It occurred to me today that with Spoiled Baby making her own plans to enter the world (see the post on that over at How to Have a Baby), I won't have many more Fridays without her by my side! In fact...this could be my last. Wow!
It's incredible to look back and realize how much time has passed since we first found out she was coming. Absolutely incredible. And although it now seems that life is in fast forward and she'll be here before we know it...I can't wait!
Although, really, I can. First...she needs to grow, just a bit more. Second...I need Funny Daddy to get home before she gets here. (See the post on where he is over at Breakfast at Tiffany's.)
Question to all you mamas out there - in the last weeks of your pregnancies, what were you most looking forward to, other than the obvious fact that your baby would soon be a part of the world?
Have a great weekend, ya'll!
Excuses, Excuses
Published on
Thursday, September 18, 2008
in:
Life
,
Time to Write
Hi, Folks!
Geez...another five days have gone by, and no posts from me!
I promise...the ones that I've let you know were coming are still coming.
I was slammed with writing work over the weekend, in addition to participating in (and winning!) a Toastmasters Humorous Speech Contest and attending my last Lamaze class with my husband.
On Monday, I spent the whole day - and it was a long one - preparing for the all-day training classes I was coordinating for my full-time job (coordinating and presenting, I should add...and boy, am I tired!) and so that, of course, bled over to being very busy on Tuesday and Wednesday as well.
And then...we got the call yesterday that Chris would be deployed to the Galveston region this morning to assist in enforcement efforts for the areas hit by Hurricane Ike. In other words, he's going down there to police the idiots who either (a) refused to leave initially or (b) are now trying to get back on an island that has no power or running water. Yippee.
During the time he'll be there, they'll work 12 hour shifts on a rotational basis on each of those 10 days. As the state has not authorized overtime, they'll be compensated when they return by receiving an equal amount of compensatory time to the hours of overtime worked during those 10 days. This doesn't impress me. Chris already has hundreds of hours of vacation time banked. A few extra isn't exactly a boon. Plus, he's going to be exhausted when he gets back, which isn't exactly the ideal state to be in when a newborn baby comes along. And let's face it...we're only four weeks away from my actual due date, and since it's been the plan all along to go about two weeks early...we are definitely cutting it close here.
So yeah, I'm whining a bit. Sorry! Snapping out of it, now. I've decided that to keep myself busy while he's gone, I'm going to accomplish things that have been sitting on my to-do list for way too long. So I've re-done the list, and intend to be a busy little bee over the next week and a half. Watch out world, I've got lots to do!
Geez...another five days have gone by, and no posts from me!
I promise...the ones that I've let you know were coming are still coming.
I was slammed with writing work over the weekend, in addition to participating in (and winning!) a Toastmasters Humorous Speech Contest and attending my last Lamaze class with my husband.
On Monday, I spent the whole day - and it was a long one - preparing for the all-day training classes I was coordinating for my full-time job (coordinating and presenting, I should add...and boy, am I tired!) and so that, of course, bled over to being very busy on Tuesday and Wednesday as well.
And then...we got the call yesterday that Chris would be deployed to the Galveston region this morning to assist in enforcement efforts for the areas hit by Hurricane Ike. In other words, he's going down there to police the idiots who either (a) refused to leave initially or (b) are now trying to get back on an island that has no power or running water. Yippee.
MESSAGE TO IDIOTS IN GALVESTON: If you cause any harm to befall my husband, with our child only weeks away (we hope - please, God, let her at least wait until her dad comes home) from being born, I will hunt you down and kill you myself. That is a threat and I do mean it. I'm nearly as good a shot as he is and I'm fueled by hormones that you cannot even comprehend.So, in any case, he is leaving this morning at about 9 AM to arrive in some little podunk town down south called Sante Fe by 4 PM, where the Galveston County Sheriff's Office is using the local high school for staging. The amazing amenities he'll have access to during his 10-day deployment (which doesn't count his travel days...aren't we cutting it *just* a bit close here, folks, with baby?) include a hot shower (occasionally), three meals per day, and a room that the six agents who are traveling together can share, provided they bring all of their own bedding. (You can't imagine how much camping-type stuff Chris has packed in his state police vehicle, which I am now very thankful is a truck. I think he's taken every camping supply, in fact, that we own. Which is a lot!)
During the time he'll be there, they'll work 12 hour shifts on a rotational basis on each of those 10 days. As the state has not authorized overtime, they'll be compensated when they return by receiving an equal amount of compensatory time to the hours of overtime worked during those 10 days. This doesn't impress me. Chris already has hundreds of hours of vacation time banked. A few extra isn't exactly a boon. Plus, he's going to be exhausted when he gets back, which isn't exactly the ideal state to be in when a newborn baby comes along. And let's face it...we're only four weeks away from my actual due date, and since it's been the plan all along to go about two weeks early...we are definitely cutting it close here.
So yeah, I'm whining a bit. Sorry! Snapping out of it, now. I've decided that to keep myself busy while he's gone, I'm going to accomplish things that have been sitting on my to-do list for way too long. So I've re-done the list, and intend to be a busy little bee over the next week and a half. Watch out world, I've got lots to do!
A Sarah Palin Kind of Mom
Published on
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
in:
0 to Mom
,
Maternity Leave
,
Time Management
(If you don't follow my flagship blog, Breakfast at Tiffany's, you may not be aware of my political leanings. This post ought to give you a clue...)
I've been watching the news media swirl around Sarah Palin, as they've spent the past two weeks trying to figure out how they were going to attack her. And it intrigues me that one of the areas they have chosen to attack is the idea that Palin returned to work only days after the birth of her last child.
Quite honestly, folks, if this is the biggest concern they can find about this woman, they're trying waaaaay too hard.
First of all, Palin had the flexibility in her job necessary to be able to facilitate caring for her child while attending to her duties as governor. What's wrong with that?
Second, Palin has a terrific family and supportive husband. It's not like she's in this baby-raising business by herself. If a man returned to work earlier than what society deems as the norm, would he be similarly criticized?
And finally, this is Palin's fifth child. She certainly knows her own body well enough by this point to know what she can physically handle. And I'd have to say that she's one tough cookie from all of what I've seen.
I think I'd like to be a Sarah Palin kind of mom. I won't be heading back to my full-time job right after Spoiled Baby arrives, but I do intend to return to my writing commitments within about a week. There's no reason why I can't balance nurturing my child with sitting at my laptop for a few hours a day. My own husband is betting that I will end up cutting short the time I've planned to take off from my full time job, knowing full and well that I prefer to be on the go, but also trusting in my ability to balance that versus caring for my child.
And you know what? No matter how soon I return to my writing, or to my full time job, I am not a bad person...or a bad mother. Life is about finding the right balance for your own circumstances. Sarah Palin obviously realizes this...and so do I.
I've been watching the news media swirl around Sarah Palin, as they've spent the past two weeks trying to figure out how they were going to attack her. And it intrigues me that one of the areas they have chosen to attack is the idea that Palin returned to work only days after the birth of her last child.
Quite honestly, folks, if this is the biggest concern they can find about this woman, they're trying waaaaay too hard.
First of all, Palin had the flexibility in her job necessary to be able to facilitate caring for her child while attending to her duties as governor. What's wrong with that?
Second, Palin has a terrific family and supportive husband. It's not like she's in this baby-raising business by herself. If a man returned to work earlier than what society deems as the norm, would he be similarly criticized?
And finally, this is Palin's fifth child. She certainly knows her own body well enough by this point to know what she can physically handle. And I'd have to say that she's one tough cookie from all of what I've seen.
I think I'd like to be a Sarah Palin kind of mom. I won't be heading back to my full-time job right after Spoiled Baby arrives, but I do intend to return to my writing commitments within about a week. There's no reason why I can't balance nurturing my child with sitting at my laptop for a few hours a day. My own husband is betting that I will end up cutting short the time I've planned to take off from my full time job, knowing full and well that I prefer to be on the go, but also trusting in my ability to balance that versus caring for my child.
And you know what? No matter how soon I return to my writing, or to my full time job, I am not a bad person...or a bad mother. Life is about finding the right balance for your own circumstances. Sarah Palin obviously realizes this...and so do I.
Hurricane Reactions
Published on
Friday, September 12, 2008
in:
Tiffany Takes On
From CNN:
Wouldn't Darwin be proud?
September 12th, 2008Posted: 11:01 PM ET(CNN) — One person died Friday after drowning in the water off the coast of Corpus Christi, Texas, as Hurricane Ike approached, authorities said.
Capt. Robert MacDonald of the Nueces County Sheriff’s office said a 19-year-old man was swept out to sea after he and a friend went to the end of a 100-foot jetty to look at the waves generated by the storm.
One of those waves swept the man off the jetty and onto the rocks below, MacDonald said. Two bystanders tried to rescue the man but they were also pushed onto the rocks. One suffered serious injuries and was taken by helicopter to a hospital, the captain said.
The 19-year-old victim has been declared dead, MacDonald said, but the Coast Guard has not yet recovered his body.
Stupid People & Update
Published on
Friday, September 12, 2008
in:
Politics
,
Tiffany Takes On
I just saw something that was about the stupidest sentiment ever. And I really hesitate to directly call people stupid, but this was, and as an (a) blogger who likes pointing out idiots and (b) thinking individual, I just have to respond.
It said:
Are you freaking kidding me?
No, I'm not arguing the Biblical accuracy of Pilate being a Governor...he was Governor of Judea. Fine.
What I am going to take offense at is calling Jesus a Community Organizer. It's a whole long road from traveling around to bring people the Word of God to "organizing." Although I'm sure Obama would like to be able to raise people from the dead (he'd get more votes), walk on water (sure would help to visit the idiots who refuse to evacuate ahead of the hurricanes), and turn water into wine (this is self-evident), I'm kinda thinking he'd leave the game long before taking on anyone else's sins. Referring to Jesus as a Community Organizer would be akin to labeling Hillary as a non-partisan moderate - it just ain't right, man.
Let me, perhaps, offer a better example of a Community Organizer: Adolf Hitler.
My post has now reached out to Republicans, Democrats, Historians, Jews, Christians and stupid people...my work here is done. (If you're a Buddhist Libertarian, check back another time.)
It said:
Attention Sarah Palin:
Jesus Christ was a Community Organizer.
Pontius Pilate was a Governor.
Are you freaking kidding me?
No, I'm not arguing the Biblical accuracy of Pilate being a Governor...he was Governor of Judea. Fine.
What I am going to take offense at is calling Jesus a Community Organizer. It's a whole long road from traveling around to bring people the Word of God to "organizing." Although I'm sure Obama would like to be able to raise people from the dead (he'd get more votes), walk on water (sure would help to visit the idiots who refuse to evacuate ahead of the hurricanes), and turn water into wine (this is self-evident), I'm kinda thinking he'd leave the game long before taking on anyone else's sins. Referring to Jesus as a Community Organizer would be akin to labeling Hillary as a non-partisan moderate - it just ain't right, man.
Let me, perhaps, offer a better example of a Community Organizer: Adolf Hitler.
- He organized people to fight the standards of the government he perceived as mismanaged and wrongheaded.
- He gathered supporters for the cause of regaining national pride through charismatic speeches and using inflated promises and statistics to gain followers.
- He wrote a memoir before ever really achieving anything in life.
- He was not actually a part of the demographic he sought to represent.
My post has now reached out to Republicans, Democrats, Historians, Jews, Christians and stupid people...my work here is done. (If you're a Buddhist Libertarian, check back another time.)
