Beating the Spread

I'm considering a form of Chinese foot binding.  All day yesterday, the bottoms of my feet felt bruised.  Today I the shoes I was wearing yesterday are too tight.  I can hope that my feet are just swollen, but stretching ligaments could explain yesterday's sore feet and today's ill-fitting shoes.  I already have wide feet--short, wide feet.  It runs in the family.  I'm pretty sure that both my dad and grandpa wear EEE shoes that they specially order.  If my feet get wider, I'm going to have cubes at the ends of my legs.

I don't want to buy new shoes.  I like my shoes, and I'm not sure how I will find cute cube-shaped shoes.  I already have trouble wearing fairly high heels because my feet are so short, and my short toes don't peep out of peep-toe shoes.  And totally flat shoes make my calves look chunky.  Of course, cubes for feet will keep people from looking at my calves.  What a silver lining!

All's Forgiven...Maybe

I've been feeling a little bad for a couple of days because the baby stopped being active for a while after I laid on his head one night.  I was trying to get comfortable in bed, and I'm often able to get into a tripod position that keeps most of my weight off my belly.  The other night, though, I was getting kicked on one side and so tried to lay on the other, and the tripod position didn't work because there was a head on that side.  I wriggled around and got off his head when I realized what I had done, but he shifted positions and stayed quiet for a few days after that.  Not that I minded a bit of peace after his recent assaults, but it was becoming worrysome.

So I thought that I have apparently been forgiven for laying on his head because he's kicking a bit again.  But then I realized that he might have been sulking for a few days.  Or maybe he was scared to move.  Or maybe he decided to start kicking because he's worried about me and trying to tell me to go to bed instead of blogging after midnight when I already have a sore throat.  My interpretation of his actions is pure speculation and says more about me than him.  Matt can tell you that it is not uncommon for me to project feelings onto others.  So the poor kid whose mother laid on his head is being projected on, and he's likely to be projected on for the rest of his life if his mother can't learn to stop doing it.  I can, however, promise not to lay on his head for the rest of his life.  A baby step on the path to "perfect" parenting. :)

OMG: Obviously More than Gas

The baby has just become noticeably active over the last few days. Yesterday, I though his foot was going to exit the lower left corner of my abdomen.  Until then, I hadn't been completely sure what I was feeling.  I've had pangs from my stretching uterus since the beginning of the pregnancy, and I've had weird rolling gassy feelings most of my life.  But this was obviously not gas. I grabbed my side in case my belly ruptured (as I felt it had) and my guts started spilling out.  Other than that jab, he hasn't assaulted me so fiercely.  So far he's actually been very obliging when I ask him to stop laying on my bladder or to quit kicking me when I'm tired.  I can only hope he'll continue to be so obliging after he arrives, but I'm not holding my breath. After finding out the sex of the baby, registering for baby stuff, feeling the baby move, and beginning to outgrow my clothes, I finally feel pregnant.  It only took 24 weeks (goodness! nearly 6 months).

Nesting: Registering & Nursery Prep

Most of the baby items we registered for are at Walmart, but we liked some things at Target.  So Matt and I started a baby registry at Target when we were in Elizabethtown yesterday.  Mostly, the registry has a breast pump and some clothes.  Target has much more infant clothing than Walmart, and it's super cute.

There were a couple of packages of onesies that we registered for in multiple sizes.  Our child won't have much variety in his wardrobe, but he'll be cute for a whole year.

The monster onesies have matching bibs with monsters eating the cars and helicopters coming at them.









There's an outfit on the registry that would be a cute coming home from the hospital outfit, which includes a hat, booties and bib.  The legs can be snapped together to make a gown, too.






I cleaned out the nursery this week and organized the few items in the baby's closet.  We bought a cream-colored rug at Big Lots when we moved here, which is on the hardwood floor in the nursery.  The walls are painted white.  I plan to use wall art that we already own.  I have no plans for themed bedding; the fitted crib sheets we've registered for are neutral.  I did buy some removable wall stickers at Dollar Tree if we want to decorate some more.  Now we need furniture and a baby.  Fortunately, we have four months to come up with both.

Maternity Clothes are Made to Make You Look Pregnant

Tonight I was doing laundry in preparation for our travels and threw my favorite non-maternity jeans in the washing machine.  The jeans shrink a little when they're washed, so I don't wash them often.  However, today I accidentally took off those jeans without unfastening them and so decided they could probably use a good wash and a little shrinking.  While my favorite jeans were washing, I remembered that I wanted to use our free dinner vouchers at the university dining hall for supper and discovered that the dining hall closed in 30 minutes.  Since my favorite jeans were not available, I tried on my brown pants that fit snugly last week.  They fit even more snugly today and might have exploded off me as my stomach got fuller while eating.  It became clear that my one pair of maternity jeans was my only option, so I put them on.

I remember my maternity jeans being comfortable when I tried them on a few months ago, but tonight they felt like they were going to fall off of me, not a good feeling when you're about to go out in public.  There was no waistband to help them stay on, and they aren't snug around my hips.  Eventually, these things will be assets, but now they make me want to buy suspenders.  Having no other choices, I pulled my sweater down over the maternity jeans and was going to glance at myself quickly in the mirror before rushing out the door, but I was unable to rush because I was transfixed by the image of myself looking very pregnant.  My sweater was bulging with belly.  Before putting the maternity jeans on, my belly barely caused a ripple in my sweater.  And my sweater was just short of covering the maternity panel.  But I had no other options.

While filling my plate in the dining hall, I kept hitching up my pants to keep them from feeling saggy though they were never in serious danger of falling off.  After we ate, I wanted to go to Walmart to return a few items and add some toys to the baby registry.  I tugged on my pants throughout the trip to Walmart and realized that, though I was having fun picking out toys, my face's default expression was not a pleasant one because I was peeved with my pants.  My abdomen felt like it was straining outward to provide enough tension to hold up the pants, and it was failing to do anything but make me look huge and feel bloated (and it wasn't because I was gassy this time).

On the way home I grumbled to Matt about my pants but admitted that as bad as the waistless full panel jeans are they are probably better than the "muffin top" that under-belly maternity jeans would give me.  I have considered suspenders or a belt until my belly is able to hold up the maternity jeans securely.  Having a short torso, I can almost tuck the top of the panel under my bra.  But for now my non-maternity jeans are still the best option, and I may not wash them again until after the baby is born so that I can wear them as much as possible before and immediately our baby's arrival.

Some women really look forward to looking and feeling pregnant.  Many women are completely sick of looking and feeling pregnant by the time they have their babies.  I'm not interested in binding my abdomen for vanity's sake, but I'm also in no hurry to look or feel pregnant.  I have several more months to look and feel pregnant.  Why rush it if I feel better and look better in non-maternity jeans?

So at this moment I am sitting on my couch in my newly cleaned and shrunken non-maternity jeans, stretching them a little for maximum comfort during our travels, blogging about how I hate maternity pants, and feeling thankful that my pregnancy has so few problems that I'm ranting about saggy pants.

...

I decided to take pictures to show what I'm talking about (I'm a little obsessed):
non-maternity jeans (with "slimming" panels) ** maternity jeans ** non-maternity knit lounge pants (the experiment's control)

Matt and I agree that the maternity pants add a month or two of roundness that the others don't.

And they make me feel like my guts are trying to rush out of my navel.  I think a waistband reminds my abs to try to hold in my guts. I'm not talking about sucking in to make me slimmer but "engaging" the abs enough to provide reasonable support to the organs beneath.  Without a waistband, my abs are apparently forgetful.

As another point of comparison, I found a picture of me taken August 31 (approximately 8 weeks pregnant)

The angle is different and the clothes are different, but you can see the same protuberance in my upper abdomen, above my waist, in both pictures.  Mostly my belly is just firmer than it was then because there's more in there than there used to be.  That's why I was so shocked to see how round I looked in the maternity jeans.

The Baby Registry is Started

Today Matt and I went to Walmart to put items on the baby registry, which is in our names because the baby doesn't have a name yet.  I had a list of items with comments from trusted mothers, and we registered for almost everything on the list.  I have a few more items to add, but I thought I'd talk to my sister when we go to Missouri before adding those.  She hasn't been involved in the email consultations I've been doing with other new mothers I know.

Matt always has fun playing with the toys, and he found several non-electronic toys that jingle and rattle when manipulated by a baby.  I'm particularly fond of sock rattles for some reason.  We both agreed that the combination book/teether didn't send the right message about how to treat books, a very important lesson in a family that dedicates an entire room to books (and office stuff) no matter how small the apartment.  I realized later that we didn't actually go to the toy department while we were registering, so we'll make another outing for further toy registering sometime.  I've had my eye on a stuffed sea horse that glows gently and makes soft music and waves on the seashore noises for bedtime.  It kind of reminds me of the Glo-Worm I had when I was little.

While we were at Walmart, I hit the clearance rack and got a 0-9 months blanket sleeper for $5 and a changing pad with storage pockets, which rang up as $2.50 at the register.  Yay!  I decided to put a few diapers and an article of clothing in the changing pad pockets when we got home.  The diapers are so small and cute; they have Big Bird and Snuffy on them.  I realized how small our baby will be, and I guess he'll be similarly cute because he'll be wearing the Big Bird/Snuffy diapers.

When I have access to a Target store, I'll probably register for some things there, too.  The times we've gone to the Target in Elizabethtown we've seen some things we like, mostly clothes and bibs.  And they have the breast pump recommended by the nurse practitioner in Madison.

I gave my resume to the chair of the English department today and am hoping that job works out and pays enough to get some of the big ticket items that we may not receive from friends and family: a dresser, a rocker-recliner, a really nice breast pump, and a crib.  There may be plenty of other items we don't receive as gifts, but hopefully we can stretch those purchases out over several months.

Now I just need to clean out the extra bedroom so we have a place to put the baby and all his stuff.

What's-His-Name sure is a snappy dresser!

Our son has no name, but he has the beginning of a wardrobe.  I've been picking up a few pieces when I find something cute and inexpensive.  I thought I'd share a few pictures on the blog along with the careers they suggest.  It's never to early to dress for success. :)

These are some dinosaur onesies I got in a dollar store in Springfield. (Paleontologist)

A space-themed footed sleeper from Big Lots.  (Astronomer.  I'm not sure I want him leaving the planet without me, so I'm not recommending astronaut at this time.)

Some glow-in-the-dark post-Halloween clearance onesies from Walmart. I plan to write the names of the bones on the skeleton one. (Anatomist or doctor)   The top one says "I love my mummy." (Archaeologist)

Post-Halloween clearance lion costume from Walmart.  I doubt we'll do anything Halloweeny next year, but I liked that the two pieces could be worn anytime and separately.  The striped footed onesie could be worn alone or with pants if it's cold enough.  The lion part of the costume is a fleece hooded vest.  Super cute as an early fall hoody before a full coat is necessary.  (Zoologist, veterinarian, actor, Dr. Doolittle, Clinton Kelly - he split his first suit into separate mix-and-match pieces!)

Semi-footed pajama on clearance at Big Lots.  I think this was intended for a girl, but when I bought it I felt that flowers and bees are not only for girls.  I was able to talk myself into believing it was gender-neutral because I like the feet (see below).  (Botanist, entomologist)

The feet have a cuff that can go over the toe to make them footed pajamas or can be rolled back to leave the feet out.  As someone who likes to wear one piece PJs but doesn't like her feet covered while in bed, I would love to have a set of these for myself.  They even have non-skid studs on the bottom of the feet.

They're blue with an insect on them, and they have multi-tasking gadgety feet.  What about that doesn't sound like something a boy would like?

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We're having a boy!

I meant to call family to tell them, but I was so exhausted after my appointment that I slept all afternoon.  The baby is healthy and the right size and active and male.  They estimate he weighs 12 ounces.  His heart rate was higher than it has been (camera anxiety?) but not dangerous.  My blood pressure was down this month (123/86).  Perhaps Luther Memorial really was raising my blood pressure.  I've gained three pounds since last month.  Apparently, the post-Thanksgiving weigh-in I did at home was water weight or something else temporary.  I figure that even if I gain a pound a week for the rest of the pregnancy, I'll be within a healthy range.  I'm still wearing my normal clothes but will probably need my maternity jeans by Christmas.  I think I felt him move this morning, but they said that the location of the placenta may prevent me from feeling movement as soon as I otherwise might.  Right now, he's still just "him" because we don't have a name for him yet.  Names under consideration include Neal, Graham, Miles, Cameron and Nelson.  Feedback on names is welcome but may be completely ignored.

Home from Thanksgiving Travels

We're back from our trip to see Matt's parents in Michigan for Thanksgiving, and somehow I've gained five pounds in the last five days.  At least I have a food-heavy holiday to blame. :)  Rick, Cathy and Drew were also part of the holiday fun.  It's nice to see family, but right now it feels REALLY nice to be home.

No substitute left behind

I did some research, and Kentucky certifies only substitutes who have degrees in education.  If you don't have a degree in education, you can get emergency certification if you have any 4-year degree.  But you aren't at the top of anyone's call list, and you make less money.  In Campbellsville, I would make $53 for a full day of substituting.  I made almost twice that in Springfield!  I'm not sure it's worth buying work-appropriate maternity clothes to make about $7 an hour.  If we really, really need the money and nothing else pans out, I'll look into it again.  But it's not as good as an option as I'd hoped.  I would think that being qualified to teach college English courses would make me worth more than $53 a day as an English substitute.

So I'll put my effort into my resume.  I'd rather build a website than substitute teach anyway.  I really just need something flexible to do until I can start adjunct teaching next fall.

NRO @ LMC: R.I.P

Other than being available to answer questions, I am pretty much through working for Luther Memorial. After 5.5 years, I'm moving on! To what, I'm not sure. I'm going to look into substitute teaching at the two school districts in town. I'm also working on my resume to be eligible for a web design job for the English Department at Campbellsville University. Until another job comes along, I'll clean the house, unpack boxes, and practice/learn Javascript and PHP.  Plenty to keep me busy.

I'm still pregnant

For several days, I have had a fear in the back of my mind that maybe I was carrying a dead baby.  I don't FEEL pregnant.  I'm still wearing my own clothes, and I've lost half a pound since my last appointment.  No baby movement yet. And my body and mood are no weirder than normal.  But there is still a heartbeat in my abdomen, so everything's OK.

I was able to combine the next appointment with my ultrasound, but it will have to be after Thanksgiving.  I was hoping to know the sex of my child by Thanksgiving, but oh well.  In many ways it doesn't matter.  The furnishings and gear we like are gender-neutral.  I've already bought a couple of dinosaur onesies and a space-themed pair of pajamas for him/her.  The child may eventually prefer tiaras and boas, but at first s/he will wear dinosaurs and planets.  The heart rate was 156, so I still hold out some hope that the child is female.  Otherwise, he would be a boy putting on the affect of femininity.  Tiaras and boas, here he comes!  :)

My blood pressure was still high.  The first two tries were alarmingly high: 149/95.  The last one was what it has been the last few visits: 135/85.  My blood work confirmed I'm still A-, so I've got injections in my future.  They gave me a seasonal and an H1N1 flu shot, too.

Matt was able to come with me this time.  It wasn't a terribly exciting appointment.  The next one should be better.  At least he brought a book. :)

We did have fun after the appointment.  We bought groceries and went to Walgreen's.  Then we ate KFC!  (There's not a KFC in Campbellsville.)

My day started early because I had true bad dreams about church camp.  My first experience was pretty horrible, and yet I went back.

Since I was up early, I cleaned the kitchen a little.  And as soon as Matt got out of bed, I made the bed, something I haven't bothered to do in years.  I think I was proving that I was still the tidy girl I was my first week of camp.  My husband probably wishes I was that tidy everyday.

My cold is finally better.  I tried singing this morning with my mp3 player as I was cleaning.  My voice is still raspy and cuts out on the higher notes.  I typically have trouble with the lower notes of Leona Lewis' "Better in Time," but I hit those just fine.  My mind and body acted like I could hit the higher notes I usually hit, but no sound came out.  I was like a skipping record/cd.  I haven't tried screaming since I saw the mutant cricket who died trying to get into the washing machine, but I kind of doubt my screamer is working.  If I lived in a scary town, I'd need to buy a whistle to alert people to my need for help.  My "woo-hoos" are a little puny still, but they're making progress.

Overall, it was a good day: singing, dancing, cleaning, peeing in a cup (urine tests give me test anxiety), getting shots, buying groceries, eating yummy chicken strips with mashed potatoes and coleslaw and a biscuit with honey.  No wonder I'm tired!

The Cold that Just Wouldn't Quit

This is not an inspirational story about the little virus that could.  About 2 weeks ago I came down with a cold.  It went through it's normal progression of runny nose to stuffy nose to chest congestion to productive cough.  But the cough and the runny nose just won't give it up and completely let go.  I'm much, much better but still occasionally see thick, clear mucous in my Kleenex after I blow my nose or cough something up.  And I just don't feel "well" yet.  I keep hoping that consistent antidepressants, fluids and rest will take care of it.  If I'm not better by my OB appointment next week, I'll ask what I can do to finally defeat the evil little thing inside me that has taken over my body. ...  To clarify, that would be the virus, not the baby, I'm hoping to defeat.  I am assuming that the baby, despite original sin, is good. Though there's nothing like reading books about the Enlightenment, especially the French Revolution, to bolster your belief in original sin over Rousseau's ideas about innate human goodness, but that's another post for another time. :)

I have a follower!

I feel like a real blogger now that I have a follower.  Thanks, Olga!  Perhaps this is incentive to post more often.

Well, I FEEL fine.

I had a doctor's appointment today.  The baby's heart is beating and I haven't gained any weight.  My blood pressure is higher than it normally is 134/83.  I think it's probably not really that high.  I've been in slightly stressful conversations both times they've taken my blood pressure.  The first time they were telling me I forgot to get my debit card back from them after paying my co-pay and that they wouldn't be able to give me a receipt, which I need because I'm using a flexible spending account.  Financial conversations are not good for blood pressure.  This time the nurse was telling me that my medical records had not arrived from Wisconsin yet, which meant they might have to redo my blood work.  Needles are not good for blood pressure.  Honestly, I don't think that conversation is good for blood pressure.  And I already know that I have a "white coat" reaction, especially with new doctors.  But my excuses don't actually erase the potential problems.  Dr. Reynolds told me that blood pressure should go down early in pregnancy before going back up at 28 weeks.  So even a "normal" blood pressure would be problematic.  He says he can nearly guarantee that blood pressure will be an issue later in the pregnancy.  THAT DOES NOT HELP MY BLOOD PRESSURE!  But it's not a problem yet and everything could turn out OK.

My other bit of news is that they found strep in my urine.  I'm not sure where my urine has been socializing that it would have gotten strep without my getting strep.  So I'm taking 500 mg of amoxicillin three times a day for the next week.  The first dose has upset my stomach a little.  Otherwise, I feel fine.  Stupid pee!  I hope it doesn't decide to get swine flu.  The doctor says I'll need antibiotics during labor/delivery, too.  Oh, and I'm Rh negative, so I'll need an injection for that, too.  Stupid blood!  Stupid bodily fluids!  My saliva hasn't offended yet, but I just know it's biding it's time.

But the day did have some bright spots.  I got free ice cream at McDonalds because they had an extra cup.  I dipped my french fries in it. Yum!  I went to Walgreens because I love Walgreens and they were giving flu shots.  I wasn't allowed to get a flu shot because I have to wait until at least 16 weeks.  But while I was waiting to learn that I couldn't have a flu shot, the lady checking me in asked how far along I am.  When I told her 12 weeks, she told me that I look really good, that I don't even look pregnant. That made me smile.  I'm wearing my regular clothes, and I do look pretty awesome.  Then I went to the Walmart Supercenter in Lebanon to see if they had some things ours doesn't carry, and discovered they had three aisles of clearance.  I love clearance!  And they had several of the things I've been looking for.

So I feel good, look awesome, and shop smart.  My blood and urine will just have to straighten up and be as awesome as the rest of me. :)

Really...I'm fine!

I get asked how I'm doing/feeling at least once a day.  I'm so fine that I don't think people believe me.  No morning sickness.  No cravings.  No unusual mood swings.  Maybe I just think nothing is unusual because my non-pregnant normal is so screwed up.  I'm hoping the rest of the pregnancy is as uneventful as the first trimester has been.
Actually, I'm in better shape now than before I was pregnant.  I've actually lost 5 pounds by eating healthier food.  And being fat before I got pregnant, my regular clothes aren't tight yet.  And Matt says my breasts aren't bigger, just denser, which is nice since my regular doctor in Madison said my breasts were not as dense as most young women.  She meant it as a compliment.  She said it makes breast exams easier (while she was doing a breast exam at an annual physical).  Of course, I didn't hear a compliment.  I heard "You have old lady boobs." :)

What will baby Oliver look like?

This evening I began wondering what our baby will look like.  I was sure that there were applications online that would morph my photo with Matt's to form a composite approximation of our child.  I used two different sites.  Here are the results:

I'm kind of impressed by how cute our kid could be.  In 7+ months we'll know for sure.  (I'm at 11 weeks but not expecting cuteness at the very beginning.)

Nose Herpes: Just Another Excuse to Accessorize

Two days ago I thought I had a pimple.  It turned out to be the first blister of a herpes outbreak on the tip of my nose.  The nose photo is from this morning, after about 18 hours of treatment.

I'm very paranoid about spreading the herpes.  This outbreak on a part of my body that has never been affected before substantiates my fear.  So last night I was concerned about accidentally wiping herpes on my pillow case in my sleep and spreading it to my cheek or ear or chin.  So Matt and I put a bandage over it, which kept both the herpes and the acyclovir cream on my nose.  Normally, I take antiviral pills when I get an outbreak, but since I'm pregnant the doctor prefers spot treating with antiviral cream.  The bandage stayed on all night, which helped me sleep better because I didn't fear reinfecting myself.  And it definitely make's a fashion statement: somewhere between a beak and bandanna.

Baby Oliver: No more photogenic than his/her parents

I don't have a scanner, so I took a digital picture of the ultrasound picture, which makes it appear even more blurry than it is.  But compared to some photos of me (i.e. my first driver's license photo), it isn't that bad.  The head is to the right, an arm bud is up, and the two bumps at the other end are legs.  Above the baby, the ultrasound tech typed "baby."  It's not just graffiti in my uterus.  Though how hard core would my kid be if s/he could tag the walls at 9 weeks!?!

Matt, who asked around and found my obstetrician, neglected to tell me that my doctor is foreign and tends to say whatever comes into his head.  The doctor was a little manic and wondered why I seemed anxious. :)  I was hoping that the first appointment for a first pregnancy would be reassuring, and I think he tried.  He told me I didn't need to do anything special while pregnant, just act like a normal human being.  Unfortunately, I think that using face wash with salicylic acid and eating lunch meat is normal human activity, and I'm not supposed to do either of those.  I think the doctor will be good after I get used to him.  All of the nurses and technicians were really nice, and I haven't met the other doctor in the practice yet.

Campbellsville Photos

Hi, everyone.  It's Matt.  I'll be posting from time to time with information about my new job and my own thoughts on our new home.  For today, I just wanted to post a few pictures that I took around campus when we visited back in July.  It was kind of gloomy that day, and I'm sure I could take some better ones now, but this will give you the general idea of where I'm working.

Here's Carter Hall, the building where the English Department is located:

Here's a closer view of the clock tower (lying on its side--sorry):

And here's a closer view of Carter Hall:

Here's their new chapel (in case you haven't been told, it's a Baptist school):

And finally, here's a historical landmark placard for you to read (the school's over 100 years old).  I might have more to post later, but this gives the general idea.

You call that a Penney's!?!

After my barbecue post, it will seem like I'm really disappointed with Campbellsville.  My problem is that I tend to have overly high expectations.  And the things that disappoint me are pretty trivial: restaurants and stores.

While Matt was at the movie theater yesterday, I checked out the long strip mall with a Maurice's, Cato's, J.C. Penney's, and a couple of shoe stores.  I figured that would keep me busy for a couple of hours.  I would have been right if the J.C. Penney's had not been pocket sized.  I estimate that I could walk from the front to the back of the store in 25 steps or less.  I could have tried on every item in the plus size section, one of every color not just every style, in about 15 minutes.  I remember going to the J.C. Penney's in Camden, Arkansas, when visiting my grandparents for Christmas and thinking, "This is smallest J.C. Penney's in the world."  I was soooo wrong.

Goody's opens Sept. 17, so I'm hoping it's bigger and better.  Otherwise, my clothing options are Walmart and Cato's or a trip to Elizabethtown (45 minutes away) or Louisville (1.5 hours away).  At least by working from home, I don't need as many clothes. I can wear sweat pants and t-shirts almost every day!

Smoke Pit Barbecue... it's better than Madison

There were some things I was hoping would be available now that I've moved south: Williams sausage, Pioneer baking mix, Coke Icee, pulled pork barbecue sandwiches, mayonnaise-based coleslaw.  We've had biscuits and gravy with our Williams sausage and Pioneer baking mix. Yum!  I have yet to find a Coke Icee.  The gas station we went to had fake Icees.  Kmart had Pepsi Icees.  Burger King's Icee machine broke only on the Coke side, not the cherry side.  The Coke Icee machine at the Madison Burger King was always broken.  I still hope to get a good Coke Icee, the kind that dances on your tongue.


We did accidentally find a couple of barbecue restaurants and tried one out Friday night.  The Smoke Pit is one of those great local restaurants that can't stay specialized.  They have all of the barbecue options and sides you'd expect, including a choice of vinegar or mayo-based dressing for your coleslaw, but they also have broccoli casserole and hashbrown casserole.  They also have an ice cream parlor and make pizza.  But what's important is the meat and the sauce.  To me good barbecue is a pulled pork sandwich with a sweet sauce.  The pulled pork at Smoke Pit had a good flavor, but it was wet like it had been at least partially cooked in a Crockpot. The sweet sauce was OK but a little thin.  It wasn't the barbecue fantasy I'd been hoping for, but it was better than anything I ate in Madison.  There's still at least one more barbecue restaurant to try.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Fajita Seasoning

Since I'm playing around with posts tonight, I thought I'd extol the excellence of fajita seasoning packets. They're like taco seasoning packets, but I think they taste better on chicken.  Fajita seasoning is more complex and citrusy than the typical chili powder and cumin taco packets. I use them to make chicken tacos and hoard a little of the meat for quesadillas a few nights later.  Yummmm... quesadillas with sour cream, salsa and guacamole.  I bought my latest packet at Kroger because our Walmart didn't have it, but I've seen them at other Walmarts (even the Great Value brand) as well as at Dollar Tree.  I highly recommend them.

Blogging is a family affair

My writing tonight is actually testing for Matt's blog idea for his composition classes.  I need to find out how blogging could work as a class project: who can read it, can you edit a post authored by someone else, are deadlines at all enforceable, etc.  I think RSS subscriptions could help the deadline enforcement, but that's what we're going to find out.  I don't think it worked. I'm trying an e-mail option to see if it's any better. That didn't work either.

Apparently, blogging is not the only family-wide activity since I'm pitching in with this composition teaching thing.  At UW I only got to pick up student papers when he was out of town.  Campbellsville is a definite step up for me!

My New Kentucky Home

I took some pictures of our new rental house shortly after we arrived in the early morning of Friday, August 14.  Our house is white, not pinkish.  That's the sunrise reflecting off the house. :)

We're across the street from the university tennis courts, which is kind of handy if you play tennis. We just occasionally try to play tennis and do it very badly. Unfortunately, the lights on the tennis court are very bright and nearly light the entire interior of our house with a warm fluorescent glow when they are on.

I don't have photos yet, but we have a back deck and a kind of trellis pagoda structure that we will try to put a temporary roof on so that we can store my bike and the lawn mower under it. I have grand plans for an airy white woven roof, but we'll see what I can find the materials and skill to pull off.

I took pictures of the inside, too.  But I'll wait to show those until after we've finished unpacking a little more so that I can share before and after photos - so Trading Spaces of me.