Because sleep is more important...

*I'm actually posting this on Friday (shhh!). I was actually in bed a minute before eleven! I'm going to continue to try to catch up on sleep over the weekend.

*Remote desktop is working, but everything is all screwy, and because of software updates my files were hidden in some random backup location. Plus the mad German came out of hiding and, per his MO, needed something done immediately and started freaking out when I didn't write him back in ten minutes (smack in the middle of the 24 hours the server was down). Argh.

*Brought my sock to knit night, and actually got a few things done. Discussed some mystery upcoming events...

*Rosina had a fever spike this afternoon--she almost never runs a temperature, but she felt warm after her nap, so I took her axillary temperature, and it was 101. I hardly believed it, sine the thermometer is so crappy, but my temperature was normal. I gave her some Tylenol, and it was significantly lower in just a few minutes. She seems fine now, so I guess it was just one of those things. It could definitely bee teething-related.

*i have been freezing veggie burritos for us to eat for lunch, and I am officially dick of them. What's worse is that I don't think Mark is even taking them to work. I was doing this so we could save money on lunches, and he probably spends more than $30 a week on just lunch.  Must discuss!

Technical difficulties

*I missed posting yesterday because that time was better spent taking a shower. I never understood why parents of small children so valued showers, but now I do! I don't need to wash my hair more than three times a week anyway, since it's so long at the moment, but I wish I didn't need to mark the calendar for it!

*Server issues at work, hence the title of this post. I wasn't able to check my email or access any of my files. Still can't! The silver lining is that I can let myself sleep in tomorrow.

*Made a decision regarding Bex (the docks I'm working on): I'm just going to do the cable pattern on the legs, and do the feet in stockinette. I don't need the extra bulk in my shoes, plus I'll be able to make the legs longer without running out of yarn. Also, the feet will not need my undivided attention.

*Just bought two new diaper covers and two long-sleeved bibs on sale on Amazon. Interesting stuff, eh?

*Rosina is really in the thick of this molar thing--drooling like crazy, both hands in her mouth, general fussiness, and grumpiness about eating. Poor thing...I wish we could look forward to it being over soon, but after this one we still have canines and another set of molars to go.

Up too late, surprise surprise

*Had a very nice lunch with my officemates and a few out-of-town staff. It was great to have more time to catch up--I know I'm lucky to be working with such nice people (even if I do think they talk about religion too much). Rosina was a doll the whole time, particularly considering she was past due for her nap.

*Speaking of Rosina, she makes the cutest animal noises right now. Dogs say "wuw wuw", cats say "meh"--and her favorites are horses, sheep and goats, but she's been baa-ing for a while now.

*Ridiculous Southern reaction to possible precipitation #17: the district calling a three-hour delay when there was only a very slight chance of rain, well north of here. Maybe if they hadn't called it the night before, they wouldn't have basically wasted a school day.

*Good bellydance class tonight. I have to clean up my Tunisian twists--ugh, especially going to the left! I am so right-handed--but other than that I have a pretty good handle on what we've done so far in this choreography.

*Got about five rows of my sock done at at my Monday knitting group--my fault for bringing a cable-crazy Cookie A. pattern--and afterwards completed a motley shopping list consisting of super glue, magic erasers, breath mints and bananas. I still can't find a calendar anywhere. I may check a craft store tomorrow, but I wonder if we're out of luck and will have to print one. We definitely waited too long!

Team Peach Cobbler FTW!

*We just crushed it at the local sports bar's trivia night. Fifty dollars!! (Figures they'd have a new rule where you have to spend the credit right away--and since there were only two of us, and we didn't order drinks, we ended up buying a few desserts to put in the freezer.) Go Peach Cobbler! (Don't ask me where that name came from--it just popped into my head.) And considering that Mark had to leave for about half an hour to take care of a work thing, leaving me alone with Rosina for the last two rounds before the final, I feel particularly good about it. I aced the third round!

*FaceTime date with Cathy, where we discussed the relative merits of 1990-vintage colognes. Malibu Mist and Electric Youth are both available on Amazon--though the photo of the latter looks pretty yucky. Maybe I'm just lazy now, but I usually use either scented lotion or vanilla body spray these days--when I think of it at all.

* Took a very restorative hour-long nap. I am so loath to take naps--it's always seemed like a waste of daylight to me--but I haven't been sleeping that well lately (it's the low humidity; I think I ought to get a new prescription for Flonase), and I was supremely cranky today before that nap...

*Went to Whole Foods alone to pick up some basics. Believe it or not, their milk prices are actually competitive! (We've had bad luck with milk from Costco and Kroger going bad days before the sell-by date--and don't get me started on Trader Joe's!) It is SO relaxing going to the grocery store when you don't have to worry about your car's proximity to the cart corral, or about keeping a baby occupied. Plus my English Breakfast Tea was on sale!

*We went to the dollar store to pick up some coloring books (why go anywhere else? They're just going to be scribbled on) and some wrapping paper, and I also picked up one of those large French twist hairpins. I have fallen prey to hair gadgets before! This one actually seems to work, however. I am pleased.

This is a particularly bourgie post, for whatever reason. Don't worry about me, I still turn up the volume when Thin Lizzy comes on...

Late again, so I'll make it quick

*Had a pleasant evening at the cocktail hour and dinner. It was nice catching up with people. Free filet mignon didn't hurt, either! The Key lime pie was a bit out of season, but still delicious.

*Spent most of the afternoon cleaning, but it's nice to have it over with.

*Rosina had a rough day toothwise, but Tylenol helped a lot. I ended up putting her to bed tonight after I got home--it's usually Mark's job (I normally wash the sippy cups every night), so it was nice for a change.

*I must've slept oddly last night--I know there were weird dreams, at least--and my back and neck have refused to let me forget it. Another reason to go to bed now...

*i have heard "Close My Eyes Forever" on the radio twice in the past week. This cannot be a coincidence.

Snow day

I'm so glad I didn't have anywhere to go...

*Southerners are historically chicken when it comes to the white stuff, but this was no joke. It started snowing a bit at about eleven this morning, which alternated with sleet and freezing rain for most of the day. When I went to get the mail (empty!), there was about 1/4" of ice on everything. I'm glad Mark managed to get home before it got too nasty.

*Played this song for Rosina today. I don't know whether she liked it, or if she just enjoyed my awesome dance moves. It definitely brought me back.

*We are watching the last few episodes of Ellery Queen on DVD from Netflix. It was a really well-made show, but I guess it wasn't gritty enough for the post-Watergate, post-Serpico world. I have been waiting a while for the latest Doctor Who half-season to show up--I am now learning what they mean by "Very long wait". I may just break down and pay to stream the next half-season from Amazon. This is just silly...

*I have a work function tomorrow night, and one of my friends is watching Rosina so Mark can come to dinner after the boring "happy hour" at the office. (Free steak dinner--I shouldn't complain! And other than helping to set up snacks and making small talk with near-strangers, I don't have much to do!) My editor is presumably in Europe, where he was the other day, so I should be able to avoid any of the Herculean last-minute requests for which he is so famous.

*I am almost done with the Baby Bobbi Bear I'm making for my new niece. This is my first time using Berroco Remix, and I really like it. (I suspect the 100% recycled content is pre-consumer, considering there's a decent but inoffensive amount of VM in the skein.) This time I need to just bite the bullet and embroider the face as soon as possible, instead of waiting most of a year, like I did with Rosina's!

Blerg

Things got away from me yesterday, as I will explain...

*Rosina had a rough day yesterday, mostly because she's working on some molars--but she's also started this pattern where she grunts/yells when she wants us to do something or give something to her. I keep saying, "Please, mommy?" to try to change it before this becomes a habit, but it's not working yet. And there are tantrums, but they're normally brief, and are to be expected at this age. That doesn't mean I have to like it!

*Misplaced my wallet! I ordered that tv stand last night, and never put my wallet back in my purse--so of course I left without it when I went to buy milk. I luckily had a $10 bill in my wallet (I feel bad when my grandparents send me money for Christmas, but it saved my ass!) After we got home and put Rosina down for her nap, I tore apart the living room looking for it, with no luck. Mark found it in three minutes, in a place I had already looked.

*Got totally bitched out by someone for saying something completely innocuous. I've known this person for a while, and maybe they had just had a bad day, but it was really unnecessary. I'm trying not to take it personally, but, um, well, I do! It has changed my opinion of them, at least for the time being...

*Heard "Let's Go Crazy" on the radio, and they totally cut the spoken word part! Big mistake.

*In good news, I have been following the 1600-calorie version of the DASH diet since the beginning of the year, and I think I've actually lost a few pounds. :) I made myself these Deal-A-Meal-y cards out of construction paper, and it's been a pretty easy way to keep track of servings without having to keep a food diary or anything.

Since I get a kick out of this picture, I will post it completely out of context.

On a roll...

It's late so I'll be quick:

*We have been going back and forth about a new entertainment center. We bought a nice tube tv right before the LCDs came out, so now we have a 75-pound tv that no furniture is designed to support anymore. I think we have finally decided on something that isn't going to bankrupt us, and just need to work out the logistics.

*Caught up on Castle with one eye while reading Peter Rabbit over and over again with the other.

*I found these old links in an unposted entry from November 2011:

Article on the first black MLB player--in 1905--who later became a lawyer for Marcus Garvey

One-hour quick clean!

And this needs no introduction.


*In annoying work news, my Remote Desktop is still down, and our new peer review system only provides useless statistics.

*i am a Pinterest power user! Go follow me if you don't already. I mainly use it for recipes, it seems. Pinterest recipes tend to fall into two camps: hysterical veganism (hello, some of us can't eat tofu, and refuse to waste money on almond milk) and full-on Sandra Lee cream-of-mushroom soup craziness. There is no middle ground! And why does everything have so much added salt and sugar? I like all the ideas, but I end up having to modify everything, because they're so ridiculous...

Five (okay, six) moment memoir #1

Oh, blog. I have neglected you for so long. I genuinely thought I didn't have enough time for blogging--but when I see the other ways I fritter away my time, it makes me wonder. Anyway, I read this piece in O magazine (thanks again, Helen!) about one writer's idea for a "five-moment memoir", in which only five points are listed, and I thought that might be a good way to get back into things. Since it's been more than a year, I know an update would take forever, and hopefully this will just help me skip over all that. So welcome to the mundanity that is my life.

*Got to sleep in today! Dragging my ass out of bed at seven every morning is manageable, but rather unpleasant. I know I should be all thoughtful about Martin Luther King, and believe me, I am, but I am also grateful to get an extra two hours of sleep.

*In old-lady-in-the-supermarket news, a retired NICU nurse stopped us today in Target. They're always so happy to see the tiny ones doing so well. In other Target news, I bought some vanilla Gud body butter for half off--score!

*Heard "Silent Lucidity" on the radio. Wondered how Queensryche was always grouped in with the grunge bands, when they are clearly straight-up prog. Seriously, you could tell me that song was by Yes, or even Pink Floyd (doesn't it sound like "On the Turning Away"?), and I might believe you.

*Caught most of Obama's speech today. I thought I wouldn't miss much after our errand, but they must've been running really early. Civil rights were in focus for obvious reasons, but I can't help but think of GWB's "I'm the decider" BS. Repeatedly bringing up gay rights would certainly rile the conservative dipwads...

*Slight update: my new niece was born Friday! Elizabeth Anne looks like a little grumpy Sicilian woman, just like her sister Charlotte did. They should come home from the hospital tonight. Rosina was very excited to see pictures of her, particularly since she is currently obsessed with babies. "Baby" is probably her favorite word at the moment.

*Just read The Passage by Justin Cronin. There are obvious comparisons with The Stand, and his style is similar to Stephen King's, which could explain why I found it so hard to put down. Oh, and there are nasty psychic superhuman semi-vampires, and epic doomed-to-fail journeys across wastelands, and of course The End Of The World, which, if you know me, you know is my favorite book topic ever. If a novel includes a decimated population scavenging for unspoiled canned food in long-abandoned supermarkets, I have probably read it.

And that was six moments! More tomorrow, if I can get my ass in gear. Maybe even more pictures... This one is from Thanksgiving--enjoy.