The Great Flydidni

Santa Barbara on fire

Huge forest fire rages in Santa Barbara and Montecito.

100 houses burned so far and 5,400 people evacuated.  We know a couple of people who have lost their homes.  As far as we know, none of our friends have lost their homes yet.

Edit:
As it turns out at least one friend's house burnt down, Jeremy Lindaman lost his entire house. This photo was on the cover of the New York Times.

And then there were 3

Today is a very sad day at the Segal-Taylor household. Today we lost Kitty. He was 16 years old. He was born in either Massachusetts or Rhode Island, I can't remember. Either way, he ended up living in both states. I got him in November 1996 in Boston. We moved to California in 1999 where we were joined by Sweetie. The two of them were my companions through the divorce. Jim & I doped up the cats for a week and drove them, with our moms, to Ohio two years ago. Maddy came along last August and then we got Batman in June to perk up Kitty. We thought that a kitten would give him something to keep him busy, which it did.

He had the same looks and personality as Garfield - fat orange tabby, surly, pushy, and lovable. Just this morning he was trying to claim my breakfast as his own.

He had lost more two-thirds of his body weight, so the kindest thing we could do for him was to put him down. The vet said that there's no way that he's not in pain. It's just like an adult human weighing 60 pounds.

This picture was taken in March. Sweetie is on the left and Kitty is on the right. They are enjoying their second favorite activity, after food, which is laying on the heat register.

I miss you already, Kitty.

Daycare

We registered for daycare this week at a place called Little Dreamers, Big Believers.  We toured 3 diferent places and knew as soon as we walked in that this was the place for us.

They are very small and have 3 infants per teacher.  They teach baby yoga, baby sign language, feed organic food, and seem to really engage with the kids in a personal way that wasn't apparent at the other sites.

Being a small facility they are more flexible to tailor the care to the child than the corporate chains or larger places.   For example, we asked about cloth diapers at the first place and they said that they require disposables.  The second place said they can do it, but really, really don't want to because it's a big hassle.  This place said, half of our kids use cloth. It's easy - all we have to do is have a separate pail and the parents take them home.  Woo hoo!

Election

It's no secret that I'm an Obama supporter, so you can imagine that I'm quite happy that he was elected.  It will probably sink in after he's been in office for a year or two.

However, that's tempered by a few points:

1) He's a politician and I don't trust them as far as I can throw them.  I hope he will do as he says.  I'm a bigger fan of "primary Obama" than I am "general election Obama," so I hope he follows his original ideals instead of becoming a sell-out.

2) I don't agree with everything he believes, but think he is the best choice we have seen in a long time.  His position on equal marriage, the environment, and separation of church & state have a way to go for my taste.

Finally, I'm deeply saddened by the propositions that passed in a couple of states, namely Prop 8 in California which amends the constitution to limit the rights of adults to marry.  It's a sad day when our civil liberties are curtailed based on demographics.

Latest from SNL

McCain is a natural on SNL.  Maybe he should join the cast? :)

Carly - is this better?

Finally - pregnant pictures!

Finally, two pictures of me pregnant. I'm 5 months right now. Sorry for the camouflage, it doesn't really do it justice. I'll work on some more.

Debate spoof

This is one of the funniest SNL skit I've ever. I literaly hurt laughing. It's probably only hilarious to those of us who suffered through the last debate.

Domestic goddess

I've recent discovered a few products that nobody should have to live without. I thought I'd share the good word.

First is the Shark Steam Mop. This hand-dandy little tool steam cleans your floors. That means you don't have to buy any toxic, smelly, weird stuff. The only down side is that the terrycloths that do the cleaning get dirty pretty quickly before they need to be thrown in the laundry. Maybe if I mopped more frequently this wouldn't be an issue... Buy it at Bed, Bath, & Beyond.

Next is Melaleuca’s Healthy Dish Washing Detergent. You have to special order this stuff from an Amway type person (or maybe online?). We've seriously been using the same regular sized bottle since early May. That includes using it to wash hands. It's non-toxic, biodegradable, etc.

Finally, also from BBB is Cuisinart Green Gourmet nonstick pan. This nonstick pan is made from enamel, not from Teflon. So it's actually non-toxic. If you didn't know, Teflon and other nonstick surfaces are carcinogenic. Birds literally drop dead if you have this stuff in your home and most people aren't disciplined enough to avoid using metal cutlery on the pans to prevent major scratching or to throw them out after signs of peeling. Jim has been making us eggs every morning on the Cuisinart pans and they are turning out great. Be sure to add a little butter anyway or your eggs will taste a bit rubbery. Nobody likes rubbery eggs.

How big am I?

We still need to get some photos of me, but to give you an idea, people are surprised when I tell them how far along I am. The lady at Giant Eagle today said she didn't think I'd be able to stand up at 8 months...

I did gain quite a bit of weight last month, but I'm not sure where it's going. I don't look fatter and the baby weighs less than a pound. Maybe I'm growing a big cushion in preparation for a giant child?

On the other hand, being petite and having an arched back probably makes me look bigger than I am. The nurse at my doctor's office nailed it at 20 weeks just by looking at me, which seems like a better gauge than the deli lady!

The Great Schlep

Sarah Silverman in all her glory. Be forewarned, she's got a potty mouth.

I figure that I can at least post a muted version of my perspecive on the election with humor without getting in too much trouble.

It's a Girl!

The big round blob on the left is her head. The big round blob on the right is her body. The small circles between the round blobs are her hands. On her head you can make out eye sockets and her chin.

The tech who did the ultrasound says she has long legs and is very active. She weighs just less than a pound and is still due mid-February.

Finally, I can feel her moving around now! I have a feeling that I'm growing a kickboxer!

Penis day!

Tomorrow, October 2nd, is the day that we hopefully find out if our baby is a boy or a girl. We're calling it "penis day" because at this stage in the game we are looking for the existence or absence of a penis. Hopefully the baby will be in a position where we will be able to tell.

More people are guessing it's going to be a boy. I think it's a boy, and Jim think it's a girl. Who is going to be right???

Jon Stewart on the bailout

Why I'm proud to be a professional community organizer

Raising money for grassroots organizations isn't glamorous, but I'm proud to be in the same profession as these folks.

Oh, and a little political commentary :)

Pregnancy Update

On October 2nd we get our second ultrasound. Hopefully we'll be able to tell the baby's sex at that time. We already have a girl name picked out and have a good candidate for a boy name.

Thanks to many friends, we have a ton of baby stuff and maternity clothes! Thank you so much to Meadow & Jody, Kelley, Michelle, Rachel, Susie, and Mrs. Guervitz for all of the stuff we have so far. Many friends with young 'uns have offered additional stuff once we know the sex or their kids are done with them. Please keep your eye out for a maternity winter coat. I haven't seen one yet.

Things have been going really well for the last month. I eat constantly to keep my blood sugar steady. That keeps me functioning pretty much like a normal person. I'm big enough now that people are comfortable saying "Your're pregnant!" instead of just looking me up and down and wondering. Lucky for me that the weight so far has been all baby. Hopefully it will stay that way!

SNL hilarity

Two gems from Tina Fey.

16 Weeks

First, the generic update on pregnancy at 16 weeks.

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length . Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too.

Personally, the last few days have been much better than the last few weeks. My blood sugar was OUT of control. Hypoglycemia (blood sugar factor #1) is compounded by pregnancy hormones (#2), my nutritional needs have increased (#3), I'm stressed at work because of the loss of a coworker (#4) which all adds up to me wanting to hide under my desk until March. I started testing my blood sugar and found that I was mostly in the 70s and 80s when I should be in the 100-120 range. This adds up to anxiety, vertigo, exhaustion and other unfun stuff. With the help of a fabulous dietitian, I have just figured out that I was eating pretty much what I needed, with some exceptions, but only eating about HALF of what I need. No wonder I wasn't getting fat! It's possible that I'll start putting on a few extra pounds, which is fine wiht me as long as I feel better. It will come off later.

From the Onion

I have no idea why this is so funny, but it clearly is!

War On String May Be Unwinnable, Says Cat General