP (2005 est.) country comparison to the world: 132 .

9. Airports w/ Paved Runways: 514. Airports w/o Paved Runways: 855.

10. Gov't Type: a parliamentary democracy, a federation, and a Commonwealth realm.

I hope you've learned some new information about America's Hat. As you can see, Canada is a glorious nation, just ripe for the picking. O Canada!

In Lieu of Musings: An open letter to the Postal Service

Dear USPS Effbags,

Getting a mail key for my new house should not be the equivalent of trying to smuggle refugees out of North Korea. Please be advised that most people only buy a new house once in their lives, and therefore, are not aware of the flaming hoops of dog shit you require us to jump through just to get a key for our mailbox.
It would also be helpful for everyone involved if your branches would answer their ringing phone every so often. It would avoid a lot of wasted time, gas, and patience on the part of your customers to merely pick up said ringing phone, answer a few basic questions about the mail key acquirementage, and then hang up. Also, charging me $40 for three mail keys is borderline highway robbery. I can only hope that you will use the proceeds from this outlandish charge to better train your people on how to answer phones and treat people like PEOPLE.
Furthermore, making me fill out a form IN PERSON AT YOUR OUT OF THE WAY DISTRIBUTION CENTER and then telling me that I can only pay for those keys with a check or cash is ridiculous. It's 2009, therefore, it's time to install credit card machines in your buildings.

Sincerely (but not really),
Disgruntled Postal Customer #45,600,501

Monday Musings, No. 1, Vol. 15

Ah, the Monday after a vacation week. It's enough to make your brain melt into a puddle of goo. In fact, mine may well have, but it's still functioning (barely) so that must be a good sign. We came back to a half-packed house, a closing date on Thursday, and work emails up the yin-yang. I need a break, so 'tis time for a smattering of Musings...

Boston was fabulous. We made good use of the T and saw about everything we needed or wanted to see while we were there. I'll post about our trip later - with photos! - but maybe not until after the move. We'll see.
My brother-in-law got married on Saturday (yay!) and again, for like, the third wedding in a row, I forgot to eat a slice of cake.
My belly is looking less bloaty and fat and more pregnanty. Which is good, but now I'm getting to the point where I can't ignore the need for maternity pants. Shopping is in order.
NBA draft is on Thursday and I'm very excited to see who gets Pritch-slapped this year. Hopefully it's Travis Outlaw.
Re: the move - do I call Verizon and ask them to move our service now or wait until after we're moved in? I don't want to be cable/phone/internetless for very long.
I'm keeping a closer eye on what's happening in N. Korea than the Iranian election fallout. Pyongyang is a lot closer to Portland than Tehran.
I like the new Jalapeno Cheddar Tortilla Combos a lot. They are quite tasty.
I had a French manicure done for the wedding. My nails look really nice, which is a problem, because now I'm gonna want them to look like this all the time. Manicures = $$$
I was disappointed in last week's Real Housewives of New Jersey finale. I really thought Teresa's table-flipping and subsequent meltdown would have taken longer than it did. Only 3 minutes of that, Bravo? Come on.
I have to get a bit of groceries for the week, but since we're moving on Saturday, I don't want to buy much. I wish there was a Grocery Fairy who could just bring me the food I need and not make me pay for any of it.
Fenway Franks are oddly delicious. I could have eaten five of them, but luckily the husband had more restraint than I did.

Blogging Break

This is my last post before we head out on vacation. First we head to Spokane for a weekend with the in-laws and for bachelor/bachelorette parties for my brother-in-law's wedding. Then we ditch the kids (aka doglets) with the in-laws for a few days while the husband and I head to Boston for our 5th anniversary trip. Back to Spokane for the wedding weekend festivities (both of us are in the wedding party) and then home to Portland. Whew.

Needless to say, I won't have time to blog while we're away. But please take a look at Jen's blog (the link is in my Fave Blogs list) and say a prayer for her sister, Amy. I graduated with both Jen and Amy (and their husbands) from high school.

Upon my return, I'll post about our time in Boston and the wedding too. Hopefully with photos.

Monday Musings, No. 1, Vol. 14

I usually find that writing out the Musings helps me with the Monday Crabbies. I'm one of those people who wakes up on a Monday and decides, before I am even fully awake, that it's bound to be a crappy day...just because it's a Monday. And today hasn't let me down; it's been a crappy Monday. I'm gonna get my muse on now, before I just give up on today...

Lately (meaning the last few days or so), I've developed a lack of appetite. This is a problem because I have to eat in order to properly grow the fetus. It's not that I don't get hungry, but when I try to decide what to eat, nothing sounds good. I also have 'food cost anxiety,' which is probably an issue best left between me and my imaginary therapist. But it's a very real and rather weird problem.
The new season of Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List starts tonight. I'm tres excited...I love her show.
We take off soon for our vacation. Which is fantastic, because I need a vacation. I really haven't had one since we went to Italy for two weeks last spring. I guess you could count the week I took off of work after my dad died, but I don't.
Moving party on June 27th. RSVP if you want to relocate our belongings with us. Pizza and beer and other beverages will be provided.
This week, the fetus is the size of a lemon (or a small peach, depending on which source you consult) and making me feel really fat around the middle. It's weird - I've gained around 3lbs but it's all in my waist so far. I guess that's good, but I'm not showing, so I just look bloated all the time. Pretty.
I miss beer. More than I thought I would at this point.
I really want to see The Hangover. I've heard it's as hilarious as I hoped it would be.

Monday Musings - No. 1, Vol. 13

More house drama over the weekend, but thankfully it has been resolved and we forge ahead. We have to do some repairs on our current house's siding, but it's a relatively easy (and kinda cheap) fix, so we can't complain too much. Gotta love inspectors that scare the bejeez outta first-time buyers and convince them at least $12k in repairs are "necessary" before they take possession. Ugh. Musings to be house drama-free...

I've decided to challenge myself to see how cheaply, but well, I can eat. Food is expensive.
Why is Jon & Kate Plus 8 still on? Gads, those people are just a disaster.
I want to start buying cute maternity clothes, but the doctor doesn't think I'll start showing for another 5-6 weeks. Ugh.
Can't wait until Boston. Less than two weeks!
The dogs are in a funky mood lately. Maybe they FINALLY realized that I'm pregnant. So much for those sharp canine instincts.
Scary news today about that Air France flight that just fell out of the sky today. Magoo.
Who wants to bake me some carrot cake with cream cheese frosting? I don't like walnuts. Sure, I could bake it myself, but I'd rather have someone do it for me.
Sometimes I get iPhone Envy. Not often, but sometimes. Mostly when I see a new app advertised on TV.
I'm getting darker on my arms after all the sun we've had recently. My legs, however, are still as white as can be.