Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Unclear on the concept

So the other day I was cutting the grass with my old-time-style push-mower when this guy comes walking down the street raising money for something.

He: Hey, I haven't seen one of those lawn mowers in a while.
Me: Yeah, I like it, it's cheap and quiet.
He: And it doesn't pollute anything!

I gave him a coupla bucks, accepted his freebie token gift (a giant Pixy Stik) and watched him walk down to the corner...

...and light up a cigarette.

Um. Yeah. Good thing I don't pollute, dude.

Baby room progress

I'll have pictures up when it's done, but I'm making some progress on putting the Old McDonald scene in the baby's room. The sky and clouds were really easy - I was reminded of the Far Side with God rolling snakes out of clay, saying "Boy, these things are a cinch!"

Grass, rolling hills and trees were a little less easy, but the cartoony appearance I'm going for means there aren't...well, "mistakes." In the world I'm drawing, anything can happen!

I have pictures of animals on transparency that I'll project on the wall and trace, then paint. It should be pretty simple to finish. But for now, all you get is a teaser.

Not much going on lately

We've been mostly on autopilot lately. I've had some flu-like symptoms, so Tina's been taking care of me for a change. I don't like it. It's my job to care for her.

Tina did go all day yesterday without her nausea pill and seemed to make it OK. So maybe there has been some progress. She's still asleep this morning so I don't know her plans for today. I'm thinking she'll try an every-other-day weaning off the pill. That would be a good thing.

Amanda (friend and prior owner/beautifier of our beautiful home) brought over some maternity clothes...Tina was overjoyed that some of the cute pieces fit. So thanks to Amanda for that...very thoughtful.

And Tina was able to take apart a bit of prime rib for our anniversary at Lonestar. Odd thing: apparently Lonestar has some sort of automatic cooker that was putting out medium-rare prime rib and we couldn't have it any other way. But it was good stuff - not chewy at all, even though it was quite pink. Well-seasoned, too. Mine ended up slightly crusted with the cup-and-a-half of cinnamon sugar they poured on my sweet potato. Not bad, really.

Saturday, May 14, 2005

Overheard at Olive Garden

The worst snippet of conversation I can imagine coming from a woman (and this not a week after Mother's Day):

Self-centered vainglorious middle-ager 1: "When my ex-husband left me, my son was six years old and he couldn't sleep for three years. He kept calling out for his Daddy all night long."

Self-centered vainglorious middle-ager 2: "That must have been traumatic for you, too."

Self-centered vainglorious middle-ager 1: "Well, I got the house."

All: Laughter, of the "you're-so-naughty-clever" type.

Me, under my breath: "Ever wonder why he left you?"

Now, the issue isn't whether she got the house from him. That's just stereotypical divorcee stuff. The issue is that she completely totally ignored the opportunity to express even the slightest bit of distress that her young son suffered. Instead, it was an opportunity for her to focus on the one thing that matters most to her: her.

Dear Father in Heaven, I beg of you that I never ever ever act or think that way.

Friday, May 06, 2005

Not to say "I told you so," but...

Tina's first trip to the chiropractor was something of a success. One of her two pelvic pains seems to be gone, and her ever-tense neck seems to be somewhat looser.

For the record, I have never, ever, ever suggested she see a chiropractor for her back and neck issues. Never. Ever. Um, yeah.

Seriously, I'm just happy she's feeling better. She has a followup on Monday to see the results of a computerized exam thingy she took and to get a readjustment. I guess the first one is sort of preliminary and then they see how it worked.

Our Bible study group prayed for healing and it seems to be on the way.

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Chiropractor

Tina's been having some lower-back sort of pain, so on Friday she's going to a chiropractor for some misalignment-readjustment stuff. Should help. She's been shuffling lotsa books around at the library and generally suffering quite a bit.

On the positive side, the baby's been kicking up quite a placental storm. (I'm not sure what sort of visual that brings up...sorry.) And her first Mother's Day is approaching. That'll be fun for her. (I bet something makes her cry. Not sure what, but something will.)

Not too much else going on here. She's pretty tired and sometimes gets a bit...well, sharp. The doctor said the second trimester brings a boost of energy. I'll let y'all know if it happens.

But there are some periods of happiness. The thought of a donut brings smiles. (Thanks to Todd & Amanda for the gift of Dunkin' Donuts! and the tulips. Quite thoughtful, those folks.)

Also, we're slowly getting around to painting the baby's room. We're reprising the Old McDonald theme I put up in the room in our house in Lansing. (The Yi family is enjoying that room now.) If we ever disappear, investigators will be able to track us by the trail of farm scenes in bedrooms.

See ya...God bless.