Sunday, May 28, 2006

More Reasons Why it is Dangerous to be Around Me While I am Pregnant...

For the first reason, refer to my previous post about chopping Godzilla's tail...

A couple of mornings ago I caught Mrs. Jinx's HEAD in the bathroom door. If you've seen Mrs. Jinx you know how tiny she is. Her head doesn't have much bulk to it. Getting it caught in a closing door could be instantly fatal to the likes of her.

Luckily I didn't slam the door. It was more like I just gently swung it shut behind me as I entered the bathroom. I have no idea why she was following me into the bathroom, I wasn't expecting her to be behind me (even though she does follow me into the bathroom every morning, this escaped my mind at this particular moment). So I shut the door and turn around and see her desperately trying to get her head out of the way as the door is quickly coming towards her. I yell...

Go Mrs. Jinx! Get out of the way! Hurry, hurry! Get your head out of there!!!!!

Ernie, who is already in the bathroom shaving, looks at me and says...

What the hell are you doing!?

I answer...

Killing the cat, obviously.

Mrs. Jinx, utilizing her utmost agility, quickly twisted and turned her little head to squeak it out of the doorway just as it was getting squished between the door and the frame. Like I said, she has a very little head, which may have actually worked in her favor here. She had plenty of time to get herself out of there before the scene became too ugly. Had it been Godzilla's head he would have been a goner. He's got a big one.

So, Mrs. Jinx was OK. She walked around shaking it off for a little while, and I felt terribly guilty and terrified of what I might do next, for the rest of the day.

Even more frightening is what I did yesterday morning. I left three eggs on the stove, hard boiling them to eat as snacks for when I am STARVING (i.e. all the time), for more than 2 hours. Yep. They sure were hard boiled after that. My not-cheap Calphalon sauce pan got a nice new charred finish to it as well.

Once again, Ernie and I were upstairs getting our selves ready for the day. We may have even finished watching a Netflix DVD, before coming downstairs to a terrible smell. Me..

Are you burning something?

Ernie...

No! It smells like eggs.

Me...

Yeah, it's gross.

He...

Weren't you boiling eggs this morning?

Me...

OH SHIT!!!!!! Oops :-)

Of course there was not a speck of water in the pot. I suppose it was a good thing I was cooking eggs and not something with a less-offensive odor. If so, we may have walked out of the house and left it burning. I could have burned the house down!

Next example.

Me sitting at a stop light waiting to take a left turn. A giant tractor trailer decides to turn onto my street, cutting it so close he almost rams into me. I look behind me and slowly, SLOWLY I say, back up to give him some room to clear my car. All of a sudden as I am backing up there is a woman behind me, WALKING! I slam on the breaks, nearly missing her. Literally about 1/2 inch from taking her out. Both she and the woman she was crossing the street with shoot me dirty glances.

Now, in my offense, they were crossing the street behind my car. They were not in a crosswalk. There was no way I would have seen them step off the curb to my left when I was turned around to my right making sure all was clear to back up. The guy in the car behind me didn't beep to warn me or anything. And the woman obviously was not paying attention because she didn't realize I was backing up.

But STILL...I almost took her down. Scary.

One more cat example. Whilst in the middle of enjoying my breakfast my fork, for no apparent reason, leapt out of my hand and took a straight and quick projectory to the floor, the sharp prongs narrowly missing Godzilla's head. Luckily for him he was very intently watching my every move in hopes of scoring some pancakes for his morning snack. He plunged to the left, saving his little brain from being pierced.

I have no idea why these things happen to pregnant women, or to me anyway. They do say there is a phenomena called "baby brain", and I think I have it. So stay away form me when I am eating, driving or moving from room to room. And please double check the stove after I have cooked you a meal to make sure all knobs are in the off position. I think these few measures will save us all some heartache down the line.

Thanks.

Happy Birthday Jennifer!

Yes, Happy Birthday to Jennifer, who on 5/27 turns as old as me!

Every year she mocks me for turning a year older - 5+ months before she does. I love it when she catches up.

When we were in High School being 5 months older was a good thing. I got my drivers license far sooner than everyone else, I got to buy beer legally sooner than everyone else. My friends certainly reaped the rewards of my New Years birthday status. Now that we are all 30 - something, the tables seem to have turned. Funny how that happens.

Ah well, makes no difference to me, really. As long as I keep on having birthdays you will never hear me complain about them!

Jen, I hope your day was fun and relaxing. Check your answering machine - I left you a beautiful rendition of the Birthday Song.

Friday, May 19, 2006

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!

Thank you Allyson for being a loyal blog reader and for helping me through one of my worst weeks ever. Unbeknownst to me, Allyson read my post about the end of my employment and immediately sprung into action looking for ways to help; speaking to her boss, the recruiter at her company, co-workers, etc. I was shocked and so touched to receive an unsolicited email from her letting me know she was working on my behalf. Thank you once again. You gave me hope in the moments when I truly felt hopeless.

Thank you Randy for being an ever-supporter. Thank you for keeping your eyes peeled for leads to send my way. Thank you for being a cool guy to work for/with. And thanks for those amazing Chili Peppers photos!

Thank you Judy for listening to me, even while you were in the middle of paradise. What more can I say? You owe me nothing yet you stood by me.

Thank you Anne for suggesting I look for work as a maternity model :-)

Thank you Dad for saying "Don't worry about it", even if I did want to scream every time you said it.

And thanks to everyone else who I am forgetting to thank. The past 9 days have been some of the most difficult of my life. Truly. Though my pregnancy is going perfectly (knock wood) and the boys are good, I have a beautiful house to live in and Ernie and I are both healthy - the prospect of facing even one month unemployed was just too much for me.

So, in light of all of the support, well wishes and great leads supplied by my extended group of friends and family I am very, very happy (and relieved) to report that yes, I have an offer of employment!

The response to my resume (posted on Monster.com) has been overwhelming to say the least. I have been on phone interviews, face to face interviews, screening calls, etc. non-stop since last Thursday. It has been really amazing. It has also helped to restore some of my faith in the business community - all of these companies who expressed interest have known about my pregnancy.

Today the first offer came in - while I was at an interview at another company. I have a great feeling that a second offer will come in on Monday (fingers crossed). The coolest thing? Both of these companies are in CT. No more commuting to NYC! Woo - Hoo!

Now the best part will be choosing between the two (hopefully). Both are wonderful opportunities and would be excellent career moves.

How did I get so lucky? How did I go from being on the bottom to being back on top? I really don't know but I do know that I can finally breath again knowing that income and health benefits are once again part of my immediate future.

Yay.

Don't know why I was so worried, really. If I weren't pregnant I would have continued taking my time looking for a new position and just enjoyed a week or two of down time. It is the pregnancy that really sparked a sense of urgency in me, and it served me well. Not that I am/was desperate, but I will admit that I was a bit panicked.

So thanks again to everyone. You all rock and I owe you big time! Everyone is invited to the farm for a big party sometime this summer...stay tuned.

Peace y'all.

Monday, May 15, 2006

Germanos

After a not-so-stellar week, I hosted a luncheon for my Germano cousins. This is the side of my family that my friend Krista likes to compare to the Sopranos. The names alone make her chuckle every time I talk about them. Let's see, we have

Joe
Sylvia
Joey
Joanie
Lindsay
Stacey
Theresa
Joanne
Ruthie
Noreen...

Then we have the off-shoots, the Murones

Johnnie
Carol
Bonnie
Carleen

So, anyway, we all know the Mafia doesn't exist...

This past weekend my cousin from Colorado came to the East Coast for a family visit. We haven't seen her since our grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary extravaganza about 6 or 7 years ago. Since then she has been busy saving Sea Turtles and studying the Barrier Reef off of the Australian Coast (she is a Marine Biologist). Soon after leaving here she will be off to Equador, Galapagos and Brazil.....cool.

It was so much fun to see my crazy cousins all together in my new house. Luckily for Ernie he was in the city playing a matinee. If anyone has been around me, especially when having a conversation with my mother, multiply the volume factor by 11 and you will understand what it is like to have any more than 3 cousins in the room at the same time. Sometimes it is even difficult for me to bear.

The family vibe got my head in a better place about the whole getting laid off while pregnant with twins thing. A little perspective goes a long way. And besides, maybe I'll put in call to Uncle Joey.....he, he, he

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

New Living Room



FINALLY we have completed one room of the new house. The living room. The little kid-friendly couch arrived from Jennifer Convertibles last weekend. We hung the IKEA curtains and rearranged the furniture. The baby grand made it quite a challenge to say the least. Mother asked for photos, so here they are.

Next on the list is the babies' room...and of course Ernie's never-ending project, the studio.

Congratulations Emily and John!

Baby Simon Heath was born today (Tuesday) May 9th! YAY! Welcome Simon. Emily came through labor without a hitch and pushed for only 5 minutes! If only we could all be so lucky...

Zoe is now a big sister. Congratulations Zoe.

Friday, May 05, 2006

Someone Please Buy This!


You have to check out the CBGBs online store. They have baby gear! Please, please, please somebody buy the hat and onesie for the twins! (just not in pink, he, he)

You Want Pictures?

You got 'em. So you can all stop asking for them.

If you don't want to see pictures of my belly-ring-less belly then I suggest you do not scroll down.

Here are a couple of cat photos to take up above the fold space...scroll down for the money, I mean belly, shots.

(Sorry, but I can't bring myself to post photos of my grey hair. Naked belly is one thing, grey hair, na-ah.)



Have bag, will travel






Zen cats. (Imagine them without hair, and human, and that's pretty much what the babies look like right now, but only like 7 1/2 inches long apiece, and floating in goo)









Me as Easter Egg on Easter Sunday.




OK. Here come the belly shots. You've been warned.






So it's not naked - but the picture quality sucks. This is what happens when you try to photo-document your own pregnancy while your husband is off busy playing around, I mean playing for a show, on 42nd Street.

20 weeks is more than halfway for a twin pregnancy. So we are more than halfway 'til birth day! Wooo-Eeeeee! What happens after that is anyone's guess.



And that's all folks.

May Update...

As stated in the comments, I missed Jennifer and Steve's 8th Wedding Anniversary, which was also on May 3rd. Sorry about that!

You would think I would remember that day. I was in the wedding, but was touring the country with a children's theater production of The Wizard of Oz. I caught a red eye flight from San Francisco to make it back East in time for the rehearsal dinner on Friday night. Then the wedding was on Saturday, and it was beautiful. I think I flew back West on Sunday - to a different airport to meet my cast and crew with a show on Monday morning!

One of the most memorable things for me was the size of the dress I wore - I think it was an 8! Those were my starving actress days, literally. Even my feet were smaller then. I bought the cutest fabric shoes to match the dress and they never fit me again after that day, no matter how I tried to stretch them.

I also remember the morning of the wedding, being at Jen's parent's house with Michelle and Stephanie. We each had a different assignment. I think Michelle did Jen's hair and Steph did her make-up. I can't remember exactly what I was assigned. That was the last time I was in Jennifer's old room, where we spent many nights with the Ouija board and on long phone calls with boys....

Now 8 years later Jen and Steve have two adorable sons, a dog who looks like Duchess (my old dog whom Jennifer made fun of all the time, lol) and two cats. They have created an awesome family!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Friday Morning Cat Calls

It is a beautiful day today in NYC. Sun is shining, a warm breeze is blowing, trees and flowers are all in bloom. Breathe it in...ahhhhhh. Just lovely. Zen even.

I will admit that I had a little strut to my step this morning as I made my way three blocks from the subway in Union Square to my office building. I was feeling pretty good about myself. I had a nice new pedicure done yesterday and was wearing open toed shoes, I was carrying a cute new summertime tote bag from Old Navy, I was wearing pink (with jeans, not head to toe pink). My belly looked big but not bad, and I was wide awake and full of energy (this was at 8:30am, give me a few hours...).

Up ahead I see a construction supply truck parked at the curb. OK, nothing weird there. Until I notice one guy staring me down. I mean really. IEW!

Hello - I am very obviously pregnant. Even from a distance.

I was at least 300 feet away and here he is burning holes in me with his rude stare. So of course I pretend not to notice him and continue to saunter past. Again, iew.

Then I get the old "Hello there. Good Morning" in that creepy, construction worker guy kind of way.

IEW!

What is wrong with men like this? Obviously I am pregnant. There is a 99% chance that there is a man involved in this equation that is not Mr. Construction Worker Guy. This would lead one to believe that I am either 1. Happily Married or 2. Happily Committed in a non-committal-type relationship. Either way, a big bulging belly does not scream "AVAILABLE! FREE FOR DRINKS AFTER WORK! I LOVE STRANGE MEN OGLYING (how the hell do you spell that?) ME! PLEASE COMMENT!!" Thanks.

But honestly, I was in a good mood to begin with and even though this guy completely grossed me out it did make me feel sort of good to know that my pregnant belly isn't completely repulsive. Not that I am saying I look like Heidi Clum or Uma Thurman when they were knocked up, but I guess I'm not all that bad either.

Happy Friday and Happy Cinco de Mayo! Please have a Margarita on me.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

May

...third is my Mother in-Law's birthday. Happy Birthday MIL!

...fifth is Cinco de Maio, and more importantly, Gerald and Genevieve's wedding - Happy Wedding Guys!

...27th is Jennifer's birthday - I will wait until then to wish you a happy.

...any day now Emily's son will be born (he is being stubbornly late) - so we will soon have another birthday to announce, hopefully very soon!

...is Christine's birthday - I think the 25th?

...Mother's Day is the 14th

...Memorial Day is the 29th

And so on.

Spring is here. Flowers and trees in the city and the suburbs are bursting with color. I actually forgot how beautiful this time of year is in the suburbs. So much color, so much green. It really does change your mood. I am sure the farm is gorgeous right now as well, with all of the things we planted last spring and fall - unfortunately we haven't been able to get out there at all.

Hope you are enjoying spring, wherever you are.