And now for a little song

Oh Christmas in July
Will come, and happy am I
For our counter tops will bare
Fresh new "underwear"
(It's just laminate you see,
but who cares -- I'm pleased as can be!)

Our kitchen floors may need glue
Because they'll be brand new
While our bed is getting smaller
I may sleep on the floor and holler
About how much I love the checks
replacing the old floor -- blech

Fa la la, fa la la
Floors and counters to be
Fa la la, fa la la
Happy happy me

Today I sign the papers
That passes the condo caper
To another couple who love
The courtyard and loft above
But I am delighted, you see
Because no more double mortgage for me!
(To be fair, it's Ray who pays
the mortgages, day after day.)

Fa la la, fa la la
Condo goes away
Fa la la, fa la la
Condo money will pay
Fa la la, fa la la
For floors and counters, hurray!

Milk Duds!

All those pokes in the arm were worth it: no gestational diabetes! Bring on the Milk Duds!

(Hmmm, Dairy Queen dip cone would work too.)

You can't always get what you want

For the last 24 hours, all I've really wanted is Milk Duds. Golly, that sounds good, probably because I can't have 'em.

I may have gestational diabetes. We don't know yet because I screwed up the screening test last week. See, the instruction sheet said that I was not allowed to eat anything 3 hours before the test. The whole procedure involves drinking a bottle of Sprite-like stuff, waiting an hour, and then having blood drawn. I thought the blood draw itself constituted the "test". Not so. "The test includes the drinking part," the nurse told me. Therefore, my Cheerios and nectarine were consumed about an hour into the prescribed pre-test fasting period. Ooops. (But damn, who can resist nectarines right now!)

So I get to go back in and do the super test on Monday: after fasting for 8-12 hours, I'll need to sit there and have my blood drawn once an hour for three hours. Ugh...what kind of special torture is it to keep a pregnant person from eating for up to 15 hours! It's my own fault, I suppose. I'll try to keep myself distracted with a couple projects. Lord knows there's plenty to do.

In other gestationally related news, we took Ray's dad to La Costa last night. On Friday nights, a 10-12 piece mariachi band plays in the restaurant, all decked out in their swanky matching mariachi-style suits and boots. They must have a huge repertoire, because we rarely hear them play the same things from night to night. Anyway, I have never felt the baby move around like that before. Both her legs and arms were going, so much so that I had to stop eating as she was jabbing my stomach. She stopped as soon as we left the restaurant, so she must've been dancing along to the music. Hilarious.

Daytime television

Ray's dad, who is staying with us for a few weeks, is a nice house guest. But I have to say, with no fault to his dad whatsoever, that the sound of daytime television he likes to watch is unnerving. I'm not talking about soap opera drama -- I'm talking about talk shows. I hadn't realized that they've gotten so obnoxious. Apparently everyone has followed Jerry Springer's lead with audience participation...people cheering and yelling from the audience about every 25 seconds. I wonder if they pass out some special upper-laced koolaid or triple shot coffee drinks before the show, and threaten bodily harm if they don't cheer, guffaw and clap spastically on cue. I don't get it...what's the appeal?

The silver lining

The benefit of being sick is that you realize how great normal daily life can be. While I am still fighting the end of this cold, I've had a spectacular coupla days, which included:

- viewing good indie movie "Interview" with Steve Buscemi (director/actor) fielding Q&A afterwards and subsequent movie club discussion at Linda's Tavern
- interviewing and securing an awesome doula, which has already decreased my labor anxiety by half
- seeing Ray at his new job, which is such a better fit than the last one, plus it's downtown rather than dreaded Bellevue
- eating the perfect lunch (turkey sandwich from Bakemen's with a bag of Cheetos)
- getting nails done with Jana on her birthday
- buying vintage fabric at new hipster fabric store on Capitol Hill
- having the flooring guy come over in 30 minutes to plan for our new kitchen floor
- having the doctor confirm that yes, the baby is actually dancing on my bladder.

Suckage

I think I've experienced two of the worse colds in the last month -- right after I'd announced to several people "I haven't been sick in ages!" I thought I beat the lung gaging cough about two weeks ago, and suddenly here I am sick again. Really sick. The kind of sick where you feel too shitty to sleep and too shitty to be awake. My immune system has apparently put me on the back burner in favor of the baby, which I can't argue with, but damn, does this ever suck.

More tea, sudoku, and movies in bed with my laptop (which would ordinarily be enjoyable if I didn't want to completely rip out my sinuses, throat and lungs). And maybe I can work on some more pleasant blog topics while I'm at it.

Adieu Sopranos

After giving it some thought, I've decided I liked the very David Chase-y ending to the Sopranos. The blacking out thing at the end reminded me of those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books I read as a kid. In my version, the blacking out part is when Tony is shot by the Members-Only guy coming out of the bathroom, a la Godfather I. I also like the version where nothing happens, the family has a nice dinner with their onion rings and goes home, Silvio recovers, and AJ becomes less of a twit.

I'm satisfied, though I need to pick out a new show to watch. I need to have at least one show to keep tabs on...at least until August.

This also makes me realize that I'm going to really sad when Harry Potter is over.

P.S. That cat was Christopher, coming back to taunt Paulie.

Exactly!

No one says it better than the Muppets!

Have you seen my brain?

Tomorrow, about 12 hours from now, is my last final and therefore my last bit of official school for 15 months. It's a little sad to be done for awhile (minus research projects). More importantly, it's more than a bit nerve-wracking that I CANNOT focus on studying. My brain has already finished with classes, celebrated with a couple rounds of tequila, and is on a beach somewhere, sunning itself and reading trashy fiction.

Dude, there is a final to attend, and more than that, score well on. Can you put away the Bridget Jones-style chic lit, get back on the plane and meet me at the U at 8:30 tomorrow? I need you!

Feliz Anniversario

I love being married to someone who never forgets anything (good thing for forgetful me!), and who cheerfully helps with things he doesn't necessarily want to do. Yer a keeper, Ray!

Sopranos Finale

The Sopranos wraps up next Sunday, and after seeing the next to last episode tonight, I wish I had better hunches about how everything is going to conclude. I understand it wraps up in a no-chance-of-any-more-installments kind of way, but I'm flummoxed on what that'll mean. Maybe...

- Tony dies at the hand of one of Phil's goons. This seems just too predictable, so I think not.

- Tony turns himself in to the Feds out of fear of dying at the hands of one of Phil's goons. Nah, I don't think so.

- Tony dies in some silly unrelated way...like tripping into the swimming pool while blowdrying his hair, or a good ol' massive coronary. Maybe!

- Tony's killed by one of his immediate family members...Carmela or AJ maybe. Could happen.

- Tony dies at the hand of one of his own men. Possible...maybe Paulie? (I have a hunch that Paulie is going to be a very important player in the end.)

- Tony leaves all this behind and moves to a vineyard in Sicily. That's what I would do if I were Tony.

- Tony takes his own life after seeing the writing on the wall about his demise. Hmmm, maybe.

- Tony is gravely injured in one of the above scenarios, and he joins Junior at the State funny farm. Carmela finds lost love Furio (is he still alive?) and moves to Italy. Meadow becomes the Justice Department's top legal eagle in the Organized Crime division. AJ joins the army until his dishonorable discharge for whining. Then he goes and works for Phil and gets offed immediately for being annoying.