The Ill-Advised 25 Things

My goodness, it's been a long time! I thought, at the beginning of my unemployment, that I'd be posting all the time. Obviously, that was not to be. I don't even know where the time goes. Okay, I can think of a few things. Kid A's a lot more fun these days, and when she's with me (she has spent some time with her care provider to keep some continuity, and to provide me an opportunity to handle some miscellaneous things), I have hardly a minute of down time. Facebook has proven endlessly fascinating of late: people have been exploding out of the woodwork of the past, and whenever I'm online, it's hard to tear myself away. And TM has gotten us completely sucked into Battlestar Galactica. Yeah, shut up. It's a good show.

In the interest of brevity, and in an effort to cover as much of the last few weeks as possible, I am inspired by the silly "25 Things About Me" that seems to have taken Facebook by storm.

1. We just transitioned Kid A to her own crib. This is night 3. I was surprised, on the first night, at how sad I was to have her out of our bed. If someone had told me before she was born that she was going to spend almost 7 months sleeping in our bed with us, I would have said that person was out of his mind. Just goes to show, I guess, that nothing, especially parenthood, ends up fitting in with one's preconceptions.
2. The transition to the crib has gone really really well. She's handled it great, and it really is nice to reclaim our bedroom.
3. I went to IKEA today and bought a new dresser for our bedroom. Yay!
4. I have been engaging my domestic goddess fantasies somewhat. Last week was all about cooking. (The last couple of weeks, actually.) Here is a partial list of some of the dishes I have made:
- chocolate chip banana bread
- havarti-and-oregano-stuffed chicken breasts with mustard sauce
- spinach and bacon quiche
- butternut squash pecan spice bread
- baby food (butternut squash and peaches)
- chicken thighs with tomatoes, capers, anchovies and olives
5. Kid A's diet is increasing in variety. She now eats peaches, pears, squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, avocado, Cheerios, oatmeal, bananas, and rice cereal. We haven't tried peas again since the first time (they made her cry!).
6. Kid A can now sit up independently and reliably. This means that she can play independently for longer periods of time, which is both fun to watch and also a benefit to getting adult things done (albeit brief adult things).
7. She has cut her first tooth. It's still pretty close to the gumline, so I haven't actually seen it, but I've been able to feel it for about a week now.
8. I officially have a job! I start on Monday, February 9. I just received my final offer letter via fax today.
9. I just realized that this isn't so much "25 Things About Me" as it is "A couple of things about me and 20-some-odd things about my daughter." *sigh*
10. I am surprised at how hard it has been to get the baby weight off. It kinda sucks, actually.
11. The various projects I had for myself -- the photos, the sewn scarf, the crocheting, the quilt-making -- none of them has materialized. I started the scarf, and I've cut out some pieces for the quilt, and I've made half of one crocheted baby bootie. Nothing completed.
12. My dad has got me worried. He's so depressed (or out of it, or something) that he never calls anymore. I'm trying to work on some of his financial affairs, since he's in pretty bad shape, and I call him every 3-4 days, but he never calls anymore. This is highly unusual for him. This has been going on for several weeks. I have no idea what's going to happen.
13. I turn 36 in 3 weeks.
14. Kid A turns 7 months on Friday.
15. I bought a new baby carrier (2nd hand, off the internet) for Kid A recently -- an Ergo -- and I love it. This morning Kid A and I went on a brisk (okay, cold) morning walk.
16. Having so many people from my past pop up on Facebook is tripping me out. It has me reminiscing, for sure, but also thinking, "Am I still who I was then? What changes? What stays the same?"
17. I have decided that someday, when Kid A is much, much older, I will probably return to grad school. Can't get enough, apparently!
18. I was 18 when I got my first tattoo. I have many tattoos now that I like, but that is the one that I dislike. Someday, I will get it covered up with a piece of ink that I feel good about.
19. Now that Kid A is grabbing at my face all the time, I badly want eye surgery to correct my vision! I haven't been able to wear contacts for years.
20. I am tired and should probably be in bed.
21. I can't stand forwarded emails that are all, "pass this on in the next 5 minutes and you shall have your hearts desire!"
22. I should probably make a list of all the things I have to do tomorrow.
23. One of my favorite little unemployment projects has been adding to my recipe collection. I started a journal-type book, into which I'm cutting and pasting (like literally, not the cyber kind of cut and paste) recipes that I've gotten off the internet, or from magazines, etc. I have quite a few new recipes to try, as well.
24. I was 21 years old when I got engaged; 25 when I got married.
25. Before I became a mom, I had dreams every night, and could almost always remember them in the morning. This used to be a regular topic of conversation for TM and me. Now I'm lucky if I remember one dream a week.

Wow, I did it. Not sure I would do that again as a blog post, but there you have it. I hope it wasn't too boring!