My beautiful daughter is amazing. She does everything that a little baby is supposed to do but somehow it’s just…better? Her singsong talking is cuter, her sleepy gaze is more adoring and her drool is less disgusting than other babies. I know all mothers say this but I am going to say it too. She is perfect.
Well, here is the newest development: teeth! Bronwen has grown her first two teeth. They are coming in on the bottom, right in the front. Just like little puppy teeth, they are sharp and new. I can’t wait to see which ones come in next. No more gummy grins for me!
I wonder what she will look like with teeth. Will she have an over bite? Will they come in straight? Am I supposed to brush then when she is little? When do I first take her to the dentist? What if she bites me? Yikes, this is a whole new world.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Friday, January 26, 2007
I hate wobbly tables!
As someone who loves and appreciates pure mathematics, it is all together satisfying and refreshing when I can point to a proof that has life changing implications and say, “See, math really does help you in real-life!” In fact, I can think of a time, just the other day when having had this mathematical proof, I might have had a more relaxing lunch.
Have you ever sat down at a restaurant and noticed that the table wobbles gently from side to side. Maybe your beer slides recklessly away from you every time your dining partner leans his elbows on the table. Well, suffer no more; mathematics has come to your rescue.
This problem has been intuitively solved by beer drinkers and mathematicians for years. First, you can just stuff a few beer coasters under one leg and hopefully get the wobble down to a minimum. You can also just turn the table around until it stops wobbling. This second option has been mathematically proven as the perfect option. Burkard Polster of Monash University in Australia (it would be an Aussie!) proved that any rectangular table with four legs of equal length has to sit flat, meaning with all four feet touching, on the floor at some point (as long as there are no places where the floor slopes more than 35 degrees; and who wants a floor that slopes like that anyway?) So, to solve your wobbly problems, all you have to do is turn the table around the center of the table until you find the sweet spot. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean that that the table top is going to be flat! But at least it isn’t moving anymore. Personally, I am really looking forward to trying this out. Intuitively it makes sense, and it could be a pretty good party trick, if you are hanging around with a bunch of dorks like me.
Have you ever sat down at a restaurant and noticed that the table wobbles gently from side to side. Maybe your beer slides recklessly away from you every time your dining partner leans his elbows on the table. Well, suffer no more; mathematics has come to your rescue.
This problem has been intuitively solved by beer drinkers and mathematicians for years. First, you can just stuff a few beer coasters under one leg and hopefully get the wobble down to a minimum. You can also just turn the table around until it stops wobbling. This second option has been mathematically proven as the perfect option. Burkard Polster of Monash University in Australia (it would be an Aussie!) proved that any rectangular table with four legs of equal length has to sit flat, meaning with all four feet touching, on the floor at some point (as long as there are no places where the floor slopes more than 35 degrees; and who wants a floor that slopes like that anyway?) So, to solve your wobbly problems, all you have to do is turn the table around the center of the table until you find the sweet spot. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean that that the table top is going to be flat! But at least it isn’t moving anymore. Personally, I am really looking forward to trying this out. Intuitively it makes sense, and it could be a pretty good party trick, if you are hanging around with a bunch of dorks like me.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Dream Log #1
For some reason my sister has decided to take me to a healer. I was unaware that I was sick, but she seems convinced that something is terribly wrong with me. Truthfully, I am only going along with it to get her off my back.
We enter into a dusty shop. Moldy kimonos hang from the walls and shelves full of unmarked cardboard boxes fill the room. A grimy glass counter is full of strange looking roots, minerals, and tiny bottles of green, purple, amber and brown liquids. There is an ancient Chinese woman hunched behind the equally old cash register sitting on the corner of the counter. My sister tells her that I have come to be healed. The woman stares at me for a while then picks up a large purple rock. It looks like amethyst. She squeezes the rock in her hand and it breaks into smaller pieces. She gestures for me to put a few small rock pieces in my mouth. I can’t believe I am actually doing this. I take two quarter sized rocks and pop them in my mouth and stand there sulking. The rocks are cold, sharp and have no taste at all. I expected them to taste salty for some reason.
Time passes, as it does in dreams, without you even noticing. I realize that we have moved into another room and it is full of people. I can’t really see their faces, but I am sure that I know them. My sister tells me that everyone is there to help the purple rocks suck the sickness out of me. My clothes have been changed. I am wearing a silk robe and I am naked beneath. I suddenly feel very tired and I catch a glimpse of myself in a dirty mirror on the wall. My eyes are sunken rimmed with dark circles. I don’t recognize myself.
Again, time passes and I realize that I have passed out and the ritual is over. The rocks are no longer in my mouth and the people have started to file out of the room. I am really weak, but different. Confused but my head feel clear. I start to get dressed and I wake up.
We enter into a dusty shop. Moldy kimonos hang from the walls and shelves full of unmarked cardboard boxes fill the room. A grimy glass counter is full of strange looking roots, minerals, and tiny bottles of green, purple, amber and brown liquids. There is an ancient Chinese woman hunched behind the equally old cash register sitting on the corner of the counter. My sister tells her that I have come to be healed. The woman stares at me for a while then picks up a large purple rock. It looks like amethyst. She squeezes the rock in her hand and it breaks into smaller pieces. She gestures for me to put a few small rock pieces in my mouth. I can’t believe I am actually doing this. I take two quarter sized rocks and pop them in my mouth and stand there sulking. The rocks are cold, sharp and have no taste at all. I expected them to taste salty for some reason.
Time passes, as it does in dreams, without you even noticing. I realize that we have moved into another room and it is full of people. I can’t really see their faces, but I am sure that I know them. My sister tells me that everyone is there to help the purple rocks suck the sickness out of me. My clothes have been changed. I am wearing a silk robe and I am naked beneath. I suddenly feel very tired and I catch a glimpse of myself in a dirty mirror on the wall. My eyes are sunken rimmed with dark circles. I don’t recognize myself.
Again, time passes and I realize that I have passed out and the ritual is over. The rocks are no longer in my mouth and the people have started to file out of the room. I am really weak, but different. Confused but my head feel clear. I start to get dressed and I wake up.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Bronwen Rolls Over
I didn't realize how much my life focus had changed since Bronwen arrived until this very moment when I went back to look at this silly blog after having not even thought about it since Jan5. The whole thing is about her. Well, I guess that makes sense, as mommyhood has changed everything.
Anyway, Bronwen rolled over for the first time while Dan and I were in NJ visiting the Grandparents and uncles Nate and Chad. We put her down in her crib and she just rolled over. Like it was nothing. Dan and I cheered and went to sleep.
I had to fly out to Cleveland the day after we got home from NJ and that is when I received the email from Dan with the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3L06mfLYj3k
Bronwen, the wonder baby, rolling over on You Tube. It shouldn't even be that big of a deal. We all rolled over at some point, right? It is just that I remember when she was inside of me, when I first felt her move, and when she was born and it was an effort for her to even open her eyes. And now, a short 6 months later she is rolling over and grabbing things and putting them in her mouth and chatting away and smiling and eating food. The whole thing is amazing. She is amazing and I can't wait to see what she will do next.
The Hazards of Rolling Over
Last night I heard Bronwen start screaming from her room. It wasn't the "I'm waking up and I'm hungry" cry, and it wasn't the "My diaper weighs more than I do please change it" cry, it was a new one I hadn't heard before and it scared the hell out of me. What my mommy ears heard was the "Something is hurting me, help!" cry.
I am not sure how many steps I normally take to get from our bed to her crib, maybe ten steps, it is not far, just across the hall. But last night I know I only took two steps, one foot hit the floor, the other foot was in front of the crib. (You've got to love those mommy super powers!) Fortunately, Bronwen was not hurt, just a little freaked out as in the course of her rolling over her leg had gotten caught between the bars on her crib. I gently disengaged her leg and wrapped her back up and she instantly fell back asleep. Unfortunately, my adrenaline was pumping so I had to wander around the house cleaning until I felt sleepy again. What is it going to be like when she starts to crawl, walk or run? I wonder what new mommy super powers I will discover then?
Anyway, Bronwen rolled over for the first time while Dan and I were in NJ visiting the Grandparents and uncles Nate and Chad. We put her down in her crib and she just rolled over. Like it was nothing. Dan and I cheered and went to sleep.
I had to fly out to Cleveland the day after we got home from NJ and that is when I received the email from Dan with the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3L06mfLYj3k
Bronwen, the wonder baby, rolling over on You Tube. It shouldn't even be that big of a deal. We all rolled over at some point, right? It is just that I remember when she was inside of me, when I first felt her move, and when she was born and it was an effort for her to even open her eyes. And now, a short 6 months later she is rolling over and grabbing things and putting them in her mouth and chatting away and smiling and eating food. The whole thing is amazing. She is amazing and I can't wait to see what she will do next.
The Hazards of Rolling Over
Last night I heard Bronwen start screaming from her room. It wasn't the "I'm waking up and I'm hungry" cry, and it wasn't the "My diaper weighs more than I do please change it" cry, it was a new one I hadn't heard before and it scared the hell out of me. What my mommy ears heard was the "Something is hurting me, help!" cry.
I am not sure how many steps I normally take to get from our bed to her crib, maybe ten steps, it is not far, just across the hall. But last night I know I only took two steps, one foot hit the floor, the other foot was in front of the crib. (You've got to love those mommy super powers!) Fortunately, Bronwen was not hurt, just a little freaked out as in the course of her rolling over her leg had gotten caught between the bars on her crib. I gently disengaged her leg and wrapped her back up and she instantly fell back asleep. Unfortunately, my adrenaline was pumping so I had to wander around the house cleaning until I felt sleepy again. What is it going to be like when she starts to crawl, walk or run? I wonder what new mommy super powers I will discover then?
Friday, January 5, 2007
Ladies - Mr Jeff Buckner took this picture!
Another New Years celebration at Cafe Europa. It is hard to believe that this is the 6th year running and everyone is looking more and more fabulous every year.
I was talking to Cavin and Sunshine about how wonderful it is that we have all been part of this celebration every year and that is when they mentioned that next year they will not be there. They will be celebrating at noon our time far far away in Vietnam. So here it the plan. We set up a live webcam from the bar ( I think that would be hilarious any year) and we dance around, take oyster shots and makes champagne toasts over the internet to Vietnam. That's if we are all still here in Greensboro.
I was talking to Cavin and Sunshine about how wonderful it is that we have all been part of this celebration every year and that is when they mentioned that next year they will not be there. They will be celebrating at noon our time far far away in Vietnam. So here it the plan. We set up a live webcam from the bar ( I think that would be hilarious any year) and we dance around, take oyster shots and makes champagne toasts over the internet to Vietnam. That's if we are all still here in Greensboro.
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Buffy Rocks!
I know I am a couple of years behind the times, but I am experiencing Buffy for the first time and it is great! This is exactly how I have felt with FireFly and Lost. I can’t wait to get home, make a snack and watch the next disk. I was fortunate enough to have amazing friends who bought us seasons 4, 5 and 6, just one day after we had finished watching season 3. Thanks Phil and Chris! The worst part about this is that eventually you come to a realization that this is going to end. Buffy can’t keep slaying vampires and slaying us with her puns forever. And what am I going to do when I’ve watched it all? I can never again experience it for the first time.
That is how I felt when I finished the His Dark Materials trilogy. (Check out the Golden Compass movie site. You can try to read your own Alethiometer). I cried at the end, because I was moved, but I also cried to mourn the end of the reading. I will never be able to experience these books again the way I did the first time. Maybe that is why I don’t reread books very often; which is sad because the second reading can be great in itself.
But Buffy isn't over yet. We have 3.5 seasons left to go. I am looking forward to lots more great hand to stake combat, backless shirts, Xander witticism, and ridiculous and gross demons. Total slayage!
That is how I felt when I finished the His Dark Materials trilogy. (Check out the Golden Compass movie site. You can try to read your own Alethiometer). I cried at the end, because I was moved, but I also cried to mourn the end of the reading. I will never be able to experience these books again the way I did the first time. Maybe that is why I don’t reread books very often; which is sad because the second reading can be great in itself.
But Buffy isn't over yet. We have 3.5 seasons left to go. I am looking forward to lots more great hand to stake combat, backless shirts, Xander witticism, and ridiculous and gross demons. Total slayage!
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Happy New Year
It never ceases to amaze me how predictable people can be. Not predictable in the day to day necessarily (although I can tell you exactly where Dan will be every other Monday around 6pm), but predictable in a sort of lunar way. People ebb and flow in their behavior and if you pay attention, a pattern will always emerge.
I was driving my usual route this afternoon to pick up Bronwen, through the business park, past the women’s hospital and past the huge fitness center, when I was temporarily confused to see a parking lot so full it looked like some sort of Kiss revival concert at the coliseum; people in spandex everywhere. I asked myself, is this the right way to the daycare? Maybe I took a turn too early. Then I realized it was the parking lot for the giant fitness center. Now, I laugh to myself every morning and evening when I pass by this place. There are usually a few extremely fit young women and men (probably instructors) and a couple of slightly overweight people making their way into the gym. The parking lot usually has so few cars, if it weren’t for the people shuffling into the front door, the place might as well be closed. But this afternoon, the parking lot, so full that the cars were spilling out onto the grass, sidewalk, curb and finally into the street, had met its match. For a second I was completely befuddled. Why would so many people be here? Had there been some sort of celebrity sighted? Was someone giving away free turkey dinners? Could it be that someone had finally figured out a way to work off that Christmas flab in one day? Then, in a flash, the answer appeared as if in a vision; JANUARY 2nd. Ah ha! New Years resolutions are such a pain in the ass.
I was driving my usual route this afternoon to pick up Bronwen, through the business park, past the women’s hospital and past the huge fitness center, when I was temporarily confused to see a parking lot so full it looked like some sort of Kiss revival concert at the coliseum; people in spandex everywhere. I asked myself, is this the right way to the daycare? Maybe I took a turn too early. Then I realized it was the parking lot for the giant fitness center. Now, I laugh to myself every morning and evening when I pass by this place. There are usually a few extremely fit young women and men (probably instructors) and a couple of slightly overweight people making their way into the gym. The parking lot usually has so few cars, if it weren’t for the people shuffling into the front door, the place might as well be closed. But this afternoon, the parking lot, so full that the cars were spilling out onto the grass, sidewalk, curb and finally into the street, had met its match. For a second I was completely befuddled. Why would so many people be here? Had there been some sort of celebrity sighted? Was someone giving away free turkey dinners? Could it be that someone had finally figured out a way to work off that Christmas flab in one day? Then, in a flash, the answer appeared as if in a vision; JANUARY 2nd. Ah ha! New Years resolutions are such a pain in the ass.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
