Undermined by underwriters... or, Dammit, we didn't close today

So today was supposed to be closing day. I say 'supposed' since, after all sorts of crap, running around, doing the walk-thru, and frantic calls to/from my loan officer, the underwriters decided that the very generous gift that Turg's mom gave us for our respective birthdays to buy furniture was suspicious. It's been (hopefully) cleared up. But that means that closing will happen tomorrow (Tuesday), instead.

Turg and I went to the attorney's office and signed as much as we could. But since the final bank papers are won't be ready till tomorrow, Turg transferred power of attorney over to me (MWAHAHAHA) for the final paperwork. If all goes well, we will be home owners just in time for when Magenta, DugDug and Mini Chewbacca show up.

I'll post on the rest of the appraisal drama later. Too much for my brain now...

Happy Birthday to the Love of My Life

Just kidding, Sweetie. Given everything that's going on, I hope that you're not expecting another surprise party.


Love you.

Imagine the possibilities

There hasn't been much to update on the Stardust River Jewelry front since I basically took my toys and went home a couple of months ago. I have totally exciting news now.

First, I got a very (and I do mean BRIEF) mention in the Nov/Dec Bethesda Magazine* because of the boutique that was selling my jewelry. Meaning, the blurb said that the boutique "also features local designers such as Stardust River Jewelry of Gaithersburg." This mention got my creative juices flowing, and I designed more pieces for sale.

It is the holiday season. And 'tis the season of shopping giving. But where can one find products from Stardust River Jewelry? Perhaps in the jewelry section** of the online store for Imagine Boutique. I am totally excited!! I'm hoping this will give me a little more exposure...

I am still in the process (life has gotten in the way a bit) in setting up my own online store at etsy.com too. Hopefully, after the new year, I'll be able to get pieces photographed and up.

Let's see what this brings...

* I saw the blurb while sitting in the waiting room of the dermatologist. Imagine my surprise at seeing "my" name. I nearly shat.
** Thanks to Turg for helping me with the photos. I'm really happy with how they came out.

I know Halloween was a month ago. But it's a month until Christmas, and the Christmas crap hasn't stopped since Halloween...

Turg and I dropped by CawfeeGuy's house to pick up may camera. So now that I have it back, here are the long awaited photos from the Halloween party (well, maybe not long awaited, and certainly anti-climactic since it's been almost a month, but hey).

Aren't we a hot pair?

How much do we love that CawfeeGuy has redeye in these pics? I think it's perfect.

Woohoo! Flamer!

At some point, Justin and I thought it would be a good idea to trade wigs... I won't post the pic of me in the mullet - it's a bit too... scary

This day is no different than any day of the year

Well, for me it sorta is, because it's my birthday. Growing up, I never really had any big birthday parties or anything like that. Actually, I only ever had one where I had friends over and stuff, when I was in 7th or 8th grade. I wasn't very popular back then (read: big nerd), so it wasn't really all that fun, nor memorable.

Mostly, my memories of my birthday growing up are mooshed in with Thanksgiving, since it's always so close. Turkey, chinese food, and Carvel ice cream cake. The idea of celebrating my birthday independent of that only came about in adulthood. But I have such wonderful friends and family who care, and remember, and are generous, more than I think I deserve, and I am forever grateful for that.

I reflect on this year, and I am excited about the possibilities. I'm engaged to a wonderful man, had some good stuff go on at work, sold some jewelry, and am (hopefully) in the final stages of buying a house. I'm happier than I can remember. Tired, but happy.

I'm hoping next year will be as great.

Seriously the happiest baby ever

I get the occassional mid-day phone call or voice mail from Jay of this little guy giggling/laughing up a storm. This is pretty much how I imagine he looks like when I hear him.

It always brightens my day.

Some post-Halloween candy anyone?

My sweet (get it, sweet? heehee... yeah, fine) Great-Niece, Lina...




Thanks for the great pics Cin!

State of affairs

Yes we can. I am so excited and relieved about the outcome of the election. I am hopeful that President-elect Obama, his cabinet, and the Congress will begin to move this country in the right direction again.

At the same time, I am disappointed about the outcomes of some ballot measures across the country. I am particularly disappointed that measures in Arizona and Florida banning gay marriage passed. The vote in California is still too close to call. I don't think I will ever understand the fear people have of two loving adults declaring legally and publicly that they want to spend the rest of their lives together.

For all the history that was made in this election, we obviously still have a long way to go.

UPDATE: Looks like the Proposition 8 in California has passed. I am saddened. However, the San Francisco City Attorney's office plans to challenge the validity of the ballot measure.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." - The Declaration of Independence

I voted so I could get the freebies

I think you all know how I voted. I've never seen so many people in line to vote before. It was really exciting. Now, we all wait.


In the mean time, to get the rest of my freebies.

Word of the day

I love learning new words. Here is today's word of the day:

orchidometer

I will let you read the definition for yourself.

Really, I don't want our President to be someone I would like to have a beer with. I want our President to be too busy, you know, governing.

I don't usually talk about politics here, simply because most everyone who would read this already know where I stand. I am a social liberal. I have great respect for intellectuals. I am, in my heart, a scientist. I believe (huge shock here, I know) in the theory of evolution. But I also believe there is a God, and that She has given us this great gift to make our own choices, you know, free will and all that. So when I hear shit like "Palin praying that God will do the right thing on election day", it makes my head hurt.

What's also been making my head hurt is all the anti-intellectualism being espoused by the Republicans during this campaign. Science is the enemy. Being really well educated makes one an "elitist." As if the work put into prusuing higher education is somehow less worthy or lazy compared to good old fashioned "hard work." Intellectualism, learning, free-thinking - they are all somehow ruining the American society. They are somehow counter to American values. You know, the values of Joe the Plumber, Joe Six-pack, Peggy the Soccer Mom, Bob the Builder and Dora the Explorer.

There is also this idea that is being thrown around that there are those of us who don't live in "Real America," are not "Real Americans." Those of us who live in big cities, like New York City or Washington, DC. Who have somehow "avoided" all the crises that this country has faced. *rolls eyes* We don't live in "Real America" because, apparently we don't have real American values. Do you live in "Real America?" Are you a "Real American?" By their standards, I am not.

I am extraordinarily disappointed with John McCain. I respected the John McCain from the 2000 election. I lost some respect for him over the last 8 years. I have no respect for him now. The choices he has made only go to show that winning is more important than standing up for what one actually believes in. Pandering to the most conservative of the Republican base. Or maybe this is actually who he is. Who knows. I know that I'll never believe anything from him ever again.

I've never understood the idea of wanting to have a "folksy" President. A President you want to sit down and have a beer with. Someone "just like me." I don't want the President to be just like me, because I know for sure that I don't have the skills to run this country. The majority of people don't. I want our President to be highly intelligent, in touch with the country and what is going on in the rest of the world. I want the Vice President to be as learned, ready to take on the role of Commander and Chief at a moment's notice. To know much more about foreign policy besides "Russia is in spitting distance from my state."

I am hopeful, and afraid, for this election.

Ah, babies

Look at this charming smile!


"A minute ago, Andrew was riding on my shoulders when he proceeded to spit up/puke on top of my head. Fun fun fun." - Jay, via email this afternoon

I love my nephew.

And because it's always fun to go to costume parties in pairs

I am going to be the Alice in Wonderland to Magenta's Queen of Hearts. This is going to be such a fun party.


I am so totally getting the long blond wig.

The Staredown...

... who will prevail?

**This pic is a couple of months old, but I just realized I never posted it. It's one of those priceless moments only a parent can catch...

Purple haze...

*I will note for the record that I only saw the aftermath. However, this story is too funny not to share.*

Yesterday, a little after noon, I received a phone call from Crazy. She sounded strange. I mean REALLY strange. Like drunk. And I was thinking to myself, "Has she been drinking? It's way too early to be drunk." So here's the story.

Crazy was at a morning long meeting off site with a couple of her workmates, listening to talks and evaluating science. During a break, she went in search of Advil because her back was hurting. One of the people with her, Mitch, said, "Hey, I have some Advil. Take 2." and hands her 2 little orange pills with an 'A' on them. About a half hour after taking them, in Crazy's own words, "The speaker has 3 heads and all the slides are in 3D... I don't think that was Advil." After doing a little searching, and evaluating, Mitch realizes that he, indeed, did not give Crazy Advil. Instead, he gave her Ambien. Two of them.

Briefly, Crazy has absolutely no alcohol or drug tolerance. None. Squeeze a grape and she's drunk. So taking 2 Ambien, and then trying to stay awake. I have to say. When I stopped by to pick up Mitch from Crazy's house, she looked pitiful. Pit-i-ful. Totally high. And sleepy. And slurring speech. It was altogether sad and hilarious at the same time.


I just stopped by Crazy's office, and not surprisingly, she said she had a great night's sleep...

Happy Birthday, Clio!

And many more fabulous years!

Out of the mouths of babes, III

Chatting with Trouble (nearly 11 years old) at the bus stop at 9:00am yesterday:

Trouble (in an exasperated tone): I just want this day to be OVER.
Dr. K: Sweetie, the day hasn't even started yet.
T (more exasperated): I KNOW! I just know it's going to be a long and BORING day.
DK: Oh, yes. The rough life of a 5th grader.
T: Totally.

Even More of Sarah and John's Fabulous Wedding

The Bride spots us and takes a moment to congratulate Turg on our engagement. Uh, wedding day! It's about you, Sassy!

Fist pump, yeah!

I could have danced, danced, daaaaanced.... Aaallll niiiiight!

Quite the beachy weekend (aka Ring-a-ding-ding)

King Neptune. No really.

Turg and I took a lovely (and far too short) mini-vacay to Virgina Beach over the weekend. It was a weekend planned, very clearly, to NOT include laptops, Crackberries, or any other technology other than our cell phones, music and reading material (i.e., books and mindless magazines). The plans for the weekend included no plans, no scheduling save for dinner reservations at a beautiful restaurant on the oceanfront. (quick backstory on this restaurant - the only other time we'd ever been there was after I ran the 1/2 marathon, and I fell asleep at the dinner table, so we knew returning to this restaurant was a must)

We spent all of Saturday walking on the beach. And walking and walking some more. It was great. After walking for what seemed like hours, we headed back to the hotel room to relax, and get ready for dinner. I love Salacia. The outdoor veranda seating is beautiful, on the ocean, gas-light lit, benches with pillows (actual pillows, not just throw pillows), and if you get cold (like I did), they bring you a really soft blanket.

After a dinner with champagne (seriously, Turg suggested champagne because he's "on new acid medication, and red wine would be too much" Sheez), wonderful steak and lamb (yes, I ordered lamb again, and this time I didn't fall asleep), we were just sitting chit chatting when:

Turg (in a tone one would use to say "pass the salt"): Will you marry me?
Me (not having really heard him): What? Say that again?
T (more seriously): Will you marry me?
Me (because I'm a bitch): Not without a ring.
T (raises eyebrow): Why?
Me (getting nerdy): It's like in Babylon5*, when Sheridan asks Dele'en to marry him, he said, "On Earth, we have a tradition where we give a ring, as kind of a down payment for another ring. The kind that you get when you get married."
T: *raises eyebrow*
Me: That's what you get for making me watch Babylon5
T: No, I'm just amazed you remember the quote better than I am right now. But, okay... *produces ring*

This was the point where I got all giggly and girly (he thought I was going to cry). Of course I said yes. So after about a bazillion years together**, we are getting married!!

The Ring (this was the day after the proposal)

Turg was taking a little risk about asking me at the beginning of the weekend because, while there was much assurance that I was going to say 'yes,' you know, there's always a chance of not. Then the rest of the weekend would have really been awkward. But it wasn't. The rest of the weekend was as perfect as the proposal.

* Turg was actually the one who got me into watching Babylon5. Bet he's sooo glad he did that now.
** Before anybody starts in on "it's about time he asked you," let me make clear that I was the holdout, not him. So if you're going to get on anyone's case, that would be me.

"No man is complete until he's married. Then, he is finished." - Foxtrot Yankee (very good friend of Turg's)

"Congratulations, and may all of your ups and downs be between the sheets." - random guy who overheard us talking over breakfast

Oh Baby!

A weekend with babies!

No, seriously Ang. Show me some love. Drop some apples down here... he won't mind... he's not even looking at you...

Super Dads! I think I can see a bit of a resemblance between the Little Man and Jay, no?

JP, Cin, and the Peanut

Aunt and Great-Aunt... at the SAME TIME!

Parallel parking - baby style

The Peanut and Mommy... and The Little Man's feet too

Apparently, the Little Man is already learning to smile at the ladies

Mmmm, tasty fingers... must be leftover apples...

It is so wonderful watching my family grow. I count myself lucky to have such a wonderful and loving family.

Pig races. PIG. RACES. Seriously.

I had so much fun this weekend. It's sometimes amazing how simple it can actually be. Beautiful weather. A fun activity. Good company. HB, aka Thor's first girlfriend, came down for a visit prior to embarking on the journey called "college." And, in honor of her visit, we went to the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair. Having never been to a county fair before, I had no idea what to expect. Mind you, having grown up in NYC, I spent the summers going to fairs - but these were street fairs, where the only live animals I saw were the goldfish to be won or horses with police men atop.

The three of us, me, Turg and HB, wandered, ate all sorts of bad food (oh, but it was oh, so, good), visited farm animals, rode carnival rides and brought farm fresh fruits and veggies. By far, though, the highlights of the day were the bumper cars and the pig races. That's right. I. Said. Pig races. But I'll get back to that.

We were riding the ferris wheel. Really a gondola wheel, they don't actually have ferris wheels anymore, do they, what with all the people falling off of them... - sorry, got distracted there. Anyway, we were on the big round rotating thing when we looked down and saw a tent with bumper cars. I had not done bumper cars since I was really little, and all three of us pretty much lit up at the thought. And it was fun. Some observations about bumper cars: 1) It is much more fun when the group is mostly adults. The reason is because adults seem to be able to control the cars better, and there are fewer pile ups (which I got caught in with a bunch of kids). 2) Five minutes is not NEARLY long enough. At the end of the second session we did, I literally thought I could do that all day. 3) Turg's maniacal face that he makes when readying himself to ram someone scares little children.

Back to the pig races. During the pig races, they not only raced regular farm pigs, but also billy goats, ducks and Vietnamese pot bellied piglets. Our favorite races of the day were definitely the goats and the pot bellied piglets. For the goats, because the goats are like children with ADD. While racing around, about a 1/4 way around the track, one of the goats sees a teddy bear sitting on the ground, stops running and is all like: Oh, look at the teddy bear. Isn't it cute... *looks around* Where'd everyone go? Oh, I'm supposed to be running. Wait for me... Oh, look at the kid.

The pot bellied piglets were just soooo terribly cute, what with the really short legs and bellies dragging on the ground, they really kick up crap while they're running. But the best part was after the race ended, one of the piggies came back out and was all: HI! Hi there! Look at me! I'm totally cute! a la Mini Chewbaca. The handler literally had to pick him up to stop his showboating.

The day ended with a trip to the crabhouse for dinner, then Cold Stone Creamery for dessert. I could not have asked for a more perfect day.

And so it goes... all glitter and sparkles

Of course, immediately after I decide that I needed to reclaim my stock of jewelry from the boutique, a piece is sold. I wish I could show you which piece, but it's one I have not yet photographed... AND, some earrings were sold a couple of months ago that she forgot about. So not only did I pick up jewelry, but I got a fair check too.

There is a little of the "taking my toys and going home" (as Magenta says) going on. But I need to take a step back and reconsider some things... like price point, design sensibility, etc etc... I'll likely sell some of the earlier pieces on etsy - once I get my profile set up, that is. Damn, so much to do.

I'm not done with this yet by a long shot.

Out of the mouths of babes, 2

I love all of the kids in my life. They're all so much fun and intelligent and, of course, say the darnedest things... Friday night, hanging at Crazy and SweetPea's house after dinner. SweetPea's Son (D - 16 yo) and Daughter (K - 14 yo), and Trouble playing Guitar Hero on Wii. Before I leave, D decides he needs to show off for me, to very little success. K and Trouble, in the mean time get bored and get out the laptop. K begins to dance to a video she's watching. The following conversation ensues:

D (stops in the middle of a GH riff): K, why are you dancing so provocatively?
K (giggling): If you saw what I was watching... this is sooo funny.
D (in the most serious tone I've ever heard from him - the kid is rarely serious): I really don't think that's appropriate.

It was at this point that I start hysterically laughing. Neither D nor K, nor even Trouble know what the heck is so funny. And I, of course, refuse to tell them.


On a completely different note, but because it's funny too - categorize this under "Adults say the darnedest things." At dim sum with friends - 4LL is swatting away the hand of her son (M), reaching for the sugar to put in his tea...

4LL: Why do you want the sugar?
M: I want to put it in my tea.
4LL: We DON'T put sugar in our tea.
M (in whiny kid voice): Whhhyyyyyy?
4LL (very sternly): Because we're CHINESE!

It just never stops, does it?

The Inner Light

Okay, it's time to put my nerd hat on. Why? Because last night Turg and I remembered just how much of a nerd I/we am/are. See, SciFi channel has been showing Star Trek: TNG . Sometimes we catch it, sometimes we don't. (Mind you, we have all 7 seasons on DVD, so we could just watch whenever we want.) Last night, we sat down for dinner and TV and turned on ST:TNG.

Usually, within seeing the first few seconds of any episode, either Turg or I* or both can identify what episode it is, and whether or not we're going to like it (see, nerds, geeks, whatever you want to call us). Well, the second episode of the four being shown last night started with a scene of an "unidentified probe" on th bridge viewscreen. On sight of this, I start tearing up. Why? Because it means that it's one of my favorite (if not my all time favorite) episode of TNG: The Inner Light.

This episode makes me cry everytime I see it. Every. Single. Time. In the same places. Crying. So predictably that I got a box of tissues out to be ready for it. Even Turg knows at what points in the episode I cry, that he kept looking at me to see if I was (in turn, I kept yelling at him to stop staring at me). Big ball of crying, snotty, nerdy mess. Crying at ST:TNG.


*Incidentally, just an example of total geekdom - on one of our early and most memorable dates, Turg and I sat in Pizzaria Uno for hours playing ST:TNG trivia. Yes, this is geek dating at its best.

Twitter hates me.

Tweet... hello?

Not sure what happened to my Twitter thingie. But this morning when I looked, I wasn't following anyone and no one was following me... I feel so alone.

The interwebs hate me.

No, Seriously CawfeeGuy?

Is this really necessary?

Out of the mouths of babes...

Crazy's daughter (Trouble) cracks me up. All the time. Because Trouble's 10, but I always forget that she's 10 since, most of the time, she speaks like she's 40. So, when Turg got this unsigned message from an unfamiliar email address the other day, it's not surprising that he couldn't figure out who it was from:

"hey i have been extremely busy trying to fit everyone into my tight and already very busy schedule. talk to you later. bye-bye"

I mean, seriously - "my tight and already busy schedule"?? This girl's planning world domination. Just wait for it.

Ruminations...

Sometimes I just feel like a hack. It's a very strange thing. For all of my accomplishments, and even with all the people in my life, work or otherwise, telling me how proud they are, how highly they think of me, or whatever, I often feel like I don't deserve it or that somehow I've got everyone fooled. I mean, people come to me for my "expert" opinion about crap. That's what I'm paid to do. To give an expert analysis. Whatever.

What brought this on this time? I interviewed for another temporary promotion the other day, and was told yesterday that I had been selected for the second half of the term. I was very surprised and excited, particularly since this position is in my current division. This morning, I had a short chat with my director and she said she thought very highly of me, and even though I'm not ready yet for a permanent position(something I very clearly agree with, and said so in my interview), I will be soon, and that there will be more opportunities soon... "If you know what I mean."

Oh, god.

I'm surrounded by so many incredibly intelligent and talented people. And I'm not one who compares oneself to others, but it is intimidating sometimes. For all of my confidence and bravura, I still sometimes think that I'll be discovered for a poser - that somehow that's who I really am. Eeeeeeehhhhhh.... *breathe*

I'll be better tomorrow.... I hope.

Hey! It's Andrew!

Hey! Look at me! I'm sitting in my new highchair! I'm starting to eat solid foods now.
Let's try this stuff out...

Ma... Um, this seems really messy. Ummm, mmm.... It's not going down. I'm pretty sure that there's more on my bib than in me. Can I have a bottle now?*

*Dramatization, since, you know, Andrew's only 4.5 months old and can't talk.

Please don't put my head in there again...

Finally a picture from Andrew's baptism last weekend. I just love the horrified look on his face that just says: DON'T PUT ME IN THERE! That and the fact that his foot is in the baptismal font.

Everything about the day was beautiful (well, except for the torrential rains that started just before we left for brunch). How could it not be?

No longer in charge

Well, the two months of my temporary promotion are over and I am back in my office, trying to do my own work again and I'm feeling really disoriented. I mean, I can't even remember where shit is in my own desk. I'm trying to figure out what work I have to catch up on, what came in while I was gone that now I'm in the middle of, and where the hell my F-ing paperclips are.

I'm all sorts of grumpy today. After being gone for the last 2 months, I am truly afraid that I'm going to be really bored doing my own job. I was already starting to need more before I left (which is one of the reasons why I left), and now that I've seen all of the stuff that's out there, I look at my own work and think, "Huh, well... that's quaint."

There's some reorganization that's going to happen soon, which will most definitely shake things up. But as it stands, it doesn't look like I will be very affected by the reorganization, so I'm somewhat disappointed. *sigh*

Things I have learned over the past couple of months:

1. I like being an engineer more than a chemist
2. Lasers are really cool
3. Working on cosmetic devices makes me feel cheap somehow
4. I really like my work at home days
5. I like having a window office
6. The air is thinner on the third floor
7. Maybe stability isn't all it's cracked up to be

We'll see how things go. Maybe I need to take some reviewer details to see what else is out there. But I'm quickly learning that I'm not likely to get very far where I am, since there are so many other people who have been here so much longer than I have, and they are already the "go-to" people. It would take a lot for me to get to that point around here. There are more decisions ahead of me... much sooner than I had originally thought.

All A-twitter

I just don't know if I'm ready to commit to another online community... but at the same time, I don't want to be left out...

*pout*

Oh, what to do...

I seriously tried on about 100 pairs of shorts this weekend

I have this issue with shorts. I haven't owned a pair of shorts that wasn't the athletic kind (a la, I look like a soccer mom - thanks Magenta) for many years. I've been doing the crop pant, capri or skirt thing in lieu of shorts for quite a few years. But, it's been about 1000 degrees these past few days, and everything I have has been far too warm, so I felt it was time to deal with the situation.

I made it my mission this weekend to find at least 1 pair of shorts that I liked, which looked somewhat good, and didn't make me feel like I had a huge ass or mile wide hips or thunder thighs. Let me tell you, this was really tough. I'm hyper critical of my legs, for various reasons, not the least of which was my Mom telling me when I was, oh about 13 years old, that my thighs were really big - bigger than hers, in fact (my Mom was also 5' 2" and less than 100 pounds before she had kids). Just the kind of thing to say to a girl at the beginning of puberty who has self esteem issues, right?

Anyways, I went to a whole bunch of stores, and tried on something like 100 pairs of shorts. At a certain point I was going to give up, because trying on 100 pairs of shorts, of various different styles, colors and lengths, most of which DID make me feel like my ass or my hips or my thighs were huge is very, VERY bad for my self-image. But after much pain and many, many hours searching and trying, I actually found 3 pairs I liked. And even though Magenta warned me a couple of months ago that they would be a huge step (considering I don't own shorts), one of the pairs are knee length "walking" or "dress" shorts. Heck, the pair fit so well and were soooo comfortable, and I actually liked the way they looked, I figured I'd give it a try.

I'm going to wear the "dress shorts" to work tomorrow - mainly because they turn the AC off in the building over the weekend, and it's going to be a sauna there tomorrow, but also because I want to see how they go over. This may be the beginning of a new stage of fashion for me. Or, perhaps, I'll just be comfortable this summer.

More evidence of getting old

Everyone hits a certain age where they feel like things start to go, literally and figuratively, south. And recently, there have been many things which make one feel "Older than the Crypt Keeper." You know, small poochies and wrinkles where there were none before. I offer into evidence (and these are not flattering pictures at all, but they are candid) my discovery that I am beginning to get old-lady knees:


















Blegh.

Babies!!

Look at them grow!

Andrew at 3 months:


Carolina Grace at 3 weeks: