A Ray of Hope...

In October 2005 I bought a brand new, shiny 2006 Chevy Malibu to replace my previous Chevy Malibu. This new car came loaded with bells and whistles, including XM Satellite Radio, and I was jazzed. The service seemed okay at first but I would soon get a sinking feeling that there was something wrong with my radio. For roughly the last year, if not longer, I have been telling the dealership where I bought the car this...to no avail. No one wanted to ride with me to hear the products shortcomings, no one would entertain the notion that there was something wrong with the antenna...nothing. One of the service tech's even told us that the reason the satellite radio didn't work in my car but worked flawlessly in my mother's 2006 Chevy Equinox, was that her car was "taller" then mine which put it closer to the sky. Well, that was kind of the straw that broke the camels back.

Tuesday (4.24) I called another Chevy dealership and told them of my woes. They told me they would be happy to ride along in my car with me and I should just call back and set it up at my convenience. I called them on Wednesday (4/25) and set up my "ride along" for Thursday morning (4/26). The radio performed as poorly as I expected it to and the tech said he would talk to the service manager and they would get back to me. True to their word the service manager called me back today (4/27) and said they took a Malibu from their lot and drove the same drive the tech and I had taken and that radio performed flawlessly so my car definitely has a problem. He asked if I could bring it in on May 15th - that they would give me a loaner and hopefully be able to remedy the problem in a few short days. I was dumbfounded and rather giddy at the thought that I might be coming to the end of this long road of frustration. If they are able to make things work for me General Motors will be on the receiving end of a scathing email, phone call or letter or perhaps all three. Then I'll be sure to tell the dealership where I bought the car to stick it up their ass - and when my husband wants to buy his $40,000 pickup truck - that he won't be getting it from them.

I Am So Delicious...

You Are a Lemon Cake

Strong, sexy, and overpowering. You know who you are, and you're not afraid to show the world your fabulous self. You're confident, charming, and extremely popular.

What Kind of Cake Are You?

Not Long Now...

I had a doctor appointment on Friday afternoon (4/20) and it was such a shame I had to leave work early - the weather was BEAUTIFUL!!! The appointment went fine, my blood pressure was still down where it's supposed to be, but the doctor wanted me to go for an ultrasound because he felt the baby was measuring "big" for the week that I'm on (32nd). So I scheduled the appointment for yesterday evening.

Before I continue, allow me to share a dream I had. Several months ago I dreamt that I had already had my baby...I was at the hospital in a class type setting with many other mothers and nurses were bringing everyone's babies into the room. When I saw them bringing in the babies I realized I didn't know what mine looked like. Everyone else was handed small newborn size babies but when they got to me they handed me a baby that was the size of a two year old. I have no idea how I had the toddler baby or why mine was so much larger then everyone elses but it was. Then I woke up.

Anyway, my dear husband and I went to the appointment last night and at the end we were told our little bundle of joy is measuring 5 pounds which puts me at 34 weeks instead of the 32 where I am. I asked what it meant and the tech said it depended on the doctor. I believe I will likely get another ultrasound to check her again but I don't mind - because we now have two more pictures of our little girl and she's looking more and more like a human all the time. Just as long as she isn't the size of a toddler when she's born I'll be happy.

"Preparing For Birth"...

Last night was our first Labor & Delivery class. All 18 of us (nine couples) dutifully toted our pillows and blankets and settled in for what we hoped would be an informative evening. As a whole we are a very cohesive group...all white, all married (except for one couple, who are also the youngest couple) and most of us are in our late 20's or early 30's. It's possible I am the oldest mom-to-be at 34 but I don't know that to be true - I'm just speculating. The teacher is nice enough, appearing to be in her mid-30's she has three kids and has spent most of her time as an OB nurse. I didn't learn anything new last night except that pregnant women shouldn't lay on a concrete floor because my hips and pelvis were severely out of whack when we got home - I'm talking serious pain that took the entire overnight to subside.

The teacher did have a rubbery plastic baby that she passed around. It weighed almost three pounds, which is what our babies currently weigh. It was funny to watch everyone handle it - one guy took off his baseball hat and put it in it to see if it would fit and another guy pretended like he was going to drop it on the floor. She also had some large pictures of what a pregnant woman looks like on the inside, where all of her organs are and the like. I'd already seen those pictures online so that wasn't new to me. The teacher does have an empathy belly that all the Dad's can wear at some point. The male part of the young couple was the first to volunteer and he wore it well. Playing along with all the stuff the teacher made him do he was definitely a good sport and should proove to be an enjoyable part of the class.

Other then the act of actually going to the class, it should be okay. I just have to look at it that I am "preparing" for birth...though I'm still convinced she's going to come out in whatever way works for her, whether I'm breathing the right way or not.

Happy Monday...

I should have known today was going to be a good day when I woke up and could barely see the houses across the street through the heavy fog. You see, fog is just like rain or snow - people don't seem to be able to drive in it.

So I got to work without incident and then sitting in our morning production meeting I heard the words all pregnant women dread..."We have no water". I'm sorry what??? Where I work a statement like "we have no water" means... "we have no bathroom". I try not to panic. I already kind of had to pee by the time I got to work. Now I have to hold it "indefinitely". Well "indefinitely" turned out to be 10:30 when I gave in and went. The tank still had water so I was able to flush and the plumber has probably been here for over an hour now so I'm hoping that means we'll have water by later this afternoon. Sorry if this is all T.M.I. but it's what's new for today.

Did I Really Have Nothing to Say...

Is it possible that two weeks can pass without there really being anything of substance for me to say? Let's catch up shall we?

• I'm still pregnant - 28 weeks down...12 more to go. I had a realization over the weekend that I may just look fat to people who don't know I'm pregnant - that's kind of depressing.
• My 11 year old nephew came to my house one evening and while we were finishing dinner he was in the living room sitting on my coffee table watching TV. What possessed him to sit on the coffee table when there are two sofas and a comfy recliner to sit on. It made me realize our kid isn't going to be able to touch ANYTHING in our house. (Yeah I know...Good Luck with that)
• People drink Guiness beer with their breakfast on St. Patrick's Day - I saw it on the news, that was kind of gross.
• Warm weather makes people in my office talk about going on vacation. The owner of our company was just in Disney World - I like talking about going to Disney World - it makes me happy.
• My co-worker said I'm "nesting" because I cleaned a bunch of old crap out of my office last week. I thought I was being nice doing it - since she's going to have to be able to find things to help my customers for two to three months this summer. Plus I hadn't dusted my quote shelves since I moved into this office over a year ago - that was just disgusting.
• South Carolina wants to pass a law that would require women seeking an abortion to see an ultrasound of their "baby" then think about it for an hour before going through with the procedure. They were discussing this on Good Morning America - while showing an ultrasound photo of a fetus that was at least 20 weeks old. Having used fertility treatments to conceive I had ultrasounds from week five through week eleven. Would you like to see my pictures...of a black circle with a smaller lighter gray circle inside? Granted both areas got bigger as we went through the first trimester but it was still just a tadpole like blob - nothing that looked like a baby. If they want to pass this law I think they should at least be honest about what these women will see.
• My Mom comes and has lunch with me almost every Friday and last week she said my eight year old niece wants to come to my house for a visit before I have my baby. I don't know if she means a sleep over or just a come for the day type visit. I also don't know if she wants her younger brothers to come too or if she wants me all to herself. I used to spend a decent amount of time with her and the boys before I got married but over the last five years it's tapered off. Right now it's sporadic at best. Maybe she's worried that once I have my own baby I won't have time for her anymore and maybe for some strange child-like reason she likes having me around.
• Yesterday morning I had to go for my blood glucose test at the Quest near me. They open at 630am and, for those who don't know, I had to drink this nasty orange sugar water crap and then sit for an hour. By the time they took my blood at 855am they had gone through 44 people and there were at least another ten waiting. I can't ever figure out when to go so I don't have to wait forever. I'm hoping I don't have to go back.
• I was on the phone here at work when a purchasing agent called me to place an order. He had called this morning and left me a message, then I called him back and left him one. So he sat on hold until I was forced to hang up from my current phone call so I could talk to him. Then after speaking with him for 20 minutes he decided he really didn't know what his engineer wanted and that he'd have to get back to me on Thursday when the guy came back to the office. What a D.B.

Looks like I had some things to talk about after all...

Who do they think they're fooling...

I saw a commerical the other night for a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie coming out this spring...only now they are calling them "TMNT". Hello, do we remember the last group to try this? Their name was "New Kids on the Block" and they came back as "NKOTB" - trying to promote a hipper image. It didn't work for them and I'm wondering how it's going to go for the Turtles.

How did that song that the Munchkins sang go...

Oh wait I know..."ding dong the witch is dead the wicked witch blah, blah, blah". I know it's bad karma to be happy when bad things happen to other people but we had layoffs at our company on Friday and one of the biggest jerks in the world finally got the axe. That's right...no more getting baited into fights, no more frustrated customers, no more incoherent conversations...design guy is GONE!!!

The funny thing is, every one really disliked him and he did a really crappy job that was costing our company tons of money, but when we got word that he had been let go - people seemed sad about it. I don't get it. My co-worker began needling management two years ago to hire someone to replace her so she wouldn't have to deal with design guy anymore so they finally caved and it turned out the new girl was stupid. So there didn't seem to be an end to my co-workers misery in dealing with design guy until he got let go on Friday. So you'd think that my co-worker finally got the one thing she wanted more then anything else in the world and that she'd be happy....she isn't.

The same thing happened where my husband worked. His immediate boss was a ridiculous incompetent little man who made everyone's life a living hell. I think people probably cursed the day he was born. Finally after five years he was fired and instead of joy at never seeing the man again my husband felt bad - one of his female co-workers actually cried about it. Why would you waste tears over someone you HATED!!! I just don't get it.

Maybe I can be so callous because being laid off has never happened to me, but if on Friday my boss would have told me "We need to let you go" I think I just would have just said "Okay". What else could I have done? My life would go on and I would find something else to do. Maybe I don't feel the stress because I'm not the breadwinner in my family...but he's losing his job in two months and we're having a baby...but our lives aren't over. I have faith that he'll find something else to do.

I have a sweet deal here and that's no lie, but an end here is a beginning somewhere else. So for now I'm enjoying not dealing with design guy anymore and I'm helping out where I can. I know to be happy when a house falls on someone who deserved it... so I'm going to dance around and sing my little song. I would expect nothing less if it were me under that house next time - I'm sure there's someone out there who would think I deserved it.

I'm Not Sure Why, But I Think I Would Feel The Same Way....

The End Has Come...

Well, at 24 weeks pregnant I finally had to give up the ghost. The regular jeans were no longer all that comfortable so I'm on day number two of wearing actual maternity jeans. The pair I have on today are from my lovely friend Andrea who, after two daughters, will not be needing said pants anymore. I tried to buy my own maternity jeans this weekend but didn't have a lot of luck so I placed an order online this morning and hopefully by the end of the week I will have more pairs to choose from.

How Do You Keep From Being Baited Into A Fight At Work???

I hate that this happens to me every couple of months. There is this guy at my work, whom I deal with on a daily basis, who is a HUGE pain in the ass. Most days I can deal with his Adult ADD or his mental pychosis or whatever his problem is but on days like today it all boils over into a yelling, cursing, door slamming mess.

It started innocently enough...I have a customer who has a hot project...it needs to ship tomorrow (2/23) but due to a large number of custom screws it's not going to be ready until at least Monday (2/26). I had to go to design guy and ask if the customer in fact NEEDS all of these custom screws because it seems like a huge amount of overkill. He can't really answer this question because he just assumed the customer needed them...he never really asked him. So I figured I'd try to get the customer to answer the question. Then design guy, who has an issue with the guy who has to make the custom screws, basically calls that guy a liar (that it's going to take two days to make these screws). Maybe the screw maker guy is lying but I like him better so I stick up for him. I say "So if screw maker guy is lying to me and you're lying to me how am I supposed to get this job done". Well one thing design guy doesn't like is being called names so then he postured up to his full 5'6" tall and told me "he has too much work to do" and he "doesn't need this conversation". Well then the child in me rears it's ugly head so I curse a little, yell a little and slam my office door.

And now here I sit - trying not to stew about it - but I'm pissed - at myself - why do I keep letting design guy get to me? You think after nine years of working with the same people in the same place with the same dynamic I'd be over it, above it, beyond it...whatever...but obviously I'm not.

The Clock is Ticking...

I was checking out the baby time line thing at the bottom of my blog this morning and it said my baby will be born in approximately 16 weeks and five days. That really doesn't seem like a very long time. Hmmmm....

A Valentine's Treat...

My co-worker Frank was late coming to work today, due to our snow/sleet mix from last night. But when he arrived he brought with him treats for us girls in sales...a Russell Stover heart of chocolates and a pair of Gummy Handcuffs.

This is the same guy who bought my co-worker Heidi and I
K-Y Warming Liquid for Christmas one year.

Now all I need to make the day complete is a heart shaped pizza from Sophie's.

Cute Elephant Ass...

Sometimes it just seems like more fun to go over something then around it.

Being Jaded...

Every Monday morning I read the secrets on Post Secret to see what people have to say. Many times reading them makes me sad. There seem to be so many unhappy people out there. Even when I'm unhappy I know I'll be happy again because there are so many wonderful people in my life. I feel bad for the people who say they have no one. On Valentine's Day or any other day.

A Boy and His Guitar...

I was just reading an article by a brilliant mind at the NY Daily News and I learned I was supposed to be offended by Prince's "crude" guitar playing during his halftime performance. Allegedly his guitar, when played "strategically" behind the billowing sheet, looked like an enormous shadow penis. Awesome!!! I guess I was too distracted by his Prince screams or the Aunt Jemima head wrap to notice this 33 second assault on good taste.

If people with a media outlet to support them are going to complain after every Super Bowl they might as well do away with the half-time show all together. At this point I'd rather see the commentators discussing the first half then anymore shows by Paul McCartney or the old-ass Rolling Stones. It seems the networks are having too much of a problem walking the line where they want a spectacle, but just not too much of one.

Forget Osama...there's a greater threat now...

And it's the stupidity of people like Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston. He's vowing revenge against Turner Broadcasting because he went on television and made himself and his city leaders look like huge tools. In addition to everything else I have to worry about - I now have to worry that a glowing milkshake giving me the finger is actually a terror plot? That's almost as good as Joseph Biden thinking he could call Barack Obama a "clean" African-American and not hear anything about it.

The guy reporting the story on Good Morning America this morning had to hold back his laughter when he said that there weren't any problems with these devices in the nine other major metropolitan areas where they've been in place for the last two or three weeks. I'm not sure how these cities feel now - they either look heroic like they can recognize things as the non-terror threats they are or they look hapless because most never even realized they were in their cities to begin with. Ahhh, the double edged sword of lunacy.

Bring on the milkshake, the box of fries and the meatball...let them do what they will. In the event of another attack - my hope is that I am no where near stupid people like Mayor Menino because that would mean I would have to rely on those people to save my life. I'd rather take my chances in the wilderness...I've watched Red Dawn & Survivorman.

In Good Company...

Now that I'm pregnant, I'm very aware of who else is. Turns out my baby will share a summer birthday with...

• Tiger Wood's wife


• Jeff Gordon's wife


• Julia Roberts


• Jenna Elfman (Dharma of "Dharma & Greg fame) &


• Keri Russel (of "Felicity" fame)

It's Good to be an M & M...

On the Pop Candy blog there was a link to this groovy website that lets you dress up M & M's. You can choose eyes, eyebrows, mouths, arms, legs, hairstyles, accessories etc. This is me as an M & M. I'm wearing black cowboy boots but you can see them...

My Favorite Place, That I've Never Been...

I've always loved cereal. When I was a kid it was the occasional box of Cookie Crisp we were lucky enough to score, in a household marked largely by non-sugary standards like Cheerios and Rice Krispies. College was a dream come true for me, we had at least 20 varieties of cereal all lined up in a row just ripe for the picking. That's where I developed my affinity for Captian Crunch Peanut Butter Balls. My roommate and best friend always said that if she wrote a memoir it would be titled..."Sex & Cereal, The Life & Times of Andrea Berry". She even wrote an ode to Fruit Loops for our poetry class.

For several years now there has been a cereal cafe located approximately an hour from my house, in downtown Philadelphia. I've planned many visits there in my mind, but I have yet to actually make the trip. Now it seems they are opening a location in State College, PA sometime this month. Now my husband doesn't share my love of cereal but he did attend Penn State and fiercely loves them. We haven't been out to visit for a while so we might be able to combine both of our loves and I can finally score some of this cereal...that I will eat from a Chinese take out style container....I can even get candy on it if I want to....