Our House...

Here are some pictures of the house we've almost bought. As long as inspections go well, we should be the proud owner of this cute little home by May 18th--just in time for Sophie's arrival! We'll probably do a little painting and will definitely change the window coverings before we move in. It's a three-bedroom, 1.5 bath, but I didn't include pictures of the third bedroom or the bathrooms. I also forgot to e-mail myself the picture of the back of the house, so I'll try to add that tomorrow.

Front of house:

Living Room:

Dining Room (an extension of the living room):

Kitchen:

Another of the kitchen:

What will be our bedroom:

Sophie's room:

Another view of Sophie's room:

Turn Signals and Paintballs

Last night during TV timeouts for the basketball games being played, I found myself inexplicably drawn to the show "American Inventor." And I thought to myself that I could invent something and make a million dollars too. So here's my invention:

The Turn Signal Paintball Device (I think I need a catchier name, but I'm working on it.)

The idea is that not enough people use their turn signals in this country. I'm sick of it. So I'm inventing a device that will be required by law to be installed in every car. It will detect whether or not you used your turn signal while turning, and if you didn't, well, you get shot with a paintball (that's conveniently stored in the steering wheel). In addition to ruining clothing (which no one wants), it will also serve as a mark of humiliation that you weren't able to use up that half a calorie to flip the turn signal.

It has some kinks to be worked out, but I think it could work...

Why Learning Other Languages is Important

Here's a funny video that I stole from Leah's blog:

http://melissasintent.com/_random/german_coastguard.mpg

Pregnancy ESP

The weirdest thing happened to me this weekend...

It all started a few weeks ago. I had a dream that a pregnant coworker was going to have her baby on March 4th. (In the dream, it was actually March 4th and she was in labor.) Her real due date was March 17th.

Meantime...in real life...her water broke at work on Friday, March 3rd. She ended up having the baby on March 4th in the wee hours of the morning.

Weird...now if only I could channel these predictions to pick lotto numbers!

Sophie's Blog

Because I'm so good at updating this blog lately and we have so much extra time on our hands, Ian and I have decided to create a new blog for little Sophie. For now, it will consist of pictures of my belly, perhaps an ultrasound pic or two, and updates on how the pregnancy is going. After she's born, though, we'll post pictures of her for all to see. Feel free to take a gander...

Grade Inflation in Action

Who knew that 80% was an A+??!! I need to have a chat with some of my old professors!

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 8/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

Procrastination Technique #1

I don't really want to do any work today, so I'm filling out this meme (although I've taken out a few questions). I don't usually do them, but procrastination calls...

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:05
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds, I guess, but I'm not a huge jewelry person.
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Munich
4. What is your favorite TV show? Friends, The Food Network
5. What did you have for breakfast? 1/2 everything bagel with cream cheese, orange juice, tea
6. What is your middle name? Anne
7. What is your favorite cuisine? Good Mexican, but I love all cuisines!
8. What foods do you dislike? seafood, fish, milk
9. Your favorite Potato chip? Sour Cream and Cheddar Ruffles, Original Pringles
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Counting Crows--August and Everything After
11. What kind of car do you drive? Honda Civic
12. Favorite sandwich? Anything with avocado on it
13. What characteristics do you despise? arrogance, self-centeredness
14. Favorite item of clothing? Right now I really like my maternity shirts!
15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? A beach in a warm place, but I love to travel, so I'm up for anything!
16. What color is your bathroom? Pink tile--ugh!
17. Favorite brand of clothing? Ann Taylor for work, anything comfy for play
18. Where would you want to retire to? Anywhere warm with water
19. Favorite time of day? Mornings when you have nowhere to be.
20. Where were you born? San Bernardino, CA
21. Favorite sport to watch? NCAA Basketball--Go Tarheels!
24. What laundry detergent do you use? Tide
25. Coke or Pepsi? Coke in a can or in Europe, Pepsi in a bottle
26. Are you a morning person or night owl? Night owl, although since I've been pregnant, I've switched.
27. What size shoe do you wear? 9 1/2
28. Do you have pets? 2 cats--Jasper and Yaro
29. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone? What hasn't happened in the last few months??? Ian finished his dissertation and got the tenure track job here. I'm pregnant. And we're looking into maybe buying a house.
30. What did you want to be when you were little? Marine Biologist
31. Favorite Candy Bar? Heath Bar, Giant Chewy Sweet Tarts
32. What is your best childhood memory? I have so many of them--I had a great childhood!
33. What various jobs have you had in your life? Score-keeper for Parks and Rec basketball, student assistant at a junior high, Carl's Jr., Media Services in college, tutor, baby sitter, file clerk, social worker, Freshman Comp professor, Freshman Comp Teaching Fellow, church grounds crew, On-Site Coordinator for TIP, substitute teacher, intern coordinator
34. What color underwear are you wearing? Light blue with snowflakes
35. Nicknames: Mindy, Melin, Min
36. Piercing? Ears, but I hardly wear earrings
37. Eye color? Blue
38. Ever been to Africa? No
39. Ever been toilet papering? Yes--my mom used to take us in high school. Once a man pointed a shotgun at us for hiding on his property!
40. Love someone so much it made you cry? Yes
41. Been in a car accident? Yes, but only small ones
42. Croutons or Bacon Bits? Neither
43. Favorite day of the week? Thursday and Saturday
44. Favorite restaurant? Adal's in San Diego, Panzanella in Carrboro, NC
45. Favorite flower? I don't really have one...I love to receive them, though! I like wild flowers a lot.
46. Favorite ice cream? Real Strawberry
47. Disney or Warner Brothers? Disney, but pre-Aladdin.
48. Favorite fast food restaurant? In N Out
49. What color is your bedroom carpet? We have wood floors.
50. How many times did you fail your driver's test? never
52. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? We're trying to pay off our credit cards!
53. What do you do most often when you are bored? Sit on the couch.
54. Bedtime? 9:30 nowadays
56. Last person you went to dinner with? Ian
58. What are you listening to right now? nothing
59. What is your favorite color? Blue and green
60. Lake, Ocean or river? Ocean, but I love all water.
61. How many tattoos do you have? None
62. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Who cares?

Just One of those Days

So today has been interesting, to say the least. Earlier this week my boss invited me to a lunch meeting with the president of the college, her boss and the ceo of a local company to discuss internships. I thought it was because I'm in charge of internships around here, but she burst my bubble by telling me that she really invited me because she didn't want to go alone. This job really teaches one humility...

Anyways, back to the lunch in a minute. The day started with Ian waking up and saying "Oh, shoot." He forgot to set the alarm, and although I got up in time to get ready, it just throws your morning off a little. He's decided to make me breakfast this month since he doesn't have to teach, and while he was making breakfast, the breaker flipped off, leaving the kitchen and bathroom in darkness. While Ian moved the toaster to the dining room and the coffee maker to the living room, I went downstairs to flip the breaker, which is located in a locked basement for which we have no key. I tried knocking on our landlady's door (who lives on the bottom floor of the house), but she didn't hear me, so I had to trudge back upstairs (in my bathrobe and towel on my head) in 35 degree weather to call her. Fifteen minutes later we had power. Because I was running late at that point, I just called in to let them know.

When I got to work, I found out that my boss was sick (throwing up and diahrrea) and not coming in, although she was still planning on coming to the lunch. I called her at home to let her know that if she was going to lunch, I would not since I'm pregnant and had already lost so much weight in the first trimester due to morning sickness that I didn't wish to catch the flu. She put up a little bit of a fight, but then agreed to ask to reschedule the lunch. Which the president refused to do. So I made our admin assistant call her back with the bad news (we knew she'd be upset since she thinks the president doesn't like her). And she cried. What kind of crazy world do I live in that my boss cries because I try to reschedule a lunch meeting that can't be rescheduled???

Ugh.