I'm Bugged

That's it. I'm not stepping outside one more time for three weeks, until the day we move away from this infernal state.

I'm washing floors today. Todd sometimes uses the same bucket for car washing with his Boy Scouts. There was some residual car wash soap, as well as a dead bug, in the bottom of the bucket when I took it off the shelf half an hour ago. I took the bucket outside to spray it out with our water spigot.

Apparently, when I turned on the water, I disturbed a hill of fire ants.
Before you could count to three, my entire foot was stinging. I looked down, and fire ants were swarming all over the driveway and up both my legs. I immediately dumped the water from the bucket on my legs and then picked the rest of the ants off with my fingers as fast as I could. Too late to avoid bites.

Look how red my second toe is. And do you see the big white bite in the middle? I hate these guys! They are so vicious.
And then, as I was hurrying inside to get the anti-itch cream I badly needed, I was bit TWICE on the arm by an airborne insect. I batted it away quickly and am not sure if it was a wasp or a spider or what. So there's a huge welt on my arm, too. Todd thinks it was a muddigger wasp, coming back for revenge since we knocked their nest down the other day.

I'm so ticked. I hate Alabama bugs. August 20th couldn't come any sooner...

Additional Note: Two and a half hours later, I broke my oath and cut Todd's hair out on the back patio, because I didn't want the hair clippings all over my freshly washed floor. I wore shoes: Todd did not. Todd got NINE bites on his feet, possibly from spiders, because they are huge and itchy and fire ant bites usually don't bother him like they do me. The insects are planning a complete take-over!

More News!!!

We have another piece of rather large news to divulge. However, this news is not so exciting, quite the opposite. We finish up flight school here in Alabama in about a month, after which we were planning on returning to California. Well, we're not; at least not for another year. Looks like I'll be heading to Afghanistan and Angie will be moving to Utah coming this August. I'll be doing some training in Oklahoma from October-December; so hopefully I'll be able to come home for the baby's birth around 1 December. Then December to October-ish overseas. We're looking forward to having a baby, but not so much this time apart. I'm sure Angie will get lots of help from family and friends as she learns to take care of a new baby, so thanks in advance.

I'm sure that everyone has varying opinions about the war, but I for one believe that all men (not just Americans) "are created equal" and are "endowed by their creator with certain unailiable rights." I am proud to be able to stand up for the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness of others, irregardless of nationality. Proud to stand up against those that champion fear and anarchy.

The war hasn't gone as well as planned. War never does. It's easy to sit back and second guess other's decisions; they should've done this or that, etc. However, all too often this criticism comes from those unwilling to DO anything but offer criticism, and suggest inaction was and is the best course of action , that "someone else" should take care of the problem.

Looks like that someone else is me, and I'll be proud to do it.

The Results Are In, And...

Last night, Todd and I tossed and turned. Neither of us could sleep soundly. When the alarm went off this morning, I hopped out of bed all starry-eyed. (Todd, of course, continued to rest while I took my eternal shower.)

Today is the big day. Is The Bean a boy or a girl? Todd and I had made a plan ahead of time that we would go out for lunch to celebrate after the doctor's appointment. If the baby is a boy, we would get ribs at TGI Friday's. (Mmm, ribs! Manly!) If it is a girl, we would get sandwiches and fruit salad at Atlanta Bread Company. (Such a "girl's day out" location.)

I had to drink 32 ounces of water just on the drive over to our appointment. Let me tell you, that was a task! It's one thing to guzzle 16 ice-cold ounces when you finish a workout (that I can do in a snap). It's something else entirely to force yourself to keep drinking as the water gets warmer, and your stomach starts to bulge out like a drum, and you're so far from thirsty. I've heard horror stories about dying with the need to relieve yourself during the ultrasound, and am delighted to report that I was able to maintain my composure quite well until afterwards.

This was the first doctor's appointment Todd's been able to make it to, so it was pretty cool to watch him watch the ultrasound machine. It's just different being there in person than it is reliving it on the TV at home. Our baby is so sweet! Long arms and legs now (not buds any more), and we could see such a good profile - a sweet nose and upper lip jutting out.

The technician had a tricky time finding out the gender for us. The Bean was pretty shy, and wanted to keep his/her legs together . The lady kept jostling my stomach around with the ultrasound stick to try and make the baby move around. But eventually we did get some pretty clear shots, and so here is what we had for lunch.....

THE BEAN IS A GIRL!!!

What kind?!

Are you dying to know if The Bean is a boy or a girl? We are dying here.
Is it Friday yet? Is it Friday yet?

Reminiscing

Now that summer has come to Alabama , there is only a very fine window of time when it is bearable to be outside. The heat and the humidity are overbearing all day long, and the bugs come out with a vengeance once the sun goes down. These days, I mostly stay inside where the air conditioning makes me want to snuggle up with a blanket.

But I still like to take a daily walk, which means I watch the clock after dinner. The only semi-comfortable time is from 7:30-8:00 at night. It's cooled off enough to be bearable, and it's not quite dark yet, so the bugs are still tolerable.

Tonight I headed out at 7:36. It was muggy, but the wind was blowing and there were clouds headed our way for a rainstorm, which always cools things off AND keeps the bugs away. Bonus!

At 7:41 I felt a small raindrop on my arm. I kept going.

At 7:44 four more raindrops hit me, two on the arm, one on the leg, and one on the face. I thought about turning around, but decided I was close to halfway through the route so I might as well continue on and get a couple hills in.

7:45: The rain started to pour. Pour. And you know what, I smiled. I kept walking, got more and more wet, and got nostalgic. It made me think about how often I went out in rainstorms when I was a teenager. I would dance in the rain, jump in the puddles, walk through the rivers in the gutter. I loved being outside in the rain. I decided to love it today.

Only one problem: going downhill, my feet were sliding out of the front of my flip-flops. I was afraid I would scrape my toes on the road, so ... I just took my shoes off. I walked a little slower after that, but felt it was worth it.

Cars passed, and I waved and smiled. Who knows what they were thinking. It reminded me of a time in junior high that my friend Lacy and I were walking home from school and her mom came to pick us up because it was raining. We declined the car ride, and walked the mile in the rain instead, mostly in the gutter rivers. Just because it was fun.

Why don't I do things like this more often? It felt so good to let go and be young!

8:03: Walked in the house, took my sopping picture and hung my wet clothes on the banister to dry.

Pink or Blue?

Todd and I have been anxiously counting down the months, weeks, and now days until Friday, July 18th, the day we find out if The Bean is a boy or a girl. We are dying with anticipation, and really hoping we get a clear view on the ultrasound so the suspense can be laid to rest and we can stop calling The Bean an "it."
Basically every day, I ask Todd what kind he thinks the baby is, and then I tell him what I'm thinking. Our answers vary from day to day, depending on gut instincts. We also have to rate it. For instance, Todd will say, "I'm feeling boy, 55%," or "Girl today, 62." In general, Todd thinks it's a boy the majority of the time, but rarely goes above 58%. I swing all over the board, and have even thought boy AND girl as strongly as 85% on different days. We were both in a girl kick right after my dream I posted about a couple weeks ago, but for the most part, it's been a tight race.

As the countdown begins (only nine days left!), we enlist the gut instincts of all our faithful readers. Please vote for what you think we're having on the poll on the sidebar. One vote per person, and please, everyone let us know what you think. It's all fun and games. And the poll is open!

The Big Easy

With only seven or eight weeks left until we move out of the South (yay!), Todd and I decided to take advantage of the time he had off for the holiday and drive out to New Orleans, Louisiana for the Fourth of July.

We left Thursday morning and arrived in N.O. in the afternoon. We planned to visit the Contemporary Arts Center, a large museum with a sizable collection of contemporary art, local and otherwise, that just happened to be free on Thursdays. Unfortunately, when we got there, a sign on the door announced that it was closed for renovations until the following week. Small frown.
Instead, we hopped on the streetcar (half trolley, half bus) and rode it uptown and back, getting a great view of the Garden District and plenty of true Southern-style homes. We also noticed that there were Mardi Gras beads stuck in tons of the trees, as though they had been thrown up there and never cleaned off. Interesting.
For dinner we had roast beef and ham Po Boys at Mother's Restaurant, complete with debris. Debris? you might ask. Sounded gross, until we found a list of terms and their definitions on the back of the menu. It's the roast beef that falls into the gravy when it's being cooked. Super soft and way too delicious. We were impressed with the spicy Cajun mustard, as well.
Then we took a stroll through the French Quarter, including Bourbon Street. It was after 7:00 at that point, and the parties were just getting started. Todd received a "Party Pooper" ticket because we didn't look like we were drunk yet. The whole street was scandalous. I kept covering Todd's eyes, and eventually, we just cut over to the next block. I asked Todd if that was what Vegas was like, and he said no, that made Vegas look tame. I'll spare you the rest of the details.
At 8:00, we went to Preservation Hall for a traditional jazz concert. It was a big band night and took me back to college, when I used to go to jazz class improv jam sessions. Ah, yeah! We've got some of the music on the video below, if you want to check it out yourself.
Friday we went on a swamp tour through the Louisiana bayou. We saw lots of little alligators (maybe four feet) and plenty of egrets and mullet fish, along with lots of true bayou trees. For lunch we had to try crawfish kickers at the local diner. The locals were speaking another language - Creole French, I believe. It was cool to hear.
Later Todd and I went on a hike through a bayou in a natural preserve. It was cool. There were banana spiders everywhere, and tons of frogs with lots of different calls. One of them sounded like a sheep "baa-ing." Craziness.
We had Cajun pasta for dinner, and then watched the Fourth of July fireworks lit off a barge on the Mississippi River.
Saturday we drove to the Baton Rouge Temple and did a session, and then we drove home. It was a fun little trip.
Here's the video Todd made. I really dig that music!