parker.jpgKrista had her baby this morning. The baby weighed 9 lbs. 4 oz., and mother and daughter are doing fine.

There’s nothing there yet, but I imagine that in a few days our new niece will appear on the Skiff Babies on the Web! page. (Unless, of course, there’s another hospital in Newton that I don’t know about, or they decided not to post images for some reason.)

Congrats, Krista & Andy! Welcome, Parker!

 

Dishes are done, laundry’s in, and dusting’s out of the way. Blazing fire in the woodstove.

A frozen cheese pizza, a couch, and three episodes of Farscape on TiVO.

Ah, happiness.
——–

 

I just went to Mi-T-Mart for a treat. It smells like rancid chicken fat and melted engine parts in the parking lot.

It was so intense I decided to share.

No doubt it will blow away soon.
—–

 

My desire to posess an iPod is becoming almost absurd.

By God, I want one! Now!

The more I think about it, the more I want it!

I want to carry five thousand songs in my pocket! I want to listen to audio books! I want backlighting! I want solitaire! I want, I want, I want!

 

I’m feeling practically normal, finally! No more crying jags! In other words, my hormones are totally back to normal. Yay!

I had a pelvic exam yesterday (oh joy… NOT) and the nurse midwife agrees that I’m not pregnant. Since I haven’t had a normal period yet I’m taking this truly horrible-awful-bad tasting emmenagogue to get things flowing. Yuk.

I woke up absurdly early this morning, and then fell asleep on the couch and didn’t wake back up until 11:30. Grr. So much for working a full day today! I feel like a jerk; I feel so much better I should celebrate by… getting my ass to work for a few hours!

So I’m off to town to grab a bite to eat and to drop by the office for a few hours and see if the DSL database is doing okay.

I’ll try and write a truly interesting blog post sometime before the year’s up, I promise!

 

I got scolded by a friend via email for letting my blog basically be a cliffhanger – is she pregnant? does she have a job? and what about Christmas shopping?

Well, sorry. Here’s the update.

I have no pregnancy symptoms at all and I think I need a D&C pretty much ASAP. I’ve put in a call to my midwife for advice on that front; in the worst case I’ll drive up to IC to the clinic I used to go to. I don’t have any pain and I’m not running a temperature, so I should be fine for another day or two. This is, I believe, what you call a ‘missed abortion.’ And no, it isn’t any fun at all.

My job is fine. They didn’t cut pay nor lay anyone else off. I missed the meeting Friday, but Buzz emailed to say it was just an informational meeting about the ILEC.

And no, I haven’t done a lick of Christmas shopping. I’m pretty much totally involved with my own little health journey right now. Hopefully I’ll get the gift-buying done before X-mas eve, though!

My attitude wobbles from adequate to fairly bad. I feel like a hypochondriac because I’m worried sick about what’s not going on in my uterus, but like I said I really don’t have any reason to be worried. I’m tired or more likely a wee bit depressed, and I don’t entirely trust that my hormones are letting me perceive my emotional reality accurately.

All in all, everything is normal – no reason to panic. Oh, and fertility sucks.
——–

 

Yesterday I made a loaf of bread in the bread machine. Last night I had a midnight snack of fresh bread with butter and rasperry jam. OMFG that’s good stuff!
——–

 

Did I mention that five folks I work with suddenly got laid off earlier this week?

Well, to add to the stomach-turning nervousness of the department, we’ve all been invited to a mandatory meeting tomorrow afternoon! Sweet!

Not.

After the mandatory meeting email went out, I noticed a few folks casually checking online want-ads… just in case.

Out of curiosity I visited the Iowa Workforce Development and looked for jobs in my area… do you realize that to continue to make my current hourly wage, I’d have to be a certified CNA, a nurse, a dog trainer, or a truck driver?

Continue reading »

 

(I’m just bitching. You probably shouldn’t read this.)

I guess I feel better today, I’m not sure. I’ve felt bad so consistently for the past while that I probably don’t feel better and I just can’t tell.

Right now I’m starving again. I also feel fat – I’ve probably gained ten pounds and five of its boobs I don’t want (and which make me feel matronly). So feel starving but I look like I’m three inches short of being perfectly round. (Yes, I’m exagerating. But only the slightest bit.)

My husband continues to be a saint. He asks frequently how I’m doing, offers to pet and cuddle me, shoots compassionate glances my way, and tries to make me giggle. I don’t feel that I’m at all worthy of him. I also feel sad that he’s not getting anything back from me; it’s all I can do to sit and scratch his back for a few minutes, and he’s still sleeping on the futon to give me space. I’ve cooked for him maybe three times in the past month. He’s got clean clothes, but that’s about it. I doubt he cares about chores all that much; what I’m trying to say is that I feel sad that he has to hang out with a morose and confused wife every evening.

Continue reading »

 

Look! I made this! I built another website! It’s Steenhoek Appraisal, Inc..

I built it thru work, not freelance. But I’m putting it in my portfolio anyway. (My goodness, who needs to redesign her portfolio page?!)

View a screenshot