Hey lady, it's not a clown car!

I'm all for reproductive freedom (mostly; very complex issue for me), but COME ON!

What's Been Going On

Lots of random stuff to report. Here we go:

• I have gall stones and my doctor wants me to have the old gallbladder removed. Not thrilled about the prospect, but also not thrilled about another three-hour, middle-of-the-night episode of that pain. So far I am watching what I eat (my doctor's exact words were "very low fat diet") and doing some research to make sure I really should have a body part removed.
• My grandma has terminal cancer. Thinking about her dying is, well, unthinkable. I'm going to see her in a couple of weeks.
• A childhood friend just died of cancer. Although we hadn't been in touch for years, it still came as quite a shock. 40 is way too young to die. I'm glad I got to talk to him at our high school reunion two years ago.
• On to happier things...Bret and I have a real date this weekend. First time since January, when 10 minutes after we got to the restaurant his mom called to say Lauren was puking. So I'm keeping my expectations low that this is actually going to happen. She already has a runny nose; who knows what that could turn into in a few days?
• I am Mad Men Obsessed. The third DVD from season 2 is arriving from Netflix tomorrow, then I have the rest of season 2 and the beginning of season 3 recorded at home. Good lord, how I love to lose myself in that show.
• I'm getting my hair cut and colored on Saturday. I believe the time has come to start dyeing in earnest. I pulled an amazingly thick white hair out of my head the other day; the brown strands are about as thin and wimpy as can be, but those white ones, boy, they like to be seen.
• Is it just me, or do there seem to be an awful lot of pregnant women walking around these days? I think half the moms of kids in Lauren's class are pregnant. Darn breeders.

Mom Days Off

I am incredibly fortunate to get 4 weeks of vacation -- it's a big reason why I took my current job. As I tell everyone, 4 weeks of vacation is like pure gold to a working mom, and I would scrub this entire facility with my own toothbrush for that kind of time off.

I have yet to take more than 2 days off in a row, however. When you're a working mom, days off are for things like getting your teeth and carpets cleaned (both of which I'll be doing tomorrow). It's the only way stuff like that gets done. One day last summer I scheduled 4 doctor appointments for one day. So much easier than trying to take a couple of hours off here and there and make up the time at work.

For any kind of house project larger than, say, running the vacuum, I have to take a day off work. There's no way I can paint or work on the landscaping or organize a room in the evenings (I wouldn't get to it until after Lauren goes to bed, and I have zero energy by then anyway) or on the weekend (only have enough time to do the basics, like buy groceries and do laundry).

I am hoping to take a full week off sometime next year for the three of us to take a little trip. But for now, I will be grateful that I am still getting paid on those days I'm home shredding bills or cleaning out my car or running errands or having my doctor tell me to eat skinless chicken and walk more often. Plenty of moms aren't so lucky.

Big Girls Need Love, Too

I totally watched this last night. I've never seen so much Lane Bryant and insecurity in the same room before (and trust me, I've got plenty o'both).

Oh, my poor, sad little blog. I have been neglecting you for lack of anything meaningful to write about. Or at least the gumption to write down any meaningful thoughts I've had.

The summer has been nice, both weather-wise and otherwise. ("Nice" is not a very descriptive word, but that's all I've got right now.) We've taken a long weekend with my extended family, a long weekend to visit friends in Nashville and will soon take another long weekend with Bret's family. I think next year we're going to do something, just the three of us. Hopefully go away for a whole week, which we haven't done in ages, and never since Lauren's arrival.

Lauren is in a new school because her old one closed (with less than a week's notice) and we like it even better. I think she does, too.

We have spent a lot of time this summer talking about changes -- jobs, houses, etc. and it looks like all will stay the same, at least for now. That's okay with me. There are many good things about where we are.

The only other news I have is that somehow I went from a 5+ year old phone that I barely knew how to use to a BlackBerry Storm that I really don't know how to use. It's kind of a fun toy, if a bit unnecessary. Sometimes you need something like that, just for the heck of it.

More House Pics

As promised, here are some after/still in progress photos of the landscaping.


This is a VAST improvement over what the front of the house looked like when we bought it -- orangish-red double front door (very Brady Bunch), same color shutters and massively overgrown shrubs everywhere. I built that stone wall a few years ago and am still pretty proud of it.

Found the rock in the side yard and decided it belonged in the front. That thing was seriously heavy.

My folks bought me the trellis for Christmas. You can't see it, but there is a plant at the base of it that's just starting to climb up.

They're a little sad now, but these 3 blue maid holly bushes should fill in nicely...hopefully it'll happen soon. We still need to define the edge of the beds and plant more grass.

The Great Landscaping Project of 2009

Here's what the front of the house looked like before the tree guys came and removed 33 years worth of overgrown shrubs:

And here's what it looked like when they were done:

Lovely, eh? Here's more.

Before:

(I kid you not, the short, stubby shrub on the left was the size of a Volkswagen.)

And after:

The other side of the house before:

I don't have an "after" of that, but you get the idea.

Things don't look nearly so bare as they do in the "after" pics here. Next time I'll post what it looks like now, after Bret spent 3 days spreading 7 cubic (cubic, right? I don't do math) yards of topsoil around the foundation, and then mulch on top of that. I planted 3 new shrubs and 5 perennials last weekend in the front and hope to plant some more this weekend.