My Worst Nightmare

It gives me the willies just thinking about all those frogs.

05-26) 09:36 PDT THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) --
Greek officials say a horde of frogs has forced the closure of a key northern highway for two hours.
Thessaloniki traffic police chief Giorgos Thanoglou says "millions" of the amphibians covered the tarmac Wednesday near the town of Langadas, some 12 miles east of Thessaloniki.
"There was a carpet of frogs," he said.
Authorities closed the highway after three car drivers skidded off the road trying to dodge the frogs. No human injuries were reported.

Thoughts

Things that are occupying my thoughts this morning:

Perry vacation to Newport Beach in July

The striped pillows I want to buy at Home Goods to kick start my bedroom redecoration (and this awesome pillow sham from Pottery Barn Kids that will say "Perry")

The cruiser bike I want for my birthday so I can ride it to work when our office moves off campus in July.

The article I need to write for the Pacific Review about alumni who have volunteered doing earthquake relief in Haiti

That I really need to paint Luke's whale peg board so I have a place to hang his towels/robe

That I really want to run the Big Sur Half Marathon in November

This guy :)

Random Thoughts on a Monday Morning

In an effort to avoid all LOST spoilers, I am forcing myself not to visit most of my regular websites. Since I have no other outlet for procrastination today, please enjoy the following list of random thoughts.

• Not logging into facebook for a day is exceptionally hard. I just logged in unintentionally without even realizing it.
• Campus is eerily quiet without the students here. The only people in the UC this morning were the old timers in for their daily "coffee club" and the lone coffeehouse worker. In related news, my chai tea latte was deliciously made and accompanied by a nice chat with the lonely barista.
• UPS tracking information is amazing! I just checked my package details and my new Old Navy swimsuits ($10 on sale! Holla!) and plaid halter sundress are out for delivery as we speak. Hooray!
• Grammar Police:  A 90+ year-old alumna sent me an email correcting our use of the term "alumni" in reference to two female "alumnae" in a recent e-mail newsletter. Not sure whether to be annoyed that she took precious moments out of her twilight years to point out this oversight (which, ahem, wasn't really an oversight - I intentionally opted for the gender-neutral use of the term) or be really impressed that at 90-something years old she knows how to use email.
• Luke is 6 months old today!!! Happy half-birthday sweet boy!!!

Now back to work!

Hello, You Are Officially Old

I'm usually a big fan of trends that skew WAY below my age bracket. Twilight? Yes please. High School Musical? I can't help myself. Jonas Brothers? Yes, even them sometimes (hangs head in shame). But there is one new tween trend that I just can't get behind...Justin Bieber. What, you might ask, is a Justin Bieber? He is the latest in a slew of flash-in-the-pan, Disney-approved teen stars singing about themes way above their maturity level. I get that some of his songs are catchy and that he has that wholesome, nice boy image that makes teenage girls swoon, but really? He looks like he's twelve.

Sorry Justin Bieber. I just don't get it. This is one "old lady" who does not have the "Bieber Fever," as they say. (And that's probably a good thing since he is nearly half my age.)

Read a pretty funny essay about the "Bieber Effect" in pop culture written by Stuff Christians Like blogger, Jon Acuff.

Swagger Wagon

One of my dearest friends joined the mini-van brigade last week. I sort of felt a pang of sadness for her...then I saw this. Now I'm sort of jealous...and kind of want one of my own. The mini-van DOES have street cred!

New Baby Friends

On Saturday, Luke and I picked up Nancy and went to Sacramento to visit our dear friend Stacy and meet her adorable new baby Piper. Piper and Luke are modeling their "Future Tiger" bibs in the photos below. Appropriate, considering Stacy and I were college roommates at UOP. (She dealt with my passive aggressive tendencies for a year and lived to tell about it.) As you can see, baby wrangling is a difficult job. Sadly, I don't think either photo has what it takes to make it into the next issue of the alumni magazine...even if I do have an "in" with the editor.

Luke expressing concern after almost kicking Piper in the head.

Luke, realizing that there is a small, crying creature touching him, freaks out.

Piper immediately stops all crying as Luke takes over.

Ha!

From Kaiser Permanente's "Healthy Babies" Newsletter:
"Try to accept that your partner or child care provider may do some things differently than you. As long as you are confident that your child is safe and well cared for, try not to be too critical of others who take care of your baby."

Easier said than done my friends. Easier said than done.

A Bit of Perspective

Luke getting excited about the pickles at Harry's Hofbrau in Livermore

After working obscenely late on Thursday night (that's the day I work from home, which means most of my WORK work is done after the Lukester goes to bed), incredibly late on Friday night because of a board dinner, and ALL day Saturday for the same, I was not in the best of moods on Sunday. I kind of overbooked us (typical), so we were on the go most of the day. I should know better than to do that the day after a board meeting, because I'm a girl who doesn't function well without a little downtime, but despite my mood it was still a relatively fun day. I was going to post a couple of pictures, but I think I'll wait. The point of this post was to share the perspective Justin gave me before I left the house this morning. (He, unfortunately, bore the brunt of my crankiness yesterday.) So, this morning, I woke up and got ready to leave for work after what basically felt like a non-weekend. He stopped me in the bedroom, forced me into a hug, and said, "repeat after me." In typical Becky-fashion, I was in no mood to play along or be trapped in his embrace, but I relented and started repeating his words:  "Today is going to be a great day. I have two eyes. I have two legs. I can hear." I don't even remember what came after that because I was laughing too hard.

It's true. With those three things going for me, how can it not be a great day? :)

(I should mention however, that Justin is on vacation this week, so his perspective may be a little skewed.)

Sophie

I first noticed Sophie when I was stalking someone on facebook. Can't remember who at the moment...it doesn't really matter because I started seeing her everywhere! She reminded me of a scene from Three Men and a Baby where Tom Selleck's character buys a toy giraffe from a street vendor. If you don't remember, it is kind of a funny scene. Anyway, I like to follow the crowd, so I searched for "Sophie the Giraffe" on Amazon. Sure enough, I found her! Made by Vulli, a French company, Sophie is a world-renowned teething toy. She has lots of appendages for Luke to chew on, she's rubbery, and makes a squeaky noise. What could be better. If we are going to have a favorite toy to carry around everywhere, I'm glad it's Sophie the French Giraffe!

Handy Manny er Mommy

Now that Luke is eating "real" food, we decided it was finally time for a highchair. I spent a couple of hours on Saturday afternoon putting this lovely wooden number together. I did it all by myself and it supports weight, is level, and everything. And there weren't even any screws left over! :) As you can tell, I'm pretty proud of this accomplishment.

My dad was adamant that Clyde (the monkey) sit in the chair first. He says Luke's modeling contract doesn't include quality control testing. Man that kid has good representation!

The Photo Studio

I have always fancied myself a photographer. The only problem is that I'm REALLY NOT very good. I have good ideas, but am never that great when it comes to executing them. The best ones always end up slightly out of focus or my composition is all off. Despite this, I still try. Over and over again. Sure it might be nice to have pictures done by someone with a really great camera...and lighting...and experience, but heck that requires me to make an appointment...and spend money...and leave the house. Here are a few of my recent endeavors in what I like to call "Mommy's Photo Studio" AKA blankets taped to the crib or draped over a chair or boppy. I promised my mom that I would splurge on Luke's 6-month and/or 1-year pictures and have them done by a "real"' photographer. We'll see...:)

EASTER PORTRAIT

Backdrop:  The solid backing of a fun beachy blanket

Props (all from Target):  Easter eggs ($.79 per pack), basket ($1.99), Easter grass (actually little mermaid pom poms from the dollar section that I thought were a prettier color and less messy than the actual  grass - $1). Luke trying to eat every prop on set:  priceless.

TIGER PRIDE PORTRAIT

Backdrop:  Fleece material that has been sitting around for months that I have been meaning to turn into one of those fringe-y tie blankets.

TWO MONTH PORTRAIT

Backdrop:  Fleece-y tie blanket that covers an ugly hand-me-down chair in Luke's room.

 Props:  Bear from Gram

MATERNITY PHOTOS

Not in the "photo studio." Done with the self-timer at UOP in the rose garden where we got married in 2002. The timer only gives you 10 seconds, so Justin had to hit the button and run around around the roses to get in position. We started off at a different bench, but the sprinklers came on and we had to make a run for it...

Maybe there is something to be said for hiring a professional.

Ladies Man

Surrounded by women already...