Becky's blog

I'm going to try to post a picture or two. Wish me luck!

OK, that didn't work so I'll try again in the morning.

I read Hirschman's op-ed piece in the Washington Post today: You're Not Earning as Much

I announced on the Flybabies thread that, at my Tuesday midwife appointment, the baby was indeed shown to have a heartbeat. I am now about 12 1/2 weeks along. And Lynn, my prediction came true-- now that I am in the second trimester and have less nausea to distract me, I do notice the burning from the Lovenox shots much more.

Actually we got back Sunday night, but I hadn't had the chance to post before now.

Okay, here is the encapsulated version of our news:

1. DH may be getting a really great job offer. He would be teaching music theory at a charter school which is a magnet for arts. It would be full-time, and would have full benefits, and the last guy who had the job used it to help launch him into a tenure-track gig at the University of Hawaii.

I passed my master's exams! Just got word today. A nice Easter present. So, it looks as though I'll be doing the Ph.D program next.

Six months ago today, we learned that our daughter had died at about six months' gestation. Three days later she was born. The ultrasound tech had pronounced her "perfect," the month before, and she was. Perfect and beautiful. Her ashes are still at our house. We have tried to find out if FIL wants them buried in their local cemetery, but he is noncommittal; but we are still concerned that if we bury them in my family's cemetery instead, he will be hurt.

http://www.frugalhomemaker.com/30perweek.htm

Someone posted this here last year and then I couldn't find it again-- I was using the wrong search terms or something, both on TNH and on Google. Anyhow, in case anyone else was looking too and had the same problem, there it is.

This is going to be long and sad, and if anyone doesn't want to read it, my feelings will not be hurt. It probably would be hard for a lot of people to read especially if they are pregnant, so I'm only posting it for the benefit of anyone who does want to know more details. I'm actually copying and pasting some of this from another site where I post regularly, just FYI.

My computer is back from the repair place! I have lots to catch up on, so will do that over the weekend. Meanwhile, things are fine on my end (or at least, they are fine now that I have my TNH back!).

Hm, I am not having trouble with this right now. Wonder what the problem is. Some people said they were having trouble creating content, but this is working.

Hey, did anyone see Jeopardy tonight or the last couple of nights? Josh Allen, who was the champ and then lost tonight, is in DH's musical. He plays a pair of shoes. (Don't ask.)

He's an undergrad

If anyone has not yet seen Flylady's turkey mishaps, take a look-- they had me laughing.

The recently-deceased Pierre Salinger, if you don't know, was JFK's press secretary. I mentioned in the electoral college thread that there is a sentence about me in Pierre Salinger's memoire, so here is the story.

From 2000, when I joined TNH, to now, I have heard the same refrain from TNH'ers: "I am in the political minority on this site." I hear it from members who are both left and right of center. So, I have been looking through some forums and journal comments to see what the real situation is. I have found:

Hi all. Our male kitty, Ollie, is in the hospital. He will be fine, but we miss him. He had a urinary blockage-- of course it became apparent at 6:15 yesterday evening, and his regular vet (the one next door) closes at 6, so we had to take him to the animal emergency room. They catheterized him and did all the usual stuff that is done for the condition, and kept him overnight; then we took him to the regular vet in the morning, and he is there. They have staff there to check on him throughout tomorrow, although they are not open to the public. Anyway, we caught it quite early, which is better for him, plus about $100 less than it would have been if we'd caught it later. He has to be on a special diet now though. Oh, joy, each cat has to have its own special diet (there are 2 cats). Ginny, the female, misses Ollie and keeps looking for him. She is eating but not as much as she usually does. I called the regular vet this afternoon and they said he is doing well. We get him back on Monday or Tuesday.

Our male cat just puked up the Giant Hairball of Doom. First he got up onto the top of a bookcase and spit up over the side of it, hitting all the shelves on the way down; then he hopped over to the top tier of his three-tier scratching post, and spit up over the side of that, hitting the tier on the way down; and finally, he ran downstairs, and puked all down the length of the living room.

This Washington Post writer, Jay Mathews, wants homeschoolers to write in about their experiences. I read his column regularly, and he always tries to present all sides of issues fairly (and usually succeeds).

I've missed you all!

I haven't been on here in about 10 days, and no way can I catch up. So if anything has happened to you and you want me to know what it is, please tell me!

My computer has an irreparable boot-up error, and I couldn't find the original start-up disks or whatever the heck they are called. So, I had to order them from HP, and I won't be able to post much, if anything, until they arrive. I did lose all my data but everything is either backed up or easy to find again.

A couple of days ago, USC sent me information on all the placement tests I will have to take at the beginning of the school year. If I don't pass them, I will have to take make-up classes, which could take an extra year, so I am spending all the rest of the summer studying.

I've been watching (catching up on) Colonial House today. I took a look at the PBS website on the show and saw this:

"The "Pilgrims," a group of English separatists who later became associated with the "First Thanksgiving," arrived in the area now known as New England in 1620 and founded the Plymouth colony. However, in 1607, an earlier group of settlers created a colony called Popham, in what is now the state of Maine. These colonists were members of the "northern branch" of the Virginia Company. The "southern branch" of the Company founded Jamestown in present-day Virginia that same year."

I was surprised how sad I was that it was only one day. My class had unusually good chemistry with one another when we were in school, and that has lasted apparently, even without seeing each other. Anyway, we were at the campus on Saturday and "watched" games (lacrosse, baseball, and crew, but I don't think any of us were paying much attention to the games) and hung out with one another and said hi to faculty members. The headmaster who was there when we were there has retired, but he went there for high school, and we were happily surprised that it was his class's reunion too because he was class of 1954, so some of us got to see him.

I am watching the ABC/ Disney version of A Wrinkle in Time. I was not expecting too much of the adaptation, but it is really great. I am going to buy the DVD when it comes out.

The Camazotz scenes

I probably should have posted this earlier, but oh well. In the US since the 1970s or so, Coke has been made with corn syrup; before that, and in most other countries, it is/ was made with cane sugar, which IMO tastes better. However, observant Jews are not supposed to consume corn products during Passover, so in the Passover sections of supermarkets through the 13th or so, Kosher-For-Passover Coca-Cola made with cane sugar may be available. Most large supermarkets in cities with any kind of Jewish population will carry some Passover foods (usually in an end-of-aisle seasonal display), but they might not have Coke; you might have to go to a Jewish market for that-- most big cities have at least one, and you don't have to be Jewish to go. Those of you who live in states near Mexico (like me) may have noticed that Mexican Coca-Cola is also made with cane sugar. I don't know about Canada.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3767-2003Nov5.html

An interesting article in the Washington Post. Thought some of y'all might enjoy it.