House of Estrogen

Life is Just One Big Smackdown Sometimes

Tonight was supposed to be my mini-escape. I was going to take two hours off from my job as mother, wife, caretaker, diaper-changer, cook, nose-wiper, dish-washer, taxi-driver, ice-pack-fetcher, referee, housekeeper, and lunch-packer to get my hair done. My poor neglected hair and psyche were in need of a boost - both in highlights and spirit. My appointment was great. I got my fill of quiet and US Weekly while the stylist made my hideous roots magically disappear. I looked in the mirror, admired my new do, felt rejuvenated, and got up to leave. Then, suddenly, I was down - flat. on. the. floor. I don't think I've ever gone from standing to floor that fast. My right shoulder, right hand, and left knee all throbbing, I picked myself up off the floor, dusted all the hair clippings off my clothes, and looked around to figure out what jerk had shoved me down. I realized I had somehow hooked my foot behind the foot rest of the chair when I got up. Ouch. So much for feeling energized and refreshed... I just feel bruised and broken. Clearly, we haven't shaken that hex yet. Sigh.

And the Winner is...

Before getting to the good stuff, I want to take just a second to thank you blog readers for all the lovely kind comments! I got a big smile on my face and felt all warm and pumpkin spice latte-ish inside with each one I read. Seriously... thank you. You know how to make this bloggin' mama feel loved!

Now on to the winner. The first random number generated was one of my own comments, so I am now the very happy recipient of a Starbuck's gift card! Whee! More PSL for me!

That didn't seem quite fair to the rest of you though and not exactly in the spirit of the giveaway, so here's the second winner!

  
  
 And comment number 19 was:

Kristen, your Starbuck's card will be heading your way tomorrow! CONGRATS!  And while I'm at it, I'll give Kristen a little free advertising. Check out her AMAZING newborn photography here... *almost*  makes me want to have another!

Just a little reminder!

If you want to be entered to win the Starbuck's gift card, go to the blogiversary post and leave a comment!  I'll close comments and announce the winner about 10:00 EST tonight!  Good luck!

No, It's Not THAT.

Oh how I wish I had had a camera in my hand this morning, so I could share with all of you the panic-stricken look on J.C.'s face when he asked me this morning about the "Stay Tuned..." post. (He even left his first ever comment on that post!) With fear in his eyes and apprehension in his voice, he nervously said, "So what is this all about? It sounds like something you would post before announcing that you're pregnant." As fun as it might have been to just string him along and tell him he would find out what that post was about when everyone else does, I was a little worried he might move out today while I was at work if I didn't reassure him that I was definitely NOT pregnant. So, dear husband, this post is for you. I am not, nor do I have any plans to become, pregnant.

As a side note though, I'm not sure whether to be concerned or amused that he thought I would announce something like that on the blog before telling him personally! I'll have to ponder that one some more later.

So, you now have one hint. I am not pregnant. That's your only hint. Check back soon!

Stay Tuned....

Just one more post until...

Dream Analysis, Anyone?

I am one of those people who remember my dreams... in vivid color, with every last detail, and exact wording. I'm not sure whether that is a desired skill set or not, but it is what it is. I am a dream rememberer.

This was my dream last night... anyone care to take a shot at analyzing it?

I was walking out on the deck to throw some burgers on the grill. J.C. was out there. He had gone out and purchased a much larger, fancier, more expensive grill and was getting ready to load it up with two marinated flank steaks, a giant ribeye, and a bunch of burgers. There was a long table of people on the deck laughing and socializing. I asked him what he was doing, and he said, "I've been doing some reading, and you really aren't cooking enough food. We need to be cooking more food." Upset, I turned and ran. I decided I was going to go to the physical location of this blog. Even though I had never been there before, I knew there was a grill there where I could cook my burgers. I got in the car with my plate full of raw patties and drove there. The blog location was on a blind curve in the road, so I had to park on the shoulder and hope I wasn't hit as I got out of the car. When I got out, I saw tarantulas everywhere. Some were huge animatronic ones. Others were live. There were also these zombie looking children who yelled at me asking what I was doing there. I told them it was MY BLOG and I could cook burgers there if I wanted to. The tarantulas started climbing up my legs at which point, I started kicking, began to wake up, and accidentally kicked J.C..

At that point, I was fully awake, furious with J.C., and trying to determine whether he had really gone out and bought that big new grill and criticized my food calculation skills or whether it was all just a dream.

So, any Freud wannabes out there want to take a stab at this one?

Peanuts... Butter

The break rooms at my company are stocked with a few complimentary snack items - M&M's, mixed nuts, crackers, and peanut butter. One day last week, I walked into the break room to grab an afternoon snack. There were several European men in there chatting away in one or more languages I couldn't understand. I thought I heard a bit of French and perhaps some German. As I pulled out a graham cracker and started spreading peanut butter on it, one of the men stared intently at my little concoction. He then picked up a jar of peanut butter, studied it and said to me with a strong accent, "Peanuts.... Butter.... is this good? This peanuts...butter?"  I sheepishly responded, "I like it."  He then said, "It smells very strong, this peanuts... butter. Maybe I will try it some time."  I probably should have offered to fix up a graham cracker with peanut butter for him right there on the spot, but I was too shocked and stunned that this guy had never in his life seen or heard of peanut butter to do anything. I promptly left the break room and went straight to the Brit's office next to mine and exclaimed, "Dude! Do you guys not eat peanut butter in Europe?" He laughed and said he had never seen it until he was about 12. He surmised that the guys in the break room were Scandinavian and truly had probably never encountered peanut butter. Can you imagine?  I know this makes me sound like an ignorant, naive American, but seriously, that just knocked me off my feet!  I do love me some peanuts... butter! Guess I should call off my plans to move to Norway, huh?

Kilograms are my Friend

I hopped on the bathroom scale yesterday morning only to look down in shock at a number that was less than half what I was expecting. I knew I hadn't lost half my body weight overnight, and after closer inspection, I determined the scale was now reading in kilograms. Nina, the junior engineer, or Addie, the curious toddler, was surely to blame for the setting change, but it wasn't immediately obvious how to switch it back to pounds. Instead of getting down on all fours to study the scale buttons, I just hopped off the scale and went about my day knowing that my weight sounded oh so nice. Obviously, I could have Googled a converter to convert the kilograms to pounds, but where's the fun in that? Heck, that little exercise might have shown that I had gained weight.  I certainly didn't want to destroy my happy place with that knowledge.  I decided I was much more content just knowing my weight in kilograms. Period. I could eat a Five Guys burger guilt free knowing that even if my weight went up, the number would still look really good.  It is sort of nice losing the baggage of your weight in pounds. I have no reference of how many kilograms I weighed in high school, or how many kilograms of me fit in my wedding dress, or how many kilograms I weighed before I got pregnant with Nina when I fit in my skinny jeans. Instead, I just have this one lone number. I'll know if I lose. I'll know if I gain. What I won't know is how that weight measures up to my past. I'm liking that. It is a new beginning.

Unfortunately, J.C. noticed the kilogram setting this morning, so knowing his finicky pound-measuring ways, he has probably figured out how to switch it back to pounds.  I may have to hire Nina to change it back for me each morning. My kilograms are a nice escape from reality, and  I'm not ready to give that up!

I Gotta Feeling

This has been a rough week. I have a lot on my mind and a lot on my plate right now. I've been struggling with some things, so today when my friend Mama over at The Elmo Wallpaper posted this post, it was just what I needed. It put a smile on my face and a spring in my step. She was posting a link to Oprah's Kickoff Party Dance. Watch it. Seriously. Even if you don't like Oprah, don't like pop music, or just aren't in the mood. I promise it will make you smile, and it does a body good to get a smile in each day. Thanks for the smile, Oprah and Mama! 

Who is Invited to Your Fantasy Dinner Party?

My high school reunion is coming up (No, I'm not going to admit which one), and although I'm not attending, I did fill out the questionaire for the memory book. It had a few irritating questions like, "How have you changed most since high school?" What am I supposed to say to that? I'm fatter? I've got wrinkles? I've pushed out three babies and have saggy boobs? I'm older and wiser? Pfftt... I just skipped that one. One of the questions was a fun one though - "What guests would you have at a fantasy dinner party?" They didn't specify a number, but I went with eight since that seems like a nice dinner party size. Here is my list, in no particular order.

Barack and Michelle Obama because I would be thrilled to meet them, and they both inspire me in so many ways. Maybe Barack could explain his healthcare plan to me in person. Since I attended a very conservative high school in a very red state (hint... Dubya lives about two miles from my parents now), I'll probably be left off the guest list for future reunions.

Heather Armstrong, a.k.a. Dooce because she makes me LAUGH. Hard. Often.

Ben Stiller because I love his movies. Zoolander, Dodgeball, There's Something About Mary... classics.

Martin Luther King, Jr. because he was such an amazing charismatic leader. It would be such an honor to speak with him and hear his stories, ideas, and dreams.

Jon Stewart because he is so brilliantly witty on the Daily Show.

My grandfather who was a pilot in WWII and lost his life when his plane was shot down near Guadalcanal. I never got to meet him, but I'm so proud of his accomplishments.

Ellen DeGeneres because I don't have enough other funny people at the table to entertain me? She's great... funny, clever, passionate, talented, and I just think she would be a fun person to get to know. She could choose the music for the party.

So, who would you invite to your fantasy dinner party? They can be dead or alive. Click here to leave me a comment with your list, or if you have a blog, you can post it there.