33 weeks

Yeah Ghana!

Who's the most unpatriotic American you'll probably ever meet? Me, yes me. Sorry if you're offended but I have 2 reasons to be super duper happy that Ghana beat the US.

1. Alex, the dear, is from Ghana. Alex's parents still live in Accra.

2. Who doesn't love a triumphant underdog?

RIP Sushi

Sushi Mallet Loved Boxes

Achhhh. My heart. It hurts oh so badly. Our dear cat Sushi had to be put to sleep yesterday. Here's a link to Alex's ever so sweet tribute and another photo of Sushi.

http://alexmallet.blogspot.com/2006/06/sushi-mallet-111998-6182006.html

Bare Foot is to Pregnant as Leather is to Rock Star

I now understand why pregnant women and bare feet go together like rock stars and leather. Here's the scoop: When your appearance prompts people to say "Wow you look like you're going to pop!" chances are you feel that way and have limited range of motion as a result.

Case in Point: I made a trek to Macy’s today (I usually avoid department stores but to date I require a Neapolitan shopping experience: water fountains, bathrooms, and A/C all in one) to get some comfy walking sandals and a piece of clothing that has long been extinct in my wardrobe, shorts. It's just so freaking hot, humid, hazy and hellish that I've decided baring my pillars and shoes for comfort are necessities.

Anyway back to the shoes. I ask the Macy’s shoe man to bring me the shoes I have in hand, which he promptly dumps on the floor in front of me and high-tails it. I thought he was going to get himself a little shoe salesperson stool but that was not the case. He decided to stand around and gab with the other sales people while I grunted my way to the floor to pick up the shoes before me. Out of the box they came but that’s about as far as they got—I can’t reach my feet anymore, so I just sat there until he came back. To his credit, he did eventually put my shoes on for me, but very grudgingly. It was an all-around embarrassing experience, for both of us.

Today's Lesson: Don't do self-service shoe shopping when transporting another human.

Popsicle Woes

New and Improved FDA Recommendations

What food deserves its own group and a large portion of the FDA food pyramid, or whatever the hell shape it is now? Popsicles. Yes, Popsicles.

I want popsicles, and damn the NE and its obsession with ice cream, I can't find one anywhere. Well, that's not totally true, I have found 2 varieties but neither are suitable for my pregnancy-induced lust for frozen calories on a stick.

The First: A Lifesaver Pop, which is a frozen toxic concoction of corn syrupy dregs from the bottom of the juice cask in colors resembling crayons. If partially hydrogenated oils were appropriate popsicle ingredients you can bet these would be chalked full of em.

The Second: A Tragic Joes Pop. Don't get me wrong, I love TJ's but they've got the popsicle thing all wrong. Alex, the dear, brought me home the lime version-- they're sitting in our freezer gathering a protective ice glaze. Way too sweet with a hint of 'if-I-were-to-melt-I'd-be-in-a big-ol-glass-with-Tequila-and-salt' just aint working for me—oh what I would do to have the melted version…..

Today’s mission: take the bus to a super duper grocery store and find some damn popsicles

restored

Me and the shrimps (aka my mom and sister)

Industrial

Hi-Rises

Smile from Seattle

List of the Latest

3 weeks left at the Institute for Extraterrestrial Humans, which is great because commuting is becoming laborious and working here seems to be getting more dangerous by the day. First, walking to and from the T, switching trains, walking across campus, all in the heat and humidity, is far from fun, especially when you have chub rub (yes, my inner thighs have recently become acquainted). Second, the scary-lady-with-the-way-too-calm-voice-alarm and the air raid horn that sounds after she kindly asks you to 'exit the building immediately' is a big frightening. There's a lab a couple of doors down that keeps having toxic gas leaks--yesterday was the second time in a month the alarm sounded. Things seem to have gotten more serious; this morning there is yellow 'Police Line Do Not Cross' tape across all the lab doors.

13 images new of mine are about to loaded onto AGE's site, adding to the 10 images I already have with them.

The 'childbirth' classes start next week and I'm far from gung-ho given I'm not much of a 'group' learner and right now the whole 'let's-all-bond-even-though-we-are-complete-strangers-having babies'' feels like it's going to be one gigantic blind double date x 10, revolving around a topic I'd like to keep private. Besides, this class is generic and 'mainstream' and we're planning an alternative approach, drug-free using hypnobirthing.

Just because we're on an 'alternative' birthing/childrearing topic, I'll add this to convince you that I'm truly crazy.
After searching and searching for a cloth diaper service in Massachusetts, I finally found one, yes only one for the entire eastern portion of the state. Anyway, we're doing cloth. It's much cheaper and better than plastic throw aways. They'll come once a week and drop of a load of clean diapers and take the 'used' ones away.

The lack of cloth diaper services here brings to mind the thing that just keeps coming to me about the East vs. West Coast: There are so many things about the East Coast that are far from progressive. Example: The lack of businesses that accept depit cards--I never ever carried cash until I moved here.

rock and seaweed

rocks

Big C in Sea Town

List Fun

I can’t help thinking how weird and cool it is that because I’m pregnant with a boy I have a penis.

The shower was splendid, we’ve been gifted with a ton of great baby items--Thanks people!

Proof that you have little control over pregnancy weight gain: In Seattle, I ate a lot of everything I wanted (including dessert every night) and rarely exercised. I gained no weight—thank god.

A swelling recipe that really works: Boil a bunch of fresh parsley with a lemon until it’s a green sludgy mess—drink it and water be gone!

A good way to test people’s sense of humor when they ask you “Are you excited to have a baby?” is to tell them you’re really glad Massachusetts has a ‘safe haven’ law (which is something like a car lemon law for babies, allowing you to drop off your unwanted baby at any fire station within 7 days of birth without being prosecuted).

Another good test of humor: When people ask what you’re naming your baby, tell them the most horrendous names possible, with a straight face, and watch them squirm. Our standard joke name is Donald Chuck. Donald is Papa Mallet’s name and Chuck is Papa Todd’s name. As individual names, they’re just fine but in combination……

Pregnancy dreams increase in bizarritude the further along you are.
Examples: I killed someone, Hid out in-disguise in an old folks home then climbed a tree full of cats.

crabby

Crabby

I'm a crabby crabby lady these days.

Here's why:

I'm freaking tired like the worm jumping to get out of the Mexican bean. Our bed is HORRENDOUSLY hard and my ample portions and weight is really taking its toll on my relationship with Mr. Sandman. Rolling requires Alex to hoist/flop me over. Getting out of bed requires a 3-point turn and wrestling the Anaconda (a giant U-shaped pregnancy body pillow) is becoming more work every day.

I'm so crabby I can't even get creative enough to write anything else.

Showers, Showers and Showers

Off we go to Seattle to visit family and friends. The photographer in me has been in hibernation and is expected to awaken during this trip.

For now it's later to Boston Showers as we head to the land of Showers for our baby Shower...

UPDATE: Not to So Live Wire

UPDATE: Ahhh, the wonders of 'sleeping on it' and also inconsistent montitors. That said, I have officially decided that I DO NOT like this photo anymore. I'm looking at it and wondering why I thought it was redeeming. I'm my own best critic.

I took this photo a while back while visting my brother-in-law, Victor, in Philadelphia.
Some might think it's dull or wonder why someone who fancys themselves a photographer would post such a photo. Here's my explaination: I like this photo because of its simplicity. I like that the only color comes from the only non-straight edge in the frame. True, I did render everything but the wire blk & wt, but the shot was essentially pretty monochrome anyway.

I asked my photo editor, Alex, what he thought and he said "uhm.. I don't really know what to make of it" and then I asked my French Fashionista Friend Geoffrey what he thought and he didn't have much to add at first and then he asked me about the color. Upon telling him what I did he said it reminded him of the girl in the red coat in Shindler's list. Interesting.

Contrail Over Jamaica Pond