Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Catching Up

Our Memorial Day weekend was relatively quiet. Eugene attended a Nordic walking seminar Saturday morning; I'll leave it up to him to discuss that if he wants. That afternoon, we had our car seats checked to make sure they were installed properly. The technicians made a few minor adjustments, but overall Eugene did a good job with them. Sunday we visited his parents and got to enjoy the nice weather on their deck. On the way back home, we visited a couple of people we know through an Internet forum. One of them had given Eugene some advice, so he made a batch of cookies to thank her. We talked with them for about two and a half hours. We got home late, but it was nice to meet them. Monday morning we returned to Dinner by Design (I blogged about them before) and stocked up the freezer. I also got to talk to some friends. Not my normal holiday weekend, but it probably was for the best to take it easy.

Other than that, I've been busy with doctor's appointments and getting ready for the big event. I'm still working and plan to do so through next week. Writing has been going pretty slowly, but I think I got past a sticking point. It would be nice to post something on OWW before the baby comes.

Friday, May 25, 2007

Triple Tag

Seems like this is going around again; three of the bloggers I read regularly have been tagged in the past few days. One tagged me by name; the others by default of reading them. I guess I should play along:

From Sheila's blog--seven wierd things about myself:

1. I'm left-handed, but I crochet with my right hand. All of the pattern books are written for righties, so it was easier to learn how to do it right-handed than to switch all the directions over.

2. I write science fiction. Need I say more?

3. I'm not a girly-girl. I don't care about fashion, shoes, purses, or jewelry (other than a few sentimental pieces).

4. I've never seen American Idol, Lost, Heroes, or many other popular shows. TV just sucks up your time. (Well, so does the Internet, but I guess I enjoy that more.)

5. I haven't been to the movies in well over a year either. I might change that if we go see Shrek the Third this weekend, but it depends on how I'm feeling.

6. I built a DNA model out of beads and wire when I was a teenager.

7. I read science and English textbooks when I was a child. Hey, they were just sitting there....


From Maria's blog--eight random things/facts about me:

1. I didn't drink soda as a kid, but I became addicted to Mountain Dew when I was in high school. I finally gave it up a few years ago when the caffiene gave me problems.

2. My favorite scents are lilac and lily of the valley.

3. There's a statue of an Egyptian scribe on my desk.

4. Although my parents are German, I learned more of the language in school than I did from them.

5. I used to work at McDonald's. The first night I helped close the place, I tripped and got cut by some metal trays. I still have the scar on my finger.

6. I don't like coffee, but I do like tea.

7. I've been wearing my houseshoes to work for the past month due to my swollen feet.

8. I prefer unicorns to dragons.

Finally, from Sara, five reasons why I blog:

1. To keep in touch with old friends, many of whom I don't get to see in person very often. By reading their blogs and posting what I'm up to, I feel more connected to them.

2. To connect with other people who share my interests, such as writing.

3. To discuss writing in particular--how my latest work is going, what techniques work for me, and how I feel about my progress or lack thereof.

4. To express my views on the world or current events.

5. To carve out a small portion of immortality for myself on the Internet


Well, that was a lot to post at once. I'm going to bend the rules a bit here; I'll tag Russ, Eugene, and Sue to choose one of the above memes for their own blogs.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Missing Madison

"From you have I been absent in the spring...." Shakespeare, Sonnet 98

Normally I would be getting ready to drive up to Madison, Wisconsin tomorrow for WisCon, the feminist science fiction convention I've been attending oh, since 1998, I think. But not this year. It's too close to my due date, and the last thing I need to worry about is going into labor while I'm up there and fighting the traffic back to the Chicago area. It's hard for me to get around anyway. That won't stop me from thinking about Madison--the Farmer's Market, State Street, and all the other things I miss about my favorite city. Plus of course there are panels I could be attending, people I could be meeting or renewing a friendship with, and lots of books I could be buying. We do have things planned for this weekend around here, but it just won't be the same. The best I can do is log on to the WisCon website and look for updates. So please excuse my bout of self-pity and homesickness. There's always next year, of course, but that's so far away.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Nine Months and Counting....

Tomorrow I'll be in my 36th week of pregnancy. Since pregnancy normally lasts for forty weeks, I will be officially 1.9 people (as Eugene likes to say). Due to various issues I don't want to go into here, my doctors don't want me to go past 39 weeks. I have to admit I'll be glad to be done a little early. This final trimester has been a bit rough. At least we're nearly done with the nursery. We still haven't picked out a name, though. To make matters worse, I can't find the list of possible names. Better clean out the desk this weekend!

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Dinner with Dancers

Well, friends from our tango class last year, anyway. We wanted to get together with our tango instructors too, but their weekends are booked for a couple of months. We got together at a place called the Bonefish Grill. The food was very good, especially the dessert--a warm, moist chocolate brownie with raspberry sauce and vanilla ice cream. One of the best desserts I've had in a long time. We had a good time talking with our friends too. I didn't think to bring the camera, though. Hopefully we'll get together with them again after the baby comes.

Not much else to report otherwise. The nursery is slowly starting to shape up. All of the furniture is in; we just need to hang up a few more things and organize the place. We'll post pictures when it's done.

I haven't got much writing done recently; I've either been busy or not feeling too well. But I did remove the first half of Lennon's Line. It's still about 112,000 words, which isn't too bad. I'd like to keep it under 120,000, which should be manageable even though I'll have to add in some of the backstory. Of course, now I have to come up with a better opening paragraph. Hopefully I won't rewrite the whole story again!

Friday, May 11, 2007

Missing In Action....

Yes, it's been a long time since I posted; I guess I'm getting lazy. I haven't been up to much beyond the usual--plus of course getting ready for the baby.

Sunday was my baby shower. My mother and mother-in-law co-hosted it at my mother-in-law's house. It was a good-sized shower, with friends and family from both sides. We got a variety of gifts, including some handmade blankets and outfits. We also got our car seat and Pack'n'Play (a combination bassinette/playpen). We have some pictures, but I haven't uploaded them yet.

I'm behind on my writing and reviews as well. Maybe tomorrow I can get back on track.

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