Anna has taken a liking to a few rther racy Katy Perry videos. And I introduced her to them. OK it's not that bad. It's California Gurls, Friday Night, and Firework. It started with the innocent Firework. Then she was so enthralled...
At any rate she asks to watch them on my iphone all the time. I was thinking on some level I suck as a mom for letting her watch this crap. But then again, she's too young to really get the "racy" parts of it that's clear to you and me, and it's a chance for me to let her know that girls can be pretty all glammed up, but also a leader, a normal person, and able to make their own way. I'm not exactly in love with Katy Perry but I do think she's pushed her way in and has some level of talent. It takes guts as well as boobs.
She also has started liking Jewel's music (she's easy and not nearly on the racy side). I got to explain that she can be smart because she writes her own music as poetry, pretty, is married to a cowboy and has a new baby so she's a mom, too.
Then there's Lady GaGa. For some reason Anna's taken a liking to a few of her songs. So we watched her New Year's performance together and the look on Anna's face was more of: "WTH is SHE WEARING? I don't know about this..." I explained that Lady Gaga likes to wear lots of different costumes. But that's about all I know about Lady Gaga :)
...out...
Friday, January 20, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
13.1 done!
Beat our best previous half marathon time by 6 minutes on Sunday at the Houston Half marathon! I've done the Houston Half in 2006 and in 2008. In 2009, 2010, and 2011, we did the Disney Half. All have always been in Jan which makes for a completely doable training season. We opted out of the Disney Half this Jan, and the associated Disney World, Fl trip that accompanies it. That's made me particularly sad because it's been fun benchmarking Anna's growth every year there. But we've decided to go in September instead to what was going to be the Wine and Dine Half but is now the Tower of Terror 10 miler. Oh well, screw you Disney for foiling our plans and shorting us 3.1 miles. But to be honest, I bonk at around mile 10 anyway!
A few things to note based on this year's Half:
-A full night's sleep without a kid's foot in my ribs and cramming our bodies into a smaller-than-Queen-size bed at Disney makes an apparent difference. It seems 1 hour of sleep = 1 minute overall trimmed off my run time the next day.
-Not tip toeing around 30 bodies in the Disney Wilderness Cabin at 2am conserves energy. Apparently by 6 minutes in the end.
-How the Hell did we walk the parks every year immediately after running 13.1 and a shower? The power of family pressure. Note to self: there's something to be said about all that post-race walking: cuts down on the stiff muscles.
-The closer you get to the finish line, the more clueless runners piss you off (translated: I'm trying to beat my time, DON'T YOU HAVE A GOAL? MOVE OUT OF MY WAY!).
- Running faster overall means you finish earlier. How about that?
-The last two miles suck the worst. Make that the last 2.1 miles.
-Houston has more of a cheer crowd than Disney
-Not sure how it's geographically possible, but Houston has more freaking hills than the Disney route
-Houston clearly handles the logistics better: better crowd control, wider running route, a post-race meal, and even better goodie bags!
-Houston has a later start time of 7am which means DUDE I GOT TO SLEEP UNTIL 4AM, unlike Disney's start an hour earlier. Eastern time. Do the math.
-Disney has more idiot walkers who just won't get out of your way (no offense to walkers, unless you're the idiot who walks 5-friends-wide across the route. TO YOUR LEFT!!!!)
-Get Anna a play date for the remainder of the day the next time we run 13.1 miles. We were sore and tired and we really didn't want to convey a negative message that RUNNING MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE CRAP the rest of the day, but she kept asking why we weren't doing anything fun that day. We told her that really it's just that sometimes it's good to just chill out, relax, and lay low. Life is not always go-go-go!
I can't even for the life of me now fathom the feat which has been for the previous 3 years of what we did regarding the travel, family, and half marathon experience of Disney. And oh yes, each year I was also there in Orlando a week early to work a major conference. Work, family, travel, a half marathon, DISNEY PARKS. One single trip to Disney alone can destroy a family's stress levels by itself!
WTF?! My GOD, people will clearly do whatever hair brained thing I dictate, won't they?!
HAHA. Those were the best trips EVER :) Miss you Disney, see you in September, albeit 3.1 miles short.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Staying Dry
Anna's been potty trained since just before she was 3 years old...but has never managed to stay dry at night. She's still in pull ups at night, and most usually they're soaked by the morning. We've had week-longs stretches of dryness occasionally in the past, but that's a rarity. This is such a sensitive issue, we've taken her pediatrician's advice on not pushing her too hard on this. But if you ask around long enough on all of this, it seems the issue is split: ranging from behavioral to physiological to hereditary bases. I've been told to "just put her in her big girl undies, and after a few wet nights she'll get the idea!" (behavioral). My physiology books say that there's hormones that are regulated by the light/dark cycle, some of which are involved in bladder control, that develop later for some kids than others (physiological). I've read some Baby Center articles that say the muscles to control the bladder at night and the link to the brain telling the child to "not pee!" may take longer to develop in others.
What the hell.
I don't know what the answer is. But since she'll be 5 in March and she seems ready to participate in staying dry like a big girl, we've decided to go with big girl undies for bedtime instead of pull-ups. We talked with her about it just before Christmas, and miraculously starting with that night, she stayed dry all week (even though we hadn't switched to undies yet). Then the next week when she was at my mom's, she was wet all week. We'd agreed that her first night back at home, we'd start the big girl undies.
We doubled up the mattress pads and the sheet layers for quicker middle of night changes. We've prepped her for "just do your best, we won't get mad if you wet the bed! But the idea is to do your best." No water before bed, potty before bed, and that will be evidence of her best!
Night 1: Wet bed, 2am change
Night 2: Wet bed, 6:30am change
I don't think she's been trying her best because the battle over the water right before bed is still tough. She swears she's dying of thirst. My take on this is if you decide to drink water before bed, you're deciding you're wetting the bed. And that's that.
But our pedi says that limiting fluids like that isn't really going to help much anyway. When she wakes up wet, she isn't really upset. It's just more matter of fact, which is all likely a reflection of my own attitude on the whole thing. If I'd be upset over it, she would too. So what to do?! It's a Catch-22 for us: I try to get the point across that we're not mad when she wets the bed, but it's still not OK to wet the bed exactly. The goal is to do your best. If you've done your best and you still wet the bed, that's all we can do...
...Until these middle of the night wake-ups start to take their toll on us all...
For me it's a fine line between nudging her along and pushing. No one wants to push but we have to nudge a little or else risk no advancements at all. Like everything else, we'll just have to play this by ear.
What the hell.
I don't know what the answer is. But since she'll be 5 in March and she seems ready to participate in staying dry like a big girl, we've decided to go with big girl undies for bedtime instead of pull-ups. We talked with her about it just before Christmas, and miraculously starting with that night, she stayed dry all week (even though we hadn't switched to undies yet). Then the next week when she was at my mom's, she was wet all week. We'd agreed that her first night back at home, we'd start the big girl undies.
We doubled up the mattress pads and the sheet layers for quicker middle of night changes. We've prepped her for "just do your best, we won't get mad if you wet the bed! But the idea is to do your best." No water before bed, potty before bed, and that will be evidence of her best!
Night 1: Wet bed, 2am change
Night 2: Wet bed, 6:30am change
I don't think she's been trying her best because the battle over the water right before bed is still tough. She swears she's dying of thirst. My take on this is if you decide to drink water before bed, you're deciding you're wetting the bed. And that's that.
But our pedi says that limiting fluids like that isn't really going to help much anyway. When she wakes up wet, she isn't really upset. It's just more matter of fact, which is all likely a reflection of my own attitude on the whole thing. If I'd be upset over it, she would too. So what to do?! It's a Catch-22 for us: I try to get the point across that we're not mad when she wets the bed, but it's still not OK to wet the bed exactly. The goal is to do your best. If you've done your best and you still wet the bed, that's all we can do...
...Until these middle of the night wake-ups start to take their toll on us all...
For me it's a fine line between nudging her along and pushing. No one wants to push but we have to nudge a little or else risk no advancements at all. Like everything else, we'll just have to play this by ear.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Rainbow complete!
Right about now I'm realizing my anxiety and remembering why we were painting over dancing teddy bear wallpaper 10 years ago in the first place: I have had trouble commuting any room in the house to that of a child theme. Even Anna's room has tan and olive walls, with girlie blankets but nothing permanent. I struggle with patterns (translated they bug me).
But then:
That's actually pretty cute. And as much as I struggled with that cloud rug (I really wanted plain red), Anna will love it more than I will struggle.
At least for awhile. Then those colors are going to be a bitch to paint over!! :)
We will surprise her with it when she gets home so shhhh don't say anything!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Astronaut App 2011, done!
It wasn't nearly as painful as the last go-around. Maybe I should have proof-read it more thoroughly, or maybe it's just that this year I'm not so stressed out about the outcome. I am what I am, and now it's all on paper headed to the selection office. There are only so many ways you can represent how cool you are, and here I've done my best. Applications close Jan 27. They start letting folks know if they're even interested or not in the March-July timeframe.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
This house
In April we will have lived in this house for 11 years. We long ago surpassed the record for living in any one place for so long years ago, actually.
A few weeks ago Anna said she wanted Santa to paint her bathroom and bedroom rainbow colors (rainbow is her favorite "color"). Paul and I realized at that point that we can still remember very clearly the day we redid her bathroom (that wasn't then hers), and that that day was about 10 years ago already. Or more even. We remember trying to pull down the dreaded teddy bear wall paper and realizing it was actually stuck to the drywall, so we said "what the hell" and painted right over it. The tiny little wall paper tool marks are still visible, but the wallpaper has still held underneath that paint for all these years. Since then we have just kept it clean and damn it still looks new, even after 10 years!
Right before Anna was born we put in a ceiling heater because that bathroom can get cold! Over the past few years, he ceiling has started to sag, and Paul's fixing it as I type.
This week Anna is at my mom's in Austin. And we think that after 10 years, the little bathroom is in fact due for an update. Why not go rainbow?
We realize when she gets home and we surprise her with it, that surprise will give all of about 5 minutes' worth of excitement. We know. And so the reason we are doing it is because...well, it's been 10 years. Why NOT go rainbow?
A few weeks ago Anna said she wanted Santa to paint her bathroom and bedroom rainbow colors (rainbow is her favorite "color"). Paul and I realized at that point that we can still remember very clearly the day we redid her bathroom (that wasn't then hers), and that that day was about 10 years ago already. Or more even. We remember trying to pull down the dreaded teddy bear wall paper and realizing it was actually stuck to the drywall, so we said "what the hell" and painted right over it. The tiny little wall paper tool marks are still visible, but the wallpaper has still held underneath that paint for all these years. Since then we have just kept it clean and damn it still looks new, even after 10 years!
Right before Anna was born we put in a ceiling heater because that bathroom can get cold! Over the past few years, he ceiling has started to sag, and Paul's fixing it as I type.
This week Anna is at my mom's in Austin. And we think that after 10 years, the little bathroom is in fact due for an update. Why not go rainbow?
We realize when she gets home and we surprise her with it, that surprise will give all of about 5 minutes' worth of excitement. We know. And so the reason we are doing it is because...well, it's been 10 years. Why NOT go rainbow?
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Sensitivity
Anna-Marie has been asking a lot of questions over the past month or two that shows me she's becoming more and more sensitive and self-aware...
She's never been the type of kid you have to be hard on to get her to behave. Generally if you simply tell her to knock it off if she's acting up, she's compliant with minimal fuss. In fact, we've learned if you lay into her too hard or with a harsh tone without some kind of fair warning, she melts into tears. Geeze.
Not to say I don't lose my temper: I can only say GO BRUSH YOUR TEETH a handful of times before I lose my cool and the world around us both collapses...and of course we've have had the major knock-down, drag out battles. But in general, if she's acting like a little booger you really don't have to get into her face and scold...more like a firm "knock it off, you're not supposed to run in here" is enough to suffice.
She's always been that way and yes, she is an only child, and yes, I do think she's special when others probably don't (I'm her mom!), and yes, others may think I hover or protect her too much but I've come to terms with that lately and I'm starting to care less about that...and speaking my mind about it when I feel like it...but I'm digressing...
Every morning when we walk into school, she asks: "Mommy can anyone see boogers on my nose?" At first I didn't get what she meant but apparently she has realized she doesn't want to look like her boogery friends this time of year.
On the drive to school the other day she asks: "Mommy, why does everybody look at me when I make a mistake or do something wrong?"
A few weeks ago: "why does everyone look at me when I walk into the classroom?"
In a restaurant: "Why does that lady keep looking at me?"
"Why...why...why...ME" with the behavioral questions.
Mostly my answers are focused on the fact that she, too, looks at people when they walk into the classroom. And she must be staring at that woman herself to know that the woman is staring at her! And I ask her if she stares at her friends when they too make mistakes. And that everyone makes mistakes, and me too, and here's how to deal with it. Mostly it's a discussion centered on the fact that it's the behavior of "everyone" and it's nothing personal (she's the center of my own universe but not the center of THE universe). She seems to be getting it and this morning on the way to school instead of asking "Why...?" she said something to the effect that it's OK if she makes mistakes at school and everyone looks at her.
Are all 4 year olds this self-aware? Good Lord. I just assumed kids at this age get fussed for pulling their crap and the bounce off to go pull more crap...not melt into a personal pile of tears. I just assumed no kid this age even realized others were looking at them, much less about the mistakes they worry about making (and no I don't think she's this self-aware because she's the center of my own universe and has come to expect his means she's the center of EVERYONE'S universe).
Yes she's an only child, sure we treat her like she's the most special thing to ever happen to us (she is). We don't tell her she's perfect and we don't tell her to be mistake-free. We walk the fine line between "that's the best letter n I've ever seen!" and "your n looks more like an H!" because I'm bombarded with the latest motherhood information that too much praise of your child makes them think they can do no wrong and not enough praise destroys self confidence.
Well, Hell.
Each kid is born with innate character traits. Why not carve your approach to raising them around the kid you know? Why do we judge each other, still, as mothers? I've never been tough enough to let her cry it out, and yes I still have a monitor in her room because I'm her mother and if she needs me at 2AM, I will come up. She's perfectly capable of dressing herself, brushing her own teeth, and buckling her own seat belt if I just leave her right the Hell to it.
Good grief. Sensitive much? Gee, where could she get it....?
She's never been the type of kid you have to be hard on to get her to behave. Generally if you simply tell her to knock it off if she's acting up, she's compliant with minimal fuss. In fact, we've learned if you lay into her too hard or with a harsh tone without some kind of fair warning, she melts into tears. Geeze.
Not to say I don't lose my temper: I can only say GO BRUSH YOUR TEETH a handful of times before I lose my cool and the world around us both collapses...and of course we've have had the major knock-down, drag out battles. But in general, if she's acting like a little booger you really don't have to get into her face and scold...more like a firm "knock it off, you're not supposed to run in here" is enough to suffice.
She's always been that way and yes, she is an only child, and yes, I do think she's special when others probably don't (I'm her mom!), and yes, others may think I hover or protect her too much but I've come to terms with that lately and I'm starting to care less about that...and speaking my mind about it when I feel like it...but I'm digressing...
Every morning when we walk into school, she asks: "Mommy can anyone see boogers on my nose?" At first I didn't get what she meant but apparently she has realized she doesn't want to look like her boogery friends this time of year.
On the drive to school the other day she asks: "Mommy, why does everybody look at me when I make a mistake or do something wrong?"
A few weeks ago: "why does everyone look at me when I walk into the classroom?"
In a restaurant: "Why does that lady keep looking at me?"
"Why...why...why...ME" with the behavioral questions.
Mostly my answers are focused on the fact that she, too, looks at people when they walk into the classroom. And she must be staring at that woman herself to know that the woman is staring at her! And I ask her if she stares at her friends when they too make mistakes. And that everyone makes mistakes, and me too, and here's how to deal with it. Mostly it's a discussion centered on the fact that it's the behavior of "everyone" and it's nothing personal (she's the center of my own universe but not the center of THE universe). She seems to be getting it and this morning on the way to school instead of asking "Why...?" she said something to the effect that it's OK if she makes mistakes at school and everyone looks at her.
Are all 4 year olds this self-aware? Good Lord. I just assumed kids at this age get fussed for pulling their crap and the bounce off to go pull more crap...not melt into a personal pile of tears. I just assumed no kid this age even realized others were looking at them, much less about the mistakes they worry about making (and no I don't think she's this self-aware because she's the center of my own universe and has come to expect his means she's the center of EVERYONE'S universe).
Yes she's an only child, sure we treat her like she's the most special thing to ever happen to us (she is). We don't tell her she's perfect and we don't tell her to be mistake-free. We walk the fine line between "that's the best letter n I've ever seen!" and "your n looks more like an H!" because I'm bombarded with the latest motherhood information that too much praise of your child makes them think they can do no wrong and not enough praise destroys self confidence.
Well, Hell.
Each kid is born with innate character traits. Why not carve your approach to raising them around the kid you know? Why do we judge each other, still, as mothers? I've never been tough enough to let her cry it out, and yes I still have a monitor in her room because I'm her mother and if she needs me at 2AM, I will come up. She's perfectly capable of dressing herself, brushing her own teeth, and buckling her own seat belt if I just leave her right the Hell to it.
Good grief. Sensitive much? Gee, where could she get it....?
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Serenity Now
All for the little ones, Christmas Joy!
I'm the sucker mom...a sign up sheet of stuff for parents to bring so the kids could decorate cookies... All the parents signed up for everything but... the darned STAR and SNOWMAN cookies! Good grief how are they going to decorate cookies without the cookies?! I remembered I bought one of those stupid huge cookie cutter containers last year with all kinds of shapes and sizes, figuring I have a kid so I'd be using it occasionally. This being one occasion. Someone had to come through on the very foundation of cookie decorating!
This crap is harder than it looks...Hell I don't even do playdough.
And yes, several innocent snowman lives were lost in my kitchen tonight. It was a massacre but the joy on those little boogers' faces that only their teachers will see tomorrow will be worth their sacrifice.
God I think I ate too much dough.
I'm the sucker mom...a sign up sheet of stuff for parents to bring so the kids could decorate cookies... All the parents signed up for everything but... the darned STAR and SNOWMAN cookies! Good grief how are they going to decorate cookies without the cookies?! I remembered I bought one of those stupid huge cookie cutter containers last year with all kinds of shapes and sizes, figuring I have a kid so I'd be using it occasionally. This being one occasion. Someone had to come through on the very foundation of cookie decorating!
This crap is harder than it looks...Hell I don't even do playdough.
And yes, several innocent snowman lives were lost in my kitchen tonight. It was a massacre but the joy on those little boogers' faces that only their teachers will see tomorrow will be worth their sacrifice.
God I think I ate too much dough.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Christmas Tree 2011
This is our fifth year of Christmas tree decorating photos with Anna. I remember year 1 when she was learning to crawl! Look at this!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Our prime time debut: Fox News
Here's the final piece that came out tonight on the 5:00 news. I think it turned out lovely and Anna was proud of seeing me on TV :) She said I did a great job! She also said she remembered when daddy was on TV talking about his patients and doctors and he did a good job too! Pretty good considering that was last year! We have gotten several inquiries, a few new customers have signed up, and a few about to place orders. Even got requests to expand to other parts of Houston. So far it's been good!
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/111206-nasa-scientist-launches-grocery-business
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/111206-nasa-scientist-launches-grocery-business
Dusty Plasmas, An Empty Building, a News Feature, and Major Exam PASSED
I'm trying for the life of me to get familiar with dusty plasmas. It's not so hard to understand; I'm just having a hard time focusing on the relevance of investigating them on the space station. It's part of a set of charts I have to have ready for an upcoming Flight Readiness Review. These FRR's happen with every launch of humans to the space station, and so my charts are supposed to give a status on some of the cool research that's happening up there. Dusty plasmas are cool, but I'm supposed to talk it in a way that others will see that point too...
In other news, today a film crew and reporter (Tom Zizka) from Houston Fox News 26 came out to film us at Kroger to do a piece on the Grocery Station. Before Thanksgiving I had submitted a press release to the local news stations to see if I could drum up interest in a story. Fox contacted us and in less than 24 hours they were filming! This will air tonight all over Houston at 5PM. When I get a link to it, I'll post it here. I think the filming went well...my #1 shopper, P, was filmed while shopping an order, and our friend L came with her daughter as the customer for pick-up. They even interviewed CP, the Kroger store manager, who was really nervous in front of the camera. In fact, Kroger has a strict policy in when they let cameras into their stores period. So in a pinch yesterday I had to sweet talk the Kroger PR lady to give the camera crew access in a quick turnaround. She voiced her concerns, which I was sure to cover in the interview, so I think all the right things were said. In all we spent about 1.5 hours with the crew. I got to ask Tom how the heck you get a reporter's voice like that, (to which is cameraman giggled), and Tom said he was born with it :) Destiny! He also shared a few reporter secrets about his job, which I thought was awesome and could come in handy with my NASA interviews. Incidentally, when I do NASA interviews, there's usually some NASA PAO rep involved for the sake of our own protection. So today I felt a little naked out there without a pro, but then again, it was also kinda freeing in that who the heck could I piss off (other than Kroger)? I'M THE BOSS! Anyway, I'm hoping it comes out well tonight!!! AND you'd think it would generate orders. I guess we'll see now, WON'T WE? On that front, business has been slow but steady with repeat customers. Slow but steady. Not enough to sustain our shoppers for real where pay is concerned, though. MORE MORE MORE ORDERS, PLEASE!!
As I was wrapping up with the film crew, Paul was meeting with the owners of a new building right around the corner from his current location. All the discussions he had with them today were right on target with what he wants, so who knows, this may be it! It's an empty space in a new building and they really want a medical facility there. So they're working with Paul and the terms seem nice so far. We'll see....
As I was pulling back into the parking lot for NASA today, I got a text from TJ in that she passed her first round of major certification-crazy-you-don't-ever-get-to-do-acupuncture-DAMMIT-if you-don't-pass-this exam. This was exhilarating for HER and ME! Woooo-hooo! TJ hates these exams but this go 'round she totally grabbed this Texas Bull by the horns and tackled it. No messing around. There is much celebration to be had!
In Anna news, she is beautiful, happy, and smart and sweet. We love her to pieces and enjoy spending time with her. She's at the age where you can reason with her with no freak-outs, you can answer her thoughtful questions and ask her tough ones, and just darn-well talk to her like the little person she is. A few weeks ago we brought her for an eye exam and they had to put eye drops into her eyes. While I had to hold her down for the Flu Mist a few months ago, the eye drops were a freakin' piece of cake! Who knew? She still gives us the spontaneous I LOVE YOUs and "you're the best mommy in the whole wide world" and all that stuff. She's also learning that if mommy says no, maybe she should try daddy! At this point, it's not a manipulative thing directly; it's more of heck, why not give it a shot? I know, I know, this is how it starts. We're aware.
Also today she told me that daddy said "shit" and he shouldn't because that's a bad word. She had asked me about this a few weeks ago: "Momma, is shit a bad word?" The word "shit" coming out of a 4 year old's mouth is well...freaking funny. Sorry.
She's also learning to lie, and when we bust her it breaks her heart she disappointed us. If we're too hard on her she melts into tears and apologies. Dang, this child is SO SENSITIVE! Love her tons.
I will be applying for the astronaut corps this go 'round, since the opportunity is open until sometime in Jan. I haven't really done much to get my application together yet, since I'm keeping pretty busy otherwise. But I'll get it in.
Teaching is officially done for the semester, woo-hoo! I get my Monday nights back until mid Jan. No Disney trip this year (lamenting, seriously lamenting), but we run the Houston Half marathon mid Jan. I ran my fastest 5k this weekend. Mile 1 was a 10:07 pace (HOLY COW!), Mile 2 was a 10:37 pace, and my overall for the 5k was a pace of 10:54 or something. That's a sub 11 minute pace, which I think is a record for me. And I felt GREAT! I could have gone faster.
Anyway, that's us in a nutshell. What a great day! At the same time the Grocery Station was being filmed, Paul was looking at a new building, and TJ was passing her major exam. LOVE THAT when that kind of energy aligns! Wonder what Anna's day was like? I bought her a whole bunch of neat stuff from a book fair I ran into today. She'll love that! Life is good!
In other news, today a film crew and reporter (Tom Zizka) from Houston Fox News 26 came out to film us at Kroger to do a piece on the Grocery Station. Before Thanksgiving I had submitted a press release to the local news stations to see if I could drum up interest in a story. Fox contacted us and in less than 24 hours they were filming! This will air tonight all over Houston at 5PM. When I get a link to it, I'll post it here. I think the filming went well...my #1 shopper, P, was filmed while shopping an order, and our friend L came with her daughter as the customer for pick-up. They even interviewed CP, the Kroger store manager, who was really nervous in front of the camera. In fact, Kroger has a strict policy in when they let cameras into their stores period. So in a pinch yesterday I had to sweet talk the Kroger PR lady to give the camera crew access in a quick turnaround. She voiced her concerns, which I was sure to cover in the interview, so I think all the right things were said. In all we spent about 1.5 hours with the crew. I got to ask Tom how the heck you get a reporter's voice like that, (to which is cameraman giggled), and Tom said he was born with it :) Destiny! He also shared a few reporter secrets about his job, which I thought was awesome and could come in handy with my NASA interviews. Incidentally, when I do NASA interviews, there's usually some NASA PAO rep involved for the sake of our own protection. So today I felt a little naked out there without a pro, but then again, it was also kinda freeing in that who the heck could I piss off (other than Kroger)? I'M THE BOSS! Anyway, I'm hoping it comes out well tonight!!! AND you'd think it would generate orders. I guess we'll see now, WON'T WE? On that front, business has been slow but steady with repeat customers. Slow but steady. Not enough to sustain our shoppers for real where pay is concerned, though. MORE MORE MORE ORDERS, PLEASE!!
As I was wrapping up with the film crew, Paul was meeting with the owners of a new building right around the corner from his current location. All the discussions he had with them today were right on target with what he wants, so who knows, this may be it! It's an empty space in a new building and they really want a medical facility there. So they're working with Paul and the terms seem nice so far. We'll see....
As I was pulling back into the parking lot for NASA today, I got a text from TJ in that she passed her first round of major certification-crazy-you-don't-ever-get-to-do-acupuncture-DAMMIT-if you-don't-pass-this exam. This was exhilarating for HER and ME! Woooo-hooo! TJ hates these exams but this go 'round she totally grabbed this Texas Bull by the horns and tackled it. No messing around. There is much celebration to be had!
In Anna news, she is beautiful, happy, and smart and sweet. We love her to pieces and enjoy spending time with her. She's at the age where you can reason with her with no freak-outs, you can answer her thoughtful questions and ask her tough ones, and just darn-well talk to her like the little person she is. A few weeks ago we brought her for an eye exam and they had to put eye drops into her eyes. While I had to hold her down for the Flu Mist a few months ago, the eye drops were a freakin' piece of cake! Who knew? She still gives us the spontaneous I LOVE YOUs and "you're the best mommy in the whole wide world" and all that stuff. She's also learning that if mommy says no, maybe she should try daddy! At this point, it's not a manipulative thing directly; it's more of heck, why not give it a shot? I know, I know, this is how it starts. We're aware.
Also today she told me that daddy said "shit" and he shouldn't because that's a bad word. She had asked me about this a few weeks ago: "Momma, is shit a bad word?" The word "shit" coming out of a 4 year old's mouth is well...freaking funny. Sorry.
She's also learning to lie, and when we bust her it breaks her heart she disappointed us. If we're too hard on her she melts into tears and apologies. Dang, this child is SO SENSITIVE! Love her tons.
I will be applying for the astronaut corps this go 'round, since the opportunity is open until sometime in Jan. I haven't really done much to get my application together yet, since I'm keeping pretty busy otherwise. But I'll get it in.
Teaching is officially done for the semester, woo-hoo! I get my Monday nights back until mid Jan. No Disney trip this year (lamenting, seriously lamenting), but we run the Houston Half marathon mid Jan. I ran my fastest 5k this weekend. Mile 1 was a 10:07 pace (HOLY COW!), Mile 2 was a 10:37 pace, and my overall for the 5k was a pace of 10:54 or something. That's a sub 11 minute pace, which I think is a record for me. And I felt GREAT! I could have gone faster.
Anyway, that's us in a nutshell. What a great day! At the same time the Grocery Station was being filmed, Paul was looking at a new building, and TJ was passing her major exam. LOVE THAT when that kind of energy aligns! Wonder what Anna's day was like? I bought her a whole bunch of neat stuff from a book fair I ran into today. She'll love that! Life is good!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving!
We are in Arkansas this year, at Paul's family's house. A 9 hr drive. I can't even believe how good Anna was, just drawing and listening to music for the whole ride. Not even a movie! When it got dark we started getting goofy with the mini flashlight and I put it in my mouth to light my cheeks up, which she thought was hilarious...and which she tried about 20 min later after a meal of chicken nuggets, fries, and chocolate milk. This part is important.
The only thing I saw was her cheeks light up and then all I heard was "eww, this has mommy's germs!" And I saw her taking the flashlight out of mouth, heard her gag, and saw stuff coming out of her mouth! And by stuff I mean chocolate milk, chicken nuggets, and fries. And while Paul was yelling at me to DO something, my brain was saying "does not compute" another round came spewing out. This round I held the Happy Meal box out as her target and told Paul he'd better pull over!
Out the nose and all, it was mighty impressive! She was grossed out about her first puke episode ever. Especially about the nose vomit. She actually had a few rounds of it, all because of a gag reflex she associated with mommy's germs (she won't even drink after anyone...germs you know).
Puke all over my precious truck that she doesn't even like to spill crumbs in (sorry mommy!). Luckily we were right around the corner from our final destination so we rinsed her mouth, wiped up the obvious, and gave her a piece of gum. On the drive away, she just said she was "so sorry mommy", as if I'd be mad! Ha oh poor girl! She showed up to Paul's family in pink leopard print pajama bottoms and a glittery shirt that said "My Daddy Rocks", along with10 hour-old messed out Dorothy braids. Hello all! She was surprisingly fine the rest of the night and I congratulated her for getting through her first puke episode. Yes I'm aware we are lucky to have made it this far without experiencing vomit. She had a great rest of the night and Paul did a good job of cleaning the puke out of the truck.
Happy Thanksgiving!
The only thing I saw was her cheeks light up and then all I heard was "eww, this has mommy's germs!" And I saw her taking the flashlight out of mouth, heard her gag, and saw stuff coming out of her mouth! And by stuff I mean chocolate milk, chicken nuggets, and fries. And while Paul was yelling at me to DO something, my brain was saying "does not compute" another round came spewing out. This round I held the Happy Meal box out as her target and told Paul he'd better pull over!
Out the nose and all, it was mighty impressive! She was grossed out about her first puke episode ever. Especially about the nose vomit. She actually had a few rounds of it, all because of a gag reflex she associated with mommy's germs (she won't even drink after anyone...germs you know).
Puke all over my precious truck that she doesn't even like to spill crumbs in (sorry mommy!). Luckily we were right around the corner from our final destination so we rinsed her mouth, wiped up the obvious, and gave her a piece of gum. On the drive away, she just said she was "so sorry mommy", as if I'd be mad! Ha oh poor girl! She showed up to Paul's family in pink leopard print pajama bottoms and a glittery shirt that said "My Daddy Rocks", along with10 hour-old messed out Dorothy braids. Hello all! She was surprisingly fine the rest of the night and I congratulated her for getting through her first puke episode. Yes I'm aware we are lucky to have made it this far without experiencing vomit. She had a great rest of the night and Paul did a good job of cleaning the puke out of the truck.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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