Life in a cloud

4am

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:06:00 +0000

I hate it when I get insomnia. There is absolutely nothing on TV this early in the morning. News and paid programming. Watching the news is good but not the same stories every 15 minutes. And for some reason paid programming really does make me want to call them up and get the best skin care stuff and weight lose program and oh! the kit to make a $1,000,000.

Finally around 5am "Angel" (the vampire with a soul) comes on TNT. I do forget that I can catch things online. And I suppose I should get used to this. I'll be up quite a bit feeding the baby soon enough!

40 weeks...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 09:55:00 +0000

and still pregnant. I thought my 38 week picture would be the last of my big belly. But nope. They are going to induce me later this week. I think I'm ready. I mean I guess I really have no choice now do I?

Baby Bibs

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:43:00 +0000

Here are some baby bibs I cross-stitched for my baby (you even get a bit of Athena's tail and it looks like Alley's leg also has made an appearance!):

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:35:00 +0000

Tomorrow is my due date. I can't believe it is here! Granted he isn't coming. I still feel really good; no contractions; and just no signs he is wanting to make an entrance. I'm not good at waiting either. I'm ready or as ready as I'll ever be. The crib is made; diapers are put away; clothes are washed; I can't think of anything else to do! Part of me really wants to meet him; but there is another part of me that is so scared! I'm going to be a mom, and it was something I thought would never happen. I figured if it did great but never thought it would. And here I am. One day before my due date. I can't believe it. Hopefully the next post will be that he is here!

Jon Won!!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 21:58:00 +0000

I don't think I let the two people who read this blog know that my brother won the contest for his band to play at the Rothbury Festival. Here is a link to see him play the last song of their performance:
http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/mornings/The_Vault__The_Tom_Butwin_Band and here is a news story about it:

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/entertainment/music/090703_butwin_band_debut.

Thanks to all that voted!

38 Weeks and still pregnant!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 21:45:00 +0000

I thought I'd take pictures every two weeks hoping that this will be my last picture but thinking it might not be! I really don't think this kid wants to join us, not that I really blame him!! He seems pretty content in the belly. I've realized I need to completely slow down and just rest. Last weekend I did too much and on Sunday ended up not feeling so good. Food is starting to make me sick again so I need to be careful as to what I eat also. I've finally brought a couple of bags down so I can pack for the hospital. I still need to get a few things. I guess I'm not in a huge rush myself. I'm physically ready to give birth; emotionally and mentally not so much. My life is going to change so much and I just never planned for this. Never thought I'd be pregnant. I'm looking forward to the change because I know it will be the best thing ever but also scared. I swear if there was a color wheel for emotions I'd be every color: scared, excited, irritated, bored, etc.

So here I am at 38 weeks:

36 Weeks Baby Bump

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:13:00 +0000

I can't believe I am at week 36! I'm not completely convinced that he'll be early but I'm making sure I get certain things done by the end of next week just in case!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:48:00 +0000

For the most part I have enjoyed being pregnant...for the most part. Hated the first trimester but the second and third have been pretty good. I've got energy and my appetite is back (except for chicken - ew!). Right now though the ankles are becoming a problem. By the end of the night I don't have ankles anymore but instead cankles. I try to keep them elevated but at times I'm a little too busy to even sit and do that. I wanted to do some shopping today and made it to one store and said, "Forget it!". The heat doesn't help either though. I've got fans going all the time and would probably have the air conditioner on all the time but it isn't that hot and I like the fresh air.

So that is my big and only complaint about the pregnancy. My little bugger is doing good! Kicking a lot and letting me know he is getting ready to make his entrance whether or not I am ready!

Book Reviews - Gillian Flynn

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:04:00 +0000

I just finished reading the first two books by the author, Gillian Flynn. They were both rather dark books. The first book is Sharp Objects. Here is a little bit from the inside cover: "WICKED above her hipbone, GIRL across her heart
Words are like a road map to reporter Camille Preaker’s troubled past. Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, Camille’s first assignment from the second-rate daily paper where she works brings her reluctantly back to her hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls." Camille is a cutter who instead of just randomly cutting herself she cuts words into her skin. She goes back home to cover these murders but it isn't easy since she doesn't have a good relationship with her mother and doesn't know her half-sister at all. Fully understanding these different twists you had to read several pages into the book.

Her second book entitled, Dark Places is just as dark but maybe not as dark as the first one. Here is the blurb from that book: "Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” As her family lay dying, little Libby fled their tiny farmhouse into the freezing January snow. She lost some fingers and toes, but she survived–and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, Ben sits in prison, and troubled Libby lives off the dregs of a trust created by well-wishers who’ve long forgotten her." This one I wanted to keep reading so I knew what really happened. Did Ben kill her family or was it someone else like the Kill Club suggests.

As mentioned both books are rather dark and not necessarily light reads. Both women in the book are damaged characters who act out sexually, violently, and other ways to keep the hurt and past at bay. Both have to come to terms with their past in order to move forward and heal.

Recycle Your Cell Phone!!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:21:00 +0000

I think it was in the issue of Real Simple where I found this website where you can send your no longer used cell phone in to be recycled for free! Go to: www.recyclemycellphone.org. They take care of your postage AND it is tax deductible!

Cell phones are potentially hazardous waste because they contain lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic. If thrown in the trash and sent to incinerators or landfills, environmental contamination can occur from combustion and leaching into soil and groundwater.

Sadly, less than 2% of old cell phones are being recycled today!

Some alarming facts about cell phones you might not know:

*The EPA estimates cell phones will be thrown away at a rate of 130 million a year by 2005 that equals 65,000 tons of waste containing toxic metals!
* There are more than 500 million used cell phones in the U.S. sitting in people's drawers or in our landfills.

New Book - Home Safe

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:48:00 +0000

I read Elizabeth Berg's new book, "Home Safe". Here is a blurb about the book from her website, "Helen Ames is a writer who has recently lost the ability to write. And her husband. And her nestegg. Now she's worried about losing her daughter. The book looks at the nature of creativity, the mother/daughter relationship, and the surprising places one can find love and meaning."

While reading this I had wondered if this was about herself. Was she having trouble writing? And again when reading her website I discovered yes she was!

I think I've read all of her books, and this one wasn't one of her better ones. It is a book that one could read in a day though.

33 Week Baby Bump

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:43:00 +0000

Sorry I didn't get this one taken last week. I was in Michigan visiting family, which was so much fun! Here I am:

According to Babycenter.com: This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

Baking and Cooking!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 29 May 2009 16:21:00 +0000

I realized that it has been a LONG time since I mentioned what I've been cooking up at home. It has probably been due to the baby making it very difficult to be around food! But I'm feeling really good and have been on a cooking streak:

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Zucchini Bread
Banana Island Bread
Zucchini Cookies
Coconut Cake Bars
Rhubarb Coffee Cake

This weekend I want to make Rhubarb bread and possibly Oatmeal Scottie cookies. Most of this I take into work since I don't need it around the house. And the people at work like it! Let them get fat!!

Last night for dinner I tried a new recipe: Creamy Shrimp with Corn and Bacon. It was very easy to make and quite tasty! I think I'll keep it around to make again.

Brother's Band Needs Your Help!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 29 May 2009 16:11:00 +0000

My brother is a saxophonist in the Tom Butwin Band which recently played on a FOX station in Detroit. View the performance here: http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/subindex/entertainment/the_vault.

After watching the performance vote for his band - NOW!

Winners will get the chance to play Rothbury 2009! Prize includes a 40 minute slot to open the festival on the Sherwood Court stage on Thursday, July 2, 2009, a 15 minute slot on the main stage, the Odium, on July 3, 2009, all access passes and camping accommodations. Some past performers have been Bob Dylan, DMB, John Mayer, Guster, Ben Harper, etc.

1. Go to: http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/subindex/contests/fox_rocks
2. Click on “Vote Now”
3. Click on “Create an account”
4. Enter your email address and a password you want to use for the
contest voting.
5. A confirmation email will be sent to that account.
6. Once the email is received, open it and click the link to confirm
your registration.
7. From there, search for Tom Butwin Band in the list of contestants.
8. TO VOTE: click the open circle next to our name and scroll down to
the bottom of the page (entries are in alphabetical order). Then,
fill out the spam filter code and submit your vote!
9. Once you have registered, steps 1-5 don't have to be repeated.
Just log in with your email and vote!
10. YOU CAN VOTE ONCE PER HOUR, PER EMAIL ADDRESS.

Voting is open from May 27th to June 21st.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR HELPING HIM OUT!!

Baby Bump: 28 Weeks

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:41:00 +0000

I'm a little late posting this picture. Work has been crazy!! They finally posted for my current job so I'm trying to get projects organized for the new person, plus figure out what I need to do for my new job.

I seriously think I look as if I have a beer gut! He's been kicking a lot lately. I had my first baby birthing class last night, and we were giggling because you could see him kicking through my clothes. So I would poke him whenever he did that and he'd kick again.

I feel good. I'm in the third trimester and so far so good. I am starting to get back aches and my ankles turn into cankles by the end of the day at times. I'm definitely in "nesting" mode. I have been so busy trying to get the house organized, cleaned and everything else before he arrives.

Book Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 01 May 2009 01:52:00 +0000

I got the books I requested at the library:

"Revenge of the Spellmans" by Lisa Lutz was funny like her other two books. She uses a lot of footnotes which I liked in the first two books but this one had way too many. And she referred to the previous stories a lot so you could pick this book up without reading the first two. There is going to be a fourth installment at some point so hopefully she do away with the footnotes and also the promoting of the other books "now in paperback". Kinda got old.

Maeve Binchy's book "Heart & Soul" was good. I like how she interweaves her characters lives together. She also refers to previous characters in her other books which is kinda neat. It is like she can't let go of these people she created. She also makes it seem like Dublin is a VERY small town and everyone knows each other.

I read Mary Higgins Clark's new book, "Just Take My Heart". Easy read; and very predictable. It usually takes me a little longer to figure out who the bad guy is and how things are connected but not this time. It is about a women who is prosecuting a man who she believes killed his wife. Yet as the trial moves forward she starts to be in her heart that maybe he is really innocent like he says.

Finally, I've just begun Joy Fielding's new book, "Still Life". It is about a women in a coma that can hear everything everyone says. What she thought was a hit-and-run that lead her to being in a coma, she discovers might be something more sinister. It's pretty good thus far.

Baby Update

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 01 May 2009 01:47:00 +0000

My baby boy has been kicking a lot lately. Last night while I was reading in bed he started kicking. The book was resting on my stomach and all of the sudden I saw it jump up a couple of times. Today at work when he was kicking I saw my shirt pop out a bit. He is very active! It seems to be in the morning and in evening, when I'm relaxing. Though if he likes dinner he gives me a few kicks. Then again he could be kicking me to let me know he didn't like it! I haven't seen any hands or elbows or feet sticking out but I'm sure in a few weeks that will be next.

Right now I do feel good. No more food sickness (though still no chicken), and I feel I've got more energy. Right now I enjoy being pregnant. I like feeling the baby move around and let me know he's there.

Baby Bump: 24 Weeks

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:10:00 +0000

As you can tell, I'm getting bigger!!

According to Babycenter.com "your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon."

Poor Emma!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Okay, the pictures that are getting posted are from things that happened last year! I know I've been really slow getting these posted up here and also put on my Flickr account. Sorry! So this is old news about Emma. She is completely fine. Still a spoiled brat!

This past November/December she had to have surgery to remove a pretty big lump on her belly. Thankfully it wasn't cancerous. It was a procedure where we dropped her off in the morning and picked her up that afternoon. The poor thing was so drugged! She was out of it, and would try to follow you around to the point where I felt I was forced to sit and watch TV because I didn't want her moving around (right forced!). We had to check a few times to make sure she was still breathing. That is how out of it she was!

Here are a few pictures of Poor Emma!

This one was probably taken the next day. As you can tell she is much happier! Though that cone around her was pretty funny! She was running into everything!

Kitchen Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 15:54:00 +0000

I'm finally getting around to uploading some pictures to Flickr, and I also thought I'd include them in the blog. The first one is of the shelves I put up. They contain my salt/pepper collection, and some of the old Betty Crocker books that I love. The second picture is of the IKEA table I got before the holidays. It is so perfect for the kitchen! It can be folded out to fit up to four people. I love it!

Still not completely done with the kitchen but I'm getting close!

Its official: I'm a dork!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:42:00 +0000

I've placed two books on hold at the library and am eagerly anticipating their arrival. I get so excited every time Bev (head of circulation at Alcuin) stops by my office because I think she is dropping off one of those new books. Finally one of the two arrived yesterday, which is great timing because I finished the book by Madeleine Wickman, "The Gatecrasher". The book I just got is Maeve Binchy's new book, "Heart and Soul". The other book I'm waiting for is the third in the Spellman series entitled, "Curse of the Spellmans". I love those books!

It's a...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:37:00 +0000

Healthy baby! I went in for my ultrasound last week, and was told that the baby is developing right on schedule and everything looks good. All the measurements they took aligned with their books. I'm really happy to get that news! I feel the baby move or flutter around more and more each day. The baby was quite active during the ultrasound. It makes me think I might be in trouble! The baby made me gain 10 pounds in the last month (notice it is the baby's fault for my weight gain not mine and the ice cream I eat)! NOT HAPPY! It only really likes food that isn't that good for you (ring bologna? - gross!).

Oh! And I guess the other piece of news to share is that it is a boy! So I need to stock up on green clothes. Yes green. I had to think about this when my dad said he needed to know whether or not to buy "pink or green". No blue is allowed on his grandchild since that is the color of the University of Michigan, and green is Michigan State. If you know my dad this shouldn't strike you as odd.

A few of my favorite things...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:08:00 +0000

I suppose I've had a few cravings. Certain foods that I really like:

Chips - preferably Doritos but anything as long as they aren't plain...though I suppose plain would be okay as long as I had dip with it
Pudding - preferable vanilla or coconut cream
Bacon - I could eat that every day
Ring bologna - disgusting, yet so yummy
Chicken from a can - disgusting, yet I make that Asian Chicken appetizer (see previous blogs for recipe), so yummy
Waffles - breakfast staple right now
Ice cream - I was into cupcakes when I first discovered I was pregnant but now only want ice cream
Chipotle - always up for a steak burrito
Cottage cheese - yummy!
Chocolate soy milk - so yummy!

Things I can not eat (look at...smell):

Chicken (unless in a can - see above)
Hamburger - unlike chicken I can eat a hamburger but do not want to touch it; chicken don't want to touch or eat except if I buy it in the deli section; a couple fried chicken legs are okay but that is it!

Hmm...I guess that is it for the cravings. It is still hard to make dinners though. I thought sloppy joes (with turkey meat) sounded good. Made it up and it is still sitting in the refrigerator. Will freeze it for later consumption. Mainly I like my fruits and vegetables.

20 Week Bump

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:06:00 +0000

I'm getting a little bigger...

Welcome to my office

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:46:00 +0000

I've been going on and on (and on) about what a mess my office is at work. I decided to take some pictures as proof. All the documents that you see in the pictures need to be withdrawn out of our catalog and then either offered to our regional library (they have to keep all government documents) or tossed. Also, I have no idea what is in any of these piles. There is NO system whatsoever regarding how we put this on the floor. AND this isn't everything! We still have several boxes down in the basement that we need to take care of. Talk about job security! We shifted the entire government documents collection and in the process withdrew quite a bit of it. It has been a very busy month!

So, Welcome to the Government Documents Office:

(I tell the first years that my office has the "Love the Librarian" poster on it and why would you NOT love a librarian? They just stare at me blankly.)

Here is some of the microfiche that we've withdrawn over the last year. We are almost done with that project. Brother Paul still has a few to download and add to our catalog.

So this is my side of the office:

Here are various angles of all the crap I need to take care of:

(Front of Desk)

(Right of desk)

The rest are pictures of Brother Paul's 1/2 of the office:

(Front of Brother Paul's desk)

And finally government documents that we've recently received that I have no idea how to handle (we got a new catalog and it is all a mess for me!):