San Francisco

Was a blast! We ate ice cream at Ghiradelli, bought loads of chocolate, went to a cool wine bar (I did do a flight, but it was all Cab sauv., and the kind of tasting that costs $25, and the cheapest bottle we tried was $75), rode the cable cars, and had the best pizza I'd had in a long time. It was unbelievable. That was just the first day. The second day was breakfast at a pastry shop, and then a culinary tour of Little Italy and North beach. Amazing food, coffee, and lots of walking. However, it was not exactly the best idea. I got completely overheated, exhausted, and felt like I was going to pass out for a minute. Thankfully some fresh air helped (we were in the back of a deli where it was HOT). After that, we went shopping in Chinatown, and relaxed for a while before a dinner of Tapas. Gotta love being in a city.

It was really great to get home though. Apparently I missed an earthquake by about 8 and a half hours. Yikes! Thankfully it was a mild one, but it's still scary. It was so good to get home last night. I really missed Nathan and Celia. She was in bed when I got home, but I still got to kiss her goodnight. The sucky thing is that she's sick. Nasty cough and managed to get an infection in her chest, so she's on antibiotics. The cough is horrible, and not getting any better, especially at night. Poor thing was having a coughing fit that lasted about 20 minutes in the middle of the night. Hopefully it gets better quickly, now that she's been on the antibiotics for a few days. So good to see her today- the hug she gave me was the longest, biggest, strongest hug I've had from her, and it just made my whole day.

brain overload

I never did find my ipod cord, but at least they had TVs on the plane, and music as well. So that really helped make the flight go by fast. The conference is nearly over, just a few talks left. I snuck out to finish packing, since I have a shuttle coming right after it's over. And, then I head to San Francisco for 2 days. Really a day and a half, but it's still going to be great! Somewhere I've always wanted to go, and now I get to!

Not much going on. Just really exhausted. I finally slept well last night, just in time to move on to another hotel. But at least I did sleep. Though, I could really go for a nap right now. My brain is so overloaded with information, it feels like it's going to blow up.

I really miss my girl. I've talked to her a few times a day, and she's having fun with her daddy, but I still really miss her. Leaving the husband isn't so bad, in fact it's kind of nice to get a break once in a while (no offence honey!). But leaving her is really hard. Hopefully this is the last time for a long time.

not coping today!

So I'm packing for my trip. I have a shuttle coming to get me at 5am, which is crazy, but it's an 8am flight. I can't find my ipod cable anywhere. I have the plug, and the ipod and headphones. But the cable? Gone. No where to be seen. And I have a 5 and a half hour flight tomorrow. Not happy!

cooking is like therapy.

Yesterday, I had to run to the mall to get some clothes that I can actually wear at a professional conference and not be embarassed. I was looking for the typical mall maternity store, so I woulsn't spend too much on stuff I really wouldn't wear more than twice. So, I was thinking I had to drive down to Montgomery mall, which is a great mall, and it isn't too far out of the way. Just a bit further than my "local" mall. I had completely blocked out that there is a Motherhood at Lakeforest mall. It is right next to where I used to get my hair done before they moved. I bought clothes there when I was pregnant with Celia. Yet here I was, completely shocked when I saw on the store locator that there was one in that mall. And then I couldn't for the life of me remember where in the mall it is! Seriously, brainless!

Anyways, I got the stuff I needed and then some, and then we went over to Whole Foods for some groceries. Immediately I had to have cheddar/beer fondue and chocolate fondue. I've been craving fondue again, but haven't had energy to get a sitter and go out. Or go out during the week (I have a coupon for $15 off the big night out during the week at Melting Pot). So I made beer/cheddar fondue, and it was great- though it solidified pretty fast. Next time I'll measure better. I also bought some really good milk chocolate, and made milk chocolate/peanut butter fondue. It was amazing! We ate a huge amount of it, and there's still half in the fridge for tonight. Yummy!!! I had nearly 2 whole bananas and 10 strawberries myself. SO good! And while I was there, I got a standing rib roast, so I a making that tonight. With a currant gravy. It's going to be SO good!! I can't wait. This weekend and last were filled with cooking, and it was great! Too bad my back doesn't like being upright like that for long periods.

Today, is nice and relaxing. I ran to target and Safeway, got home and had lunch, and then am now relaxing more while Nathan is in the guest room peeling off the rest of the border. The lady we bought the house from LOVED borders, and I hate them. Seriously HATE them. I've never met a border I liked. Though there was a cool idea of using wine labels as wallpaper on an episode of Trading Spaces once that was cool... But I digress! I pulled the border down months ago, and of course, it left the backing and glue on the wall. I'm not in a good position to be up on a ladder scraping, so Nathan offered to work on it a bit more today. So that's what he's doing, and I can't wait for it to be gone! We really need to paint that room (it's NASTY filthy) before the baby comes. I have had the paint for months, so if he does that this weekend, maybe in a few weeks I'll get the energy to help paint it. I love painting rooms! It makes me ahppy seeing a new color cover up the filth.

And I need to pack. I can't believe I'm going to California in just 4 days! I can't wait!!

OH, and Karaoke Diva mentioned that she was renting a doppler so she could listen to baby's heartbeat. At first I thought it was cool, but not something I'd do. Until I saw Celia's reaction at the Ultrasound a few weeks back. Seeing and hearing the heartbeat was just amazing to her. So, I ordered one last week, and it arrived 2 days later. I now am the proud renter of a Baby Beat doppler for the next few months. I told Celia what it was, and she's been so excited to hear it. We let her listen on friday, and she didn't want me to turn it off. It was really cute. She really loved it. I'm glad I went ahead and did it. Not just for my peace of mind, but to help include Celia in the whole thing.

please stop!

Ok, now my head is spinning. I have been working on my poster all day, and it's taking forever. I have a pretty good layout, and need to generate 2 figures and a table tomorrow. I still find it ironic, that the one thing I hate in this world are insects. And what am I working on? Insects! At least they are just mosquitos and ticks.

Now my head hurts...and I'm only about 3/4 of the way done. ;(

busy!

Next thursday, I fly out to San Jose for a conference. I'm excited to get away for a few days, but I'm also crazy busy trying to get my poster presentation finished before I go. So I'm staying home today to crank it out and get it done with. I hope! I'm really looking forward to this trip for 2 reasons. First, I'm going without my family, which means I'll get some me time. I'll get to spend the flight watching the TV they provide, knitting, and sleeping. Without babysitting a 3 and a half year old who hates sitting still on flights. Secondly, I'm flying in and out of San Francisco. And my flight home is 2 days after the conference is over! So, I will be heading up to San Francisco the day the conference ends, and spending time exploring, shopping, and eating. And, my supervisor is going to join me for the majority of it (which is a good thing!). I had debated initially long and hard on whether to spend some extra time there, and I'm glad I finally decided to do just that. I have never been to California, so I'm really looking forward to going. The only bummer (which I got over really quickly) is that I'll be SO close to Napa and can't go. I'll just have to save that for another time when I can go with Nathan. ;)

Yesterday.

Yesterday was Pregnancy and Infant Loss Rememberence Day. First I want to say that I was thinking of all of you who have had a pregnancy or infant loss. You were all in my thoughts yesterday. It wasn't until I was in bed last night, that I realized that I myself lost a baby a few months ago. I don't know why, but I didn't think of it like that. But after reading everyone's entries yesterday, it really hit home. While twins wasn't an ideal situation for us, I was excited about them. While I only had 1 week knowing that there were 2 growing inside me, it was still 1 week that I was having 2 babies. I was attatched to them both. When we found out that one wasn't viable, I was devistated. My husband's relief completely took over, and I just ignored the fact that I was sad. Until last night. I think I also feel guilty being sad, when I'm so lucky to have one daughter, and one healthy baby growing inside me. Like it was greedy of me to want them both to be OK. Anyway, I thought about it a lot last night, and I then went to sleep thinking about the baby who didn't make it. I hope that he or she knows that I did love him/her, and I always will. Even if I was afraid to recognize that before.