Call Rod Serling

Today we drove my car to work because Dave's brakes are making a scary noise and clearly need to be checked. We both have Saturn Ion's so it really doesn't make a big difference who's car we take. Dave was driving because he doesn't really fit in the passenger seat with the car seat behind it. We went out to lunch and when we returned to the car he realized he didn't have the keys. I glanced in my purse just to make sure he hadn't handed them to me but they weren't there. We figured they must have fallen out of his pocket in the restaurant so we went back and asked if they'd been turned in but they hadn't. We retraced out steps, checked to make sure we didn't somehow lock them in the car, and went to the security office to find out if they'd been turned in there but no keys. We were starting to freak out because the spare keys are at our house over an hour away and we need to pick up Fiona at my Mom's house tonight which is in a completely different direction and the car seat was locked in the car we couldn't get in to. We were just starting to hit panic mode because there really wasn't any clear solution when out of desperation I started digging in my purse again and heard a tell tale jingle. WTF?! Neither of us remember him handing me the keys. Somehow they magically moved from his pocket to my purse. I wish that would happen with money.

Teething Sucks A**

Fiona's sleeping like crap, she doesn't want to eat, and she's a grumpy butt. I'm just gonna go out & get her some dentures and be done with it.

A Day At Home With Fiona

OMG GO TO SLEEP ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!

Irritation

My shoes are squeaky. This is annoying.

Priorities

I need to get my eyes checked because I found a pair of frames I really want. Yeah I'm so that kind of shallow.

Not Normal Behavior

Just as a general rule if you find someones wife attractive don't tell him. Even if he isn't the jealous type there isn't really a graceful way to answer.

A Little Bit About Dave

So my husband sometimes does or says extremely odd things. People always tell me how funny they think he is and they're rite. A lot of the time it's not so much what he does as the fact that I can tell it's an extremely Dave thing to do that cracks me up. It's just the way he is.

This afternoon our friend/coworker Jubiss & I went for a walk on our afternoon break. Our office is on 2 floors of a building. When we got in the elevator to return to our desks we accidentally pushed both buttons even though we were only going to the higher floor. When the elevator stopped on the wrong floor I pushed the door close button. As the doors closed I heard someone say "Meow". There was a pause while we looked at each other then I asked "Did you just hear Dave say meow?" She laughed and said "I think so". She knows him pretty well too.

You Don't See That Every Day Chauncy

Last night on our way home from P&A's house Dave was hungry so we went through a drive through. After Dave made his order as we were waiting for it to be our turn at the window there was a sudden movement in the back window of the car in front of us. It was a very pissed off looking black & white cat. I hope they ordered it some fries.

The One Day I Feel Like Being Lazy

So I was busy yesterday. Not so much with anything important just doin' stuff. I've had a headache off & on (mostly on) for a week. Don't worry it's not a brain tumor or anything (at least I don't think so) it's just allergies but yesterday I just didn't feel like attempting to be witty. Of coarse that's the day I get an unexplained surge in readers. Oh well hope they enjoyed the old stuff.

What's In a Name

Because of something written here I think the time has come to tell the story of my name change. Some of you may already know at least parts of this so feel free to skip ahead.

My first and middle names used to be Kelly Christine. I never liked it. Nothing really wrong with the name but it just didn't fit me. It didn't feel like my name.

When I was 13 (uhh 20 years ago) my English teacher assigned us a paper on our name; what it meant, how our parents picked it, were we named after any one, etc. So I went home and asked my parents. Turns out they both wanted to name me Danica Jeannette but just a few days before I was born my Mom wigged out (hormone surge) in the middle of the night saying that they couldn't name me Danica. My Dad told her not to worry about it since they were both completely sure I was going to be a boy in which case they were going to name me Kelly Patrick. Well clearly I didn't come out with boy parts so they had no name. They just adjusted Kelly and pulled Christine out of thin air and there ya go.

Side note: They thought my brother was going to be a girl so they were batting 0%.

No wonder I never liked it. It wasn't my name. It was cobbled together at the last minute. So at the age of 13 I decided to have my name legally changed. Well getting a minors name changed is a pain in the butt and at the time it wasn't completely legal until after the child turned 21 so I waited. But from then on everyone called me Dani.

When I turned 21 ummm I was poor and lazy so I didn't get around to it. Then when I was 29 Dave proposed and I decided I'd better deal with it. I didn't want to get married under the name I hadn't used in 17 years. So I filled out all the paperwork, filled it at the courthouse, had the announcement published in the paper (this is required), and went to court. Finally in June 2005 my first and middle names were legally changed to Danica Jeannette. And in August 2005 my last name changed too so I'm probably on some watch list.

So there you have it. The only other thing you might find interesting is this. When I was pregnant and we'd decided on Fiona's first name which I had picked I asked Dave to pick the middle name (don't worry I would have exerted veto power if he'd wanted to name her Pasqualina or something) and he picked Christine so the half of my name I didn't really mind lives on in my daughter.

Strange Side Effect Of Having Fiona

Every month I'm vaguely nervous until I start my period and then I'm happy when it arrives. I haven't felt this way since before we were married. Don't get me wrong I want another one but NOT for years.

Lot's O' Comments

Hi all my Internet friends (new & old). I started out writing this for my own enjoyment but it's fun to have people actually read what I write. I don't have a huge readership but it's been growing steadily and my favorite part is comments. I love when someone chimes in. And make no mistake I check out all your blogs too. So just wanted to say thanks for the support and keep on commenting 'cause it makes my day.

Who's Up For A Girls Night?

I love my baby and my husband but I crave a night out at a karaoke bar. I know its super nerdy and all but I can sing honest & I haven't been in years. So who's up for a night out? Any one in the bay area or willing to travel? Aww cumon watching me attempt to be sexy can be really really funny and let me tell ya you get some GOOD people watching.

Poor Baby Girl

Apparently she inherited not only my bad sleeping habits but also my knack for growing teeth all at once. Reports differ but apparently I had a crazy amount before my first birthday & I lost all my baby teeth in 2 years before I turned 8 (hence having braces later). I feel kinda bad she looks just like Dave but seems to be inheriting my inconvenient traits.....of coarse this probably means she'll be stacked.

I Want a Mai Tai

I took some pictures yesterday when I went on a walk at work. Just down the road from my office in Emeryville is the last thing you'd expect a Polynesian restaurant. Emeryville is not tropical. We ate here for lunch once and weren't very excited however legend has it that the bartender at Trader Vic's invented the Mai Tai. You'd expect it to have been invented in Hawaii or at least somewhere warm but nope. I can state that their Mai Tai recipe is mighty yummy & they have an awesome view. Seriously google Mai Tai and you'll find the story.


Interesting related note according to my Sister in Law (J) the Martini was invented in Martinez. Don't know if it's true but it's kinda cool if it is.

I Guess it's 'Cause I'm Scottish But

I like the bagpipes. I'm not ashamed.

Man I Was Hungry

I went over to Starbucks to get a bagel but they didn't have any so I got an egg salad sandwich and some fruit. I totally scarfed em down. You'd think I didn't eat dinner last night but no I actually cooked. The incident with the spider must have burned a lot of calories.

Not Original But Heartfelt

When I was a little girl I remember my Mom saying that she'd always remember where she was when she found out President Kennedy had been shot. I didn't understand then but I do now.

Seven years ago I got in to my car to drive to work. As I turned on the car the radio turned on and I heard the girl who normally reported the traffic saying that a plane had hit the one of the towers of the World Trade Center. Of coarse this was tragic and horrible but we didn't yet know how bad it would be. The traffic reporter and morning show host were speculating as to what could have happened. Was it an accident? Was there something wrong with the plane? Did something happen to the pilot, like a heart attack? Was the pilot just crazy? That last was close but no one wanted to say what we were all afraid of out loud.

This wasn't a news station but you wouldn't have known it that morning. As I drove to work they kept updating us on the latest information that had been released. What future generations are going to have a hard time understanding is we just didn't know what was going on. We all wanted this to be a terrible accident because the alternative was unthinkable. The second plane hit and when they reported it there was silence for a moment. Silence on the radio is bad. They can be fined if they are silent for more than a couple seconds and the on air people are well trained but this was not something they were prepared for. Suddenly we all knew this wasn't an accident. We were under attack.

They reported the third plan hitting the pentagon shortly before I pulled in to work. My office didn't have Internet access and very few people had radios at their desks so we received our news from the people arriving at our office. When I came in a few people still hadn't heard about the second plane and almost no one knew about the third, flight 93 was probably already down but that news hadn't been broadcast yet.

People were panicking. Clearly this was a coordinated attack. We didn't know what other targets would be in danger. A coworker commented that she was glad she didn't know anyone who worked for the city of San Francisco. Suddenly it occurred to me that my Dad who does work for the city could be in danger. I called my parents home and was glad to find out he hadn't gone in that day. A few people in my office lost their heads and declared that we might be killed and they wanted to go home. The calmer among us pointed out that a small company in a one story building in a town most people have never heard of was not a likely target. I can however understand their instinct to be with their families.

The rest of the day is a blur. I'm sure no work got done. All any of us wanted was news. I'm pretty sure they sent us home early although at that point I was probably in shock like the rest of the nation. I do remember going home and watching the news with Dave and his brother for hours, days really.

My Daughter isn't going to understand when I say I'll always remember where I was when I heard about 9-11. I hope she never does.

2 Things

1. (In a whisper) I still haven't showered

2. I don't know why the computer decided to take my edited swearing in the last post as a link. It's not meant to link to anything so don't bother clicking on it.

Near Death Experience

I was getting ready to get in the shower. I reached in turned on the water and saw movement out of the corner of my eye.

Big F*%#ING spider! I mean BIG! This thing is throwing down gang signs and waiving a switchblade at me tauntingly.

It's to big for me to kill. I'm not that brave. Normally if I spot a spider in the shower I just squirt it down the drain but this sucker looks like it's gonna jump off the shower door and eat my face if I reach in to grab the shower head.

So I made a strategic retreat to the living room and told Dave. He's a good husband, he went in to do battle with the beast but it was hiding by the time he got in there so he couldn't kill it for me.

Now I'm not sure what to do. I can't just give up showering. I'll probably get stinky in a day or two but I'm not going back in there until that eight legged serial killer is dead. And I don't mean horror movie question mark at the end possible sequel dead. I mean the spiders next of kin have moved on to the acceptance stage of grief dead. Good thing we have another shower.

I Want to Carry Him Around in My Pocket

more animals

Alright silliness aside. Is that not the most cuddly kitten you've ever seen?

Time Out

Okay people I think now is a good time to take a step back, take a deep breath, and relax for a minute.

We here in the good ol' U.S. of A. are going to have an election in a couple months. We've done it before and we've survived. Unfortunately this year all the action started way to early and passions are running high.

Now as a general rule I don't discuss politics or religion. Partly because it's really really boring and partly because I've got my opinion and I respect your right to have your own. However like it or not people tell me what they think so I can say that I know a lot of people on both sides of the isle.

Here's the thing. They're all good people who honestly want to do the rite thing. Just because someone wants to do things differently for the way you want to do things doesn't mean they are wrong or evil.

So take a moment now and then between now and November to remember that whatever happens we the people are doing our best. Sometimes things turn out differently than we intended but that's what makes us great we adapt, we roll with the punches, when the chips are down we all help each other. We're all in this together people and anger never helped anyone.

Blown Glass Ornaments

My cousin Ben made these. He's very talented and really an all around awesome guy. Seeing how nice they looked hanging in the doorway I think I'm going to find a window to hang them in full time. Generally I just use them as Christmas ornaments (and have one not pictured that looks like a snowman) but they are just too pretty to keep boxed up 11 months out of the year.

For The Record

I do not approve of movies where the dog dies.

I like dogs.

Milestone

First tooth broke through yesterday. Very exciting!

Throwing Down the Gauntlett

Okay someone needs to get pregnant soon so I can buy them all the cute things I find that Fiona's already to big for. I'm just sayin...

Something I Never Expected to Say to My 8 Month Old

"I'm sorry honey you can't watch the rest of the Republican National Convention. It's time for your bath."

None Of My Exes Live In Texas

As I made clear here we've been considering leaving California. Now we aren't in a position where we can move yet but I've been researching places we might move just to keep hope alive that someday we might live someware nice where the cost of living won't burry us and people don't throw rocks through our windows.

The place I've been recently concidering was McKinney TX. The median home price is in the low $200,000's. The schools are good. The crime is low. It was one of Money magazines best places to live for 2007. But I still wondered what's it really like? Would I like living there? Are there things to do we would enjoy? Faithfull Google answered my question. They have wineries. SOLD!

Having Nothing to Do With Anything

Once many years ago when I was still young and living with my parents I was standing in the kitchen when my cat who's name was Kenny started rubbing my ankles and demanding attention. I complied with his wishes by picking him up to cuddle. Unfortunately as I had him half way lifted up my brother who was in the other room turned on the vacuum cleaner. Even more unfortunately it was summer so I was only wearing a tank top and shorts. I wound up with claw marks down my right shoulder across my chest and all the way down my left leg.

I did eventually forgive both my brother and the cat neither of whom had intended to harm me but it was several days.