Thanks Heaven for Little Boys

Yes, we have seen the heir to our kingdom and he has a beautiful spine.  Everything looked like it was developing properly.  My due date was moved up....again.  At the end of the month we will be going in for another ultrasound and will hopefully have better pictures to post.  We have one of his face but his hand is over it so he looks kind of like Voldemort.   

Update

So much for being a model blogger. I had a two week break from working my night job so I took advantage of the extra sleep time. The holidays were nice and, for the most part, quiet. We watched an inordinate amount of movies. I think my favorite was Stardust. If you haven't seen it run to the Red Box!

Aaron is still on the job hunt. We're pretty confident that something will turn up shortly. However, I'm enjoying how clean our house has been since he's undertaken the task of being a homemaker. I've actually become a little bit cleaner as to not undo all his hard work. In addition to his mad cleaning skills, he's also developing a greater understanding of the law thanks to Judge Joe Brown and Judge Judy.

Now, if I may, direct your attention to the quiz at the side bar. Tuesday is our big ultrasound! We are excited that we will be able to use gender-specific pronouns for "Baby F" (f= fetus). So please vote away and I'll update next week with the big news!!

Back in the Saddle

I know I've been gone for such a long time! So many things to update for my small, but wonderful, readership.

My morning sickness seems to be coming under control. When I saw control, I mean that I'm not constantly poised over a toilet or garbage can. Our due date is set for the end of June and apparently Baby F is the size of a lemon. Exciting stuff.

Now that I'm able to function again, I realize that I've got some serious Christmas prep to do. This year we've tried to find ways to help other people have a nicer holiday. It's been a really great experience and I hope the kids enjoy what they get! I really like the idea of continuing this little tradition even as we have our kids. Like babies need tons of toys? One little girl only wanted some smelly lotion and bath gel for Christmas along with a dress for church. If I could get the my fam and the in-laws on board, I'd try to scrap the stressful gift exchanging and have us all do a really nice Sub-for-Santa. I doubt that will ever happen though.

Now, for some really exciting news. Today is Aaron's last day of school! HOORAY! I am so proud of him for being dedicated and committed to this goal. We are going to go have a big party in Salt Lake this weekend to celebrate! He is also turning the big 2-5 tomorrow. Yes, I married a young gun...Hopefully that means we'll die around the same time.

I'm it!

This is my first time ever being tagged. Thanks Nollie!


Jobs I've Had:

• I was an extra in several seminary videos. A great way to make money when you aren’t 16. Look for me in the Book of Mormon series…It’s like Where’s Waldo.
• Storehouse Markets- I was the queen bee there during high school. I worked my way up from a lowly stalker to customer services by my senior year.
• I’ve also done my share of retail work. Kids R Us and Maurice’s were fine. The worst was holiday time at Bath and Body works when I just come home from my mission. Now I work with troubled teens…Saving the world one GED at a time

Jobs I'd Like to Have Someday:

• Play therapist
• Celebutant

Movie's I've Watched Over and Over:

• Lord of the Rings
• The Chipmunk Adventure
• Akeelah and the Bee

Some Favorite Books as of Late:

• Baby Name Wizard
• Pride and Prejudice
• Mocha Manual

Favorite Things to Do:

• Sleep through the night
• Talk to people I love
• Swim
• See a good play or concert
• Be alone in bed with a book and soothing music

Places I've lived:

• San Antonio, TX
• Provo, UT
• Orem, UT
• Logan, UT
• Various cities in Northern CA

Favorite things to eat:

• Whatever will stay down…TMI

Places I'd rather be:

• Getting a pedicure and a massage
• Traveling throughout Europe
• On a cruise
• At home in bed

Words I Love the Sound of:

• Precarious
• Quagmire

Who I'm Tagging:

• Gomefry
• Heidi
• Kim
• Nancy

Just call me Norma Rae

I really, really want the writers to get a fair deal out of this. The residuals they get from DVDs are already grossly unfair - $0.04 per $20 DVD - and they've been stuck with that rate since the days of VHS. (And as I understand it, even that VHS rate was based on a formula the studios adapted from the days of audio recordings.) Part of the reason the WGA's cut is so small is because of estimated manufacturing/overhead costs for sales of home videos back in the 80s, which was when the guild agreed to the formula. Given that these costs have dropped dramatically over the years and are practically nonexistent for iTunes downloads and other "electronic sell-through", it's just patently absurd to think that the WGA shouldn't be compensated much more generously than that. And some of the other "new media" scenarios are mindblowing, too. That the AMPTP says an entire show, streamed on the internet without any advertising, can be considered "promotional" and thus not subject to a writer's demand for residual pay, or compensation at all in the case of webisodes, is bald-faced greed, IMO.

Residuals are how writers stay afloat during the times when they’re out of work. Writing, like acting, is a very volatile industry. You might make a decent amount of money off of each job, but there’s not always another job after that. There’s a lot of uncertainty. Besides that, it’s simply the way the pay structure has been structured. A lot of people criticize the pay structure (since most people don’t get residuals from their jobs), but that’s kind of irrelevant, since the studios aren’t talking about overhauling the pay structure to provide greater upfront payments. They’re trying to CIRCUMVENT the pay structure with new media. That’s the rip-off. It’d be like if you worked on commission and one day your boss decided you didn’t get commissions on “certain” sales, and those “certain” sales were becoming increasingly more common and might same day be the norm.

Strike on Strikers!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

You Are Cameo

You are understanding and very empathetic. You don't tend to have acquaintances. Everyone is your friend. And all of your friends tend to be friends. You have a knack for bringing very different people together.

What Color Orange Are You?

I didn't even know this was a color.

TGIF

This week at mutual I was asked by the Deacon advisor if I could help him with the lesson on Sunday. He asked if I could talk for three minutes about how the Lord has blessed me this week. I swallowed a guffaw. Didn't he know who he was talking to? Unbeknownst to him, I had already declared the week a failure and thought of saying snarky things like, "The Lord has blessed me with a memory foam pillow and sugar free coca." Those are things that I'm grateful for, but I doubt what he's looking for in an "experience". Despite my reservations, I agreed.

Flash with me two days later and I have several experiences that I could share. My only problem now is how to share some pretty special things with a rowdy group of adolescents. I doubt I'll talk for my allotted time, but I'm glad that he asked me to help him. It's actually just another way that the Lord has blessed me. I'll share a few more with you...don't worry I'll quite waxing sentimental in a few sentences.


Gomefry is such a great person I'm
blessed to be loved by
him.


My co-workers, while
we are a raucous bunch, they are some of the most supportive people I know.


Prayers have been answered in a
way I had given up praying for.


Spending time with 3 great YW
and 1 AMAZING advisor/friend. We were blazing trails and cutting corn!


Hopfully I'll be able to keep up with my goal of writing once a week. I have the time thanks to job #2. I actually like thinking about a topic and then writing. I'm a dreadful journal keeper, but I might just stick with this.