Writing group thinks I should write a fictionalized account of some things that happened to me. I brought an essay I wrote about a relationship I was in and they thought it would make a good subject for a novel. I haven't really written about my life or ever tried to fictionalize real people in stories. Not consciously, anyway. I like creating characters who are new and I get to create a whole backstory for. Putting a fictional gloss on reality never appealed to me as much. I always thought, that's why it's fiction. You make it up. But it might be interesting to explore this. Maybe I'll dip my foot in with a short story and see how it goes.
Mary Beth said Nancy is like a funnel and I'm like a megaphone. Nancy takes larger subjects and likes to break them down to more and more specific details, and I take details and interpret larger and larger possibilities from those details. Very interesting theory. I learned long ago to have great respect for MB's interpretations.
The story I'm writing now, although set in a contemporary realistic setting, is about a slightly fantastical figure whose world I'm having to dream up entirely. I mean his psychological world. It's not a place I'm familiar with. So I've hit a snag as I write. I need to figure out more of his background, his motivation, his family, so I know what I'm dealing with. Even if the reader doesn't get to find out all that, I need to know. I'd like to discuss it in more detail here but I have an instinct which tells me not to. You only write a story for the first time once, and I don't want to write it here.
I was disgusted with The Bachelor after this week's episode. They had women from many different past seasons talk about what made a good bachelor. Every single one, except for one, talked exclusively about physical attributes. Are you kidding? It's more important to have someone tall, dark, and handsome, with "nice hands," than someone intelligent and funny whom you have good chemistry with? I amazed in general how little either the women or Jason on this season have talked about wanting someone intelligent or compassionate or, say, in touch with who they are, who have a perspective on their place in the universe and where they fit. Instead Jason, for example, talks about how "amazing" someone is or how great her eyes are or how she's "fun." Maybe it's not surprising so few of the show's relationships have worked out if the main criteria people have for each other is looking good in a bathing suit and if they're "fun." This is the person they are talking about marrying! Not much about marriage really revolves around bathing suits. Interestingly, though, the woman who had the greatest spark of life and intelligence about her (who got canned last episode) seems to be a fan favorite and might be the next bachelorette.
The one who I think Jason is going to pick is Melissa, who he said reminded him of both his ex-wife and DeAnna, who he proposed to in The Bachelorette and who chose the other guy. Although I like Melissa, I'm worry a little he's fixed into this type which he's inevitably drawn to and which never works out. People are more than their type, though, so maybe it will be okay. Time will tell.
DeAnna pops up again next episode, apparently to beg him to give her a second chance, which throws a wrench into the whole "getting ready to propose to another woman" plan of the finale. I wonder if they knew she wanted to talk to him and delayed it until the end to get the maximum dramatic effect. If so, it was plain cruel. I'm very curious to see what she has to say. I could have told DeAnna it was futile (if that indeed was her plan) and not to humiliate herself on national television, but the last-ditch impulse of the romantic brain is hard to circumvent. Sometimes we want to throw ourselves on a stake for love.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Pregnant = ?
Who knew I'd have to deal with people calling me fat while I was pregnant? Only one person, that is, but repeatedly. I've told her once in person and now once in an email to please stop, so hopefully that will do the trick. I know she's not doing it maliciously, that it's just a joke to her, but it hurts my feelings. I didn't gain any weight at all for about the first three months and now have started gaining some. I never thought I'd feel fat when I was pregnant, either, but I can see how it can happen. It really changes your body shape and how you move and everything. Just trying to roll over or get up I make these noises I didn't used to make. And the irony is you have to get up so much more often because you have to go to the bathroom every 30 minutes. Food becomes a much more central issue. I eat something and enjoy the heck out of it. Then after I'm done eating, a little while later, I think, "Hmmm, what can I eat next?" and get all happy thinking about the next thing. I've never eaten with such relish.
I went to a movie the other day by myself and ordered a popcorn, a hot dog, and a root beer. And had such a good time eating it and watching the movie. It was an excellent movie. Sharp, intelligent writing, really good acting, and great direction. I was so impressed with the screenplay I looked up the writer when I got home. It's his first big film! Eric Warren Singer. The director was Tom Tykwer, who did one of my favorties, Run, Lola, Run. The movie was The International. I was disappointed in Ebert's review, which I read afterward, which didn't seem to appreciate the movie as much as I did, although he did like it.
I didn't remember who the director was when I was watching the film, yet I noticed a difference in how Germany was portrayed in an early scene, and I think the reason why is because Tykwer is German. There's a scene of bureaucratic stalling by some German officials, yet there were no overtones of "evil Nazi," which is the stock in trade of movies with German bad guys. He was a bad guy because of motivations of his own or of his government, but not because they were Nazis. As there are probably more neo-Nazis in the U.S. these days than there have been in Germany for decades, I've thought the stock portrayal of Germans in cinema was quite unfair. If you're writing about Nazis, then write about that and pull no punches, but if you're writing about modern Germans, consider how they really are before pulling out the stereotypes. I remember my German professor's daughter, whom I used to babysit for, asking her mother (about movies), "Why are the Germans always bad guys?"
One of the refreshing things about The International is the pacing. It proceeds more like real life, with unexpected events happening at intervals but without the grinding pace of an action movie. Action is so much more exciting and tense when it's interspersed with thoughtful, more measured scenes, which don't feel like filler put in before the next action set piece.
I went to a movie the other day by myself and ordered a popcorn, a hot dog, and a root beer. And had such a good time eating it and watching the movie. It was an excellent movie. Sharp, intelligent writing, really good acting, and great direction. I was so impressed with the screenplay I looked up the writer when I got home. It's his first big film! Eric Warren Singer. The director was Tom Tykwer, who did one of my favorties, Run, Lola, Run. The movie was The International. I was disappointed in Ebert's review, which I read afterward, which didn't seem to appreciate the movie as much as I did, although he did like it.
I didn't remember who the director was when I was watching the film, yet I noticed a difference in how Germany was portrayed in an early scene, and I think the reason why is because Tykwer is German. There's a scene of bureaucratic stalling by some German officials, yet there were no overtones of "evil Nazi," which is the stock in trade of movies with German bad guys. He was a bad guy because of motivations of his own or of his government, but not because they were Nazis. As there are probably more neo-Nazis in the U.S. these days than there have been in Germany for decades, I've thought the stock portrayal of Germans in cinema was quite unfair. If you're writing about Nazis, then write about that and pull no punches, but if you're writing about modern Germans, consider how they really are before pulling out the stereotypes. I remember my German professor's daughter, whom I used to babysit for, asking her mother (about movies), "Why are the Germans always bad guys?"
One of the refreshing things about The International is the pacing. It proceeds more like real life, with unexpected events happening at intervals but without the grinding pace of an action movie. Action is so much more exciting and tense when it's interspersed with thoughtful, more measured scenes, which don't feel like filler put in before the next action set piece.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
A Misty Day in Austin
I got something cranked out at last. Writing group is meeting again in one week instead of two so I'll have to stay on top of it and keep going. I'm fleshing out this piece as I go and have only a general direction at this point.
I watched the premiere of Joss Wheden's new show, Dollhouse. The premise sounded good but I was a little underwhelmed by the execution. It's a stable of people who've had their memories wiped, who get specific knowledge imprinted on them before they go out on "engagements." When they return to the Dollhouse their memories are wiped again, ready for the next job. I thought it would be a futuristic setting but it's not. I like the boss women, played by the English actress Olivia Williams, and the handler, an actor whose name I don't know, but the rest of the casting didn't thrill me. The star is Eliza Dushku, who I've seen before but can't remember where. I've noticed before how some actors instantly intrigue me by their faces and demeanors. And in rarer cases, I have no interest in an actor, but I can't put my finger on why. Dushku doesn't do anything for me. I don't find her compelling. I would much rather have seen Olivia Williams play the main character. Maybe it has something to do with what you perceive going on behind someone's face. Clive Owen never seems to show a lot of expression but you know there is so much going on behind his eyes. You feel it.
One part which had great possibilities and was wasted in the casting is the techie guy in Dollhouse. He operates the machine which erases memories. The dialogue in the moments before and after the memory wipe has great potential for double meanings and could be played for understated humor, Big Brother subtext, or romantic longing. Instead he's a standard geek who doesn't connect to what he's doing or who he's doing it to. He's a cog, when that part could have been played so intimately and with pathos. I can imagine it's difficult to write an excellent television show, but when I see something fall short this way, when the premise is so strong, it makes me long for the British method of limiting a series in advance to a certain number of episodes or seasons so a story arc is established by the creator from the beginning. Instead of "Let's through this color paint against the wall and see if it sticks. If it does, we'll figure out the next step."
I watched the premiere of Joss Wheden's new show, Dollhouse. The premise sounded good but I was a little underwhelmed by the execution. It's a stable of people who've had their memories wiped, who get specific knowledge imprinted on them before they go out on "engagements." When they return to the Dollhouse their memories are wiped again, ready for the next job. I thought it would be a futuristic setting but it's not. I like the boss women, played by the English actress Olivia Williams, and the handler, an actor whose name I don't know, but the rest of the casting didn't thrill me. The star is Eliza Dushku, who I've seen before but can't remember where. I've noticed before how some actors instantly intrigue me by their faces and demeanors. And in rarer cases, I have no interest in an actor, but I can't put my finger on why. Dushku doesn't do anything for me. I don't find her compelling. I would much rather have seen Olivia Williams play the main character. Maybe it has something to do with what you perceive going on behind someone's face. Clive Owen never seems to show a lot of expression but you know there is so much going on behind his eyes. You feel it.
One part which had great possibilities and was wasted in the casting is the techie guy in Dollhouse. He operates the machine which erases memories. The dialogue in the moments before and after the memory wipe has great potential for double meanings and could be played for understated humor, Big Brother subtext, or romantic longing. Instead he's a standard geek who doesn't connect to what he's doing or who he's doing it to. He's a cog, when that part could have been played so intimately and with pathos. I can imagine it's difficult to write an excellent television show, but when I see something fall short this way, when the premise is so strong, it makes me long for the British method of limiting a series in advance to a certain number of episodes or seasons so a story arc is established by the creator from the beginning. Instead of "Let's through this color paint against the wall and see if it sticks. If it does, we'll figure out the next step."
Monday, February 16, 2009
Oh Story Where Art Thou?
I'm having some trouble carrying on the story I started recently. Usually sitting in front of a blank page I get ideas and things flow. Maybe I'm out of practice. Or I'm listening to the wrong playlist for this story. Mood music helps so much. I'm under a crunch to get something down and it feels sort of like college and trying to crank out a paper the night before it's due. I always excelled at that so it's a drag to be stymied.
I'm surprised by how much I like the David Cook song "Light On." I wasn't so impressed with him winning American Idol (though I formed that opinion through cultural osmosis rather than watching the show) but I like his voice in that song and how it's written. I looked up the lyrics and it struck me that on all the lyrics pages online they don't say who the writers of the songs are. That's a gyp. It's like when a picture wins Best Picture or Best Director at the Oscars, it's an adaptation from a novel, and the producer or director don't thank the writer of the original material.
I have a seemingly endless appetite at this point. I read about a diet in the paper today which cuts out dairy, meat, and oil. I contemplated that for a half-second before I dismissed it as insane. The guy touting it is a super-triathlete and a fireman. He's convinced all his fireman buddies to eat that way too. No thanks. I'm sticking to the carbs rule pregnancy diet.
I'm surprised by how much I like the David Cook song "Light On." I wasn't so impressed with him winning American Idol (though I formed that opinion through cultural osmosis rather than watching the show) but I like his voice in that song and how it's written. I looked up the lyrics and it struck me that on all the lyrics pages online they don't say who the writers of the songs are. That's a gyp. It's like when a picture wins Best Picture or Best Director at the Oscars, it's an adaptation from a novel, and the producer or director don't thank the writer of the original material.
I have a seemingly endless appetite at this point. I read about a diet in the paper today which cuts out dairy, meat, and oil. I contemplated that for a half-second before I dismissed it as insane. The guy touting it is a super-triathlete and a fireman. He's convinced all his fireman buddies to eat that way too. No thanks. I'm sticking to the carbs rule pregnancy diet.
Friday, February 13, 2009
My Sweetie in San Antone
William is in San Antonio until tomorrow. He's been gone three days. We chatted on Skype. It was good to see him. He'll be back hopefully by six on Valentine's Day.
I've eaten all the cookies. There are no sweet things left in the house.
I've eaten all the cookies. There are no sweet things left in the house.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Random
I saw part of the interview with the octuplet mom last night. She is quite well-spoken and appears informed and thoughtful. I feel sorry for the blazing spotlight she will be under for the foreseeable future. If I were in that position I don't know if I would come forward with my story. The kind of vitriol she's getting will probably only be fueled by more information from the source. Her decisions do seem questionable given her living situation, the fact she hasn't finished school and doesn't have an income at this point. When she does graduate, how will she pay for daycare for so many children? However, she seems to be making decisions partly based on the fact her doctor told her she has accelerated aging of the reproductive organs so she wanted to have all her children as fast as she could. She said they implanted six embryos every time (is that possible?) and only this time did they all take, including two sets of twins. I guess my thinking now is there's enough judgment about it in the world and so I just wish her and the kids the best.
I had plans to do recaps of recent episodes of The Bachelor because I got so into it this season and I thought it would be fun to post my thoughts of the play-by-play. I haven't been able to yet because I have to record them to do that kind of commentary and it hasn't worked out the last two times. So hopefully next episode, when the three remaining women and Jason go to New Zealand, I will be on it.
I finished the last Josephine Tey I have on my bookshelf and find myself wondering where the other three or four are. I used to have them all. I may have to replenish the stock from Half-price Books if I can find them.
I spent Monday and Tuesday looking after little two-and-a-half year old Elijah. His granddad was having a knee replacement so his regular childcare (his grandmother) couldn't look after him. He is a smart, friendly, active little boy. He kept busy investigating everything in the house and wanted to go upstairs and downstairs more times than this pregnant person would say yes to. He fed the cats both mornings very happily. His mom Wren has even accomplished potty-training him at this young age, so no diapers. The funniest thing was when his dad came to pick him up on Tuesday and Lige practically exploded he was so excited to show his dad everything he'd discovered that day, like how if you turned on a flashlight you could see the light on the ceiling.
It's a beautiful day. A thunderstorm last night cleared the air and got rid of the rainy weather (although I do love rainy weather, too). William is in San Antonio for four days for a music teachers' convention. He'll get home in the evening on Valentine's Day, so I don't know if we'll be able to go out or not. Cuz just turned 94 yesterday. Dorothy threw him a birthday dinner at her house.
I developed a sweet tooth the last couple of weeks. Cookie cravings. Yesterday Lige and I made Strawberry Shortcake, which was good. I've been thinking about the fruit cobbler on the menu at Kerbey Lane that I saw last week. Fruit cobbler sounds fantastic.
It seems impossible, but my breathing already feels affected by the baby. It's harder to breathe, particularly in certain positions. It feels more difficult to do things like roll over in bed or get out of bed. My balance is also not as good. What is in store if I'm only halfway through? Ack.
I love maternity clothes. They're so comfortable.
I had plans to do recaps of recent episodes of The Bachelor because I got so into it this season and I thought it would be fun to post my thoughts of the play-by-play. I haven't been able to yet because I have to record them to do that kind of commentary and it hasn't worked out the last two times. So hopefully next episode, when the three remaining women and Jason go to New Zealand, I will be on it.
I finished the last Josephine Tey I have on my bookshelf and find myself wondering where the other three or four are. I used to have them all. I may have to replenish the stock from Half-price Books if I can find them.
I spent Monday and Tuesday looking after little two-and-a-half year old Elijah. His granddad was having a knee replacement so his regular childcare (his grandmother) couldn't look after him. He is a smart, friendly, active little boy. He kept busy investigating everything in the house and wanted to go upstairs and downstairs more times than this pregnant person would say yes to. He fed the cats both mornings very happily. His mom Wren has even accomplished potty-training him at this young age, so no diapers. The funniest thing was when his dad came to pick him up on Tuesday and Lige practically exploded he was so excited to show his dad everything he'd discovered that day, like how if you turned on a flashlight you could see the light on the ceiling.
It's a beautiful day. A thunderstorm last night cleared the air and got rid of the rainy weather (although I do love rainy weather, too). William is in San Antonio for four days for a music teachers' convention. He'll get home in the evening on Valentine's Day, so I don't know if we'll be able to go out or not. Cuz just turned 94 yesterday. Dorothy threw him a birthday dinner at her house.
I developed a sweet tooth the last couple of weeks. Cookie cravings. Yesterday Lige and I made Strawberry Shortcake, which was good. I've been thinking about the fruit cobbler on the menu at Kerbey Lane that I saw last week. Fruit cobbler sounds fantastic.
It seems impossible, but my breathing already feels affected by the baby. It's harder to breathe, particularly in certain positions. It feels more difficult to do things like roll over in bed or get out of bed. My balance is also not as good. What is in store if I'm only halfway through? Ack.
I love maternity clothes. They're so comfortable.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
I Get a Bee in my Bonnet
More baby stuff today. We had an appointment at the Austin Area Birthing Center for a monthly checkup. Met a midwife new to AABC. She answered my questions and gave some helpful information. We heard the baby's heartbeat. My blood pressure, the size of my belly, and the baby's heart rate were all right where they should be. She looked at a couple of days food diary and said that looked good too. So all is well.
I can't find the book I'm reading. Again. What is my deal? I'm right at the end, too, so it's doubly frustrating.
Tomorrow William and I are going to see He's Just Not That Into You. I have a hankering to see it. I'm hoping it's a good romantic comedy and not full of stereotypes. There was a big discussion in a Salon.com article about whether the book the movie is based on was a positive thing for women or not. I remember reading the book and finding its attitude pretty liberating, as in, stop over-analyzing and questioning mixed signals and instead take them for the usually negative sign they are. I do remember my first boyfriend, before I ever went out with him, told me he'd call me after we ran into each other at the grocery store. I kind of waited expectantly for the call. Nothing happened. A month later he called me. Then we had a two year relationship. So I don't think you can always say if he's not calling it means he's not interested. I have no idea why he waited a month.
I just asked William if he thinks if a guy doesn't call it means he's not into you. He said there were a couple times he was interested in someone and didn't call because he wasn't in the right place for a relationship for one reason or another. I asked him if someone pursued him it would make him less interested in her (assuming he otherwise liked her). He said no. He said a couple times people pursued him and he wouldn't have gotten into a relationship with them if they hadn't. I don't know. One time I was lamenting over someone I thought I was in love with to my grandmother and I told her the things I had done to connect with him. She said she didn't think men liked being pursued. I look back at my actions at the time and think I was being blind. I was being led along the garden path and didn't want to see it. That experience did help me wake up, when I realized what was going on, and changed my attitude for the future. I don't think I had ever behaved that way previously and I haven't since. I don't know if you can generalize about a whole gender without missing some big loopholes, however. Like the question "What do women want?" Who are you talking about? We want different things.
One scene from the trailer of He's Just Not That Into You which was funny but bugged me a little is when Jennifer Aniston is sitting with a date at dinner and he tells her he's a Wiccan. She's like, "Oh...great." I laughed when I saw it but later I thought about it and thought, "I'm sure there are some great guys who are Wiccans. Is that a good reason to rule someone out?" On one first date the guy asked me about my relationship with God. I was startled. He'd just got done telling me about his history on the rave scene and the excessive amount of drugs he used to do. That doesn't preclude deep religious feeling but it was a strange segue. I stumbled into a brief philosophical explanation of my beliefs, something I wouldn't normally share with someone I just met. It obviously wasn't the "right" answer and I think he checked out at that point. It struck me as kind of funny later that because I didn't say, "Yessir, that's a funny coincidence, God is my best friend," I was suddenly not the "right people." But he was right. We wouldn't have been a good match. It's okay with me if someone doesn't share my beliefs but it didn't seem to be okay with him that I didn't share his.
That reminds me. Through another Salon.com article I got interested in the Duggar family, who have eighteen kids, and looked up their web site. In the FAQ's they answer some questions about their history, including how the couple met. He met her when they were teenagers and instantly felt she was the one. He paused after he'd left her house, where he'd visited with a friend, and said a prayer that she would someday be "his" and he could be her spiritual leader. That struck me as such a bizarre prayer that I had to read it a couple of times. I think I would have found it off-putting to find out later that someone's prayer after meeting me was that he could be my spiritual leader. Particularly if he had a romantic interest in me. Wouldn't that be a conflict of interest? What if your spiritual leader says you need to keep having children until your body gives out? I'm not saying that's what happened, but there is a "Daddy's in charge" vibe to the whole website. Mrs. Duggar had some valuable things to say about childbirth, (in the section where she was allowed to talk) including her opinion about vaginal birth after caesarian and how it's unfairly discouraged. I give them credit for pulling off a pretty good appearance of a non-chaotic life with twenty people in the house. Maybe you have to be more hierarchical with a family that big. However, I don't see why the "older girls" are the ones who always prepare dinner, even if "everyone cleans up." What if some of their sons, gasp, don't marry when they move out? Knowing how to clean up doesn't come in very handy if you've never learned to properly mess up the kitchen in the first place. Their children do sound very loved. Their hearts are in the right place.
Enough for now. I could get going on the octuplets who will soon join their six brothers and sisters at home in southern California, but that's for another day.
I can't find the book I'm reading. Again. What is my deal? I'm right at the end, too, so it's doubly frustrating.
Tomorrow William and I are going to see He's Just Not That Into You. I have a hankering to see it. I'm hoping it's a good romantic comedy and not full of stereotypes. There was a big discussion in a Salon.com article about whether the book the movie is based on was a positive thing for women or not. I remember reading the book and finding its attitude pretty liberating, as in, stop over-analyzing and questioning mixed signals and instead take them for the usually negative sign they are. I do remember my first boyfriend, before I ever went out with him, told me he'd call me after we ran into each other at the grocery store. I kind of waited expectantly for the call. Nothing happened. A month later he called me. Then we had a two year relationship. So I don't think you can always say if he's not calling it means he's not interested. I have no idea why he waited a month.
I just asked William if he thinks if a guy doesn't call it means he's not into you. He said there were a couple times he was interested in someone and didn't call because he wasn't in the right place for a relationship for one reason or another. I asked him if someone pursued him it would make him less interested in her (assuming he otherwise liked her). He said no. He said a couple times people pursued him and he wouldn't have gotten into a relationship with them if they hadn't. I don't know. One time I was lamenting over someone I thought I was in love with to my grandmother and I told her the things I had done to connect with him. She said she didn't think men liked being pursued. I look back at my actions at the time and think I was being blind. I was being led along the garden path and didn't want to see it. That experience did help me wake up, when I realized what was going on, and changed my attitude for the future. I don't think I had ever behaved that way previously and I haven't since. I don't know if you can generalize about a whole gender without missing some big loopholes, however. Like the question "What do women want?" Who are you talking about? We want different things.
One scene from the trailer of He's Just Not That Into You which was funny but bugged me a little is when Jennifer Aniston is sitting with a date at dinner and he tells her he's a Wiccan. She's like, "Oh...great." I laughed when I saw it but later I thought about it and thought, "I'm sure there are some great guys who are Wiccans. Is that a good reason to rule someone out?" On one first date the guy asked me about my relationship with God. I was startled. He'd just got done telling me about his history on the rave scene and the excessive amount of drugs he used to do. That doesn't preclude deep religious feeling but it was a strange segue. I stumbled into a brief philosophical explanation of my beliefs, something I wouldn't normally share with someone I just met. It obviously wasn't the "right" answer and I think he checked out at that point. It struck me as kind of funny later that because I didn't say, "Yessir, that's a funny coincidence, God is my best friend," I was suddenly not the "right people." But he was right. We wouldn't have been a good match. It's okay with me if someone doesn't share my beliefs but it didn't seem to be okay with him that I didn't share his.
That reminds me. Through another Salon.com article I got interested in the Duggar family, who have eighteen kids, and looked up their web site. In the FAQ's they answer some questions about their history, including how the couple met. He met her when they were teenagers and instantly felt she was the one. He paused after he'd left her house, where he'd visited with a friend, and said a prayer that she would someday be "his" and he could be her spiritual leader. That struck me as such a bizarre prayer that I had to read it a couple of times. I think I would have found it off-putting to find out later that someone's prayer after meeting me was that he could be my spiritual leader. Particularly if he had a romantic interest in me. Wouldn't that be a conflict of interest? What if your spiritual leader says you need to keep having children until your body gives out? I'm not saying that's what happened, but there is a "Daddy's in charge" vibe to the whole website. Mrs. Duggar had some valuable things to say about childbirth, (in the section where she was allowed to talk) including her opinion about vaginal birth after caesarian and how it's unfairly discouraged. I give them credit for pulling off a pretty good appearance of a non-chaotic life with twenty people in the house. Maybe you have to be more hierarchical with a family that big. However, I don't see why the "older girls" are the ones who always prepare dinner, even if "everyone cleans up." What if some of their sons, gasp, don't marry when they move out? Knowing how to clean up doesn't come in very handy if you've never learned to properly mess up the kitchen in the first place. Their children do sound very loved. Their hearts are in the right place.
Enough for now. I could get going on the octuplets who will soon join their six brothers and sisters at home in southern California, but that's for another day.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Let's See Through the Baby!
We had our third ultrasound this morning at Dr. Berry's office. We got a videotape of it, too. The technician checked all the parts of the body, the brain, and the internal organs. Since I don't want to know the sex, and William is being a good sport and going along with it, we looked away during that part of the ultrasound. It's strange to see the heart beating in real time, to see the baby moving around in real time. The tech said the structure looked beautiful, that everything was great. She pointed out all kinds of things which just looked like blobs to us: "That's the gall bladder, that's the right kidney," etc. The last thing she looked at was the feet and the baby was hiding one of its feet. She zoomed the wand around and talked to the baby telling it to show its foot so she could be sure it wasn't a club foot. I felt sort of responsible and like I should do something, but there was nothing I could do! The foot finally came into view and it was fine.
I had lunch with Wren at the new Kerbey Lane, which is nice although not homey like the old one. I felt like I could order two or more entrees. Everything looked good. If the waitress had offered dessert I probably would have had that too. I was really sleepy when I got home and took an actual nap. I slept last night, too. Yay, sleep.
I had lunch with Wren at the new Kerbey Lane, which is nice although not homey like the old one. I felt like I could order two or more entrees. Everything looked good. If the waitress had offered dessert I probably would have had that too. I was really sleepy when I got home and took an actual nap. I slept last night, too. Yay, sleep.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Back in the Saddle
I got something written today. The first new thing I've done since I got pregnant. I tried to add to Audra Phipps but didn't feel any direction pulling me. No scenes popped in my head. Or conversations. Then I took a break and drove to Half-price Books. On the way there I saw a man talking on a cell phone in his car, turning the corner while I waited at the light. His face gave me an idea. So when I got home I started a new tale using that face. After some initial extreme frustration with the new Word supplied by the Vista operating system I finally could type away. It was fun and satisfying. And I have something to bring to writing group tomorrow. It's rough but it's new and it's something real. I don't think I can give up Rhapsody. I haven't used it while I haven't been writing but it helps me so much when I am writing. I have playlists I've built up over several years. It's helped me write two novels.
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