A Really Lazy Post

1. It's Sunday night and I am trying to convince myself that I can get off the couch and put in two more hours of work before going to bed, but I'm finding it incredibly difficult to do. Besides, then I'd have to go to the kitchen and see just what a mess Bill made while cooking our Indian feast.
2. While there were many aspects of my PD job that I loved, one of the less-noble reasons was the holiday time! I counted on both real (MLK) and random (HST's birthday) to get me through some horrible cases.
3. While the support staff has tomorrow off, attorneys are still expected to be at work...blah. I think I will sneak out to go to the MLK parade (so long as it's at least 40 degrees). I still have a lot of hours to make up from last week's illnesses (mine and George's) so I guess I shouldn't be too upset about going to work.
4. Friday night I organized an impromptu happy hour for Kelly in honor of her excellent transfer to the county PD office (thank goodness she's getting out of the city). Then met up with Bill and the Schnarlsons for Chevy's (ick). Saturday we tried out a new place for lunch that while it had a good atmosphere (despite the car auction on tv instead of the Blues game) the food was blah. Saturday night we schlepped to North County with Teneil for a HRC rally. It was packed and we couldn't actually get into the rally itself. Before leaving to watch it on tv at home, we met up with some NARAL/PD folks and also observed some people exercising their freedom of speech. One kid (he was maybe 19) had a sign that said "Life's a Bitch. Why Put One in the White House?" I, too, exercised my freedom of speech and responded to his message (Bill is really good to put up with me). Today we saw an 11 o'clock showing of National Treasure (I am really good to put up with Bill) and then I went to work.
6. Ok, time to stop being lazy and do some work. I will say that I have reached my 6-month mark at BC and I am still incredibly happy, honored, and pinching myself--that's gotta be a good thing!

My Little Alien Baby

So I've spent the last four days in excruciating pain because an alien baby has been trying to pop out of my stomach. Ok, not really. And no, that's not my ultrasound (though I did have to have one today). Who knows why, but my stomach/kidneys/gallbladder/liver/ovaries are very upset with me, so much so that I spent most of Sunday at the ER, doped up on morphine and having all sorts of scans and tests done. Bill just finished his stomach and guts rotation and was convinced that I had gallstones and pancreatitis. Luckily my ultrasound went well today. Bill snuck a peak at my scan and thinks the next step will be a functional ultrasound to test my gallbladder. So, fingers crossed! (And no, there weren't ANY babies found in the ultrasound)

What?? It's already 2008??

So, I'm a little late in posting these holiday pictures, but better late than never, right? Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's came and went with their usual lightning pace and packed schedules. Bill's surgery rotation is going well, but he definitely enjoyed his two week break. We spent a good amount of time going to holiday parties--I wish I had taken pictures at Crystal's "Holiday Sweater" party! As you can see from the picture below, Otis' holiday sweater this year is a monkey sweater--too cute!
We spent Thanksgiving in StL, hosting my parents and Granny the night before at our new house. The Schnarlsons joined us and were treated to a traditional Holt Family dinner, Dad doing haiku and all. Bill's Uncle Tom and "Aunt" Amy stayed with us for the weekend and we rotated between the Randazzo and Hucker functions (the Holts were in NYC and SC). I actually spent all of November working on a major project, so I spent a lot of that weekend sneaking in work whenever I could.
Christmas was in Quincy, and if the real estate gods favor my parents it was the last at 300 S. 18th. I will cry if I think too much about it, but I know that the house is just too much for the two of them and it's time for another family to enjoy the home. Still, the house is like a member of the family and everyone will have tears in their eyes when the move comes. I hadn't been home since Holtapalooza in June (6th months!) and it was really nice to spend some quality time in Quincy--plus, we had a white Christmas which was beautiful. I have developed the unfortunate knack for bat detection, having found a bat in the house each time I'm home! Holtapalooza: I was taking my Aunt Laurie and her kids down to the family room and saw a bat hanging on the wall--I was very proud of myself that I didn't scream. Come Christmas, I was taking to Dad in the dining room and looked up to find a bat suspended on the tapestry, over the organ. Great. I did scream that time--my father calmly finished his lunch before he collected the bat hunting kit and released it into the wild (or the front bushes). Gross.
We went to see the Axners for New Years--while it was snowy and cold, I guess it wasn't as cold as I expected....my new boots and vest were pretty cute so I might just someday be talked into moving to Minneapolis, but we'll see. We finally got to meet Cheddar and he looked very scary in his new bad-ass skull and crossbones sweater. The Axners know how to throw a party, but unfortunately for Bill, he doesn't quite have the shotgunning ability as Trevor. I received a BWE award for my 4am vomit cleanup skills (while Bill slept!!).

I had to go to Phoenix for work the next day and managed to thaw out before returning to St. Louis. We have a surprise trip coming up and I go to Florida in March with Granny. Our Africa trip is slowly gaining steam, but we've put the money away and have a trek company picked out--now all we need to do is figure out when we are going. For now, it's back to work for both of us--Bill's surgery rotation changes to cardio thoracic this upcoming week so he's excited to get back to heart issues. I am going to a Missouri delegate meeting tomorrow night....I might just become a delegate at the DNC Convention!!!!

We Finally Did It!!!!!

FINALLY!!!! We are out of the Bevo!!! It has been a long-ish process (longer if you count when we started wanting to move), but we are completely moved out--of course, we are nowhere near completely moved in! The official moving day was Thursday and it was actually a great day for moving--no rain and it was surprisingly warm for the first day of November. I will say that moving in November totally beats my standard moving time of mid-August.

There were soooo many boxes---the next time I say that I have nothing to wear is really a big fat lie. I will learn to purge...of course there are 8 closets (not counting the basement) in our new house so maybe I just need to be better organized with my clothes. Bill and the dogs can share a closet and they'd still have room to spare.

Greg, Jenny, Matt and Erin are all coming into town this weekend for Bill's thesis defense so it'll be a rush to get the boxes unpacked......if only George and Otis had thumbs like Fonzi Bear (apparently the picture is of Kermit and Fonzi moving somewhere).

boycott canceled......

i got the new jcrew catalog last night and i was looking through it...there was an elephant charm bracelet and the description said something like"18k gold. ceramic. ivory."--i totally flipped out and called jcrew to complain and demand to be taken off all lists and that i would never shop there again and to inform them that i would make it my personal crusade to make sure everyone i know boycotts jcrew as well. and how truly sick and wrong of jcrew to make elephant charms out of ivory!!!

i was all fired up and the jcrew lady was like, ma'am--it's the color that's ivory, not the material.

oh. boycott canceled.

Pumpkin Attacks Moose

While Bill's in Europe, I think I'll buy.....

• 7 pairs of shoes (gotta have some red pumps and tortoise-shell patent peep-toe heels, hello)


• 2 Kate Spade purses


• 3 necklaces


• 10 pairs of earrings


• 3 bracelets


• the "Once" soundtrack (I totally bawled at the end of that movie, fyi---sooooo good!)


• a new ear for Georgie (well, maybe just some meds at first)


• a new house--think he'll mind?!?!?!?!?!?

here's the link: http://www.cbgundaker.com/search/advanced/detail.jsp?mls_num=755541&type=res

No, seriously--Bill left on Labor Day for his biological pacemaker conference in Manchester (where his presentation was "simply exquisite"!) and as we were on the way to the airport, we got an offer for Morganford! So the boys and I dropped him off and then went into attorney/negotiator-mode and got a good counteroffer and sold the house!! Yahooo!!!!! Only snafu: we didn't have a house lined-up and the closing is mid-October (also, not good b/c I think I have to miss Erich's wedding). So communicating with Bill was pretty difficult since his email options were pretty sporadic, but I tried my best. The house he l-o-v-e-d in Lafayette was just too much and the seller really wasn't being reasonable with his counters so I walked away and spent all day Saturday and most of Sunday looking at houses and decided this one is the one! It's not actually all that far from where we are now, but the neighborhood is drastically better. The house has a lot of great old charms that I just love (it could totally be a Quincy house) but with modern updates that will make the place very easy for us to live in. Highlights include the clawfoot tub, upper balcony, slate roof, Blackthorne and Pho being a block away!! Vietnamese food galore and 18lb pizzas--it doesn't get any better!

4 bedrooms means lots of room for guests.......

So we move Oct 18/19, Bill finishes up his theisis, Bill presents his theisis and then starts in the clinics November 19th.....hmmm......no pressure! Ok, so who's coming to help us move?