Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Baby!

So, I haven't been around for a while. You can probably guess why.

Everything is going well, and I'm going ts start trying to post again. but it's going to be a lot more sporadic than I'd prefer for the foreseeable future.

I doubt you want to hear about the mundane stuff (he's rolling over; he loves rice cereal; he gave his littler second-cousin kisses). I can't promise I won't poke into mommy-blog territory, but that's never been my focus and I don't plan to change that.

So, that's me! What have you been up to?

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

What makes you happy? #62

When I was a kid, the church my family belonged to had a craft fair, or Christmas bazaar, I don't recall which. I mean, they definitely had both at different points, but I don't recall which this specific event was.

There were several items for sale that people worked on in groups. Some were fairly simple, though extremely well done -- clothespin reindeer, tongue depressor Santas.
Bunny rabbit, dressed for Spring.  Photo by me.

My favorite was the Seasonal Bunny Rabbit.



(It was also available as an Elephant.)

One or two people good with woodcrafts made the bodies, while people better with sewing made bulk collections of ears in different floral and holiday patterns.

Extra ears and ribbons.  Photo by me.
Each rabbit (or elephant) came with a set of ears and some coordinating ribbons to tie around their necks.

And once a month, now that I have one of my own, I change the ears and ribbons to match season.

It's just a fun, subtle little thing that I really enjoy.

And it came with this nice poem.  Photo by me.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

What makes you happy? #61

Maybe (OK, probably) it's the hormones talking. It's not like my gestating body couldn't use the calcium, protein, better sugars and fats (that is, calories), and whatever small amounts of fruit or antioxidants show up.
The Shake Shack in Madison Square Park, Manhat...
The Shake Shack in Madison Square Park, Manhattan, New York City (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

But lately, milkshakes have really hit the spot.

For a while, early on, cheeseburgers were one of my dietary staples. If I got them in their simpler forms, without onions, there were no food aversions (I had so many food aversions). I was getting protein and calories that I was otherwise missing out on. They tasted good, they stayed down, and enough different places sell them that I could have them a couple times a week without getting bored.

I'm lucky (?) enough to have a Five Guys in walking distance and a Shake Shack right where I usually transfer buses. I can get some good burgers easily.

And when my appetite came back, it came roaring back, and while I had burgers less often, I started pairing them with shakes.

Small Nyberg is starting to get big enough to encroach on my stomach, so I may have to scale back soon, but man.  A good milkshake, well-timed, really satisfies.

Monday, April 25, 2016

I Don't Know What I Want... Chapter 12, Part 6

I Don't Know What I Want, But I Know It's Not This 

By Julie Jansen 

 Chapter 12: Job Search -- the Nuts and Bolts

Job Search Myths
Yeah, it's been a while, But there's not that much of the book left; let's see how quickly we can hammer it out.

Jansen outlines seven myths about job hunting:
  1. A resume should only be one page.
  2. If you got an interview through a third party, you follow up with the person who interviewed you, but rather with your recruiter.
  3. No matter how many people interviewed you, you only need to send a thank-you note to the person who would be your direct report.
  4. You shouldn't take notes during an interview.
  5. Don't bother job hunting in the summer or around the holidays; no one is hiring.
  6. The most qualified candidate has the best shot at the job.
  7. Only certain components of a job offer are negotiable.
She debunks these using common sense, so just consider them debunked.


Tuesday, April 12, 2016

What makes you happy? #60

English: baby
English: baby
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Note: not actually my kid.
The baby is pretty active. I suspect he can tell when I'm getting hungry, because shortly before I eat, without fail, he starts putting up a fuss. If this is how he acts in utero, I'm a little afraid of how he'll react once he's born and, you know, actually hungry.

Some babies are calm, and good at self-soothing. I suspect my son will be born without any chill.

I mean, just look at his parents.

Still, when he starts his bedtime agitation ("Mom?  Why'd you stop moving, Mom?"), Chris gets to feel it. He'll talk to my belly, or poke it, or sometimes shine a flashlight at it (as far as I can tell, the baby hates that -- he always squirms away from the light).

Watching Chris play with, and just generally interact with, our son is already a great source of joy for me.

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Meta: 2016 Round-up

Meta: Year-End wrap-up


English: A birthday cake
English: A birthday cake (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I always intend to do this at the beginning of the new year, and every year the holidays throw me out of my posting momentum. So, since my birthday was on Tuesday, why not kick off my personal new year instead?


As of press time, the following posts have gotten the most all-time pageviews:



And the following post is the only one to have gotten more than two non-spam comments:




Just for kicks, here are some unexpected search terms people have used to find this blog:

EntryPageviews
slate moneybox
4








the point seems to be
4










And finally, of the posts not mentioned above, here is the one I'm most proud of:
Didn't do study abroad. Life changed anyway.


So wander around, check out some stuff you might have missed, and jump in on the conversation.

Because it's a new year, and who knows what that'll bring?

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Small Nyberg screws with doctors

My pending son either doesn't like doctors, or just likes messing with them.

We've had three ultrasounds, now; one to confirm the pregnancy and two since.

I don't know if he had any opinions at the first one; I don't think he had brain waves at that point.  Heartbeat, yolk sack, everything's where it's supposed to be and there's only one of him.  Have a nice day.

At the second one, the idea was to get a look at his spine and, to a lesser degree, his face to make sure he doesn't have any major defects. And once we got to look at those things, he was confirmed to be healthy.  But in the meantime, he crossed his legs, covered his face with his hands, and kept turning away from the scanner. "Go away!" he seemed to be saying.

After this ultrasound, but before the next one, we had a routine checkup.  The doctor went to check his heartbeat, and then has this look on her face. She got very deliberately neutral.  The "Something is wrong so I have to look like nothing is wrong" face.

Yeah, he was just dodging the wand. Once she tracked him down, his heartbeat was strong and healthy.

Then came the most recent ultrasound. This was the one where they would reveal the sex.

Many of our friends who have recently had, or will soon have, kids, found the sex through a blood test (did you know pregnant mothers have bits of their babies' DNA floating in their own blood? Science is awesome!). We just waited for the ultrasound. Even Chris, who is vehemently against spoilers, wanted to know.

So in the week or so leading up to the test, we talked to my bump. "You better cooperate with the doctor and the tech!" we told him.  "We want to know who you are!"

(Well, we won't know that for a few months, yet, but at least this would determine his name.)

So the tech takes a look, and says, "Look! It's a boy!"

Yeah... she didn't need to tell us that.  He wasn't subtle.

He was manspreading.

And just as soon as she announced it... his legs were crossed, his hands were over his face, and he was rolling away from the scanner. "I did what you asked, now leave me alone!"

And so it goes.  At our last appointment, he let the PA check his heartbeat... then tried to kick the wand.

Immunizations are going to be an adventure, I just know it.



Friday, April 1, 2016

Friday Review #59

It's been since October since I did one of these, and since December since I posted at all.  There's no way I'm going to be able to fill you in on everything, so I'll just fill you in on the big news that I actually not too long after the last Friday Review...

Chris and I are expecting our first child in July.

Before you ask, the smart-ass answer is, "I'm sure they will let us know their gender identity by the time they're two or so."

The precise answer is, "The fetus is anatomically male."

Yes, we have a name in mind.  No, I won't be sharing on this blog.  Chris has consented to being mentioned by name on this blog. Small Nyberg, as I'll be referring to him for now, clearly has not.

My first trimester kicked off with back-to-back colds, which segued nicely into morning sickness so bad you could put it in pill form and sell it as a weight-loss drug.  I kept food down fine... when I could manage to eat it in the first place.

But I'm doing much better now, as our grocery bill can attest. You should have heard us a week or so ago:

Me: I need a snack, but we're out of everything.
Chris: Have some ice cream.
Me: I already killed that.
Chris: Fruit?
Me: All we have left is citrus.  That won't end well.
Chris: We have chips.
Me: ...Yeah, not anymore we don't.
Chris: Cereal?
Me: I finished the milk this morning.

At which point he looked a little dismayed, because now he wanted a snack, too, and I had already eaten all of everything he had thought of (except the grapefruit, which would give me indigestion).

Also, the baby likes to screw with the doctor, but that's a story for another day.

But you don't care about any of that! Let's look at how the last week has been.

Last Friday was the second day of my temp job.  It's supposed to be a two-week gig, which is about perfect, except they won't commit to an end date.  I can work longer; I'd be happy to do so.  But I really need to know what the story is so I can, you know, make and keep doctor's appointments.

Friday night was a comedy of errors in trying to get to Long Island for sushi with some of Chris's friends.  This place had a pretty extensive menu of cooked sushi, which was amazing once I finally got there. Oh, I miss real sushi. We went bowling, where I did surprisingly well. I guess the baby is a good bowler already.

Saturday we mostly ran errands and relaxed. We got some nice steaks for dinner.

Sunday was Easter. We met up with Chris's family at a restaurant, which would have been nice had our table not been next to one full of screaming children. I was overwhelmed and overstimulated pretty quickly.  Also, Chris's grandfather had passed away on Palm Sunday, which cast an odd tint on things. Not sad, exactly. Just odd.

Tuesday I had a doctor's appointment. The baby tried to kick the PA when she measured his heartbeat.  Like I said, he likes to screw with doctors.  Chris found the whole thing hilarious.

All in all, a fairly uneventful week.  Tiring, though.

Not much knitting this week. I am far from the only person in my circle of friends expecting this spring, so I spent a decent chunk of the winter churning out booties. I'm still a little burnt out, not to mention out of the yarn I need.  I'll make a pair for Small Nyberg once I replenish. I should probably pick at a hat in the meantime, but meh.

As for reading, I finished The Happiest Baby on the Block (which will hopefully prove helpful -- I expect Small Nyberg will be born without any chill) and worked on Storm Front for book club, as  well as The Seventh Bride.

So what have you been up to?

Note: Crap, I just realized as I was preparing the draft for this post that it's scheduled for April 1.  The news about the baby is NOT an April Fool's gag.  That said, I don't expect you to believe me -- I wouldn't -- so feel free to remain skeptical until future blog posts confirm the news.

Updated 5/6/16 to add links and fix typos.