In Response to Nancy's Comments:

ARRRR, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Actually, when I don't have colds, I can smell things. My sense of smell is still attenuated, but I have noticed a marked improvement since the beginning of the year.

Ernest Borgnine and Tim Conway supply the voices for Mermaidman and Barnacleboy on Spongebob Squarepants. Clancy Brown supplies the voice for Eugene Krabs, which I always found profoundly disturbing.

carseat
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

I hope Helly's dad is okay. I hope Helly is okay! News like that can make for a long, long weekend.

I'd best write this entry before I get busy or like last week, I won't find the time. The twin themes of last week were stress and sleeplessness - the latter thanks to Brenden, who for some reason has forgotten how to go night-night. The stress was work-related: nothing serious just some heavy workloads with deadlines fast approaching.

I ended the week with a cold, one I didn't catch from Brenden. So far he seems fine. I have mentioned that I catch colds the way Willie Mays caught fly balls, right?

Big fat kitty is teaching Brenden how to speak. Any time I'm in the kitchen, BFK waddles in and starts meowing at the top of his lungs because he wants a kitty treat or a pet, or both. So if I'm in the kitchen, Brenden will toddle in and start going "Mao? Mao? Mao? Mao?" and won't stop unless I give him a cookie or some raisins. He's not satisfied with a pet on the head.

Brenden's eating habits are amusing me: I've managed to transition him to eating whatever we are eating with only a few forays into Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee land. These meals include Indian and Thai curries. He's handling the heat just fine, even though I do notice his milk consumption goes up on those days. There's a lot of speculation about children's food preferences being set in the womb, and maybe it's not all hooie because I ate spicy, spicy foods when I was pregnant. Brenden also loves lemon wedges. I know because I always give him my wedge out of my iced tea when we go out to eat. The faces he make are priceless, but he'll actually consume most of it.

Of all things, I have a consultation with a plastic surgeon today. He's going to look at the discolorations on my face (melasma or cholasma, also known as the "mask of pregnancy") which I've had since before I got pregnant. I think it was from birth control pills. I'm tired of it so I'm going to see what treatment options he recommends. I have a fixed price in my head - if he goes over it screw it. I'm self-concious about it, but not *that* self-concious.

Mom and Brenden

Mom and Brenden
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

While the rest of the world froze, those of us in Alabama had a balmy if somewhat windy weekend, with temps topping out in the low 70's on Saturday. Brenden and I spent some time outside; both at the dropzone and at home.

On Sunday we were playing in the leaves I have yet to throw out. Brenden decided he wanted to play in the van, so I let him. At one point I asked him: "do you want to do see daddy?" He excitedly said "Dada!" and looked around for him. I said, "If you climb in your seat, we'll go see daddy!" I said it a few times, but finally he got the idea and climbed into his seat. I buckled him in and off we went. My god, we're finally communicating beyond "No!" and "Whaaa!" although there's plenty of that too.

I'm down to 129. I was forced to buy a pair of jeans because the ones I have are just too baggy. I bought a pair of Wrangler's and bought the size I wore compulsively in college: 30 waist, 30 inseam. I'm happy to report they are loose on me. I only bought one pair because I want to lose a little more. I'd kill to find a steady supply of 28-29, which is my real size about now. 30-30 is the lowest most places stock.

I need to write about Deadwood eventually, because it's the most fascinating show I've seen in a long time. 24 has started again, BSG and Lost are returning soon, so I'm thrilled. American Idol is coming back soon too, but I intend to use most of that time this year doing something else, like clipping my toenails.

Chill out redux

Chill out
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Cut & paste meme from Nancy

1. Elaborate on your default icon.
Me and el jefe. The full pic is on Flickr - me with a sardonic stare, Brenden all relaxed.

2. What's your current relationship status?
Married for 7 years.

3. Ever have a near-death experience?
I think so - a car crash when I was 15 and broke my back. My brain pragmatically said "uh-uh, not going to be here" and I have no memory of the accident.

4. Name an obvious quality you have.
I know a little bit about most things as opposed to super knowledgeable about a few things. Is that a quality or being a superficial know-it-all?

5. What's the name of the song that's stuck in your head right now?
The Veronica Mars theme song - We Used To Be Friends. I blame Nancy.

6. Name a celebrity you would marry.
Hm. Nope, can't think of one. Marry a twinkie? Erk.

7. Who will cut and paste this first?
I doubt anyone will.

8. Has anyone ever said you look like a celebrity?
Never.

9. Do you wear a watch? What kind?
My $175 swiss army watch is broken. My Burger King Star Wars watch is broken, too but it cost me a lot less.

10. Do you have anything pierced?
Ears. 2 in left, 1 in right.

11. Do you have any tattoos?
Celtic knot band around my left arm.

12. Do you like pain?
Depends on what I'm doing. I like the pain of exhaustion from working out because it means I'm accomplishing something. But pain for pain's sake? Disgusting.

13. Do you like to shop?
No.

14. What was the last thing you paid for with cash?
A roll of 100 stamps out of a machine. Put 2 $20 bills in, was given a Sacagawea dollar as change.

15. What was the last thing you paid for with your credit card?
Does American Express count? I haven't used a real credit card in 6 or 7 years and can't remember the last time I used it. If so, then a toy chest off of Amazon.com.


16. Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone?
my husband. I *hate* phones.

17. What is on your desktop background?
Brenden riding Tigger.

18. What is the background on your cell phone?
No background, just a screen with numbered buttons.

19. What was the last movie you watched?
Snakes on a Plane. It was a movie about snakes on a plane.

20. What was the last book you read?
Olympos, by Dan Simmons. Nifty!

Brenden in the Field

Brenden in the Field
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Hooray, new pictures!! Ileana is sending me a cd of the photos that were taken on her new camera and brother Jon's camera from Christmas. She sent me a few which were posted on Flickr. I love this photo: this was from a day where Ilu, Andrea and I walked over to the old house, then walked over near the pond. I carried Brenden for a while, which I'm happy to say was not exhausting (it would have been 6 months ago). When I set him down he toddled on back to the new house, which you can see in the background.

I think one of my favorite moments on Christmas day was hearing my dad laugh during dinner. He was laughing at Brenden, who, at 2 in the afternoon, had refused to nap. Poor B was in his high chair and nodding off while stubbornly trying to stuff more food into his face. The deep need to sleep won out and Jon took him upstairs to nap after using a finger to sweep his mouth for stray food. Jon said the poor kid was so out of it he never even flinched when he stuck his finger in his mouth.

So my diet and exercise plan is working fine. I'm at 131 which is nice, and I can actually see some of my abdominal muscles again. I still have a lot of flab (which Brenden likes to play with, ew), and while I have a long way to go to regain my strength, I am progressing at a fairly rapid clip. And in case you are wondering, no you can't lose weight and gain muscle, but gaining strength does not necessarily mean gaining muscle. I might write more about my dieting plan later, if I actually stick to it.

Brenden worked hard this weekend and can now properly say 'kitty'. He also said 'Elmo!' and can point to his nose, tongue, and chin if I ask him. We're working on 'ear', 'hand', and 'toe'. He likes to say 'pabaa!' 'pabaa!' (his new attempt at spongebob) when we watch the show. When the fish comes on during the opening song, he opens and closes his mouth just like a fish. It's cute.

Unbaa! Unbaa!

spongebob squarepants
Originally uploaded by max remmelts.

Letter to Brenden Month 19:

Hey, Bud. Christmas was fun but exhausting as your physical skills develop but your common sense remains dormant. I suppose in order to have common sense you have to be able to have coherent thoughts, and in order to think coherently you need to be able to speak.

I could swear you are juuuuust on the verge of getting the idea of language. I was thrilled while we were in Oklahoma that you were able to recognize both brother Jon's cat Lucy and Andrea's cat Geidi as "Kitty!" (pronounced 'tseetee'). And I was so proud when your dad called me up yesterday to tell me you had said "Spongebob!" (pronounced 'unbaa'). I'm so proud!! *Sniff!*

We also think we heard you say something that rhymes with "sockplucker" which tells me we shouldn't be watching "Deadwood" while you're in the room.

And the coolest thing is when I ask for a smooch, you plant one on my cheek. Sometimes you headbutt me, but that's okay.

A photo from a year ago

Tour Time
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

'06 in Review (the highlights):

January: Brenden stands up!
February: Brenden and I visit Oklahoma.
March: Saw Walk the Line. It certainly wasn't Brenden's hospital stay!
April: Opening the pool (slow month!).
May: Vacation in Oklahoma and Helly and Alan's Wedding (not so slow month).
June: Brenden's first birthday.
July: Brenden's first haircut (another slow month).
August: Sinus surgery (the highlight there were the Lortabs) and Tennessee vacation.
September: Vasquez passed away (not a highlight but memorable enough). I miss my kitty.
October: Took Brenden to his first birthday party.
November: House remodeling.
December: Christmas in Oklahoma.

Wow, do I have a dull life! Actually that's good and I'm not complaining. If I asked for an interesting life, I'd probably be teleported to Baghdad or something.

Last year's resolutions were to watch more movies and be nicer to my husband. I think I accomplished those, but I still need to work on them both.

Here are this year's resolutions:
1)Eat less (DUH!). I weigh 133 right now. I'd like to get to 125.

2)Exercise more. I simply want to return to the shape I was in just before getting pregnant with Brenden.

3)Maintain a budget, the details of which I shall not bore you.

Happy new Year, everyone. This is my third attempt at writing a blog entry in the last week; I haven't been busy as much as too tired.

christmas in Oklahoma was great - I spent most of my time chasing Brenden. He didn't react well to being in a new place and he tended to wake up constantly, which meant that everyone else in the house woke up constantly as well. The last 3 days we were there I had Jon go sleep in the garage loft with Andrew and Jonathan and I kept B in bed with me. He was sleeping pretty well by the time we left. Everyone was pretty gracious about Brenden's hyperactive nature. They also showered him with Christmas loot. Pictures to eventually follow and more on that below.

I really didn't do anything while we were there. I read some - I reread "Into Thin Air" which is a fascinating account of a disastrous season of climbing on Mount Everest, and made progress through "Olympos", by Dan Simmons. I really can't think of anything else I did.

I spent most of the holidays dealing with the tail-end of the cold B gave me. I wrote several paragraphs detailing what I blew out of my nose and comparing it to a jellyfish invasion but decided better and deleted it.

I didn't get much for Christmas but on the other hand I didn't really want much. I got some nifty bunny slippers, some nice hoodies and a comfy robe. Hell, I tried to hold back a couple of hundred dollars from the stock sale check when my company went private, but I *still* couldn't find anything I wanted. I put it on the airplane instead. All I want for Christmas is to be the hell out of debt!

Actually, I fell in love with my brother Jonathan's camera. It's a slim Canon digital. Ileana got one for Christmas. Both husband Jon and I loved their cameras so much I didn't really use my old digital one while we were there. So we have tons of pictures but I have to beg Ilu and brother Jon to send them to me.

I think the best part of Christmas, besides seeing Ilu and Dad, was spending time with Andrew and brother Jon. I really haven't spent much time with them since they were kids. Andrew is a big movie nut and it was funny listening to him and Andrea argue about stupid movies. Is this stuff genetic? Also: Drunken Boykin Monopoly was a hoot.

I have lots more to blog, but I'll have to write later. I should get to work.