Monday, August 13, 2007

I've moved!

You can now find me here: http://notthemama.wordpress.com/

Please come on over and visit anytime!

Sunday, August 12, 2007

It's official!

Tonight Jamie and I signed the lease on a condo. We're moving in just over a month, and I can't wait! I love this condo so much, that I've been reluctant to talk about it for fear of jinxing it. I'm not usually superstitious, but I wasn't taking any chances.

Our new place is a big, open loft with the living area downstairs and our bedroom/bathroom upstairs. There is a spiral staircase that leads upstairs, where the bedroom is open and has a wrought iron railing. The loft only covers the kitchen/dining area, so the living room has vaulted ceilings and the far wall has floor-to-ceiling windows with a sliding glass door that leads to the balcony/terrace, which overlooks a park. It's located in a country club with gated security (and a 24-hour doorman/gatekeeper), golf course, restaurant, fitness center, tennis courts, and three pools.

After living in our little basement apartment for eight months, it feels like paradise.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Friday, August 10, 2007

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Henry's first sign



I have been signing to Henry (using ASL) since he was born. And just this week, he's started signing back. So far his only word is "milk" and he's only using it sporadically. But I still find it pretty thrilling.

The video is blurry, but if you watch his right hand, you'll see him open and close his fist repeatedly. That's the sign for milk.

Cue the theme to The Twilight Zone

I'm about to let you in on a not-so-well-kept secret: I love to be scared. I love horror movies. I love telling ghost stories. I love reading suspenseful books late into the night with just a reading lamp for light and then freaking out when the house creaks.

So last night after dinner, Jamie and I settled in with our latest rental. The movie was a little slow, but toward the end, the suspense began to build. The main character slowly and deliberately climbed the steps to the water tower as the music swelled behind her. We were on the edge of our seats when BAM! We both jumped about a foot in the air, and I'm pretty sure one of us screamed. It sounded like a bomb went off in our front yard, and we weren't far off. Turns out we weren't the only ones driven by the record-high temperatures to hole up in our homes cranking the AC. The stress on the power lines caused the transformer across the street to blow.

The explosion turned out to be the least of our problems when we discovered we'd be without power for three hours. The sun was already down, so we didn't die of heat stroke. However, we very nearly died of boredom.

I won't bore you with the details of our boring night. But I will get back to the scary/creepy stories part of this entry.

About a week after I moved to Atlanta last December, while I was virtually homeless thanks to the "perfect" roommate who turned out to be less than perfect, (She turned out to be a psycho liar, if you want to get technical.) I was crashing at Jamie's while I frantically searched for a new apartment. And one morning I woke up to discover that I had lost my driver's license and debit card. I had the cards the night before, and when I woke up they were gone. I searched and searched and searched. I tore about my car, my meager belongings, and Jamie's house. Finally, I gave up, convinced that they were gone forever. I thought maybe I had left them on top of the car and driven off or that maybe someone had stolen them. This led to the drama getting the debit card canceled and replaced. And I had to have the NC DMV send my replacement license to Georgia. Of course this all took twice as long as it should have, given the fact that I lost them three days before Christmas.

So yesterday I was in the bathroom, and I pulled out my travel bag...and there they were, sitting in the front flap. I don't know how I overlooked it back then, since I know I emptied out that bag repeatedly. And I don't know how I've missed it in the interceding months, since I've used that bag at least five or six times in the last eight months. I have no explanation, other than to say that I am blind or crazy. I'm sure the cards must have been there the whole time, I just don't know how I missed them.

Of course, the only other explanation is that they were borrowed by an underaged ghost who needed access to a hot otherworld club.

Right after I found my long-lost cards, I logged on and found that one of my new favorite bloggers had just posted a similar (but far more interesting!) story of items lost and found. Check out her blog and her ghost story.

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Melting

Today we left the house for a quick errand at 9:30am. The thermometer on the porch was already at 82. When we got back an hour later, it was at 96.

A few minutes ago, I went outside to grab a forgotten toy out of the car and I thought my face was going to melt off my body. Also, possibly, my hair was singed by the strength of the sun's rays.

I need to find some baby-friendly indoor activities around here besides browsing at Barnes and Noble. Outdoor activities like the park are not an option for obvious reasons, and I'm tired of flipping through magazines and reading the backs of books I have no intention of buying or reading.

Meanwhile, sitting home playing with the same toys and reading the same board books day after day is melting my brain. And I'm not the only one.

Henry is on strike and refuses to play with any of his toys. He is only interested in my cell phone and my computer. I think he is trying to contact the outside world to ask them to send in backup. I can't say I blame him.

More than meets the eye


Jamie and I went to see Transformers this weekend....twice. Please excuse my dorkiness for a moment when I say: BEST MOVIE EVER.

Okay, seriously, I loved this movie. I know part of it is the nostalgia factor. I played with Transformers growing up and occasionally watched the cartoon. But the other part of it is that the movie was really, really good.

While the epic battle of good and evil and the seriously amazing special effects still appealed to the child in me, it definitely wasn't a kids movie (the PG-13 rating should be your first clue). The humor was on point and would have gone over the heads of most children. (The scene where Sam's mother grills him about whether or not he was masturbating "Sam's happy time!" was hilarious.) The acting was fantastic -- especially Shia LaBeouf. And the special effects were so good that the autobots and decepticons didn't look computer generated at all.

It was definitely the best movie I've seen in a long time. I can't wait for the next movie in the trilogy.

Monday, August 06, 2007

Friday, August 03, 2007

You catch more flies with honey....

Dear Snotty Girl at the Cactus Car Wash,

Yes, I know my car was dirty. Really, really dirty. After all, that is why I was at the car wash. What would be the point of taking a clean car to the car wash? However, it was not caked in mud nor was there anything growing in the backseat. Therefore, I think it was a little unnecessary, the way you wrinkled your nose when you approached my vehicle. Also, I am unclear as to why you rolled your eyes when I asked for the standard car wash. I tried to ask if something was wrong, but you abruptly walked away.

When you came back, you asked me if I had ever had the car waxed. I'm sure you were trying to be helpful, but I almost couldn't understand you as you choked on your disgust. I was so taken aback that I couldn't form a coherent reply. I'm guessing from your patronizing, "You know, if you wax it occasionally, it might actually look like the color it's supposed to be." that you must have taken that my silence for a "no".

I was a little embarrassed and very angry. I wanted very much to turn around and leave (even though I had no idea how to do so logistically, given that the driveway is one way, and I was, by all appearances, trapped). However, what you didn't know is that I was having the car cleaned as a surprise for my girlfriend. She's been complaining about how dirty it is for awhile now and I know it's really bugging her. Also, we were supposed to leave in a half hour to get a friend of hers from the airport, so I didn't exactly have time to take it elsewhere or do it myself.

Before your approach, I was feeling really good. In fact, I was brimming over with pride, just imagining Jamie's face when she came home and saw the car glistening in the driveway. Thanks for taking that away and putting me in my place. Wouldn't want to get a big head or anything.

The car looks nice and clean now, and I'm really happy with it. I think you might be right though. It could use a little extra something, and I think I'll get it waxed next time I take it to be washed. Don't worry though, I'll be sure to take it somewhere else. I wouldn't want to ruin your day again by showing up at your car wash with my dirty car.

Sincerely,
Annie

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Summer Days


It's been a long week. Back-to-back overnights wear me down. I miss Jamie, I miss my puppy, and I miss sleeping in my own bed. But it's hard to complain about sunny summer mornings spent at the park with a baby who has just recently discovered the joy of swinging.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Ahoy Mateys!

My latest completed knitting project is a sweater for Henry. Hopefully he'll be able to wear it at the tail end of this winter, but more likely we'll have to wait until next winter.

The pattern is from Zoe Mellor's book Adorable Knits for Tots, and it's called "ship ahoy! sweater". I chose a different shade of blue for the main color, simply because I already had a bunch of the light blue sitting around begging for a purpose.

The directions were easy to follow assuming you actually pay attention -- otherwise you wind up ripping half of it out because you didn't realize you were supposed to be shaping the armholes at the same time you were working on the pattern. Not that I know anything about that... I loved the picture in the book, and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. My only complaint is that the sizing was very broad. I would have really liked to make it in a 12-18 months size, since Henry turns one in November. Unfortunately, my choices were 6-12 months or 1-2 years. It looks like it is closer to two years than one, so he probably won't get much wear out of it this winter. Still, that's a pretty minor complaint, and overall, I'm really happy with it. There are tons of other cute patterns in this book. I've made one other and I can't wait to make a few more.


Meet Henry

When I last posted, the little prince had yet to be born. And now he's already on the verge of crawling. He's the sweetest, most easy-going baby in the world. (Knock on wood -- watch him do his worst to prove me wrong tonight!) Yes, he has his moments, but they are few and far between. And I'm not just saying that, I swear. Generally, he is just happy to be alive and finds fun and adventure in everything. Despite a little stranger anxiety, he loves people, and often charms passersby with his infectious grin.

He wants so badly to be crawling, and it's so funny to watch him scoot all over the room on his tummy or get up on his hands and knees and rock and rock and rock and rock...only to collapse in a heap.

Jamie is utterly in love with him. Which is funny since she's not much of a baby person. She went with me to see him for the first time, and was too scared to even touch or hold him. But after eight months of exposure, all that nervousness has worn off. She reaches for him the second she walks in the door -- and he reaches for her too. The other night she got him ready for bed all by herself. She bathed him, massaged him, diapered him, dressed him, etc. I didn't do anything but offer encouragement. It was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen. I know kids of our own are a long ways off for us, but seeing her with Henry makes me eager for those days.

Starting Over

I can't believe it's been nearly a year since I last posted. Things got so busy with my move and my personal life that I just abandoned the blog. But I've missed it and I've decided to start it up again. This time, I'm going to broaded my topics to include my whole life, rather than just my writing. If/When I get back to seriously working on my novel (which still exists, but it waiting for a major overhaul as I've decided to make a major POV change in the narration), I'll post about that. But I'll also post more about my personal life, my professional life, etc.