7 Quick Takes – Blog Maintenance and Other Rubbish

1. I haven't gotten even a tenth of what I wanted to do on my week off done, although I have gotten some much needed extra sleep. But one thing I did do this week was I sat down yesterday and did some much needed blog maintenance. I still need to clean my blogroll and update my goodreads shelves, but I have cleaned my tags and categories and organized the latter, and I now have an email address up for contact information! My lack of contactability came up twice last week, so now, if you really want to talk to me, you can email me on gmail at CareAndFeedingOfGeeks.

2. The entire reason I didn't have a contact email up is because GeekLady on gmail was scooped up in the early era of internet prospecting, and adding numbers to my handle really upset my CDO. And I didn't want to through my personal email out there for all and sundry to see. But now that I have a title I love, that'll do for a blog email. Huzzah! I'm one step further on the road to being a halfway competent blogger!

3. I had a deeply traumatizing experience trying to have the miscarriage panel drawn last week which involved me being shuttled back and forth between two labs and my doctor's office. In the end I was three hours late for work with little to show for it. Of course that was the week I arranged to work full time so that I could be more productive! In the end the only thing that got drawn was the time critical day 24 hormone panel, which they could do at the doctor's office. I'm really ticked off about the whole business, and I don't feel like ranting about it anymore. But crucially the day 24 hormone panel showed exactly what I've been complaining (and being ignored) about since my very first miscarriage: I'm pretty sure my progesterone is low. Well, I did ovulate, and my progesterone is low. And I bet they still won't listen to me worth a damn.

4. I have to have a baseline ultrasound today, and am rather cranky. After all, it is Shark Week. (Link not suitable for the humor impaired!) I probably have “DIFFICULT PATIENT” scrawled across the top of every single one of my OB charts. And underlined. Twice. But maybe I wouldn't be so damned difficult if I thought they listened to a single word that came out of my mouth.

5. That's the most swearing I think I've ever done here. Sorry. I'm even crabbier than I thought this morning.

6. I'm 32 this week. I meant to post something on my birthday, but instead I took a nap. Happy Birthday to me! Also, check out this!

T-Rex trying to catch a butterfly. (I removed the image because I was careless about copyright, but you can see it at the link.)

Instead of a birthday present, I okayed the splurge of a museum membership a few weeks ago. Given that it's $40 just for the three of us to visit, and they have air conditioning, so it's possible to visit year round, we'd have been stupid not to get the membership when we went earlier this month. So we went again last Sunday for my birthday. And I got this shirt. It entirely awesome.

In fact, it feels frighteningly emblematic of my life sometimes.

7. I almost wish I was at the CNMC in Dallas. But then I think of all the people that must be there and I get feeling a little stressed out and am glad to be at home. Dear fellow bloggers at the CNMC, you'll have to settle for an “I wish I could wish I was there.” I know if I was really there, I'd probably long for nothing more than to be back home.

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen @ Conversion Diary, who really is at the CNMC this week and is functional enough to enjoy herself.

 

7 Quick Takes – Mobile Edition

1. We're on our way home, driving through Iowa right now. It's raining. The car is unbelievably crammed with stuff. Himself has to help me climb over piles to get in and out without injury. We're almost to the hotel. Maybe writing some quick takes will distract me from the fact I need to use the facilities.

2. My grandparents house is so sad. It's just a dead house. It would be so nice if it'd been taken care of properly. But now it's moldy and falling down and filled with… Stuff. Mostly trash. There are a few things I was astonished to find (and save), but that's fodder for another post.

3. The raspberry patch is still thriving behind that house. I wanted to dig some up and take them with us, but there was no room. *sigh* Texas heat would have just killed them anyway.

4. I'm afraid I left my newly acquired Fanny Farmer cookbook at my aunts. I may be banging my head against the window all the way back to Texas.

5. I somehow contrived to leave my nice shoes at home before we left for the Black Hills. This didn't matter while camping, and it didn't matter at my aunt and uncle's house. But I needed nicer shoes than Crocs or hiking boots for the family reunion in Iowa. So yesterday I hit a mall to buy shoes. And left in tears. Even shoes that are my size don't fit me because I have such fat, ugly feet a high arch. My aunt, hearing of my failure, gave me a pair of her sandals that were intended for Goodwill. They had stretched out too far for her, but were only a tiny bit snug on me, and I'm confident they will improve with wear.

6. PSA to my male readers: When a female relation mournfully asks why she has such fat, ugly feet, this is a rhetorical question. Do not be like my dad and respond “well, they match the rest of you.”

7. We've arrived at the hotel, no one had a toilet accident in the car, and my cookbook is safe in the car. I'm going to nap before dinner. For more quick takes, visit Jen @ Conversion Diary.

Sweat

The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea.

—Isak Dinesen (shamelessly swiped from Superversive)

I chose sweat.

I'm sorry for the lengthy absence, but first I was too raw to write, and then the whole family packed up and left to go camping in the Black Hills. We were there for a week, the temperature was unaccountably hot, it rained every evening, and I sprained my ankle five minutes after we started the hike down from Harney Peak and had to hike the 3.5 miles back to the trailhead on it. So by all conceivable measures, the vacation was a roaring success.

We're in Minnesota now, visiting family and cleaning out my grandparent's house. Regular posting will resume at any time, now that wifi and electricity are available.

Basilica Visit!

On the last day of our visit in the Valley, we visited the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan de Valle. I’ve been once before, but it was a long time ago, before we were married. It’s a very pretty church, and it made a nice, peaceful day trip in the morning before we left.

The Basilica has a large, outdoor Way of the Cross with statues at each station. We walked around the stations, since it was such a pretty day. This was GeekBaby’s first exposure to the Way of the Cross, and he was fascinated by the story told by the stations. So what does a three year old do?

This parade of spontaneous preschooler piety lasted until Station Eleven, the Crucifixion, which rather shocked him. This is the first year he’ll really be old enough to absorb the Easter story, and this makes me extra glad we went on the Way at the basilica. The little pictoral stations in most churchs lack the same impact.

Afterwards, we went into the Basilica, accidentally catching the last half of one of the daily Masses. At this point, he was restless and punkish, so after Mass and lighting candles at the shrine, GeekBaby went off to the bookstore with his abuelos and I stayed and got this picture of the interior.

Yes, I deliberately framed my shot to avoid most of the desert scene and big goofy banners decorating the sanctuary. Even with that goofiness, the basilica is really pretty. Prettier than I could capture with my little point and shoot.

Inside the bookstore, they had a bin of half gallon holy water jugs. It was so wild, I had to snap a picture. Apparently the bookstore sells these in a not entirely successful attempt to discourage people from bringing old milk jugs to fill.

I broke my moratorium on new breviaries until they’re been updated with the new translation to buy a copy of Daytime Prayer. It has the complete hours of Terce, Sext, and None, and it is a nice, slim little volume that will fit easily in my purse. When I’ve used it a little more, I’ll put up a review. Let’s just hope I can resist the lure of the four volume breviary and the Mundelein Psalter!

I also broke my moratorium on cutesy things. GeekBaby very badly wanted this Saint Benedict magnet, and as I have a soft spot for Saint Benedict, I said okay. He is pretty cute, and now dwells on our fridge next to the magnetic alphebet.

Before we left, we went back up to the plaza in front of the basilica to fill our bottles. Little ones, not half gallons. GeekBaby had to have his own, of course.

It was a nice little day trip. Since GeekBaby was so well behaved (except during Mass), we may try to make more of them. It makes me miss Italy, and all the lovely churches we visited there. Maybe one day we can go back.

 

Back From Vacation…

…and as the old yarn goes, I feel like I need another vacation to recover from this last one!

Actually I’ve revised my definition of vacation to exclude anytime I’m routinely woken by a toddler punching me in the head. Traveling just means the early morning head punching occurs in new, exotic locations, in this particular instance, a very cold tent.

But we’re back. No one was eaten by bears, no one got hypothermia sleeping in the tent, and GeekBaby didn’t fall off anything higher than the van’s driver’s seat. All things considered, it was a success.

More later, but for now, I’m off back to work. Whee!