10 for Tuesday

1. I just checked the calendar to verify that it is, indeed, Tuesday.  Sometimes it's hard to keep track.

2. I'm getting pretty excited for Christmas.  I'm excited to see Marty's side of the family, and I'm excited to be able to see so many of my siblings too.

3. I made some pretty good presents.  Maybe I'll remember to take pictures before I give them away.  But I've forgotten to do that for the past 3 gifts I've made.  So no promises.

4.  Cher is missing.  She ventured out of the yard yesterday (or rather, Marty was too scary in his attempts to pet her while she was outside, so she hopped the fence), and we haven't seen her since.

5.  While last night was warmer than it's been the past few nights, we still have 6 inches of snow on the ground.

6.  I'm worried we won't ever see her again.  That thought makes me sad. :(

7.  I finally completed and mailed in my application for the patent bar (see here and here).  Not wanting to mess around with guessing which classes I took would count towards the credits they were looking for, I went through my transcript (and photocopies of the corresponding course catalogs) and highlighted every class that I took that I thought had reasonable scientific merit.  (I hemmed and hawed about whether Animal Nutrition counted; I think I came down on the side that it didn't).  That totaled 60+ credit hours.  I hoped with that I would meet either the 32 or 40 credit hour requirements; didn't really care which.

8.  My application was approved!  I'm officially in my 90 day window to take the test.  I'm planning for January.  I have other things planned for February and early March.

9.  I'm having another ultrasound on Thursday.

10.  Diaper Genie or Diaper Dekor or something else or nothing?  Thoughts?

Not So Perfect

The perfection of my pregnancy has apparently ended.  At my last appointment I discovered that I (barely) failed my 1 hour glucose test, automatically qualifying me for the 3 hour test.  And also I've crossed the line into anemia.

And then came the 3 hour glucose test...I got the call this week that even though I passed the fasting and the 1 hour portions, I failed (barely) the 2 and 3 hour portions.  I have officially been diagnosed with gestational diabetes.  My basic thought, considering how close I was to not failing the diagnostics, is that maybe if I stay away from thick orange flavored sugary drinks, I should be OK.

Today I met with the "Diabetes Educator".  She gave me my glucometer and we talked about diet.  I need to test my blood sugar each morning and 2 hours after each meal. Though I failed the Glucose Tolerance Tests, I'm acing my at home blood sugar tests. (Granted, it's only been 2 so far, but I'm still patting myself on the back for it).  Here's hoping I keep up the good work.

quilt top

We decided on a nautical theme for our nursery, and Marty suggested I make a quilt for it.  I started by looking through my  quilting books, but I didn't find anything I really liked.  I then turned to the internet, where I found this quilt for sale on etsy.com. We agreed, that it was the favorite of all the designs we'd seen.  But I didn't want to buy it; I wanted to copy it.  So I spent some time looking at it and the proportions and sketched it up, and started calculating fabric requirements.  A few days later I found the pattern for sale online (it's called "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and made with Dear Stella's "Anchors Away" fabric collection).  For a few seconds I considered getting the pattern, but why?  I'd already done the hard part.

We decided to use some of the Dear Stella fabrics (which I found for sale online), but then the rest I already had in my stash.  One of the major changes we made was to use reds instead of oranges and then yellow for the suns.  I think I also deviated from how the pattern would have had me do it--In sketching it out, I identified nine 12x12in blocks with sashing between them.  But when it came time to actually cut and sew the white fabrics, I decided that working with panels rather than squares would be less cutting and piecing of the white--there were the panels of sails, masts, boats, and then water.  It worked really well this way.

I finished up the quilt top this past weekend--it was time to clean up the sewing room and turn it back into a guest room.

Now to find someone to help with the quilting....and hopefully before the baby's born.

Happy Halloween!

This is mine and Baby Arlander's costume from last night.  I like how it turned out (and that I was able to get it all together in about 30 minutes).

I recommend you focus on the pumpkin portion of the picture, because if you look much further you'll see that I look tired from a long day.  Also, I need to wash my hair.  You might also notice that the camera has added about 10 pounds to the vein in my hand.  Apparently there was no other place for the camera to add 10 pounds--the baby beat the camera to it.

Happy Halloween!

24 Weeks

Today was my 24 week doctor's appointment.  According to my doctor, I'm perfect--at least my uterus is.  And the baby is perfect too--he's got a good heartbeat and he was moving around.  And my belly--it's perfect too, so he's growing as expected.

I like how my doctor is always so enthusiastic about the progress of my pregnancy.  Last month she complimented me on my weight gain (who would have thought gaining 10 lbs would earn me such praise?).

We had another milestone this week too--Marty felt the baby kick for the first time.  It was fun to see the look on Marty's face when he felt it.  He said it brought a whole new level of reality to feel the baby moving.  He thinks we might have a ninja baby.

At work recently I've had several comments to the effect of, "What are we going to do when you're out on maternity leave?"  I heard that at least one attorney suggested that they just wouldn't let the baby come out.  I guess that means I've made a good impression in my first six months at this job.  Even so, I'm not on board with the baby not coming out plan.

Funny Voicemail Transcripts

Back on my birthday I missed a phone call from Mom and Dad.  Google voice gave me a transcript of the message that was left.  Here's what it said:

Hi. This is, Mom and Dad We're wishing you a happy birthday and we love you. If you can talk to you later, alright with jackass. Ohh. That was your mother your honor. I think I should work and he was in a long time. I mean, I remember at sorry. Hope you're doing well. I did. Marty, ideal love you, I.

 I laughed and laughed and then decided I should listen to the actual message since I was pretty sure that Google voice got some things wrong.

Here's what they really said:

Dad: Hi this is mom and dad.  We're wishing you a happy birthday and we love you! Talk to you later. Bye!
Mom (interrupting): We'll try again!
Dad: Oh! That was your mother.  I'm your father. In case you were confused.
Mom: It's been a long time, you may not remember us.  Oh, sorry. Hope you're doing well.  Hi to Marty! Love you!
Dad: Love you!
Mom and Dad: Bye!

When I called Mom and Dad back I read them the transcript, and they laughed too and then began blaming each other for saying "jackass" in the message.  Definitely one of my very favorite birthday messages ever!

A few days later, I got this transcript of a voicemail from Caroline:

Hi, Congratulations. Hussey responses here text. I lived in a meeting and I was. And that But anyways and just want to call and see how you're doing how your feeling because I was realizing that it is a time to you later. Alright texting about how I was feeling that they interest you how you're doing. So anyways, That's. Our from the cat. Love you bye.

Turns out she didn't actually call me Hussey, and her cat didn't have anything to tell me either.  Here's what she really said:

Hi! Congratulations! I'm sorry I didn't respond to your text. I was in a meeting, but I read it.  But um, anyways.  I just wanted to call and see how you were doing--how you were feeling because I was realizing that the other time we were texting about how I was feeling, but I never asked you how you were doing.  So anyways.  That's all.  Just wanted to chat.  Love you! Bye.

 I think the transcript function of Google voice has some room for improvement, but it sure has made me laugh a lot.

It's a .....

It's a BOY!!

While I'm very excited about having a boy, I'm less excited about the fact that I lost the gender guessing bet.  The stakes weren't that high-- only a dollar, but it's the bragging rights.  Marty's never going to let me live this down.

I guess the Henrichsen tradition of having a boy first continues.

The iPhone and the Toilet

Yes, it happened.  My iPhone fell in the toilet.  The good news: it was a clean toilet.  The bad news: it was a toilet, and the phone was submerged in water.

I grabbed it out with hardly a second thought.  Turned it off.  Toweled it off.  Shook it out.  Grabbed the hairdryer, no heat, and blew that on it for a few seconds.  And then stuck it in my purse and went to work, because I was already late.

After a couple meetings I remembered what I'd heard about rescuing drenched phones by letting them dry out while submerged in rice.  Home for lunch where I confessed to Marty what had happened (he'd been sleeping at the time) while I pulled out the rice.

The internet says to leave it in rice for 24-48 hours before attempting to turn it back on again.

24-48 hours is a really, really long time to 1) be without a cell phone (I didn't even know how to call Marty's cell or our home number with our new phone numbers) and 2) be in limbo about whether the phone was ruined.

Tonight after work was time for the big reveal.  And miracle of miracles--it works!  Such a relief!

score--  iPhone: 1           toilet: 0

Maybe it's time to invest in either an insurance plan or a waterproof case for it.

Not so sneaky Razor

With the move into a new place, one of the things we had to figure out is where to put Cher's food so that Cher can get it, but Razor can't.  In the past we've used a low bookshelf, a dresser, and a platform in the bathroom.  When we first moved into this house we put Cher's food on a box--there were plenty of them sitting around, and it worked.  But as we've been working on unpacking boxes, we tried to move her food to a more permanent location.  Our  master bedroom has a ledge in front of the main window.  It's not as tall as some of the other places we've put it, but we thought it was OK.

Two nights ago I became suspicious that Razor was somehow getting access to Cher's food.  The main clue was that Cher's bowl was completely empty--not a single crumb left at the end of the night--and Cher was particularly vocal about wanting more food.

Last night the same thing.

Today Razor gave herself away.  I was talking on the phone and Razor was in the bedroom with me.  I sat up and saw her standing on the ledge.  Checking out Cher's already empty bowl.  Once she realized that I saw her and that she was caught, she slinked off the ledge as if she hoped she were invisible.

Clearly, we need a new spot for Cher's food.

Bump, part 2...the good kind

Introducing Baby Arlander, arriving sometime around February 14, 2013

bump

The whole process of selling our home and relocating was going too smoothly.  Everything seemed to be falling into place just a little too perfectly.  And for awhile I was really beginning to believe that it could all work and be so relatively  painless.

And then the appraisal came in $13,000 less than the contract sale price.

I'm still reeling.

I'm not sure where we go from here.

UPDATE: After a couple weeks in limbo and some renegotiating we are moving forward with the sale and these buyers.  We close in a couple weeks.  I'm ready to be done.

Change

This post is about change--you know, the kind of change you get when you buy something and give the cashier more money than is actually required to make the purchase.

Maybe I'm strange, but on the rare occasions that I have cash and use it to buy something, I think about the change I'll get back.  Sometimes this means I pay with a larger bill but also provide the necessary coinage so that I get only bills back.  However, sometimes my monetary combinations are not understood by the cashier.  A few weeks ago I was buying something that came to a total of about $7.  I had a bunch of ones, but not 7 of them.  I also had a ten.  I gave the cashier $12--the ten and 2 ones.  He gave me the strangest look, showed me the money I gave him, and restated the price.  I nodded and told him that I wanted a five back.  To me it made perfect sense.  I'd rather have a five and 3 ones in my wallet than 8 ones.

Today I had another interesting change exchange.  My ultimate objective was to break a $20 bill and get $2 in quarters.  So I went to a little convenience store and bought a soda.  When I pulled out the twenty, I asked for $2 in quarters.  The cashier did something unusual and added $2 to the purchase amount.  The soda was $1.75 plus $2.00 is $3.75.  The cash register accurately calculated that the change from a $20 for that purchase is $16.25.  But then the cashier gave me a ten, 4 ones, and 8 quarters, you know, $16.25.  I pointed out that he owed me $2 more.  We spent the next five minutes going over the receipt again and again.  He eventually gave me the $2, but said, "That still doesn't seem right."  I offered to talk him through it again, but by that point there was a line and I think he just wanted me gone.  In the end, he never gave me the receipt--I think he wanted to ponder it some more after I left.

Friday Night in Flagstaff

This is the field right next to our place.  Do you see the deer just hanging out?

Razor and I took a walk to a nearby park on Friday night.  I got these pictures while we were out.

Time Zones

The transition to Flagstaff has been pretty good for the most part. The hardest part for me so far is that Razor and Cher don't seem to have gotten the memo about the change in time zone that came with the move.
This morning it was 4am when Razor got up and was asking for breakfast.  I got basically no sleep between 4am and 6am as I was refusing to give in and also trying to convince them both that it really was still sleeping time.  Unfortunately, this isn't unique to this morning but is fairly typical for the past 2 weeks.
Ugh.

Listed

Our house in Raleigh is listed.  I already know of at least one scheduled viewing.

Sedona

Last week Marty and I took a drive down to Sedona.  Here are some of the pictures I got along the way.

Arrived

We've made it to Flagstaff!  We had a very busy several days including an afternoon drive to Bethesda, MD, a Paco de Lucia concert, a late night/middle of the night drive back to Raleigh, and an early morning flight from Raleigh to Phoenix.

Razor and Cher did great, and traveling with them as carry-ons went much better than I'd been fearing.  They were, of course, eager to leave their carriers once we were done traveling.

We've been getting settled into the new apartment.  Tonight Razor met a deer.  We walked out the front door and there were 2 deer passing through the field next to our unit.  Razor noticed the deer and started barking and made as if to catch them.  The leading deer took off, but the lagging one noticed Razor and seemed to actually want to check Razor out.  It came bounding toward Razor, which really caught Razor off guard.  Razor ran back to the porch and resumed her barking as she hid behind me.  The deer ultimately came within about 20 feet of us--and just stood there for a minute or two.  Finally the deer started back on its way and Razor got brave enough to leave the porch.

I start the new job on Monday.  Wish me luck!

More Chenille

My final project before packing up the sewing room is this chenille quilt I made for the new baby of my friend Emily.  Emily had a baby shower in early February.  At the time, I had the fabric picked out, but that was it.  I rolled the fabrics up nice and pretty and presented them with a note that said, "To be completed, soonish..."  And then I took the fabrics back with me.

As the baby's due date and the end of March were approaching, I finally found time at the sewing machine.  I was able to get it finished up and dropped off at Emily's house just a few days before baby Stephanie arrived.

On the Move

Life is a little hectic these days.  I'm still working at the "old job" and have another 9 days left.  Then I have a week of unemployment before I start the new job.

In the mean time, I'm working on getting our house ready to sell, going through things, organizing, getting rid of things, cleaning, staging.  And also preparing to move across the country--coordinating with people to find temporary housing in Flagstaff, deciding just how I'm going to get myself there for my start day (I'm going to fly), figuring out how my car is going to meet me there, and deciding what I'll be taking with me since I'll be moving before the rest of the household.

Strange as it may be, one of the things that is stressing me out most is figuring out how we're going to get Cher (the cat) out to Flagstaff.  She's not a big fan of things that disrupt her life, or really, anything that isn't her idea.  She doesn't like visitors.  She doesn't like loud noises.  She still doesn't trust Marty because he took her to the vet a couple times.  (I've taken her to the vet several times, and used some of the same tricks, but apparently I can be forgiven.)  She really let Mom have it with a vocal lashing when we moved from our apartment several years ago--as if it were Mom's fault--and we were only moving to a place 1 mile away!  So the prospect of moving her 2000 miles across the country, stresses me out a little.  What to do?  As of this second, I'm leaning toward taking her as a carry-on when I fly out there. I might be changing my mind again.

So yeah, the move is occupying my thoughts and actions.  It's kind of weird when I think that my interview was only 3 weeks ago...a lot has happened since then.

Really?

Today I was having a conversation with someone (a relative stranger).  I asked him a question and before answering he hesitated and asked, "What's your background?  Do you have a technical background?"
"My educational background is in biomedical science."
His response: "I guess that's scientific enough."

Oh? Is it?  Why thanks, I appreciate your approval.

Oops!

For Christmas this year (well, technically, last year), I made a lot of the gifts I gave.  In my conscious effort not to post pictures of the gifts before I gave them, I ended up accidentally not taking any pictures at all.  Oops!