Happiness Is A Good Cup Of Coffee

So I finally, after much research and thought, got myself a French Press. Luckily, I work at a bookstore that has a cafe that sells them, so I got a very nice discount, which made the decision easier as I would not be out too much money should it end up not working for me.
After one cup of French Press coffee... I threw away my electronic brewer.
Now to figure out how to grind my beans without scaring the heck out of Baby G; won't make that mistake again. (For now the solution is to grind in the bathroom, hehe.)

Toxic Bottles

I was reading this article at Strollerderby this morning about the recent study that found that some of the popular brands of baby bottles contain, and leak out, a substance called Bisphenol A. From the article:

Bisphenol A has been linked by scientists to cancers, impaired immune function, early onset of puberty, obesity (WTF? Does everything cause that?), diabetes and hyperactivity. (Karen)

There is more information on this at Environment California (there is a PDF at the top of the page that includes information about the chemical and recommendations for parents and policymakers.)

Some agencies claim that Bisphenol A is safe at low levels. BfR Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, located in Germany, says that under normal domestic use the levels of Bisphenol A are safe.

I don't know who to believe, but I went ahead and searched for glass baby bottles this morning. The only place I could find them was at Amazon; Evenflo Glass Bottles. Don't be fooled by the low price though, the shipping was more than the bottles.

What I've learned from all the reading I've done this morning is that if you are using any of the bottles that contain Bisphenol A (Avent, Dr. Brown, Evenflo, Gerber, and Playtex) don't use hot water or harsh detergents to wash them as it increases leakage of the chemical. Of course,that is exactly what I've been doing. I always soak the bottles and parts (we use Dr. Brown's) in hot, soapy water before washing them. Ugh!

Playing Around With Template

Just playing around with my template today...so if it keeps changing on you, that's why :)

[Update]: 10 am: Yay! I finally found a three column template. How does it look? I'll probably play around some more, but I think I like it. I also got rid of a lot of extra side bar stuff, but only because I can't remember half of what was there (so why re-add it if I don't even remember it?)

10:15am: Now to figure out how to add my own header.

11:37am: Yay! I did it. Thanks to Tech Trouble! Now...I have to make a new header. (I was trying to make one while holding a squirmy baby, ugh.)

2pm: New header in place. Yay Me! Just need to tweak a few things and I'll be all done. We've got a nice storm coming through now so I may have to turn off the computer, fun.

Daddy Love

RIFTS or D&D?

Aaron has decided that he wants to do a quick, small email game of D&D before we do the RIFTS thing. He got a hold of some old D&D books off Ebay and wants to get used to using them. He wants our "family time" in the future to be RPG time. Which is totally cool with me. Instead of getting together to play Monopoly or Scrabble, we do RPGs, how fun is that?!

I Don't Want To Go Back To Work!!!

OMG! I'm in full freak-out mode now. Only ten days left until I start back to school, and twenty days after that I'll be back to work as well. Going back to school isn't a big deal for me; in and of itself. What scares me is that I also have to go back to work. I don't want to go back to work. I feel like throwing a temper tantrum about it, but I'm not two-years old so I don't have that luxury. I'm really angry about it. I want to be home with my son, I DO NOT want someone else raising him. In order for me to be able to stay home I would have to quit my job and go on welfare...sooooo not an option. What are my options? I could try to find work online. I've never had an office job, what am I qualified to do? I hate talking on the phone; hate it, hate it, hate it. I could try to start an online business. This is an option, but one that would take time to build to a point that I could afford to stay home. As a Business Major, I could do this. As someone working full-time, going to school full-time and caring for a child? It would be worth it in the end though, right? Then, if this is an option, what business do I start? I have a love of many things that I could do, but would any of them be lucrative enough to afford me the opportunity to give up my full medical benefits and be able to pay the rent at the same time? Actually, I may not have to give up my full medical benefits, if I work part-time (at least 20 hours a week) my company will still give me full benefits. I've worked there 8 years now and have gained a good vacation package as well. Now I'm just ranting all over the place....
I have a ton to do to get ready for the busyness my life will acquire soon. Just before Baby G was born I had gotten a lot of organizing and cleaning done, but have kept up with none of it since then and now I have a big mess to clean up.

To Do Before March 6th (when I return to school):

1. Clean and re-organize the kitchen. I would love to post a photo of what my kitchen looks like right now, just to show you the extent of the mess (I can not see an inch of counter space right now), but that would be extremely embarrassing. A clean and organized kitchen would make it so much easier to cook meals so we don't eat out so much (which we can not afford right now)., and if it's really organized cleaning would be much easier.
2. Clean and re-organize the living room. My living room looks very lived in; too lived in. Another photo that would be embarrassing.
3. Clean up my laptop in preparation for school. Aaron has been using my laptop since I've been on Maternity Leave and hogging the PC. It needs to be updated, files organized and just generally cleaned up.
4. Gather junk to sell on Ebay. I have a stack of 7 (really great) pregnancy books to get photos of and list on Ebay. I also need to go through the clothes that no longer fit Baby G and sell those as a lot (he's already wearing 3 to 6 months size), and anything else I can find around here that we don't need anymore.
5. Find and prepare a spot in the apartment for school time. I do school online so I need a study spot to set up my laptop and be able to concentrate. There really isn't any place like that in our apartment right now.
6. FIND DAY CARE!!! Still nothing, and I really can not fathom how to pay for it when there is not one extra penny to spend, and I make to much to qualify for aid.

More stress; more questions. Anybody have any good advice?

We're Having A Meltdown

This is how our night is going:


And this is going to result in the cat losing one, if not two or three, of his 9 lives:


Classic D&D © 1983



Never, EVER, leave a classic D&D book open on the floor while you quickly run to the back of the apartment to change the babies diapers.

How the Mind of a Sleep Deprived Parent Works (or doesn't)

Aaron got up this morning as usual. He put the load of laundry I washed in the dryer, and played with Baby G for a few minutes then said he was going to take a shower. He took his shower, and afterwards, still wrapped in his towel, played on the computer while waiting for his clothes to dry, this was probably no more than 10 minutes.
When he was ready to to get his clothes from the dryer, he got up from the computer, and I sat down at the computer.

Aaron: I'm gonna go take a shower now.
Me: Okay.

We both look at eachother for a few seconds.

Me: Wait a minute, didn't you just take a shower?
Aaron (looking down at the towel wrapped around him): Did I?

I'm So Blue

BLUE

You give your love and friendship unconditionally. You enjoy long, thoughtful conversations rich in philosophy and spirituality. You are very loyal and intuitive.

Find out your color at QuizMeme.com!

Yup, that sounds like me.
Baby G is sleeping the day away. He seems to go through cycles of being awake most of the day one day and then sleeping all the next day; like he's trying to cram in all the knowledge he can all at once and then spending the next day processing it.
I wish that meant that I was getting something done today. I have so much to do that I just keep bouncing from one thing to the next without really getting anywhere. Also, I have a horrible pain in my left wrist, just under the thumb...it gets worse each day and it's making more and more difficult to pick Baby G up. ugh.

Picture Of My Beaded Jewelry

I tend to pick up a new hobby every couple of years. Some hobbies I stick with and some just end up not as fun as I had hoped them to be. The few hobbies I have enjoyed over the past few years include knitting, painting, and making beaded jewelry. Today I was playing around with the settings on our camera to see if i could take better pictures of the jewelry I've made. I've had a lot of problems getting clear sharp pictures. Here's one that I was able to get that was actually clear:

It's now got me wanting to make more jewelry so I can take more pictures.

House An Inmate In Your Home

Considering my financial situation right now? I think I would actually consider this idea from Scott Adams.

More Cleaning Out Bookmarks: 3am Edition

Well, it's just about 3 am. Aaron has to be at work early today (love them retail schedules) so I had to get up a little earlier than usual, and decided to get back to cleaning out the bookmarks while Baby G is sleeping. Here's some more interesting and fun stuff:

Secret Fun Spot
Serendipity(random generators)
Shop Goodwill(yes, you can shop goodwill online)
The Encyclopedia of Arda
The Meowinator(translate your words into cat language)
Think Geek (Soylent Green Is People (LOVE Think Geek, and my daughter has this shirt. I was going to buy it for her, but she beat me to it)
Virtual NES(Nintendo games online)
Weight Watchers recipe cards from 1974(I haven't laughed so hard in a long time!)
What Should I Read Next?

Done for now....

Cleaning Out My Bookmarks

I haven't gone through my bookmarks in about 2 or 3 years (maybe longer); yeah, I take my time to do things. So today I decided it would be good to start cleaning up and oraganizing the computer (especially since I start school again soon).
Here's some interesting?, and some fun, links I found while going through them:

Warning! Some of these links are addictive!

Retro Cell Phone Handset
9 Ball
The Asylum Psychiatric Clinic For Abused Cuddly Toys
BibliOdyssey: Zoomorphic Calligraphy
cat haiku
Contraction Master(I used this to time my contractions with Baby G)
The Flickr Peepshow
Googlism (Nancy) (I can't decide between liking "nancy is a sneaky little snot" and "nancy is way cool" better.)
How To Fold A Shirt
Notpron(I lost my place!!!)

I think that is it for today. Maybe tomorrow I'll have some more links from my bookmarks folder.

RPG Play by E-mail

Woo! I'm so excited. Aaron's got our RPG game played through email going again!
Some background info:
I dabble in RPG games. I don't play World of Warcraft (only because I'm not willing to pay the monthly fee, otherwise I'd be all over it!) I do play Neverwinter Nights, and I played D&D back in the day (mid to late 80's). Aaron was also a D&D player and also played an RPG called Rifts.
A few years ago he got his old Rifts books out and got to wanting to play again. He decided to get an email game going with me and a few other people. We were having lots of fun with it, but life got in the way and the game went by the wayside.
We've been discussing it again lately. I mentioned how much fun it was for me and how I would love to do that again, not really thinking he would be able to find the time to get it going again. It's been like, a month? since we discussed it?
I just checked my email this morning and what do you know? There was this strange email from Aaron that started out "Hello old friend." I had to read through half the email before I figured it out, here I was thinking It was spam and I was about to get asked to deposit funds into a checking account for someone in Africa.

From the game:

I know, it’s been sometime hasn’t it? I apologize for my lack of
response over the intervening months and I again apologize for my
impropriety; I’ll get on to the point. I’m requesting your assistance.
As you know I’ve been gifted with a particular connection with the
living tree. I’m disturbed with some of the images or should I say lack
of images this marvelous tree has provided me, oh…dear! Please forgive
me; my nervousness has stricken my ability to compose a legible letter.
Allow me to provide some history....

Oooh, I'm so excited! (Does that make me a geek?)

Happy V-day!

I'm not generally one to celebrate holidays, any holidays; I've been in retail too long and am very jaded about them. But today has been good so far. I got this:

Here's a close up of that little shiny thing on top of the box:

And before anyone says anything about how broke we are and "how could you afford that?!" The ring was free and not gained in any criminal fashion. I was about to pull out a can of kick-ass on him after I found it in the box, after I cried that is. But he let me know how he got it right away, so I hugged him again, and told him what an awesome man he is.

Aaron is the most fabulous thing to ever happen to me (besides having kids). I finally have a lover who is a best-friend, and someone I trust (I have trust issues born from my very selfish father, which I may or may not write about here some day). He is not afraid to express his love for me, he's not afraid to show his emotions to me, and he's someone I can be real with, and I appreciate that.
Love Ya Sweetie!

[Update (1pm): The other gift I got today? A migraine. Thanks so much!]

2 Months; Colic, Teething, and Playing Chores

This week Baby G turns 2 months old! 2 months already!? The past month has been really fun, and I don't mean that in any sarcastic way. Even with the little bit of colic at night and the feeding issues (40 oz a day!) Baby G has been having a lot of fun. He loves playing "Say Hi to the Baby in the Mirror" and especially loves talking with Mommy; we have very intense conversations. Mommy's favorite games are "Let's Do the Dishes" and "Let's Put Away Laundry". "Let's Do the Dishes" entails putting him in his swing, in the kitchen, and describing to him everything I am doing, he loves the conversation, and I get the dishes done. "Let's Put Away Laundry" entails sitting him up in the Boppy (the best baby item EVER invented!) in the middle of the bed and describing and showing him all the laundry I am putting away. He loves looking at the colors and shapes of the clothes, gets to feel the different fabrics, enjoys the conversation (this boy LOVES to talk!) and again I get something done. The one thing he hates? Tummy Time. He HATES it! But we make him do it anyway. He's getting better, and through his tantrums has managed to start lifting his front end up, and even scoot a little.

Also, he's in love with a lamp.

He's been transfixed by this lamp since he came home from the hospital. It sits right above the computer. (a digression: our living room is situated around the computer because we don't watch television... so we are usually sitting there with him when feeding him) He cries to be held up to it. I think it's because it's a black lamp and the wall behind it is white.

Something that started almost two weeks ago is the drooling. Oh. My. God. the drooling! It's getting worse and last week was accompanied by chewing, on everything. Teething?! At 8 weeks!? Looks like it. When he came out being able to hold his head up already, we knew he would be doing things early, so the teething so early is no big surprise, but is becoming tough with the colic at the same time. I guess I can look at the bright side, he's getting them both out of the way at the same time.

Today he goes in for his 2 month check-up. He'll be getting 3 sets of vaccinations, I can't remember the names of them for the life of me. So, that should be fun (that was sarcastic.)


[Update: He got 4 shots; 2 in each leg; DTaP, HIB, IPV, and Prevnar. The poor thing is traumatized. His weight is 14lbs. 2oz., he's still in the 97th percentile for weight and he is 24 inches long; still in the 90th percentile for height. The doctor was not concerned about his weight or his eating, though she said he may be ready for solids around 4 months.]

BRATZ Doll Superheros?

While catching up on my Google Reader items last night I ran across this:
Get ready for Bratz Super Heroes
WTF? Right now I am so glad that I didn't have another daughter and that luckily the one I do have will be 18 next month and is not interested in Bratz dolls, or anything of that ilk. I think the Bratz dolls are the most vile toy I have seen in recent years.
Definition of vile from Dictionary.com:

"1.	wretchedly bad: a vile humor.

2.	highly offensive, unpleasant, or objectionable: vile slander.

3.	repulsive or disgusting, as to the senses or feelings: a vile odor.

4.	morally debased, depraved, or despicable: vile deeds.

5.	foul; filthy: vile language.

6.	poor; wretched: vile workmanship.

7.	of mean or low condition: a vile beggar.

8.	menial; lowly: vile tasks.

9.	degraded; ignominious: vile servitude.

10.	of little value or account; paltry: a vile recompense."

Yup! All those things.
The worst part of the article?

"At MGA we're constantly pushing innovation. We've recognized that parents are looking for toys that are not just for play but also teach something," Larian said.

But at $100 for the camera, studio set and doll, could the pricey toy put off some parents?

'It is more expensive. But again, if parents feel that their kids are learning something, they will spend the money,' he said.

What the hell is my kid learning? How to be a hoe?!

If you want your kid to learn through using cameras and making films...go spend your money on a camera and let them loose in the real world, in the park, in the backyard, on their friends, on yourself, not on Bratz dolls!

A Little Help With That Money Issue

Last year when I found out I was pregnant I was in a state of extreme burn-out. I had been working full-time and enrolled in school full-time for 3 years straight. I was enrolled in a private University online. The school structure is set up differently than a regular University; each class is 5 weeks long and they are back to back - no breaks. Anyway, when I saw my doctor she recommended taking a break from school for awhile. My intent was to take a month off, but due to some miscommunication with my financial adviser I got dropped from my class and then dropped from school. I didn't want to deal with the stress of trying to fix it and figured I would be better off with a longer break. Later on I got an email asking when I would like to return. I sent a response stating that 3/6/2007 would be good. Then I forgot about it. Well, I just received my reminder that now would be a good time to apply for financial aid for the school year. Ah, yes! It's going to be hellishly hard to juggle working full-time with the baby and school, but I've been through worse, and if I am enrolled I don't have to be making those horrendous monthly loan payments. I'm going to be paying on my student loans till I'm 60 anyway, I may as well get a degree out of it and a chance at a higher income.

The Drinking "Debate"

I've been following the drinking at playdates thing thats been going on for the past two weeks. I haven't given my opinion on it because I believe it's a non-issue. Didn't we all grow up with adults who held bar-b-ques and get-togethers and DRANK at those functions? I can remember the adults raving about my Grandmothers fabulous margaritas. Too me, it's just as normal as having pumpkin pie with Thanksgiving dinner. I don't even drink much, maybe 5 drinks a year, at the most. I've had the same bottle of vodka in my freezer for over a year (how long is that stuff good for?)I was reading at Strollerderby that Z Recommends has some badges and being that I love adding widgets and what-not and wanted to say at least something, I added a badge. If you feel the same way go get one!

My Life Tagged

The Fussiness Fixer

So, I got the rebozo last Friday. I've been using it as often as I can this week. It took me a couple of hours to find a way to wear it that was comfortable. It fits a lot smaller than I thought it would, and I keep forgetting how much bigger I am. I found a comfortable way to wear it though and it's been wonderful. I can wash dishes, and fold laundry while I'm wearing him, and he gets close time with mommy. The really great thing is that within 5 minutes of putting him in, he's asleep. It works great when he's being fussy, like he was just 10 minutes before I took this photo. I'm thinking I'm going to go buy about 3 or 4 yards of breathable (very important) fabric so I have more options as to how to wear him, cause you know, I'm HUGE now and need about 9 feet of fabric....

Surving on $12,000 a year

I've been seeing references to this article all over the internet for the past week. I've read the article, and there are some pretty good tips on how to get by being really poor. Getting by on $12,000 though? In some parts of the states it may not be too difficult. Where I live? Our rent for the year costs about $13,300. And that? Is less than some of the other apartment complexes nearby. Our lease is up in a couple months though, so that figure will be rising. We don't live in a nice area, or even a really safe area, and we pay that much for a dinky one bedroom. A mortgage wouldn't cost any less considering the median price for a house around here is $600,000. I've had a lot of money issues on my mind lately what with trying to figure out where to come up with the money for daycare (does Aaron stop paying his credit card bills? or do I stop paying on my student loan?). None of the options are good options. Would it be really cheesy of me to start a blog just to raise funds to help pay the bills? Would I be able to sell any of my crafts online for a few extra dollars a month? Selling my crafts is an option. I love making things But would they sell? Would it be worth my time? My head is spinning with what ifs.

IQ Matters?

I saw this nifty chart this morning on Digg.
* I have an IQ of 127
* I didn't graduate from High School. (I took the GED and left before graduation)
* I had a child at 19
* I work as a manager in retail (I was much happier before I was promoted)
* I divorced my first husband, and am in the process of divorcing my second and am engaged and have a child with my soon to be third (that is if I ever get my dang divorce finished)
* I've been on welfare twice in the past (many many years ago, and only to keep from being homeless)
* I'm 37 years old and haven't finished college yet.
For having an IQ on the higher end...ma vie suce! Or, my life sucks!
Of course that could have something to do with my parents telling me on a constant basis as a child that I suck and "will never be anything". So, I've had to spend the past 20 years unlearning that...could be why I am so far behind, and am only at where I should have been at 20; in a healthy relationship, in college and working.
Note to parents:
Please don't ever tell your kids that they suck or will never amount to anything; they really do take what you say seriously. Even when they screw up (and your kids are gonna screw up); give em a hug, show them how to get through it and move on.

Am I bitter much? Maybe a little still, but my life is mine now and I'm finally in a place where I can take responsibility for my own actions and how they affect me; that doesn't change the fact that the people responsible for helping me get the right start in life screwed up horrendously and left me to fix it by myself. Okay, I'll come down off my soapbox now....

Pictures, Pictures, and More Pictures

I finally signed up for the Pro Flickr Account. I have had a free account for awhile and have recently decided I'd like to try to upload some old photos on my computer, as well as try to scan and upload some older photos.

I just uploaded some photos from the vacation we took to Monterey in 2002. It was a much needed vacation, my first vacation in 3 years and Aaron's first vacation ever; also our first vacation together. I had just had a miscarriage a few months before, and at the same time that happened we had moved in with Aaron's Aunt and Uncle to help out his Aunt who had two rare forms of cancer. We were stressed to say the least and were really glad to be able to get away for a few days.

I don't have a picture of this, and I really wish I did, but when we got back from this vacation we nearly ran over our cat, Mitch, who was sitting in the middle of the road in front of the house. He looked like he thought he owned the road and was not budging from his spot, until we got out of the car to get him....

Google Reader

Well, Google has now made it really easy to put my Google Reader widget on my blog, so...I've gotten rid of all my links in the side bar and have added my Google Reader box. Thanks for the advice Jay! If you were listed in my links, I still have you in my Google Reader and you'll see yourself listed in my little box every so often. I still love you all!