lxforever

“Fearmongering is everywhere on the Internet, don’t get too sucked in. I try to do what I can but working moms don’t have time to obsess over all that shit.”

—Christie, 6/3/13

“WHEN IS BABBY DUE?”

—Michael, 6/4/13

On Saturday I was contacted by no fewer than 5 people regarding the fact that our baby is due this month. Very cute and thoughtful but also a little worrisome…as in, I foresee a lot of ‘how are you feeling?’ inquiries thinly veiled as ‘are you in labor??!?!’ messages in my future. People, don’t worry, I’m already anxious enough, y’all don’t need to help out on that front! Ha. No, but really, it’s nice. People are sweet.

On Saturday we also took an infant CPR class. Very useful. Did a little adult/child CPR review too. Good stuff. I like knowing that stuff.

Today would have been my Grandma June’s 97th(!!!) birthday. Happy birthday to her! She was a most fantastic Grandma.

Today is also when I graduated from high school 13 years ago. Interestingly enough, with the invite to one HS friend’s wedding in India in December and another HS friend getting married Memorial Day weekend (what can I say, I’m an Internet stalking CHAMPION), all but two of my near-er friends from HS will either be married or “married” (that is, decidedly NOT interested in getting married, but having had a child w/ their significant other in a “marriage-is-not-for-all” protest) by the end of the year. Very few will have kids though. OH, Madison! I love it. Very different from even MN, its dear neighbor.

Anyway I plan to have at least a couple more weeks of just chilling. So there’s that. And being with JEFF!

BONUS ITEM:
IF this baby were made of all the things I ate most the past 9 months, this is what it would be:
at first, no meat, but then – chicken, yogurt, berries, bananas, peanut butter, root beer + root beer floats (new obsession), chocolate chip cookies, salads, Wheat Chex, cheese and crackers (EVERY DAY!), green salads, and green grapes.

BY THE NUMBERS:
Number of live college hockey games this baby attended in utero: 3
Number of concerts this baby attended in utero: 5. (TWO were Caspian. I hope she likes Caspian.)
Number of Shark Tank episodes this baby has ‘seen’ in utero: 3924729047291.
Number of times this baby visited Chicago in utero: 1. Also to the North Shore. Also to Madison.
Number of times this baby has been on a balance beam in utero: 1. Not counting the ‘fake’ low ones at Parks. And never to be repeated!!!

HAPPY JUNE, all.

“Wildflower in the wilderness outside / take your chance with love and laughter”

—Smashing Pumpkins

“You must be six months pregnant. EIGHT?? Well you’re carrying high. It must be a boy. A GIRL??”

—super random weirdo on the street part I, 5/28/13

“You have a beautiful baby in that belly!”

—super random woman on the walking path, 5/29/13

“I won’t be vacant anymore / I won’t be waiting anymore / I won’t be vacant anymore / I won’t be waiting anymore / … / Jenny, I’m seeing double / I know this changes everything”

—The National, This Is The Last Time

“Turn the light out say goodnight, no thinking for a little while / Let’s not try to figure out everything at once / It’s hard to keep track of you falling through the sky / We’re half awake in a fake empire / We’re half awake in a fake empire”

—The National, Fake Empire

On Saturday I become a ticking time bomb. OK, not really, but hey man. It is on. And though I’m pretty sure she’s a July baby in there, you just never know.

I can hardly believe it.

It’s been pretty fun being pregnant, at least (and weirdly) this last part, but that wasn’t the real dream—the real dream was a family of three. And it’s spectacular and awesome and stunning that after so much time this may actually happen.

And…that doesn’t mean we won’t miss our family of two, either. 🙂

Last weekend was a great representation of that. I hope we can spend the next few weekends as two just being together, too. Here are some great things about last weekend:

-Spent Friday getting baby room/stuff all set. Also acquired a few other very useful things from Christie (along with chocolate chip cookies). Success! Other than a few things this gal can make her arrival any day now…(gulp).
-Saturday I went to yoga and Jeff worked out. We then went to the plant store!!! Marigolds, pepper plant, tomato plant, petunias, dahlias and geraniums. The weather was all hazy and gray and weird all weekend but it made it somehow seem like it was just the two of us in the world. 🙂 Planted the plants and Jeff worked in the yard, mowing and trimming and being JEFF. Hours went by. I had snacks. Suddenly it was 7pm! Oh my. Oops.
-So we cooked up a deep dish pizza (thanks Chicago) and decided to watch a movie. UP. I cried twice, a lot. Once at the 4min montage and once at the viewing of the adventure book at the end. That her adventure was just being married to the love of her life – well that just got me. I want to cry just thinking about it. So beautiful. SIGH!
-Sunday I went swimming…a random superfit dude in the lane next to me expressed his admiration at my ability to kick. This was amusing because (1) I am a terrible kicker, it is my weakest swimming skill (2) I am huge and slow right now (even though water makes you weightless, it sure does not feel easy…ha). BUT it was a nice boost (and no he was not hitting on me, I am 8 months pregnant) and swimming was very very nice if slow/difficult, ha.
-Sunday night we went out on a date niiiiight! To Al Vento. The server was terrible. BOO. But the food was terrific and just perfect! We also got Jeff an extra glass of wine out of the deal and he was nicely buzzed which was fun. Then Blizzards and Mad Men! Yeah!!
-I slept a LOT and it was awesome.
-I went to the new gym Monday and walked/lifted, the owner was there cleaning and he was a doll. We are quitting the gym soon but it’s nice to know some owners of Anytime Fitness actually care about their gym! Ha!
-Then we hung out around the house doing miscellaneous things, Jeff playing videogames, etc., in the gray Monday. So nice to have so many days in a row off to relax!

And now it is Thursday and I must go, but yes. To the next chapter and to this one too, hooray.

1. CHRISTIE is PSYCHIC and CORRECTLY GUESSED two of our final few first name/middle name choices for this baby…OUT OF THE BLUE!!! She texted me her prediction on Wednesday and it literally BLEW MY MIND….omg. Jeff was so stunned too. (Note, they were not in correct combination, but still….seriously amazing.) WOW!

2. My cousin TRIKE is requesting more readers, so you should head on over to his blog sometime and pay it a read or several. Or add it to your reader. He is a generous and amusing artist who lives in Mpls and happens to be polyamorous, also he happens to be one of my favorite cousins OF ALL TIME…we are very much alike!…so I hope that sways ya. CHECK CHECK CHECK IT OUT!!! Also he is licensed to perform weddings if you are in need of that.

I had more to say but now I can’t remember. Hope you all are well! Super exciting weekend ahead, yoga + haircut + then a shower thrown by my two dearest friends!!! YAY!!!! Oh and happy anniversary Kelly + Luis! Peace out.

“I want to hurry home to you / put on a slow dumb show for you”

—The National, Slow Show

MINNESOTA, hail to thee!!! #12, not bad. So proud to live in a state that recognizes equality a little bit better by allowing marriage equality. YEAH!!!

So that was the big news this week. Other news: it snowed a little bit Saturday then was 99 degrees yesterday. WTF? Other news: somehow I managed to paint my toenails this morning. They look terrible but I still DID IT.

This morning was pretty nice. We woke up early and Jeff worked out while I laid in bed then did dishes. We then set about to do some YARD WORK before work. Yep, we did! It was gorgeous out, warm but not too warm, early sunlight all over. Jeff mowed and I split (dug up) hostas. THAT was a feat, too! Between that and toenail-painting, I figured I’d done my duties as far as working out today. YEP!

Then we washed up and went to work. A lovely morning!

Last weekend was really nice too. I am not one for ‘minor’ holidays necessarily, though I do like celebrating my mom/my grandma, but I did enjoy having a little extra to celebrate with regards to mother’s day this year. Connie, Stephie, my mom and Barb O sent me cards, which was super sweet (my mom’s had kitties on it!), and Jeff got me flowers! Wow! Then when we went to Jack and Laureen’s they had a little sign up on the door, awww. Our neighbors wished me a happy mother’s day, which was cute until they reminded me the baby could come in as little as 3 weeks…OMG! Actually, no, it was really cool to think that we will get to meet this tiny person fairly soon. I am so excited to see what she is like.

(But she’s still up super high so never fear, I’m pretty sure we have a July baby in there, ha.)

Hmmmmmm….last weekend. Lots going on. I intended to go to JOs Friday night, but it just did not happen. I sort of regretted it, but not really…I had such a busy weekend ahead that staying in felt very enticing. AND IT WAS! Jeff and I ordered some pizza, had some root beer, and watched TOY STORY. Yeah!!! He hadn’t seen it. What a great movie. We followed it up the following night with TOY STORY 2. I hope to watch TOY STORY 3 soon too (I have not seen this one). KID MOVIES! YEAH! It was really nice to stay in with Jeff.

Saturday we got up early for the second and last childbirth class. It was OK. Not as good as the first one. A little more worrying, but WCYD? One gal left in the middle to go deliver, apparently she was in labor. Oh my! When we left class it was snowing out. Yep, it was. May 11. WTF. It only lasted 5-10 minutes but still, that was wacky. WACKY!

Home and clean up and then out again to Cafe Latte where I met up with college friends for lunch, as Sarah Ke was in town!!! I admired her SAPPHIRE engagement ring and grilled Phil about his wedding plans (sort of). It was great to catch up and see her, and see my other friends too. Scott is very amusing.

ALSO side note, my mom got us a TON of awesome baby clothes at garage sales and organized them all last weekend!!! So THAT was another super mother’s day surprise for everyone. YEAH!

Anyway…back to the house where I waited for Jeff. Jeff, where are you? Finally he was home and we were off to Jack and Laureen’s. We played Blokus where I won by one tile, aw yeah. We enjoyed a lovely dinner as made by Laureen (but no treats! they are on a diet, alas) then opened presents. PRESENTS??? Yeah I didn’t know that was happening either. It was for the baby, and sort of for mother’s day I guess?? A high chair, swaddle blankets, a hooded baby towel and some outfits. Super sweet. I then laughed and laughed at Jack’s sandwich picture. “Here’s a sandwich!” (It wasn’t even his!)

We went home and stopped off to get Blizzards to remedy the treat situation (I didn’t even have a treat at Cafe Latte, what was I thinking?!). Oh Yes. Perfection. Then movie night. Etc.!

SATURDAY NIGHT, something AMAZING happened….something that hasn’t happened in, oh, maybe even a YEAR……I still almost can’t believe it happened…..I slept for EIGHT STRAIGHT HOURS like a FIEND and didn’t get up ONCE!!!! not to eat, not to do anything…sure I woke up once or twice to turn over but that’s IT. OMG. It was seriously amazing. I can’t imagine this happening again, like, ever, so I am still in delirium over how cool it was. YEAH!

Sunday woke up at 7:30 AM after 8 glorious hours. Laid in bed. Eventually got up and worked out while watching Grey’s. Hmmmmm. I can’t believe I still watch that. Cleaned up the house, did some other stuff then we were off to Sue’s! Unlike normal, we ate right away which was much appreciated. Sushi, soup, sandwiches, salads. LOTS OF STUFF! They even got tomato basil soup just for me. Thanks guys! We then did some Sue Electronics Work (Jeff does this w/ parents wherever he goes) and picked out a color for the bathroom they never use. And then cracked up at the ‘plant room’. (I knew Jeff would find it weird.)

Then we ALSO opened a shower gift early – the STROLLER! I am obsessed with this stroller. It is amazing. (I got it on Christie’s recommendation – good job Big C!) Jeff was way into it too and spent many amusing minutes showing us how it folds with one hand. Erik really riled him up. “Jeff a bear is coming!” “Don’t forget the baby!” Ha ha. He folded that stroller up like a madman! Super cool.

Finally home…I had a snack OUTSIDE and then made dinner. We got into Breaking Bad again (well I did, after that stupid fly episode).

This weather is so wonderful. Thank you Planet for finally granting us this! Yeah! It really, really changes my mood (surprise, surprise). AND NOW, both straight and gay people can get married in Minnesota. HISTORY!!!

OK gtg, time to play Bubble Mania and enjoy the crazy baby kicks!

ETA: Happy birthday to Isabella and Jenni tomorrow, btw!

Happy Mother’s Day to all, and of course to my very own lovely Mom! I am very lucky!

I am extra lucky too – Jeff got me beautiful flowers yesterday, and a few dear people sent me thoughtful cards. And Jack and Laureen celebrated with us yesterday too. Way too sweet. I dreamt I went swimming with our daughter last night and it was pretty darn amazing. (She was a really good swimmer, FTR.) I still often can’t believe how lucky we are. It’s going to be incredible to meet her in a few short weeks.

But, importantly – extra thoughts today to those whose moms are no longer with them; those moms whose babies are no longer on this Earth; and those who so very much want to be moms but for whatever reason are still waiting, waiting, waiting. Hang in there. This can be a tricky day.

ETA: happy belated FIRST birthday to Ryan! Can’t believe I missed that on Fri. I’ve been slacking on birthdays, sorry man.

1. Waking up choking on your own stomach acid…not cool! (But, cooler than choking on someone else’s, I guess, LOL.)

2. SUPER busy weekend aaaah! Somehow I will survive. I mean, it’s fun, but, whew.

3. I’m chatting with Dave on gchat right now…weird/awesome.
(3b. It is interesting to note that 2/3 of my husband’s close friends are super religious…and the other sort-of so…while he is NOT. hmmmm.)

4. Should I go to JOs tonight? I still don’t know.

5. GO MINNESOTA WITH YOUR MARRIAGE EQUALITY YEAH!!!!!!!!!

Time to eat.

“Is it me, or is it basically impossible to focus on anything today?”

—Diana, 5/7/13…YES

“Hey come this May / we’ll be running in the sun again our time will come! / You’re just a young broken heart / been out sleeping in the yard how could you be so dumb?”

—Everything Shines

“And soon we’ll say goodbye / then we’ll work until we die / But tonight we feel like stars / we’ll play our air guitars / ’cause we’re / eighteen / it’s a perfect night / to sing our prom theme”

—Fountains of Wayne, Prom Theme

MAY. May. MAY May May May MAY!

It’s that time of year again…! Nostalgia time! EVERYONE’S favorite. May is made of: MEMORIES (and often mania). Last year it was also about mortality. Let’s not let that happen this year, please? OK great.

But really there is something about May.

—

OK so I left this entry 3947325 hours ago, just came back, and now Jeff is about to pick me up. ALSO I can’t even remember what nostalgia I was going to spew SO! That is that. Basically enjoy that retrospective and remember…MAY.

A short list of what else is UP:

– Birthing class Saturday…good good! Jeff is smart and funny.

– Midwife yesterday who basically was awesome and wanted to make sure I knew I could be taking drugs (medications, that is), haha. I really liked her!!! (This also included a booster tetanus/pertussis shot and I can’t even feel the effects of it…weird. Ha.)

– I made an iPad app and it’s in the app store!!! Yeah!!!

– Lots of stupid people today, especially at Jenny’s work, but,

– …lots of sunshine today! So gorgeous!

– We watched Wreck-It Ralph again last night – so good!!! SUGAR RUSH! SUGAR RUSH! Yeah! 😀

– Also we watched Wall-E and had a MOVIE NIGHT on Saturday…awesomeness + more awesomeness.

– Some guy who tweets in Arabic is now following me on Twitter.

– TIME TO GO! SUGAR RUSH!

“Well now that we’re having babies we get all graphic”

—my neighbor, LOL!

What a SPECTACULAR weekend spent with THE BEST (Jeff)!!! A quick(?) recap:

FRIDAY I had to be in early for the numbers. The weather had turned into SPRING and that made me glowing with happiness…yes!!! The day flew by as I made adjustments to the iPad app, which we had just successfully submitted…double yes!

Then home for a walk to get ice cream, EXCELLENT choice, from Pumphouse. I got into a conversation with my neighbor which was great. Her 11-year-old is also babysitting obsessed (as I was at that age)…super.

Off to run a few errands, mostly successful, and complete the grocery shopping. Phew! And then I was exhausted. All this extra weight man, it makes life harder. Ha. My legs were killing me.

Jeff came home and I whipped up an egg salad for us. We watched Awkward then I passed out and he worked into the night on his cool layout…almost done!

SATURDAY I got up to the glorious sun and went off to yoga…oh yeah! Great class, my back pain is somewhat subsiding (again w/ the extra weight, hah). Got some gifts for my friend who recently had TWIN GIRLS, yay, then home where I did some cleanup and showering. Wrote thank you notes outside. Jeff was working. He mentioned he had bought Twins tickets for his Dad. I was jealous so I said “I want to go to a game!” and Jeff said “when?” and I said “today!” And so we did. We bought tickets online and Jeff said to “get the good ones.” AND so we did. A few rows back from first base baby! Yeah!!!

Off to the game after Jeff hit the gym. Parked in a super sketchy abandoned lot(?!) and walked to the stadium. Already I knew my Birkenstock clogs were a poor choice…alas. It is SPRING, folks! Got to the game and took our AWESOME seats. GREAT game! Twins were killing it! PERFECT weather, so nice just to relax. We got some snacks. “And for you?” the vendor asked. Ha ha! Enjoyed them and snuck looks at the silly baby next to us (and judged the drunk idiots in front of us) and enjoyed the game. Baseball, so relaxing when the weather is good!

Game wrapped up (Twins win! “they have a 1% chance of not winning…ok 10%…ok .1%…”) and we went to the pro shop where we acquired a t-shirt for our daughter to wear at 12 months of age, perfect timing. We spent a ridiculous amount of money on a tiny t-shirt that she will wear like 3 times, but refused to spend that money on ourselves for anything that might actually last. Logic does not exist! But we just want more sports apparel for her. Esp. Gophers!

We walked around downtown for awhile, testing my limits. Off to the Loop! Great choice. Server was terrible but Jeff just could not help himself with the tip. Awwww. Good salads and fries and the Wild won too. Cool, good job Wild! So nice to hang out downtown, like old times. WOOHOO. Walked back to the car which turned into an epic journey, one of us is not cut out for that distance of walking with her clogs on anymore. Gah. AND it looked like The Wire…oooh boy. BUT whatever. So then we got some Blizzards (Jeff’s idea!) and watched Shark Tank. YES!!!

It was a day of a Long Extended Awesome Impromptu Date!!! LOVED IT. 🙂 🙂 🙂

SUNDAY got up and dinked around. Cleaned, laundry, thank you notes, etc. Jeff slept in for a long time! Good job Jeff. He split to get an $8 haircut and eventually I split to get in a swim. SOOOOOOO nice out! I got HOT walking to swimming even. It felt good to get in the pool and be weightless, ha. Slow swimming in the slow lane and then back out into the sun. It felt extremely calming to get out of the water. I am already looking forward to a swim-date w/ Diana on Wednesday! oooooh.

I decided I MUST HAVE a rootbeer after having had one at the game. ROOT BEER. Every place I checked had Barq’s…gross…so I tweeted about it. A-K and Diana responded with ideas. Off to Kowalski’s it was! The ROOT BEER must not be ignored! Acquired the ONLY brand they had left(?!) and got home to guzzle that + share it too 🙂 + make egg salad again. Sat outside and enjoyed my late late lunch. Then it started to rain. In the house for massive cookingfest and finishing up laundry. Jeff rearranged the pics on the walls…good work! Whew! Lots going on! But super productive, esp. while listening to Pitbull (note: NOT Jeff).

Had some awesome spaghetti (with Lidia in Italy’s sauce) and meatballs and salads. Caught up on Breaking Bad then watched Mad Men. Much better episode. SO yeah. Then to bed where I fell asleep quickly and happily after the most amazing weekend! So lucky to spend it with Jeff. Baby kicked like crazy in the night, it’s like she’s trying to escape (MEMO: NOT YET).

ALSO of note, this weekend I only got up to eat at night once or twice. AMAZING!

Happy almost-May, ya’ll!

—

ETA: did you ever think your husband would say something like this??? LOL!!!

“Oh my god! We need that little dress. RIGHT. NOW.

Order it!”

waytoocute

4:10 PM
Alexis
happy birthday!!
how is the day going?
4:14 PM You have connected
4:19 PM
Jenny
hi!
thanks!
it’s going well
4:19 PM
Alexis
oh good!
big plans or no?
4:20 PM
Jenny
well i dunno – hakan said he would go to a movie w/ e
*me
so maybe that? or just dinner, or just a movie at home and eat ice cream
i’ll discuss it w/ hakan in the car and hopefully he’ll help me decide
apparetnly i got an edible arrangement delviered to our building!
4:21 PM
Alexis
whaaaat?!
4:24 PM
Jenny
yeah!
so that is exciting i can’t wait to see what it is
and who sent it!
i brought donut holes in too which was a good decision, lots of people wished me happy bday
4:25 PM
Alexis
did you like get a call about it?
4:25 PM
Jenny
and someone brought me a chocolate covered cheesecake
yeah
4:25 PM
Alexis
WOW!
that is awesome
yum
4:25 PM
Jenny
and i am using pink and purple pens on everything
4:25 PM
Alexis
LOL!!!
this is Jenny-fantasy-bday lol
4:26 PM
Jenny
haha
yeah

—

😉

Happy 30th birthday to Jenny Jane, my original JJ!

—

ETA: Here are all the updates I’ve ever done ON Jenny’s birthday:
when she turned…
16!
17!
20!
28!
29!

ok /end narcissistic-self-indulgence-masquerading-as-adoration

“It’s like the Baby Santa Claus came!”

—Jeff, looking around the nursery post-shower

I am writing this update from “THE NURRRRSERY” (imagine that said in a very spooky, dramatic voice, as we used to say when we introduced people to “THE NURRRRSERY” in the basement when we first moved in and there was no furnace in that spot – it was just a creepy coal room [note, that was a FAKE ‘nursery’]), which is my new favorite spot. Jeff set up a chair in the corner and now I can peek out into the world but also be in a nice room with a softly glowing white light. It is slowly coming together, of course still more to do. Jeff ordered a rug though so that will definitely help. It’s going to be pretty sweet!

Anyway, how’s it hanging. I meant for this to be an epic update but instead I am caught in the middle of making dinner and putting away laundry…Sunday Sunday! This weekend I semi-deliberately did two things that will be impossible post-baby-arrival:

-Worked until like 9pm on Friday, IN THE OFFICE…mostly I stayed because Jeff stayed and he was my ride home, but I also got a TON of stuff done and kicked major ass. YEAH! It was a long but good day.
-Stayed in bed this morning for an extra hour or so, JUST BECAUSE I COULD…it was glorious. Jeff had stayed up late working the night before (wild Saturday night! We had grilled cheese at 10:30pm!) and so he slept in late, so I enjoyed snuggling and dozing for no reason in particular. Aw yeah.

OF COURSE I know ‘once you have a kid you can never do this again’, but, I’d rather have the kid (ask me that again in 6+ months 😉 JK). But seriously. I am very very excited.

I am very proud of Jeff! He has been kicking ass ALL weekend on this AWESOME layout for the next issue of the magazine. He didn’t get assets until Friday late (SUPER LAME BTW), so it’s not his fault, but he really has busted his ass all weekend and it is paying off. MAGAZINE LAYOUT!!! It looks so super good. You will have to pick up the next issue to see it. He’s so talented and devoted. Sometimes I get devoted to code…but never to design, sorry. It’s just not me, ha. So just like he impressed me many moons ago when we were in school together, so he impresses me now. GO JEFF GO!!! So proud!

It was a very nice weekend. Late Friday night…boom!, then yoga Saturday again, that class is very good for me and starts my weekend off right, then lunch w/ Julie and Cole and Cole’s little boys. Way fun! I got to carry the littlest one out in his carseat to ‘practice’, ha, kind of cool. Then I went to Christie’s to acquire some more clothes!!! Thank God for her!! Also some other supplies. Seriously though it’s like when I was little and got her hand-me-downs…just had to wait to grow into them. LOL. I enjoyed a fun visit w/ Christie, Mike, Laura and Ryan and eventually had to kick myself out. I probably could have hung out all day. I pretended to eat Laura’s feet, that riled her up…then she made us a piece of glitter abstract art. “Will you show this to Jeff?” I was mystified that she knew who he was. It was cute. Also she is very good at gymnastics. I told her not to grow, a confusing choice of words. Oops. Alas. Ryan is a crazy good mover who likes to go down stairs headfirst. His smile is heartbreaking. WATCH OUT (x2)!

Snagged a smoothie, then home for some serious cleaning and organization. I COULD NOT STOP!!! The nursery looks much better now and I put away all of the lovely, thoughtful gifts people got us…we are very lucky indeed. And I cleaned other things and made the house nice. ALSO I sometimes randomly followed NCAA championships (gymnastics) on Twitter/live scores online. Dude, GO FLORIDA!!! I was proud of them. After they fell on beam I thought it was over….but ’twas not. So awesome! Then today a Gopher gymnast got 2nd on beam in beam finals. Go Gophers! So cool that they made it to NCAAs. First time since 2002 man! Woohoo!

I knew too many folks who are connected to the Boston trauma, some more than others. No one was physically hurt but it was a grueling, scary week for some friends. Thinking of them and everyone else, too. So crazy and so tragic.

OK the water is boiling so it is time to go. Adios amigos. Snow still on the ground, the robins are confused. Where is spring??