I have a job!

Now that things are official I can share here. I have a new job and I'm starting tomorrow. I got one in my field, and working with great people. Things really worked out well.

I will have a longer commute, but it goes by fairly quick thanks to the different expressways breaking it up. I drove out and back Thursday.

I'm still debating what to wear and wich way to get on the one expressway. And I'm looking up recipes for Wednesday's potluck. That way I can buy ingredients when grocery shopping today.

Cheerio caching while small shopping

Some people do geo caching, we do the Cheerio version. At least that's what it felt like when going out for Small Business Saturday today with almost 10 month old.

We started out in Fairport, having coffee at the Liftbridge Cafe. Baby Girl had her Cheerios while we had coffee. Of course she dropped some in the process. Those little Os go flying pretty good when she pats the table.

We bundled up and walked down Main Street to the Mercantile. Baby Girl shopped till she dropped. So she napped in her stroller while we looked at various crafty, vintage, and other fun items. I even found her a wooden version of those stacking rings. And I bough some jalapeno honey mustard.

Next was a stop into Candy Nation, a short walk down Main. This place brings out the kid in everyone and has a wide variety of candy. We were greeted by the store cat and picked out some candy. I got a nice box of Bottle Caps, and hubs got lemon candy. And a bacon lollipop. Yum?

We went back home for a bit, and changed the baby. She had a play break before we headed out.

We had lunch at Balsam Bagels, on North Winton. They have a nice selection of lunch items, and a fun atmosphere. Again Baby Girl dropped Cheerios while we ate. She had to smile at everyone while we ate. I had a ranch panini, made of turkey, bacon, and some ranch. It also had just a bit of onions. Thier quiche is also good.

A shorter day with the wee one, but I'm glad we made it out. There are other local places I'd like to try. I figure I can check them out the rest of this holiday season.

So who shopped small / local today? Any fun finds, good times?

Fall Light

The seasons are changing here as always. Fall is starting to fade into what soon will be winter. Frost covers lawns and breath is visible. Yet the light this time of year is wonderful. The angle of the sun and the color of the foliage makes for glowing leaves. While many trees are bare some still have golden leaves. I wish I was better with the camera to capture the glow. But it was still fun to step outside for a brief moment to capture what I could with my camera. And enjoy the nip in the air with the scent of fall.

Yes, I added the pictures all at once and it's tricky to click between them to add text. Being on my netbook with cat in lap isn't helping either. Not that the pictures need description.

What do I want for Christmas?

I am anticipating being asked soon for what I want for Christmas. And what I think baby wants. This is going to be her first Christmas, then her first birthday is in January. I'd rather spend time getting her list together. Not that I want to go overboard with stuff for her. She'll have more fun with the paper anyways.

I don't really need anything. And quite honestly I'm overwhelmed by all my stuff as I'm working on baby proofing the house. If people really want to buy me possessions I suppose shelves could be good. And help putting them together and securing them. Though help sorting through my excess of clothing to prepare for donation would also be good. Changing sizes does make clothing accumulate faster than it otherwise might.

So to the point of this post. I really think I'm going to make a list of places that people can donate to for gifts for me. Sure, they can still buy me stuff if the want. But it would also be nice to donate. Last month I received a letter from the library looking for donations and would like to donate to them. And there are other places that could use support.

The start of my list:
Friends of the Rochester Public Library
National Novel Writing Month
Humane Society / Lollypop
Pirate Toy Fund

Yes, I linked my list items. Useful point of reference for myself and family members. Though anyone else that wants to donate as well can.

Wordless Wednesday

Picture from yesterday.

Stats Nerd post

I was poking through some of my files yesterday and found my paper from my advanced statistics course I took in my last semester of college. It was nice to review it, and I got a laugh out of a typo. It was also useful to see what specific statistical tests I had run, as that may come in handy when I discuss my statistical experience while job hunting. (I wonder how many other undergraduate students got to run multivariate analysis of variance. My college had that advanced stats elective course taught by the psychology department).

Not that I'm going to post the whole paper, these are just the specific tests I had run. The # x # refers to the number of groups an independent variable has.

• The first design was a 2 × 10 × 4 between-subjects MANOVA with 4 dependent variables. The effect of gender by subject by level was analyzed.

• For the second design I used a 10 × 2 between-subjects ANOVA, analyzing the effect of subject by gender on learned a lot.       

• For the third design I used a 10 × 2 between-subject ANCOVA, analyzing the effects of subject by gender on learned a lot while controlling for level.   

• For the fourth design I used a 2 × 10 between-subjects MANCOVA. The effects of gender by subject on learned a lot, satisfied with instruction, recommend instructor, and grades reflect performance was studied while controlling for level was analyzed.

• For the fifth design I used a one way between subjects ANOVA. I tested the effect of gender on learned a lot. 

I had analyzed course evaluations for my project, looking at levels of classes (100 v 200 ...), gender, and course subject. Frame of reference for the stats. Now back to cover letters, job postings, and such.

Wish me luck: Job Hunting

Long story short, my department was restructured and my position was eliminated. So I'm now unemployed and am currently working on getting a new job. I've been on a few interviews for jobs in my field, so things are moving along. I've been working in higher education (Institutional Research), which is where I've been interviewing.

While still working on the job stuff I am trying to figure out ways to get some creative time in. I figure that could help with this transitional time. Plus too I hadn't been getting as much writing / jewelry time in with the baby. I do want to make sure to spend plenty of time with her, she'll only be this young once. Right now it is just a balance of everything. And as she gets a little older the two of us can draw / paint together. With her being so little I think I may sketch more often. That has less parts to clean up quickly for when she needs me.

I've been debating for awhile what changes I might want to make to my blogging time. I keep toying with the notion of making a "mommy" blog. I like to mention daughter here occasionally, but I want to keep this as my main writer / life blog. I also want to blog about more local topics, kid related places could go in my mommy blog while other topics could go here. And I'm also thinking of blogging about topics relating to my field. Not sure exactly what I'd write about yet for that. It would depend on my audience.

Yes, ramble post of ramble. I've been wanting to mention job hunting for awhile, and every time I think of what to say I debate about what to include. This blog is writing with a slice of life, and right now this is a pretty big slice of life.

Thousand Acre Swamp

For a family outing we went to the Thousand Acre Swamp today, for a little walk. This is a picture I took with my phone while we were on the boardwalk section.

I took more pictures with the actual camera, but the phone is handy while baby naps on me. (She's teething). Hopefully I'll upload some of the other pictures this week.

A poem a day

I've decided to either write or read a poem a day. Today is "Imagine your Village" by M.J. Iuppa.

I sat in on a mindfulness meditation session yesterday and see a link to poetry. More on that later as I set the phone down to read. (and wrap up my break)

Outwalked the furthest city light

I've had Robert Frost's Acquainted with the Night poem stuck in my head intermittently for awhile now. There is something about the rhythm and feel of that poem, even though I have trouble remembering the words.

Tonight the poem really seemed to fit. I was taking recycling out to the end of our driveway and glancing at the stars peaking out from over the tree tops. Crickets sang thier summer song while a cool breeze carried the soft scents of freshness. Looking around and feeling everything the line about walking past the furthest city light hit me.

Kind of ironic in a way, from the end of our street the city skyline is visible.

Butterflies in my Garden

We have had more butterflies than normal this year, it was even a news story awhile back. With the baby I haven't been able to get outside with my camera as much as I would have. Yesterday my husband had some daddy daughter time and while I was in the kitchen I noticed a butterfly on my coneflowers. So I grabbed the camera and went outside.

When I first went outside I startled the butterfly. It was fun watching it flutter around me in a great circle before coming to land on the flowers again. The first shot I took had my house siding in the background. I knelt down and got a shot with trees in the background instead.

Later that day when I was carrying my daughter around I saw another butterfly through the window. I handed baby over and grabbed the camera. I again startled the butterfly and watched it fly around. This one was a bit trickier as it kept moving so it took awhile to line up the broad part of the wings. The first nice wing shot ended up a silhouette.

Well, there is some detail on the butterfly. But the lines from the siding make this look more snap shot. I did get a better shot after this.

It had landed in a different part of the garden so I took the shot through a gap in the coneflower stalks. And yes I do need to weed my garden. This guy has something wrong with his wing, but he flew just as well as butterfly 1.

My husband, daughter, and I sat outside together for awhile. The temperature went down after dinner and with the breeze it was pleasant in the shade. We sat in our front yard and enjoyed watching the breeze in the trees. Daughter loves the outdoors. Those little baby eyes watch the green leaves against the blue sky. She also watches people and cars going down our street. I think she was even watching a white moth flit across the garden from the kitchen earlier.

While the three of us were outside I saw a yellow butterfly. I still had the camera, but before I could get a shot it flew across the street and didn't come back. I had taken a picture of a little moth earlier though which turned out alright. One of our front yard chairs is in the background. I think it adds something to the picture.

And that's a wrap for my Saturday photography "trip". It was enjoyable to get out with the camera again, even if it takes more time to then share the pictures. I've gotten rather used to my cell phone with the share button. And I'm glad to be getting this post together before daughter wakes. Yes, insert joke here about baby alarm clock. At least she doesn't cry when she wakes, she just coos and babbles really cute.

Apptastic: Kids Doodle

So awhile back I'd Tweeted about blogging about apps I've tried out. I was playing with this app tonight and thought it would be fun to blog about. I got the free version for my Android.

Pretty much this app has a random element to it. Each time you touch the screen there is a different color, or line thickness. You can tap a button to randomly select another brush.

This is something I play with when I want to randomly Doodle. And I also let the baby make a drawing on occasion. I don't want her to have too much screen time.

They also make an app called Paint Joy which has a color selector and some different brushes. I use that one when I want a bit more planning with a picture.

Worry Stones

I'm having trouble falling back asleep after having been up with the baby. As I look at the patterns of shadows cast across the blinds while trying to fall back to sleep I've been thinking of random things.

One idea flowed into another in that unique way that happens in the wee overnight hours. A burnt card leads into a fond memory of worry stones.

I grew up in a small town, our little block surrounded by fields and woods. Down a path a ways there used to be a fairly large pile of shale rocks. I was young at the time so it may have seemed larger. It had enough to it for us to climb on.

My family used to take walks to shale mount. My brother and I would climb up on it, reaching the peak fairly easily. We would sit on the dark warm rock and overlook the surrounding field, and the woods a little farther away.

And some times we would do worry stones. See the thing about shale is that it is brittle. It cracks apart easily and has sharp edges. We would use one piece of shale to write on another creating a worry stone. We would put down a few words about something that was bothering us then toss the worry stone over the side of shale mount. It would then break symbolic of letting go of the problem / worry.

Sometimes in life you do your best but things are still rough. You Do what you can, ask for help as possible, and take a deep breath while letting go of what can't be.  The stones were a nice tactile and focal point for this.

3 am wisdom and bits of a childhood memory. I'm not 100 % sure where shale mount actually was. The clearest part is the worry stones.

Feeling out of touch, thanks reader app

So I finally had some time to spend reading some of the blogs I follow. I loaded the reader app on my phone and started looking at posts.

But the app only has stuff up to late April. Even though I saw blogs with more recent updates once I went to the actual blogs. And I hit the update button on the app a few times.

I think I may have to get on a computer and mark stuff as read in web reader. With little one its hard to do much online unless I'm on my phone.

Whiskers, one year later

I was going to call this post "one year with Whiskers", but then I figured it sounded like something bad happened. And I should have posted this last month, so I guess this is a year and a month with Whiskers.

Last year my neighbor died leaving behind her four year old male cat. My husband and I would see the cat when he spent time outside. He was happy sitting under the bushes and watching the local wildlife. We debated about taking him, with already having three cats. He had a place with a family, but when that fell through we decided to take him.

We picked him up from the vet and got him settled into our back bedroom. He had space of his own while getting used to us. He got out of the room that evening and we struggled to carefully get him back. He was in our family room huddled in a corner and snarling. Poor thing didn't know what to make of everything.

Now he's completely at ease with our house and the other cats. He plays with Maya, the 6 year old cat. He tries to play with Toby, but Toby is to old to play rough.

And Whiskers is our pal. Once he got settled in he started jumping on us and sitting on our shoulders. It's quite a surprise to have a cat leap from the floor and land chest high. He loves to get pets and for us to play with him.

Now that we have the baby he has taken to being a lap cat. It doesn't matter who is holding the baby. Sometimes he will find another lap, and other times he will sit with whoever has baby. He also likes baby gear. He sleeps on the changing table, and climbs into her stroller. He also likes the chair in her nursery.

It's a rainy day

After a few hot sunny days we have rain today. As I was walking through the soft showers it got me thinking of being home with Baby Girl. When it rains I like to hold her near a window and sing the part of the rainy day song I remember.

It's a rainy day, its a rainy day
It's raining outside and I can't go out to play.

I need to look up the rest of the lyrics sometime. As she gets older rainy days will be good indoor craft days, she can have fun making things.
And reading is great for rainy days. We even do that now.

Dear daughter

Dear Daughter,

Today you decided to wake early. Your three month old self didn't cry. You made random baby noises to let us know we were needed.

After feeding you and having my coffee while daddy held you we had some extra time together. I held you in my lap while reading your Nutcracker ballet book. Off season, but that didn't matter. Such joy I had watching your eyes look at the pages while I read. I held your hand to guide it to the textures.

For the first time you opened your hands while reading. Your little fingers stroked the fairy's crown and the dancer's skirt. Your eyes were focused on the pages.

You did not cry when you woke because you trusted us to change and feed you. You relaxed in our arms, content with us. You were more interested in the book, a small piece of the world around you. Such wonder for one so small, shared with a mother. And a father.

Experimental blog posts ahead

I'm going to be experimenting with different types of blog posts. Feedback is welcome as I work towards writing with a slice of life.

Wordless Wednesday: Wings

T: Tammy the Turtle #AtoZChallenge

So maybe I didn't hit post and just saved this as a draft, though it does have the 23rd as it's schedule. At any rate here is my T post:

Max swung out of his tree and made his way over to the shallows in Mirror Lake. Birds chirped their early morning melody and the crisp cool morning forest air felt fresh on his face.

The air warmed as he reach the lake shore, the sun warming the shore rocks and the trees at the forest edge. One rock near the shore had a green dot. Tammy. Max grinned and swung into the tree closest to the shore. He grabbed a low laying branch with his tail and paused a moment. Tammy had her face in the water. As she started pulling her head out Max relaxed his paws and started falling. "Eeee", he squealed in his drop. His tail held and he stopped about a foot above Tammy.

"Aaah" Tammy jumped and nearly fell off her rock. She snapped playfully at him with her beak as she crawled back onto the flat part of the rock. Max was laughing and she soon joined him.

"Find any good pebbles?" Max asked. He lowered himself out of the tree and sat on the rocky sand near the water's edge.

"Sure," Tammy reached a front leg out and pointed to a small pile of pebbles in the next rock. The rock had a slight low spot in the middle perfect for holding pebbles.

Max grinned and reached for a pebble. He rolled the cool smooth small stone around in his paws. Tammy also picked one up. On Max's count to three they tossed the pebbles into the lake in between two waves. Plunk plunk sounded as the pebbles landed then sunk.

"Mine went farther," Tammy said with a grin on her face.

"Luck my friend," Max replied.

They each picked up another pebble and tossed them again. Plunk plunk. Max's went farther this time and they both laughed. What a way to spend the morning. Chatting with a friend and tossing pebbles in the morning sunlight.

A to Z, an update.

Ya, so I ended up getting behind with the challenge. I had a bit of a routine going which only lasted until the Easter holiday weekend. And now that I'm back to work I really don't see myself catching up. I just started back today.

I do appreciate all the comments on my blog. And I've also enjoyed visiting other blogs. I do want to see how many more I can visit, even if I'm not posting much here.

I have T scheduled. I wrote it awhile back. It might be nice to still post stories here occasionally.

G: Geordie the Giraffe #atozchallenge

Max swung through the trees dodging various branches. He stopped briefly in one tree enjoying the view where the trees thinned out onto the plains.

"Do you mind? I was just about to eat that leaf." Two eyes peered at him through the leaves.

"Sorry," Max said and stepped over. "I'm Max."

"Geordie," the giraffe replied in between bites of the leaf.

Max chatted while Geordie ate, telling him about his favorite parts of the forest to swing through.

Geordie smiled at Max then looked up. A few large leaves on a high branch gleamed in the sunlight. "Those tall leaves are extra tasty, but they are too high even for me."

"But not for me," Max said and swung upwards then scampered up the tree. He plucked the leaves and swung back down the Geordie's head. "Here you are."

"Why thank you." Geordie took the offered leaves and started eating them. While he did Geordie told Max about his heard and some of the best places he liked to eat

F: Farley the Frog #AtoZChallenge

Max the Monkey skipped along the creek shore. The water splashed over rocks and gurgled in little gullies. He laughed seeing a leaf float along.

"Ribbit!"

Max stopped and stepped closer to the creek's edge. In the mud next to the shallows two eyes peeked out at him. The eyes were followed by a light green body as the frog landed on a rock. "Hello I'm Max," Max said. He had heard of frogs before from Tammy his turtle friend. He had even met a few before. Not this one though.

"Farley," The frog introduced himself. "Fine day we are having, no?"

"Fine fine indeed," Monkey replied. "It would be even more fun if we could play. Would you want to?"

"Sure. How about hopscotch?" Farley leaped up to the bank sitting right at Max's paws. He looked up at the monkey.

Max had to ask what that was. The frog croaked again, his call sounding through the trees around them. Farley took a large leap back into the creek. He landed on one rock, then leaped to another. In a few moments he was on the other side of the creek. He paused before returning to Max.

"Like that. Stay on the rocks and don't get wet." Farley smiled at Max.

"I am in," Max replied with a grin of his own. He jumped into the creek, paws landing on rocks. Farley followed finding other rocks to leap onto. They both laughed while jumping around.

(Today was almost F for frazzled - it's one of those days)

E: Ellora the Elephant #atozchallenge

On a fine sunny day Max the monkey wandered into the grass lands. He liked seeing different places. The air was warm here and he could see for miles. A slight breeze ruffled his fur.

Sounds filled the air, shaking rattling in rhythm. Max looked left and saw a heard of elephants standing in a circle. He grinned and scampered off in the direction.

"Hi there," said the elephant closest to him. She held a coconut by a stick which rattled as she lowered it. "My name is Ellora. Want to join in our song?"

Max introduced himself with a bounce and agreed to join in. He grabbed the offered coconut with both paws. The stick stuck out off to the side. He jumped and the coconut rattled. Oh what fun.

"Keep in time with us," Ellora said shaking her own coconut.

Max followed her lead shaking in time with her and the other elephants. He jumped, he moved his arms up and down. Why he even spun around a few times.

Ellora laughed with a trumpet sound. Max squealed along with her not missing a beat. He moved along with the group dancing with coconut held high.

D: Della the Duck #AtoZChallenge

Max sat on the soft soil on the creek bank watching the water slowly flow past. What fun could he find today?

Max jumped up and stretched his legs. "Eeee eeeee" he said and scampered along the bank.

Reaching a bend a voice called out, "What is with that racket?"

Max looked closely and noticed a duck in the reeds on the creeks edge. Her brown feathers gleamed in the afternoon light. "Sorry," Max said.

The duck laughed, quack quack quack. She swam out of the reeds into open water. "Pulling your feathers pal. That is nothing compared to a good quack. Della is my name."

"My name is Max," he grinned and jumped up and down a few times. "You are on. OOOOHHH AHHHH EEEE" Max threw his head back and chest forward in his monkey calls.

"Nice to meet you" Della replied once Max finished. She flapped her wings smacking the surface of the water. "QUACK QUACK HAAA HAAA HAAA"

Max laughed Della's quacky laugh joining in.

C: Charlene the Chipmunk #AtoZChallenge

Max had fun playing with Bianca the butterfly earlier even though she was no match for him in a race. He had waved goodbye to her and headed north into the forest. He swung through trees and landed in a clearing his paws landing on soft moss. He glanced around enjoying the cool forest air and hearing the birds.

"Chirp chirp chip chip," sounded from nearby. That's a funny bird Max the monkey thought. Wait he had heard that before. Max scratched his head while thinking. Chipmunk! That's right, it was a chipmunk.

"Hey there chipmunk," Max called. There was no response aside from the chirping quieting. He called again.

"What do you want," a little face followed the voice. He could just see it peaking out from behind a fallen log.

"I wanted to say hello," Max replied. "I'm Max."

"Charlene, but only to my mother," The chipmunk replied. "Char to everyone else." She crept up to the top of the log and looked at Max.

Max smiled at her. "Would you like to play a game?"

Char started to shake her head but paused. A soft smile spread across her face and she nodded. "Sure, how about hide and seek?"

Max agreed, and they decided that she would hide first. Max covered his eyes with his paws and turned away. He counted to twenty before turning back to the clearing. He first checked the log. Nope. He then looked up the tree next to it. Nope.

Max laughed and looked under some leaves and around the moss. The longer he looked the more determined he grew to find her. Finally he spotted a hole in the ground partially covered by moss. He peaked in and saw movement.

"Come out come out," Max said and watched Char pop up. "You didn't say anything about going underground," He said when she crawled out.

"We didn't say it was off limits," Char replied with a grin.

They both laughed and repeated the game. This time with Max getting to find a hiding spot.

B: Bianca the Butterfly #AtoZChallenge

Max sighed and swung past the empty rock. Tammy must be somewhere else this morning, silly turtle. Sometimes he had to wonder. Wanting someone to play with Max swung through the trees for awhile and soon found himself at the edge of the meadow.

The meadow. Shades of red, yellow, orange, purple, and white speckled the green grass. Monkey took a good sniff, it smelled different than his usual forest hangout. He glanced around and had to blink when a speck of orange moved. He watched it grow closer and flutter before landing on a bush near the tree he was in.

"Fine day isn't it," The butterfly spoke, looking up at Max with small eyes. "I'm Bianca."

"Max," he smiled at her. Now that she was closer he could see black lines at the edges of her wings and little yellow spots. The whole wing shimmered in the sunlight. "You have pretty wings."

"Why thank you," Bianca smiled back at him. "I did not always have them you know."

Monkey dropped out of the tree, paws softly hitting the ground. He sat next to the bush so that she was at eye level with him. "Really? Well then how did you get around?"

Bianca laughed. "I crawled. I don't remember it to much because I was young. Us butterflies start as caterpillars and crawl around before we grow our wings."

Max's eyes grew wide as Bianca described what a caterpillar looked like, all long and round and fuzzy. With no wings. Yet here she was now all pretty in the sunlight with wings to carry her to the sky. "Wow," he managed.

"I'm sure you changed to," Bianca said. "Everyone does. When we are little we don't know yet what we can grow to be." She flitted her wings to make her point. "I bet your tail wasn't as strong when you were young."

Max grinned, remembering his childhood. He was so glad now that he could swing through trees with ease. He could go where he wanted and see all sorts of places and creatures. "Ya, and it is fun to swing through the trees."

"Race you to that bush," Bianca said motioning toward one with red flowers farther along the tree line. She started off right as Max nodded and he gladly swung after her.

A: And here we go #AtoZchallenge

Yes, plenty of A animals out there but our story needs an introduction. Even though these are mini interrelated stories.

Once upon a time... because its a fun way to start a story... Once upon a time in a place far away lived a group of special animals. Normal animal rules don't apply in this place. Food chain what's that? The smallest animals can live without fear of being eaten by larger ones. A monkey can be best friends with a turtle.

That's right a monkey and a turtle. On many a fine morning Max the monkey can be found hanging from the tree branches over the shallows of mirror lake chatting away with Tammy the turtle. She likes the morning sun on her rocks don't you know.

Max is a friendly sort of monkey and likes to visit with other animals. From the forest, to the lake shore, to the grassy meadows just wait to see who Max plays with.

A to Z possible: Stories for Baby Girl #AtoZchallenge

I took part in the A to Z blogging challenge last year and have been debating about it this year over the past few months. With having an infant in the house my schedule is not my own. But then the other day I figured it might be fun to make up short stories for her and I could write them down to use for the challenge. I'm always looking for ways to interact with her and this will double as a way for me to still do something creative. I may use the text from speech function on my phone, which works halfway alright. That way it would  be less typing for me. With having her here I'm getting very little time on the laptop. My phone has been so handy.

I think I have a theme in mind for the stories. Well at least a way to interconnect them. Baby Girl has one of those infant play mat/gym things which is an animal theme. She also has a monkey on her bouncer and the light switch in her nursery. As I've been playing with her I've been making up back stories for the various gym animals. I'm thinking those animals can be my A to Z stories, each animal can have a letter. Depending how many animals I add into the mix some of them may have more than one story. And Max the monkey will probably be the main character.

These would be fairly rough draft stories. When she's older I might have fun revising them and drawing pictures to create a book for her to read. The gym is just a starting point, I'm not limiting myself to the animals on there. I'm also still thinking of a cute little setting still. The gym is a rainforest, but I may do something different.

Anyone else doing the challenge? What sorts of themes are you all doing, or just winging it?

This is it: Baby day

Well this is it, today is the day my daughter will be here. I'm packing up a few last things then I'll be heading into the hospital to deliver her. I can't believe she'll be here this afternoon. Once the two of us are settled into whatever routine she determines I'll be working on posting here a little more often. I figured today is a nice quick post day.

Side note: I am going to be putting together my 2012 to read list, using some things I already have on Goodreads and other books. I'd like to have books on said list by fellow bloggers, so if anyone has suggestions feel free to point them out.

And I packed a few baby books in my hospital bag so I can read to DD while we are in the hospital.