A step up from Monkeys??

Ok, so I ran across what I believe is the most disturbing children's toy around...Pee and Poo!! (billed as "Two come out of the Loo", as if that makes it any better!!) Swedish designers have created stuffies of excrement...is this something we really want to encourage kids to play with? I'm seeing a lifetime of fetishist that I simply don't want to fathom, thank you very much! Equally disturbing is the line of clothing bearing the images of such scat! (New! Adult clothing! Ewww...) At the website you can even send an e-card ("make someone happy"...clearly this is the new card to send to mom for her birthday!) I see hilarity among college students everywhere, however. And the designer's comment? "People just like them; they seem to have a universal appeal." I guess no matter what you race or religion, it is truly the unifier.

Trick or Treat

Thank you to all who posted yesterday and giving me encouragement to continue with the TT. Strange how I got more comments saying I wasn't going to do it anymore than when I was doing it! Perhaps I'll reconsider in the future.

This morning started with my check up ultrasound. Baby Boy is now one full pound! (Hey, that's double his weight in one month...keep growing little guy!) Doc says everything is perfect, so I'm feeling pretty good about that! I'm feeling his little kicks and punches more and more each day.

This weekend marks the official start of Halloween! As a full-fledged Halloween fan this is so fun to me! Trick or treating on Sunday (I know, it's wierd here in Wisconsin they do it during the weekend, for a limited number of hours, starting in daylight...I don't get it) and the kidlet is going as Elphaba from "Wicked" (aka the Wicked Witch of the West...only dressed per the stage show, not the movie) and I can only hope I have enough candy to hand out this year. (Last year we ran out there were so many kids!) We still need to find time to carve our pumpkins (probably Saturday night), and next weekend is my Halloween Party! I just finished my costume last night, and it's rather pretty actually!

Have a very Happy Halloween!!!

and now some general goofiness:
FRIDAY'S FEAST
Appetizer
Create a new candle scent.
Hmmm...probably something spicy and crisp right now...a combination of fresh linen and cinnamon/clove scent...I love the fall!
Soup
Name one way you show affection to others.
I give little gifts or make them something. I think its important to show the people you love that you really do.
Salad
What is your favorite writing instrument?
An ultrafine tip Sharpie. Serves most any purpose
Main Course
If you were given $25 to spend anywhere online, from which site would you buy?
Amazon.com I'd buy one of the many books or dvds I really want.
Dessert
Are you dressing up for Halloween? If so, what are you going to be?
Elizabeth Bennett-Darcy after she died from a tragic accident (from Pride & Prejudice...my party theme is Come as Your Favourite Literary Character...dead!)

Defeated 13

You will notice there is no Thursday Thirteen posted here today. That's because I feel defeated by the game. You see, I joined in playing because I thought it would be fun to be a part of the "greater blogger community". I've been sadly disappointed. Not only do I feel that little bit of hurt each week when nearly no one comes to visit my blog and read it, when they do stop by on a Thursday, it seems they never come back. Now, I realize my blog is hardly filled with non-stop humour or sex, but it's me, being honest and believing in the people who claim that it helps build friendship...and apparently that honesty counts for little (save among the established "real life" friends who stop by, and thank you for that). I write to express myself, to log my life publicly, to ask questions to gain insight from the world at large, and because it makes me feel good. Having no one read my Thursday Thirteen when there are so many who participate doesn't make me feel good...and so I must stop. I'll continue to read others TT, and comment (per the rules of the game), but I feel that others don't play fairly and so I remain, defeated.

What's in a Name?

Ok, today's silliness is because I don't get what is with the current trend of making up crazy ass names? Don't get me wrong, I don't care of the ordinary or mainstream names...call it the result of growing up with the most common name of the year I was born. I had a college roommate, 2 other girls on my dorm floor, and 3 other friends all with the same name. Hated it. I never would have given my 12 year old her name had I known it was going to become popular. However, I think there is a difference between different classic names and just crazy out there, "don't you think that your kids have to life with this the rest of their lives?" sort of names. Here are some examples:
Model Christy Turlington's new son: Finn (ok, not so bad really. Better as a nickname)
Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter: Apple (this is a fruit, not a child!)
Gillian Anderson's kid: Piper Maru (sounds like a species of bird to me)
David & Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham: Brooklyn (place of conception perhaps?), Romeo (hope he doesn't meet the same demise) and Cruz
Actress Kelly Rutherford's son: Herme`s Gustaf...what?!
Musician Beck's son: Cosimo Henri...sounds like a French astronomer
Actor Damian Lewis' daughter: Manon (she's a man, baby....)
Model Laetita Costa's kids: Orlando and Sahteene (is that sa-teeny or satine?)
Meg Ryan's daughter: Daisy True (is she truly a daisy?)
And of course the ever infamous Pitt-Jolie brood: Maddox, Shiloh and Zahara
I just don't get some of these. Even worse is the common man's trend of simply adding a La or Da before any name, object or city to create a name. My baby's name is going to be non-common, and yet not far fetched. I try to think of my kid's future in any sort of career. And I'm not poking fun at any particular celebrity...after all my beloved Simon leBon (of DuranDuran) allowed his wife (because I refuse to believe he did it...unless he was progressively drunker with each child) to name their daughters: Amber Rose, Saffron Sahara, and Tallulah Pine.

If I had a Million Dollars...

13 Ways I’d Spend $1 Million Today
(I haven’t actually priced this all out, so I’m merely hoping a million is enough!)

1. Pay off all bills/debt (that’s only a couple of thousand but it would be eliminated)
2. Buy a new car. Not sure what kind. I’d like to say a Jaguar convertible, but then the realistic side of me kicks in and lean toward something more practical. It would definitely be a Hybrid though.
3. Send my daughter to private school…specifically The Prairie School.
4. Visit my mom, and then move her someplace private w/her own nurse and cook.
5. Go on a shopping spree. (I don’t want to buy a lot of pricey clothes right now since I’m pregnant, just some cute new ones. Then a new wardrobe for the hubby. And things for the kidlet and baby.)
6. Books. All those books (ok, and a few films) that I want in my collection. I suppose more bookshelves will be necessary too.
7. Tickets to any and all stage shows I’m wanting to see.
8. Maybe a new car for my friend Kim, that way neither of us would have an excuse to not visit each other.
9. Hire my friend Charlotte as my nanny for the new baby…she’s a great nanny.
10. Send some gifts to friends…just because
11. Plane tickets for the family, and the cost of the trips we’d be making to England, Germany and other European destinations.
12. I’d hire a few of my friends to make the historical clothing pieces I’ve always wanted.
13. I’d end with savings, but since I said “spend” I guess I have to. So I’d go on a hunt to find the perfect property we’d want to build our dream house on.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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Breaking Through

After far too many complaints, this morning I was brought to tear by emails/posts from some friends I hadn't heard from in awhile. These people have been in my life for a long time...have helped make me who I am. They have all affected my life deeply...for the better. I don't get to see any of them much anymore, but whether they know it or not, they are often in my thoughts each week. So to be given a verbal hug from each of them, some words of wisdom, and kick in the backside, I can feel the clouds lifting and see what I've been too sad to see...that I do have a good life. That I do have a good husband and child...before long, children. And good friends. Life isn't always bright and sunny, but I'm going to focus on the good because they reminded me I can. My friends, thank you.

Hell Week

So the rest of the weekend didn't get any better. My day I thought we'd have together Friday night was shot. Saturday was shot as he was stuck in rehearsal for almost 15 hours! Sunday he had a meeting, then we had to pick up the kidlet (who had been at her best friend's house all weekend...thus making me even more alone), then go his is parents' house, before we finally were able to go pick up pumpkins at dusk. Dinner & then what I was hoping would at least be a night cuddling watching a movie turned into another argument because he has the nerve to "feel unappreciated" and that I clearly knew he's "not a romantic person, why would I ever think he was"? Uh...maybe because you used to do nice things for me before you got into this selfish mode you're going through! Gee, why else? (Basically he tried to pass off what I thought was something sweet from him as his own, but it actually had come from someone else.) I swear, are all men clueless? Then he complains he has no personal time, and that the pitiful 30 minutes or so a day I do get with him should be considered a gift! What?? Are you kidding me?? Clearly His Grace doesn't see that minutes of chatter before falling asleep hardly constitute "quality" time!! I'm just fed up...can you tell?

My highlight of the day (because I'm trying hard to have one) was lunching w/my friend and her funny-as-heck 7 month old, then spending money I didn't have at Target on maternity gauchos for $4 each! I look dreadful in gauchos (I'm just too short) but damn they are the most comfy things to wear around the house!!

His Grace is in the midst of Hell Week (don't I know it) since his play opens on Thursday. Have I mentioned this is my favourite book adapted? Yeah...too bad I'm fed up.

Amends

So today I'm feeling less angry even though my plans for last night with the hubby were shot. And today he's schedule at a Hell Week tech from 8am until midnight tonight. (What the hell they need that much time for is beyond me! I've done theatre my whole freakin' life and have never had that long of a tech day! ugh!) Which means I'll probably have another night alone. But I'm attempting to stay positive and view it as time to go shop for fabric for my Halloween costume and drafting the pattern. Trying to stay positive. Trying....
I feel bad for venting here...people don't want to read about my stress. People want something funny and uplifting like Kassi or Kristen write. So I'll try...for you...and for me.

So my upnote of the day...I lay in the bath last night watching my tummy bounce. It sounds wierd, but then pregnancy IS wierd! It was pretty cool too though he stopped the minute daddy came in...go figure!

Fireballs

Today is a day for me to attempt to maintain a semblence of calm. It isn't that today is anything particularly special, but I've been informed (not so kindly by my husband) that the way I've been saying things lately has been negative. Hmm...well...that's because I FEEL negative. I'm not enjoying life. In fact, I have no significant life to speak of right now. We are struggling with one vehicle, which leaves me stuck in the house 90% of the time (with the exception of work). That I don't have any friends around me to even invite over. HE is the one out acting in a play. HE is the one who gets to go to luncheons and cast dinners. HE gets to be social with people, and even on Sundays, our day together, HE doesn't have to pay for a damn thing. (Because his money goes to bills, mine goes to food & extras.) HE tells me that after the play he's going to get an extra part-time job, which means I'll still never see him. What HE doesn't get is OUR relationship is going to slip away in all this. I've lived through this before...unsuccessfully. I'm terrified because I'm seeing a pattern that ended poorly. HE is unflustered by it all and doesn't see why I could possibly be depressed or fearful. How do you make someone understand that once burned, you try to avoid the fire?

13 Struggles

13 Things I'm Struggling with this Week

1. Pregnancy weight gain (I no longer feel glowing...I feel ugly)

2. Financial stress (its one of those weeks)

3. Baby preparations (sooo much to be done)

4. Loneliness

5. Boredom (I know, you'd think with everything I have to do I wouldn't feel bored...wrong!)

6. Feeling like a good mom (I just am not this week)

7. Work (specifically I can't get programs to do what I want)

8. Friends (or the lack there of ... see #4)

9. Repetition (my life seems to be going in circles with everything from laundry to conversations)

10. Having a boy (...I just feel scared)

11. Having zero time with the hubby (if I get 45 minutes a day, I'm lucky)

12. This blog (should I even bother? Does anyone care?)

13. The fact I'm stuggling with these things does nothing for my self confidence!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants