he said. she said. a married couple's blog.

Monday, February 27

oh yeah

I know that I haven't really talked much at all about the pregnancy. This should bring you up to date.

We are having a girl. (Here she is.)

Yes we have some names picked out. No, I'm not telling you what they are.

My belly is mine. Please don't touch it.

The nursery is in-progress. Painting is almost complete. Some advice, if you have built-in shelves, plan on spending two days priming and painting them.

Child preparation classes in northern Virginia are likely to be non-refundable. Remember this when you are calling to sign up for one. If you should happen to accidentally call the wrong place expect them to give you a hard time when you try and get it back. Don't give up though, especially if they don't actually tell you it's non-refundable until you realize you made a mistake. (I got all but $30 back, btw).

I miss sleep. The kickboxer wakes up at about 3am every morning.

More Gallery

The gallery is now back completely. After an update gone awry, I've finally got it back to where it needs to be.

Monday, February 20

speechless

This article left me a little speechless. It upsets me that people actually think along these lines:

You will never need to know algebra. I have never once used it and never once even rued that I could not use it. You will never need to know -- never mind want to know -- how many boys it will take to mow a lawn if one of them quits halfway and two more show up later -- or something like that. Most of math can now be done by a computer or a calculator. On the other hand, no computer can write a column or even a thank-you note -- or reason even a little bit.

Not just because I am a mathematician at heart, but because I really do believe that it is important. And useful. The author of the article goes on to say:

Almost 20 years ago, I wrote a similar column about algebra. Math teachers struck back with a vengeance. They made so many claims for algebra's intrinsic worth that I felt, as I once had in class, like a dummy. Once again, I just didn't get it.

I have to believe that the same will happen again.

[UPDATE] I think the thing that bothers me the most is the notion that there are math people and there are english people and that there is no middle ground. It bothers me that this man has convinced himself that he doesn't understand algebra (or percentages), that he never will and that he doesn't and never will need it. Furthermore, he is encouraging others to believe the same things about themselves. He seems to believe that there is something in them that prevents them from understanding almost half of the world.

marginal

We came home on Saturday night after spending a day and a half visiting with my parents and my brother and his family who are in town from the west coast to a message from a spa near us. They were calling to confirm an appointment for me at noon on Saturday. Now, Brendan's mom gave us a gift certificate to this particular salon for Christmas and I've been saving my half for a prenatal massage. Just recently I've started thinking about scheduling it, but I haven't actually called. Of course they were closed by the time we got the message, but I called anyway to try and find out what was going on. After my mother-in-law confirmed she hadn't made an appointment on my behalf I really started to wonder if I had actually called and just didn't remember. I don't have the best memory on any given day, but completely forgetting about making an appointment like this would have just sent me over the edge. It is entirely a different thing to walk into a room and forget why you are there or what it was I needed to tell Brendan. It would have been an all new type of forgetful for me. A scary one. Thankfully, it wasn't the case -- the salon had simply made some kind of mistake (although they weren't sure exactly what it was either) and they apologized for the confusion. So I haven't totally lost my mind.

Sunday, February 12

digging out

We didn't get quite as much snow as some other places a little farther north; we got maybe six inches. Digging out here isn't so bad, there's just a little driveway and sidewalk to take care of. Sometime soon, we'll only have one car to clean off. The garage still has to be organized.

The last time I shoveled a car out was probably college. Chris and I were in our apartment and I was still driving the van, so it must have been junior year. There was a bunch of snow -- 8 or 10 inches maybe. Of course, we didn't have a shovel and for some reason I had to get my car out. The guys that lived next door had dug their cars out, so I went over there to ask if they had a shovel. The guy says no, but let me get you what I used. And he brought me back a hubcap. Yeah, no, that wasn't going to work. He was a nice guy though and since he was going to do laundry, he bought us a shovel. (I think it's the one that we currently have. I think. I could be wrong.)

The other thing I loved the most about that year was how creative people were about protecting their parking spots. If they had parked on the street and spent the time shoveling out their space, before they left, they'd put something in its place to hold it until they got back. Farther down the street where there were rowhouses, the rules were clearer but still people would put lawn chairs in their spot. Near our apartment people put out ironing boards and art easels.

Now, Brendan is totally jealous of the guy across the street -- he has a snowblower. Of course, this is only the second time this year he's had to shovel anything. Hopefully there won't be too many more.

Thursday, February 9

turnover

The hillbillies have put their house up for sale.

We had an idea that this might happen, one day Brendan saw some moving boxes and heard someone ask Papa Bear "Have you put this on the market yet?" They seem to be asking a lot for it. Granted, it is a corner lot with 5 bedrooms and 3 and a half baths (one more bed and bath than we have). Plus they have an in-ground pool. However, things have been sitting on the market in the neighborhood for quite a while now. Prices have been reduced and still no sales. I'm skeptical. They haven't done much to the outside, either. The front porch is a total disaster. Part of me wants to see the rest of the house, who knows, it could be nice.

I do hope that they sell it though. It would be nice not to have to worry about little Bobby Hillbilly playing on our front yard and porch come spring.

Sunday, February 5

Here we go Steelers...

Here we go!

Not a pretty game, but a Super Bowl win. The first time since I was 18 months old, and now I can appreciate the win.

Enough for now.