January 2008

I know.  I said I wouldn’t be changing the design again for a long, long time.  What can I say?  I lied.  Plus, as I mentioned the other day, I’ve been seeing these themes around that have been tickling my fancy (design wise, you sickos).  I’m rather proud of myself because it took me a while to find an existing theme that was anywhere close to what I wanted.  Even then, I had to make some significant changes and additions to get things “just so”.  Of course, this makes it sound like I worked and slaved for weeks on end when it really only took about two days.  But… whatever.

I found I had a hard time giving up the three column thing.  And no one was more surprised than I was that I didn’t have to give it up.  Yippee!  This way, I can have my ads and goofy stuff in the righthand column and the more site-specific stuff on the left.  And let’s not forget the bottom columns.  Yep, that was something I definitely wanted to implement (that I have actually had before in the past): a bottom sidebarish sort of thing.  Down there you can find the recent comments, the list of dedicated commenters and popular posts.   Wee!

Also loving: the random flicker banner up under the title graphic.  I still have my regular flickr feed down in the footer, but this way we get a good sampling of some of the pics that might be a little long in the tooth.

Also (wanting to toot my own horn here), I’m totally enamored with widgets and I widgetized EVERYTHING.  The theme came with the sidebars widgetized (though backwards for some reason… huh?  the left was the right and the right was the left.  gah) but as there was no footer sidebar section, I had to add that in and then widgetize it all myself.  I did it and no one got hurt in the process.  So, pats on the back for me!

I know a lot of this is probably technical gobblety gook to a great many of you, but regardless, I hope you enjoy the end product.  I’m worried it’s taking a while to load, so let me know if you have any problems with that.  There are probably some things I need to fiddle with yet, so if you see something I may have missed, let me know.  But most of all, you gotta tell me: Do you love it?  Cuz I think I kinda do.

Has another week passed already? I’m caught somewhere between feeling as if the weeks are just flying by to wondering why it feels like I’ve been 29 weeks pregnant FOREVER. I’m sure the restless nights don’t help. Still, it feels as if it was just a day or two ago that I was sitting here compiling yet another YNTR list. But, so be it. Besides, you all seem to enjoy these link lists quite a bit. That does my heart good, to see someone else enjoying something that I enjoy coming up with. Plus, I enjoy spreading some well-deserved linklove around the blogosphere. So if you enjoy reading it and I enjoy writing it, then why don’t I just get on with it, eh? Good question.

• “So THAT’S How She Does It” from Lag Liv.  This is an absolutely fascinating topic.  I’ve often wondered just what the women within these polygamous marriages are thinking and now I think I have a little glimpse.  And I agree, I feel a little bad for her that she actually thinks this is a good deal she has going.
• “The Tutorial Bossy Hopes You Never Need.” from i am bossy.  I sure do hope I never need it, but it’s good to know these things.  I for one wouldn’t have considered the plastic bag within the bag of ice thing.  I am still amazed that she was able to keep her head during all of that.  You do what you must, right?
• “Please tell me I’m not the only one who occasionally refers to Jack as ‘Charlie’” from What’re you lookin’ at?  Yep, we “LOST” fans have claimed another “victim”!  Though I will admit to being more than a little horrified that Frema has yet to watch “Dawson’s Creek”.  For shame!
• “Life is a Highway…That I’ll apparently now be driving…” from LOST A SOCK.  I feel a lot of connection with her, seeing as how I also became unexpectedly pregnant after suffering from infertility.  I love her bumper sticker idea (I want one too!), even if I can’t entirely agree with her chicken and sour cream fetish.
• “This one hits home.” from misszoot.  Heath Ledger died.  Zoot has much the same reaction that I did when I found out.
• “Oasis on the maternity floor” from mothergoosemouse.  Having a private room vs a semi-private room at the hospital is a huge issue for me.  It just drives me nuts that there are hospitals which still do the whole semi-private thing.  The initial post-partum period is perhaps one of the most delicate moments in a woman’s life and I believe she deserves to have her own room during that time.  It seems MGM might now agree with me, having “seen the other side”.
• “Pushover Parenting” from Suburban Turmoil.  It’s a huge pet peeve of mine and something I see more and more every day it seems.  Parents who give in to their children for all the wrong reasons.  I’m a big believer that our kids need us to give them boundaries and I’m glad to see I’m not the only one.
• “It’s the End of the World As We Know It?” from Surrender, Dorothy.  Definitely not a subject I particularly care to dwell on, but it is an interesting thought.  She had me thinking about this one for days afterward.
• “Skip This One if You’ve Got an Elephant Bumper Sticker…” from Mom-101. As far as political posts go (and I don’t generally care or them), this one was excellent.  Because the message here is a very, very important one and as parents we should care about very deeply.
• “The Princess, The Cowboy and The Narrative of Footprints” from Her Bad Mother.  Perhaps the best post on the death of Heath Ledger that I’ve seen.  She sums up the loss perfectly.  It *is* about a man and his daughter, at the end of the day.  What a terrible loss to that little girl.
• “Now with grand ambitions!” from moosh in indy.  Here’s another “from the heart” post about having the feeling that you are letting yourself down and letting your dreams die and just wishing that you had ONE THING that you were the best at.  It’s easy, as a SAHM, to feel as if you have nothing to offer.  I know that one well.
• “L&D Q&A numero tres (aka: The one about breastfeeding)” from Parental Discretion Advised.  I really appreciated the honesty with which Bree discussed what has to be a painful subject for her.  And a sensitive one.  But the fact of the matter is that sometimes these things happen and no one should be made to feel guilty for the decisions they make about feeding their child.  Way to go, Bree!
• “Payback is a… ahem…Female Dog.” from Dad Gone Mad.  This was just silly, this was.  Plus, I cannot imagine living somewhere where one might encounter an entire convoy of rainbow colored Lamborghinis.  And, for what it’s worth, I think my reaction would have been much the same as Danny’s.

And that, as they say, is that.  Have a great weekend, everyone!!

I’m pretty sure, however, that Fridays make just about everyone happy. It’s the last day of the work week, the gateway to the weekend.  It’s pizza night, movie night and stay-up-late night.  Even the day itself seems so much better than the other weekdays.  Probably because I know that it’s the last weekday.  I can make it through the last weekday if I know a reprieve is in sight.

Friday is also Friday Eye Candy day, and I loves mahself some FEC. If that isn’t a good way to start off the weekend right, I don’t know what is.

There is a blight on this Friday, however.  It is Harry’s last day of school for a whole MONTH.  And on top of that?  It’s a half day.  Which means he’ll be home about 1pm.  GAH.  (Of course, I plan to be three sheets to the wind and napping at 1pm.  He knows how to let himself in and turn on the Xbox, I wager.)  (Don’t call CPS on me.)  This means I’ll have an 8 year old boy I need to figure out how to entertain for the next four weeks.  And while the Xbox, his computer and the television are great at keeping him happy, I don’t want him to do any of those things ALL DAY LONG.  I’m thinking that besides coming up with other more fun activities for him to do, that I want to come up with a “chore list” for the break.  A list of things that I want him to have completed by the end of his break.  That’s not unreasonable, right?  I’m thinking things like putting away all his laundry (he’s got quite a backlog), throwing out old toys he wants to sell at our garage sale this spring/summer, cleaning his room, picking up his play area in the loft, etc.  I’m also wanting to discuss with him some restrictions on things like the Xbox, his computer and cartoons.  If he knows from the start how much can do each thing each week, then hopefully that’ll mean less arguments.  Right?

I’m also less than excited about Harry’s school break because this means I’ll have ANOTHER child to drag with me to doctor appointments.  FUN.  I have two next week.  Well, one of them is the perinatologist appointment and they don’t allow children in the office.  That should be… fun.  And I’m sure Harry would rather do just about anything (yes, even put away his laundry) than go with me to these appointments.  But I’m getting down to the wire here and these appointments are coming fast and furious.  I count my lucky stars that he goes back to school when I start my 34th week, which means I won’t have to drag him to my non-stress tests.

Anyhow.  What was I talking about?

Oh yeah!  Fridays!

We’re meeting some friends for pizza tonight, which should be a lot of fun.  I’m looking forward to the weekend, in general.  We don’t have anything really exciting planned.  But if it means I get to sleep in an extra half hour in the morning, I’ll take it.

As if that even works.  Well, maybe for GUYS it does.  But, in case you don’t listen to popular music, that is a lyric to the song “Rockstar” which also signals that I am counting myself among the sheep (albeit they are pretty cool sheep) and doing this meme.

Anyhow… presenting my very first album cover from my new band “Papal Oath”:

^{(photo credit goes to gafdez)}

Nice, huh?

If you wanna be a rockstar too, you can in three easy steps:

1. Click this link. The first title on this page is the name of your band.
2. Now click this link. The last four words of the very last quote is the name of your album. If it doesn’t work at all, click the “New Random Quotations” button for more.
3. And finally, click this link. The third picture on this page will be your album cover. Add your band name and album title, and you’re done! (Please remember to give credit for the original picture.)

So there you have it.  I’d like to see you come up with better on a dreary, snowy, January afternoon while the kids watch “Cars” for the umpteenth time.