Baby Fisher, coming soon to a theatre near you!

Little Bit at 12 weeks

We are so pleased to announce that Baby Fisher, aka Little Bit, will be welcomed into the world on or around July 26, 2012. Annabelle and Little Bit are both in good health, albeit kind of tired.

You're nosy. C'mon. Admit it. You want to know how this all came to be. I would, if I were you.

In short: You really can by everything online!

I searched California Cryobank's online profiles to find a sperm donor who reminded me of my family, both in physical attributes and personality. We were lucky to find a fella who has curly blond hair. He's earned a master's degree in music, and he's compassionate and easy-going. He was perfect for us and the family we are creating.

Baby Bump!

Working with Fertility Centers of Illinois, we explored how this all really works, and Annabelle underwent IUI, intrauterine insemination. Strangely lucky, Annabelle got pregnant on the first try.

Little Bit is the first grandbaby for both sets of parents, and in my family, we haven't had a baby for 21 years. That's a LONG time.

At 20 weeks, we'll be able to find out if Little Bit is a he or she, which we'll be excited to share. I'm already thinking about hot air balloons for the nursery, based on my favorite book as a child, The Travels of J.B. Rabbit.

First World Problems

I hate to admit this, mostly because I hate that I'm actually feeling* this way, but I'm having a big problem with entitlement lately. Specifically, I'm having a tough time with several young adults who take for granted what their parents work so hard to provide for them. (And, I'm not even talking about every single college student I work with... because they're not back yet. When they are, though...)

I'm a first-generation college kid. When I was in high school and college, my mom worked three jobs. Yes, three.  3.  She never hid from us that she struggled to provide for us. I know she paid bills late. I know that she paid the orthodontist $20 a week for years so that we could have braces. I know I took her for granted. I tried to never ask for spending money, and when I was home from college in the summers, I had babysitting or tutoring gigs most of the time.

What kills me now are kids who don't do anything. Like at all. I'm thinking of the 20-year-old who doesn't have a job, lives at home, and does whatever he or she wants whenever he or she wants, like buying clothes, going out to eat, etc. I know kids like this, whose parents are a lot like mine, struggling to make ends meet. I don't understand the mentality that you never have to take any responsibility for anything. You don't want to work full-time? No problem. You're not going to finish college? Fine. 

I just don't have any patience for this right now. I just don't. And, this could be a problem when my students return with the same attitudes. Reminds me of the hashtags people do on Twitter: #firstworldproblems. I need to find a way to work out this frustration before I have a bad attitude with/at someone.

* One of the most valuable lessons I've learned while reading The Ethical Slut is that feelings themselves are neither good nor bad. The actions we take in response to those feelings are what's good or bad. In the case of the feelings discussed in the book, jealousy isn't a bad feeling. It's just a feeling. If you act negatively as a result of feeling that jealousy, that action is what's a problem. Sometimes, I learn stuff!

It takes more than three days to make something a habit, doesn't it?

On Tuesday, my buddy D and I began our very own "Biggest Loser" competition. Like the show, we're going to see who can lose the largest percentage of weight over the course of the semester. We weighed in on Tuesday, and we'll have the final weigh-in on the last day of classes. For accuracy and consistency, we weighed in at the College's health center, and they're helping to track our progress.

The past three days, I was up at 5am and in the pool at the gym before 6:30 -- I have to go from our apartment in Chicago to the gym in Evanston. And yes, there ARE, in fact, gyms in Chicago. This one in particular is adjacent to the downtown Evanston stop on the Metra I take to work. So hush; it does, too, make sense to go that far to the gym. On those three days, I swam my 1/4 mile, and I did it hard. I tried to pay attention to my breathing and movement with each lap, making sure my legs were working. And boy, did they work hard.

By yesterday afternoon, I was popping extra Aleve for my bad joints and tired muscles. Despite the pain, it was a sure sign I accomplished something.

I didn't go in today. I was out past 11 last night with students -- we went to see a speaker a the University of Chicago -- so getting up early would have been painful. A different kind of painful. I get what they mean about having a little rest time for your body.

The competition element of all of this is what's going to be most helpful, I think. I have a GOAL. I'm going to BEAT HIM at weight loss. Perfectionist much? I know, I know. I must say, though, that perhaps the biggest motivator this week associated with the bet was the weigh in. I never would have guessed it, but I weigh 15 pounds more than he does. That is NOT okay.

I must admit, though, that the thought of winning a lunch of bacon-wrapped filet at Fogo de Chao isn't bad incentive, either.

I hear Miss Hannigan...

... and she's screaming, "KILL! KILL!"

There are so, so many reasons why I hate UnitedHeathlcare. Here's today, reason #457:

Taking my morning pills, I though, "Hm, it's been awhile since I ordered that prescription and since they called to say it'd been shipped. I better go online and check."

Sure enough, it was shipped on October 27th. Via UPS. And delivered on October 29th.

And left at our front door. Outside. In Chicago.

UPS freaking left my $200 in prescriptions at the freaking front door. And, they were promptly stolen. The package was left without a signature. Who even sends stuff without requiring a signature? And, who sends SOMEONE'S MEDICATION without requiring a signature? What the fuck?! In the past 3 1/2 years with UHC, I've never had my meds come UPS. If I knew they were coming UPS, I would have had them sent to work to be signed for, which is exactly what I told the lady on the phone.

Even better? I have to pay for a whole new shipment. I shit you not. After 25 days of the package going missing, I can officially request a refund. Until then, the package can't be officially gone. For 25 days, someone gets my 3 months of drugs and all my info, and I pay another $200 and cross my fingers that the package arrives before I run out of meds. Unfuckingbelievable.

(I will admit I should have checked on this sooner, not that it would have mattered in the 25-day business.)

EPIC FAIL. Way to go, UHC. Way to go.

Where's my public option? I need the hell out of UHC's reach.

Little Victories

I got up at 5am and went to the gym. I was in the pool before 6:30.

[insert applause here]

I'm hoping that consistency is key. I'm looking at getting up at 5 every morning and going to swim Tuesdays-Fridays. On Mondays, I take the 6:48 train, instead of the usual 7:38, because I like to have more than 20 minutes in the office before my first meeting of the day (which is a department meeting on Mondays).

Breakfast has been posing a problem in this plan, though. This morning, a stroke of brilliance hit around 5:15 -- pack oatmeal! I scooped the oats and brown sugar into a gladware, and I stopped for a cup of hot water (...ok, and a latte) at Starbucks. Prepped the oatmeal and put it back in my bag and POOF! I had warm, ready to eat oatmeal on the train.

Not a bad start to the day. I forgot to bring a project for Knitting Lunch, but I remembered to pack leftover pizza for lunch.

All in all, not a bad start to a Tuesday.

I'm tellin' ya, it's all about the little victories.

so much to blog, so little time

Sigh, people. There are several things I'd like to tell you about, but I haven't had time to blog about any of them. I'm hoping that if I make this list, I'll be held accountable for actually writing these blog entries. So, here goes:

• The trial of the woman whose drunk-driving accident resulted in my uncle's death 2 years ago
  
• Changes afoot for our curriculum and what I have to do with any of that
  
• Baby crochet projects -- a sweater currently finished, a project for Gail underway, and thoughts about what I might make for Meghan
  
• Other happenings lately, perhaps a gym update, maybe some other smaller updates that don't require their own blog post

In the meantime, go donate to the DonorsChoose social media challenge via Tomato Nation. I'll even tell you which project to donate to -- one belonging to one of my former students. Also, watch my brother's latest video. It's trippy.

friendly reminder

Note to self: The next time you think it sounds like a good idea to take a three-week course while still working full-time, THINK AGAIN.

Ah, so this is why we tell our students it's impossible to do anything well if you're working full-time and going to school full-time. At least the next time I have a conversation about that with a student, I'll be able to speak from experience.

Hey, at least it's a totally interesting class.

planning conference travel makes me a little crazy

In mid-July, I'm heading to Louisville for a conference. At the very least, I need to stay overnight for 2 nights. Ideally, I'll stay for four. Sound odd? Here's my logic:

• I could fly in on Tuesday and stay Tuesday night, in which case I'd make the 9:30 plenary session.
  
• I could take the first flight from Chicago to Louisville on Wednesday morning (oh, Southwest, how I love you) and be there in time for the first block of concurrent sessions at 11:30.
  
• I could leave at thee end of the sessions on Friday, only missing one block of concurrent sessions on Saturday and the closing plenary, which is by a guy who gave an address at last year's conference (meaning that if I miss it, my life will still go on).
  
• I could leave on Saturday when the conference is officially done.

One of the problems is the hotels.

The first year I went (2007), I didn't do my homework. I stayed at the conference hotel (call me naive), when I could have stayed equally close to the convention center at a less glam chain. The upside to that would have been free breakfast and free internet, neither of which were provided by the conference hotel.

Last year, I again stayed at the conference hotel, but this time it was because there was nothing else nearby. They'd done some renovations, and I hear some of the guest rooms were nice. Mine was mediocre, as was my stay there. Again, no free internet or breakfast.

This year, I'm so over this no-complimentary-internet-or-breakfast bullshit. I've done my homework. There's a Hampton Inn 4 or 5 blocks away, which seems pretty damn reasonable to me. But the kicker? It costs $20 more per night than the conference hotel (with the conference discount), which I've read is only good if you get into the renovated section. The Hampton Inn, of course, has free breakfast and internet, which the conference hotel does not. Is it worth the extra money? I'm thinking it is because the stay will be so much nicer (if the conference track record stands), and I won't have to shell out big bucks every morning for... a bagel. (Actually, the first year, I got supplies at the local drugstore and ate breakfast in my room everyday.)

Let's not forget about my shout-out to Southwest above. I can fly roundtrip for about $130 (or so I'm guessing with the taxes, etc.). AWESOME. I was all set to book yesterday--flight at least but probably also the hotel--when I remembered: my dad lives in Kentucky. To be specific, he lives about 90 miles south of Louisville. Perhaps A and I could work out some time either before or after my conference to go down and stay a couple of days with him and his wife. I know A would like it out there in the country, and it might be relaxing in the summer.

So, I haven't booked anything. This frustrates me.

This morning, I did go through the conference booklet and assess the actual conference costs: $445 for conference attendance, including 1 banquet lunch and a couple of snacks here and there. Yesterday, my boss advised me to make an effort to stay at or below $1,000 in my conference expenses. If you're playing at home, that means that after conference registration and airfare, I have around $425 for hotel expenses. (And yes, they should be feeding me, but they don't.) That, my friends, means 3 nights at the hotel (and perhaps food) to make it to the $1,000 total. The past two years, the costs have been anywhere from $250-500 more.

I want to lock in my cheeeeeeeap rates for the flights and hotel, but I gotta talk to the wifey, who's out at a client today. (Our schedules yesterday didn't give us much time for talking about this.) This makes me anxious because I'm SURE that by tomorrow, when we've had a chance to talk about it together and with my dad, the prices will have jumped by hundreds of dollars.

Oh, work travel.

on my temporary crowns

I have a confession to make: I'm vain about my teeth. They're my favorite body part. (Don't laugh.)

When they took my braces off in ninth grade, I couldn't stop running my tongue across the smooth, straight, perfect teeth that my mom paid $25/week for for years. My teeth have been beautiful since that day, and I wore my retainer religiously for years, as I now wear a bite guard that protects my teeth from damage when I grind my teeth in my sleep.

Yesterday, I went into mourning. Two of my teeth, as I've known them, are forever changed and temporarily crowned (to be permanently crowned in two weeks). It was a lot harder to go through than I expected. It wasn't painful in my mouth, but in my heart. My beautiful teeth are changed, gone, for all intents and purposes. And, they're not just any teeth; it's two of my front teeth.

I was elbowed in the face in eleventh grade during play practice. As best as I can tell, that's the "traumatic" event that led to the death of two of my teeth, both of which got root canals in the time I've lived in Chicago. The thing about having a root canal in a dead front tooth, though, is that that tooth is thin and likely to become dark[er] and brittle. So, when the dentist thought it was time to do the crowns, I naturally agreed.

Laying in the chair yesterday, I couldn't turn my iPod on loud enough to ignore the sounds of the drill grinding away parts of my teeth. I couldn't bear to run my tongue along the stubs of my former glory. And now, I have these temporary crowns. Really, I have these fake teeth, these strange tooth-like things in my mouth where my pride and joy once were. Practically speaking, I knew how it was supposed to work and what would happen, and my dentist did a fabulous job.

And still, I cried. In all my angst and adolescent self-loathing, I always loved my smile. It was sometimes the only thing about myself that I did like. It's forever changed, and I feel stupid for being so emotional about it.

a watched bowl never explodes

I like making oatmeal from the actual canister of oats. Add in a little flavored creamer (vanilla) and some brown sugar and dried fruit... yum! I usually only make it when we're out of milk; today was one of those mornings.

I started off by not following the measuring directions. I corrected that and popped the bowl in the microwave for 1:30. It came out too watery. I added more oats and popped it back in the micro.

And I didn't watch it.

Oatmeal takes on a life of its own. When the microwave dinged and I went to retrieve my breakfast, most of it was on the rotating glass plate in the microwave. Like at least half of it, but probably more. I'm imagining it looking something like the mushrooming of a nuclear explosion of oatmeal. So, I had to scoop up this huge pile of hot oatmeal and try AGAIN to make a portion that I might be able to call breakfast.

It wasn't my best effort. Not by a long shot. It didn't even taste all that fabulous, probably because I forgot the coffeemate and we didn't have dried cranberries.

In short, I fail at oatmeal.

various and sundry

I've been remiss in my blogging duties. Apologies, kind readers.

So, what's been going on...? The wedding is in 11 days, so it would be fair to say my stress level has been higher than I would like. Along with the rising stress level come the rising levels of depression and anxiety, which make it kind of hard to do the things that are stressing one out--go freakin' figure. Add in a dash of Anne having the final tax deadline of the year and zero time to breathe, and you've got our lives right now. Phew. I got tired just writing that.

I had a nightmare this morning about the wedding. No one was listening to me and taking my directions. Instead, they were all just goofing around, and it was really, really frustrating. We were there with guests and everything, and we tried to start the ceremony six times. Add to that the dj playing the wrong processional music and me having to hook my iPod up to his speakers to play the right song. Nothing was going right. Needless to say, there wasn't any sleeping going on after that. Instead, I got up almost 2 hours before my alarm and get some wedding stuff done.

Work's been feeling stressful, too. I feel like I never have any time, and then things seem so overwhelming that I don't know where to start. But, I do start, and stuff gets done, and I work late and come in early. Lather, rinse, repeat.

On the other side of all of the stress and planning is what I know is going to be an awesome day. I hope that my inner bridezilla can control herself on the day and just have fun.

So, let's quit talking about all that wedding business. How about politics? I'm having such a great time watching Tina Fey as Sarah Palin I haven't been interested in SNL for years, but poor Palin is so ripe for SNL-type comedy. Tina Fey needs to win a friggin' Emmy for this stuff. And, how about Queen Latifah as Gwen Ifill? Brilliant, folks. Bring on President Obama.

Did I tell you I got an iPhone? Did I tell you I'm breaking up with Anne because I'm so in love with this little piece of technology? Amazing thing. Truly amazing.

The only other noteworthy thing that comes to mind at the moment is that we're starting the first faculty/staff team for the College's Relay for Life in the spring. Our team name? The Itty Bitty Knitty Committee: We're Yarned and Dangerous. Why yes, we do think we're clever; thanks for asking. We're going to make/sell handmade goods to fundraise. When we get everything up and running, I'll likely hound you for five bucks to support our team. if nothing else, it'll be fun, and the student in charge of Relay this year was SO excited when I told her I had a faculty/staff team together.

are you sure it's not Monday?

Today's been downright weird in the way that only Monday's usually are. For one, I'm in the office, which I never am on a Thursday in the summer. I needed to unpack, though, as they moved my stuff back to my old office in the library while I was in Reno. It's like coming home. :) I do miss my Thursday morning breakfast with H, though.

Instead, I got an interesting conversation with my pal O. You meet such interesting folks from the College when you ride the train, I swear. O became part of our train crew last fall, and I've always thought he was a cool dude. We talked very openly about his recent diagnosis of bipolar/borderline and subsequent medicating. It's funny how people change for you in only 30 minutes. I have a newfound understanding of O, and I respect the way he's dealing with the diagnosis, namely learning all the can about it.

In other news, I woke up at 4:30 and couldn't go back to sleep. I'm obviously channelling my girlfriend, who fails at sleeping after about that point. The downside for me is that I'm also having trouble falling asleep--both are so unlike me! I'm pooped.

And hungry. I left the house without any food, and I have none here. Poor planning on my part. I actually left sort of frantically, running around desperately trying to find my keys.

Which reminds me: I hate our neighbors. Still. I went out to water my flowers and nearly fell over someone's bike, which was left RIGHT in front of our door. WTF, people? That's gotta warrant a note or something.

I took the day off from everything else yesterday and got all the wedding paraphernalia done. We're talking: invitations, reply cards, and maps. Dear gawd, the maps took for-ev-er, but they look awesome. I'm looking forward to seeing them live and in print, and not just the poor-quality printing I did here in the office (to see how they looked).

Alright, enough break. Back to organizing the office.

I hate our neighbors.

So we had new neighbors move in next door (on July 1). Their apartment has a different entryway than ours, but we share a deck. On their first day here, they left a keg and a collapsable table on the deck. The next morning, the keg was gone, but eventually the table was set up. Since then, it's been dirtied (and stayed that way). The first day, it had a beer can just sitting on it. It rubbed me the wrong way, but Anne kept telling me to chill out. After all, as she pointed out, it could have been a can for cigarette butts. Good point. So, I moved the can to their windowsill. The next few days, more cans appeared on the window sill. I think her butt-can idea was disproven. This morning? There's a new can sitting on the table (the ones in the window sill are still there), and there are a few cigarette lighters laying on the table. Ugh. The deck area is small. I actually pushed the table back on the day I moved the can so that it no longer blocked the path down he stairs.

I'm happy to share the space, but it pisses me off when people trash it. I've actually tried to make it look nice this summer by putting up my flower box and maintaining my vincas, even picking off dead bits. The neighbors in the condo building next door (there's a fence between our buildings) have nice decks with grills and flowers and party lights. And no trash. How hard is it to take your trash inside when you're done? It just makes me uberpissed when people trash public spaces. If you have to share a space with people, be considerate, damnit. Grrrr.