I lost an old friend

Cute Pooky
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

What do you say when you lose a cat you have had half your life?
She was old and not able to eat and I decided to let her go before things got worse.

I will miss you.

Vasquez : Sometime in 1986-September 26, 2006

Big B little b what begins with B?

Big B
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Hooray I finally uploaded some photos! This one and some of the others kind of surprised me - all of a sudden I can tell what he's going to look like when he graduates from 'toddler' to 'boy'.

I have had the worst time with insomnia lately. It might just be my sore throat, but I got maybe 3 hours of sleep last night. I feel tired, but not sleepy if that makes sense. If I tried to go to sleep right now it wouldn't happen.

Brenden can say 'gee-gee' now, which means 'cookie'. Actually it sounds more like 'Gigi', if you were pretentious or French.

TLAPD

TLAPD
Originally uploaded by poppycedes.

Brenden is just fine now. I have a sore throat, however.

I am starting to notice that B has a larger vocabulary than I'm giving him credit for. I noticed this weekend when he was pointing at Big Fat Kitty and saying "tze-tze!". He has done that several times. I need to pay more attention to what he says, but somewhere along the line he became aware that things have names. I still don't know what he calls me, however. He can say "mama" but for him that means "will someone please get me out of this crib?".

I'm going to go buy the Wallace and Gromit movie. It is Brenden's first official favorite movie - he doesn't sit still to watch anything but he will when Curse of the Were-Rabbit is on. He'll also laugh like a loon. I found out that there's a version on DVD out there that includes the 3 original Wallace and Gromit shorts.

And by the way, today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. I truly think they need to move this day to like the 3rd Saturday of September then re-label it as "Drink Like a Pirate Day". I believe it would become a truly celebrated holiday. I mean, come on. Cinco de Mayo wasn't celebrated by us Gringos until we discovered Corona, right?

ARRR!

Dad and Brenden

Dad and Brenden
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

I have a camera full of pictures of Brenden that I should have posted this weekend. I had a lot of things planned for this weekend, but I got a little sidetracked because poor monkeyboy is sick.

He was a little fussy and just didn't look ok when I picked him up from daycare. Sonya said he wasn't himself but he wasn't running a fever. My mom and her husband came by later that afternoon (they were in town for a car show - Price makes a little money on the side by selling car guages at these shows) and I begged out of going to dinner for them because poor B was being clingy and was obviously worn out. Still no fever at that point.

He fell asleep in my arms while I was chatting with mom, so I put him down for a nap and when he woke up, he had a 101 fever. And thus started the ultra long weekend as I didn't sleep much because I kept dosing B on tylenol and feeding him cold Pedialyte and sneaking into his room to make sure his temperature didn't get too high.

On Friday night his temp spiked its highest at 103.2. I was ready to take him to the hospital but a new dose of tylenol plus ice-cold pedialyte and a tepid bath eventually broke his fever around 9 pm. I still could not sleep and he woke up at 1 with a fever of 101. I got him to bed around 2:30 and I caught maybe 3 hours of sleep. Saturday: lather, rinse, repeat.

Sunday I was so exhausted Jon came home for 4 - 5 hours and I caught a nap. Brenden was still playing rollercoaster fever but it never got above 102. When he came home after work I immediately went to bed and didn't wake up until around 4:30 am. Jon and Brenden were in the comfy chair and B was working on some more pedialyte.

I know what you are thinking: 3 days of this; shouldn't you take him to the doctor? Jon is taking B to an appointment at 9:30 am. But anyways, Jon looked as exhausted as I had been, and just before I left for work this morning. I thanked him profusely, but he didn't smile until I told him: "You know what? You're one hell of a dad." He is.

I did get one thing accomplished, huhuhuhuhuhuhuhuh.

The things I miss

Where I used to live
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

My friend Nancy has posted a blog entry about things she misses, both in Eugene, Oregon, and her current hometown of Athens, Georgia. It made me want to write one about the things I miss.

First off, see this photo? If you haven't messed around with Google Earth, you are missing out on a lot of fun. This screen cap from Google Earth is of my old stompin' grounds when I lived in Puerto Rico. To the left is a cemetary. Then there's an L- shaped building to the right of it. That's Beach Tower, where we lived for 7 years until 1977 when we moved to Stone Mountain in Georgia. As you can see, it's RIGHT ON THE BEACH! Yes, I miss having the ocean as my back yard. But as I recall when I lived there, I wanted to move back to the U.S. But when we moved I had a bad time adjusting and missed Puerto Rico horribly. I think it was because high school was hell for me.

So: I miss the beach. I miss not ever being cold. I miss the food, especially bacalaitos, empanadas, medianoches, and cubanos. I've had cubanos (they're sandwiches, people!) here. They're just not the same. When Jon and I went on vacation to St. John, the thing that made me happiest was being able to hear the surf AND the coquís. Eventually I want to take Brenden to Puerto Rico, but when he's a little older so he can appreciate it.

As I mentioned, high school was hell. Why? I was a NERD. I hated every moment of every day I was in that place. Well, I made one good friend - Lisa. She lives out in Los Angeles and to my delight she's moving back to Atlanta pretty soon. Here's something funny: the only reason I applied to Georgia Southern College was because that's where she was going. Through her I met Alan and his roommate Mark. My friend Nancy met and married Mark, and Nancy's high school friend Helly met her husband Alan because of Nancy. So guys, we all owe it to Lisa.

So I hated high school and therefore can't think of a bloody thing I miss about Stone Mountain. Well, there was one thing. I discovered that I could walk into Stone Mountain (about 15 minute walk) to catch the bus, then go wherever I damn well pleased in Atlanta. Like Nancy I like Public Transportation. I always took a paperback with me and read until I got to where I wanted to go.

I also miss my weekend Dungeons and Dragons games. They were with some of Lisa's older friends, who were more hippies than nerds. I won't go into details but let's just say this was the 70's. I sure do miss those sessions. Much fun!

As much as I hated high school I loved college. So much I went for 6 years (actually I stayed out a year because I joined the Army Reserves). In high school nerds are treated harshly. In college you just find other nerds and have fun because the people that picked on you the worst were back home working at McDonald's (NERDS RULE!).

What I miss most: walking everywhere, drinking that godawful $0.20 coffee at the student center, hanging out with Mark and Alan (and their roommate Glenn {hi, Glenn! Hope you are doing well!}, who became my boyfriend), being a DJ at the college radio station, pitchers of beer (18 was the drinking age back then) and playing table-top Super Mario Brothers II, and I actually, truly for once, enjoyed learning. I took the one required Algebra class, and I was stunned at how much I ended up loving it, even though I scrambled like hell to play catch up because I never paid attention in High School. I loved it so much it became kind of a mini-minor. I took Trig and Calc 1 & 2 before I ran out of electives. I LOVED math.

I could have stayed in college forever. So that's what I miss. but above all else, I miss goofing off. I get to for maybe an hour or so here or there, but for the most part, taking 2-3 weeks and JUST NOT DOING A DAMN THING is a thing of the past. I had to grow up sometime.

El Fin de Semana

El Morro
Originally uploaded by Daquella manera.

Brenden and I had a good weekend, surprisingly. He had no tantrums. I can't, however, take him shopping with me any more, at least not for a while until he gets a little older because I can't keep him in the little shopping cart seat. No matter how tight I snap the belt, he fights his way out. I can't keep him in the cart either, because he likes to investigate everything then throw it out of the cart.

but everything else was good. We're starting to interact more - I build things and he wrecks them; he'll climb into the clothes basket and I'll push him around. He'll try to climb onto our bed so I'll pick him up and fling him into the covers. He will absolutely squeal when I do that. Helpful handy tip though: do not feed a toddler chocolate Teddy Grahams then toss him onto your white down comforter.

What I'm Watching:

The weekend before I accidentally continued my Bruce Willis film festival when I caught Die Hard. Willis has improved as an actor considerably since that movie. I think it's overrated even though I admittedly enjoy it. I also caught Sin City, which is wonderfully depraved. Then I saw 5 minutes of The Hostage, got bored and decided I'd had enough of Mr. Willis for one weekend so I watched Ravenous about cannibals in the late 1800's. Great, bloody movie! Makes you see meat-eaters throught the eyes of vegetarians.

Jon and I put Veronica Mars on semi-hold because Lost Season 2 is now out on disk so we're trying to plow through them so we can start watching when season 3 begins. Speaking of, the 2nd disk is MIA so we put in disk2 of Veronica Mars and it was cracked. I don't blame Netflix; they immediately put a replacement disk in the mail but that one is MIA too. I blame the Hartselle Post Office: you guys suck!

This weekend I watched an interesting documentary:Yo soy Boricua, pa'que tu lo sepas! (I'm Boricua [Puerto Rican], just so you know), about Puerto Rico and it's relationship to the rest of the United States, and how frustrating it can be for Puerto Ricans who have to constantly deal with mainlander's ignorance. At one point Rosie Perez (who co-directed) was downright indignant about people she met who didn't even know where the island is. I understand the frustration, but most people in the U.S. can't even find Idaho on a map so don't take it so personally. Anyway, the doc was pretty good with the history and politics, but I wished it had spent more time with the people and the culture (not to mention on-island!).

I watched Summer Rental, a fairly throw-away 80's summer comedy starring John Candy (miss you). He plays a family man who takes his family on vacation to Florida by renting a summer house for a month. His family has a great time but he's miserable until he bonds with a local sailor who likes to ramp up his 'salty sea dog' image (Rip Torn, perfectly cast). 'Scully' (heh) teaches Candy how to sail. It's a stupid movie but it has a place in my heart. While I watched it I wondered if this movie is what put the bug in my ear about preferring rental homes to hotels when I go on vacation.

Brenden watched Wallace and Grommit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit with me. Ralph Fiennes supplied the voice of the villain! Much fun claymation movie. Highly recommended. If you can find them, the other Wallace and Grommit shorts are fun too.

Last and most definitely least I watched The Fantastic 4. It's a lame superhero movie. Ioan Gruffudd was in it but I like him with his accent intact and he hid it for this one.

Are You Ready to Rumble?

blue eyes
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Letter to Brenden month 15: I promise not to cheat this month, honey, as you enter into a year and a quarter of existence. You celebrated by having your full first tantrum yesterday. It was a sight to behold! You rolled around on the kitchen floor, screaming and crying, turning purple, rejecting any and all comfort. I watched, amazed, for about 2 minutes, and when you didn't let up, I started laughing.

I'm sorry, but it was funny! It really looked like you were discovering what a tantrum was and so you were trying it on for size. I sobered up when I realized I have years of this ahead of me. Oh, joy.

For the record, you were pissed at me because I brought you indoors because you were getting fussy. So after I quit laughing I thought about it for a second, and considered laying next to you to show you how to beat your heels on the linoleum. I thought better of it, so I went and did the dishes because hon, if you don't want a hug or a cookie, there's not much else I can do until you cool down. Once I ignored you, you calmed down enough to where I could take you outside again for a nice refreshing dip in the pool with your dad.

It's hard to explain your development in the last couple of months. You are basically refining your skills (like going from fussy to full-blown conniption fit) and trying to climb everything. You are able to navigate over obstacles without me holding your hand and I'm deeply afraid that you will figure out how to get out of your crib pretty soon.

Words are still a mystery, although you have figured out how to yell "MAMA!" when you want out of your crib at 4 in the morning. Little dude, it's "DADA!" I have to work so your dad takes care of your 4 am fits whick are fortunately rare.

One thing I have noticed is that if you don't really understand the words, you get the meaning of what I am indicating. You understand more than we think you do. Dad says when he gets you ready in the morning you ask him to get his shoes and you do. I can ask you for things and you will bring them to me, too. Pretty neat. You go stupid again when I tell you to quit pressing buttons on the TV.

In closing, sweetie, your dad and I love you more and more, even as you turn more and more into a fire-breathing toddler. I know we have some rough days ahead but as long as dad and I tag-team you, I'm hoping we can wear you down before you wear us down. Are you ready to rumble?

Wierd Week

Crocodile pool, "The Gambia West-Africa"
Originally uploaded by Dennis Bouman.

Last week was a wierd one because of my job. On Tuesday while driving to work, I found out while listening to the news on the radio that one of the people killed in the Comair plane crash worked for the same company I do. She was a Project Manager - a pm pretty much orchestrates everything while getting a client from signing the contracts to actually using our products in the field. She was on her way to a site which was getting ready to go live when she died.

I didn't know her but we had emailed each other, especially in the last few weeks because I was helping with some customizations/problems with the products I specialize in for the site. I was pretty bummed about her death. She was a good PM, able to get things done with a sense of humor.

Then at the end of the week, I come in on Friday and find out that the company has been sold and is going private. The upper management may very well be blowing sunshine up our butts but they insist that they didn't spend all that time restructuring just to have someone else come in and restructure. I'll believe them because what else can I do? The fact that they are buying up all the shares at over %20 of what they were valued at on Thursday doesn't hurt either. I've been with them for a while. If my calculations are correct, and everything goes according to plan (when does it ever, of course), I will make enough money out of the deal to pay off the Cessna and placate the IRS. That means the only debt that Jon and I will have will be the house. That's it. And we don't exactly live in a mansion. So it has been kind of a wierd week at work.

It sucks about Steve Irwin, too.