Another @%!#* Heather

(S)WP

2009-12-14T15:32:24Z

Stitching: A bookmark for a 7-year-old girl, which goes with a gift certificate to Half Price Books. I am all about the bookmarks all of a sudden. If I lose my mind and decide to do Stitchmas next year, everyone is getting a bookmark.

Wearing: Grey pencil skirt; pink v-neck sweater that I don't wear very often because it is seriously PINK, like bubblegum pink. High balck heels; marcasite earrings; Chanel No. 5.

Planning: Finishing a motion to sub in a new case and hopefully getting it filed today; making arrangements to get the new case file delivered from the attorney who's withdrawing; preparing a status report in a federal case; more trial prep for the February trial, including making a deposition schedule.

Tonight: Doing the finishing work (pressing, reinforcing seams, etc.) on the completed gifts; wrapping everything up (or, alternatively, making a trip to the Container Store if I don't have the right boxes); getting the cards finished and ready to mail tomorrow; ham for dinner.

Happy Monday, lovelies.

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Mending

2009-12-08T16:22:58Z

I ended up with Miette's tummy bug and let me tell you - it was AWFUL. It followed the same pattern as Miette's: six or so hours of throwing up and then a horrible fever all day yesterday. The fever was almost worse than the throwing up (almost but not quite). I kept the kid home yeaterday to rest and my FIL came over to take care of her while I slept all day. ALL day, and then all night. I think I was only awake for 45 minutes or so.

Now we have to see if Corey gets it. I hope not, because while it seems to be of short duration, this virus kicked my ass. That fever was awful.

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Change of Plans

2009-12-06T00:14:06Z

Our Advent activity for today was to go to my FIL's house and decorate their monstrous tree, but Miette started throwing up as we were getting ready to leave. Poor little thing can't keep anything in her belly, not even water. We're on our 3rd load of laundry.

She's not running a fever but she's all clammy and flushed. She clearly doesn't feel good, which with Miette means she's really quite ill - she NEVER acts sick when she doesn't feel good. Right now she's laying down with Corey and I'm waiting for my mom to get here so I can go to the grocery store and stock up on Pedialyte and bananas.

My poor girl, it's just awful seeing her sick.

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(S)WP

2009-11-30T15:04:46Z

Stitching: I've put the stupid lingerie bag on hold and now I'm working on a set of placemats. They're going much better (and much faster). When I'm done with these I'll give the bag another shot...but honestly, I may just scrap it.

Wearing: Black sweater dress; black tights; red satin ballet flats that I will switch out for high black boots when I get to work. Black beaded necklace; black hoop earrings; Chanel. It's very cold (and raining; my feet are soaked) today so I'm also wearing my pink wool coat and a lovely red scarf that amy_pi knitted for me. The pink and the red kind of clash but they both make me happy.

Planning: Filing a general denial as soon as I get to work; trial prep for the second part of Big Case (trialvis a week from today, though I'm hopeful for a continuance); subpoenaing a whole mess of people for trial (I love subpoenaing people, it makes me feel powerful).

Happy Monday, lovelies!

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The Girl I Was

2009-11-24T16:30:36Z

Jackie and I went to see New Moon (the new Twilight movie) on Sunday, and it was a lot of fun because I don't get to see her very often without babies and/or husbands in tow. The movie was awful, of course, but something occured to me while I was watching it. I figured out why I read all 4 of the damn books, despite the terrible writing and my feminist objections to them:

Had these books come out when I was 14 or 15 (a/k/a, the target audience's age), I would have eaten them up. I was absolutely the kind of girl who believed that romantic love had to be tortured, dangerous, dramatic and as star-crossed as possible, or it wasn't love. I blame this mainly on Gone With The Wind, which I read for the first time in 5th grade. It informed SO MANY of my views on things like how women were supposed to act and how we should expect to be treated by men, and it took me many years to learn that the relationship between Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler was poisonous, not poetic. I remember the moment when I realized the import of this line in particular, which Rhett uses to explain how much he loves Scarlett: "I know how little bodies mean, especially women's bodies." I was in MY TWENTIES when it finally occurrred to me that this is maybe not the best, most empowered philosophy. There haven't been too many "ah ha" moments in my life but that was definitely one of them.

So, back to Twilight: I think that, despite the passing of time and a great deal of personal growth, a part of me still gets tingly at the idea of the dangerous boy who wants to protect me from himself and everything else in the world, who loves me so much that he breaks into my room at night to watch me sleep. I was never shy like Bella is, never doubted that boys wanted to be with me - mostly because I started having sex so young and I realized just how much power it gave me over fourteen-year-old boys - but I was always yearning to be loved like that. No boy ever said "I love you too much to sleep with you" but that's what I kept hoping to hear.

I've spent the last 15 years with the most gentle, generous man imagineable - a man who, as a boy, DID refuse to sleep with me until he was ready - and I credit him with helping me grow so, so much. But something in my brain still swoons at the Edward Cullen model of manhood, and so I tore through those awful books like there was a sparkly mind-fucking stalker of my very own waiting for me at the end. I don't want the sparkly stalker; I want a few hours to remember how it felt to be that young and that...well, stupid. I feel guilty about it - like I should turn in my feminist card - but I read the Twilight books because I liked being lost in the fantasy for a bit.

RIP, Mozart

2009-11-16T18:15:10Z

Long sad story short: This morning we found our younger cat, Mozart, all pretzled up behind the TV, unable to walk or hold his head up. We took him to the vet, who examined him and said that it could be a number of things but most likely it was a combination of liver failure/brain damage, probably from an infection (the name of which escaped me) that attacks the central nervous system first and then the liver. He said that we could try to treat it, do bloodwork to make sure it wasn't a smaller, less deadly infection or cancer, but that in his opinion, Mozart was basically dying. So we decided to go ahead and put him to sleep, because we didn't want him to suffer like poor little Edgar suffered, and then we took him to my grandfather's house and buried him in the back yard. Poppa's house is the official family pet burial ground; we all have our own little corner. If anyone was to excavate Poppa's backyard they'd probably think he was a psychopath, there's got to be 20 or 30 animals back there.

My poor other cat, Gatsby - his friends keep dying on him; this is the fourth cat we've had to put to sleep since 1999. Gatsby is old, he's 15, and he's never lived by himself. We got Mozart specifically to help Gatsby stop grieving for Edgar, because Gatsby lost his tiny kitty mind when Edgar died, and now I don't know what we're going to do. I really don't want another kitten or cat.

I also have no idea what we're going to tell Miette. We took her to school before we went to the vet, and we didn't let her see Mozart before we left. She's not terribly attached to him, and she was the bane of his existence; once she started walking, Mo more or less took up permanent residence behind the TV. It will probably take a few days before she notices he's not coming out to eat any more. I think I'm going to just...not tell her. If she asks, I'll come up with something, but I think we're not going to volunteer the information.

This is Mozart. He was a sweet cat, albeit a little dumb and a WHOLE lot skittish. He wasn't much of a lap cat, but when I was on bedrest when I was pregnant he would spend the entire day curled up on the couch, up against my belly, and he'd give me dirty looks every time Miette kicked him.

Poor, sweet, dumb old Mo. Sigh.

Things I Will Do When I Win The Lottery

2009-11-12T14:50:36Z

- Put 25% of it aside for Miette
- Make a big donation to my church's permanent endowment fund
- Hire a full-time chauffeur so that no one can give me grief over not driving
- Buy as many pairs if Louboutains as I can get my hands on
- Keep my job, but tell Brian that I'd work for free
- Go on vacation with Corey and Miette for about a month, somewhere with a beach
- Go on vacation by myself for about a week, somewhere I can get both massages and large quantities of alcohol on demand

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R/SWP

2009-11-09T14:45:17Z

Stitching: SIL's lingerie bag still, because I have hit a major wall and haven't stitched anything in over a week. Stitchmas is getting on my nerves! And I still have a lot to do, so I plan to knuckle down in a big way starting tonight.

Reading: A Civil Action, by Jonathon Harr. We took Miette to the library over the weekend and I couldn't resist the lure of grown-up books. Which does me no good as far as Stitchmas goes, of course. Tonight, I swear, knuckling down.

Wearing: Dark blue denim a-line skirt (it's new, I bought it last night on sale for $10!); white square-necked t-shirt with little box pleats along the neckline; red cardigan. Black patent flats. Dangly black beaded earrings, but no necklace because nothing I own goes with a square neckline. Shalimar. I look pretty damn cute today.

Planning: Dealing with a pleadings deadline; updating some document production; updating a whole mess of document indices; updating my 3-month calendar; some various small stuff in a few different cases.

Non-work: I AM GOING TO MAIL OUT MY SWAP PACKAGES TODAY.. They're packaged and postaged and everything. I am a terrible swapper.

Miette's 3rd birthday party is on Saturday. I cannot believe she's 3. We're going to have a bouncy castle and chicken nuggets, a/k/a Miette's Idea of Heaven.

Then on Sunday Corey and I are going to the Marine Corps Birthday Ball with my grandpa. I have a pretty pretty new dress to wear.

Happy Monday, beloveds!

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SWP

2009-10-26T13:57:36Z

Stitching: SIL's lingerie bag. A whole lot of satin stitching.

Wearing: I have had an utterly wretched morning but damn if I don't look awesome today. Black pinstriped circle skirt; black knit short-sleeved turtleneck; black blazer; black hose; shiny new black knee-high boots. I will take a picture of them when I get to work because I've never worn tall boots before and I'm worried that they come off a bit slutty. Double strand of pearls, pearl earrings, new watch that I bought because no one seems to carry the battery for my old watch. Chanel No. 5.

Planning: Pretrial frenzy. Not panicking. Coming home in a better mood than the one I am in this morning.

Special Bonus Whining: I look awesome but I'm soaking wet because it's raining fit to beat the band here and Miette refused to carry her umbrella. So I had to give her mine, which means I got soaked. I had put my boots and purse inside a large paper bag, and when it got wet the damn thing disintergrated and the bottom fell out. So I walked her to school clutching the bag to my chest, with the other hand in the top of her head to keep the umbrella straight and to keep her walking. She refused to walk faster than a glacier moves, she stopped frequently to throw a mini-fit about something, and even with my sacrificed umbrella she got pretty wet because she wouldn't hold it over her head. I can't imagine what we looked like to passers-by; I felt downright demented. And this was all after a morning when she fought like a possessed person not to wake up and I bascially had to stuff her into her clothes because she was resisting everything I did. I have exactly 4 days left before I leave her for a month, and this is how morning #1 goes. I am so tense right now.

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PSA

2009-10-20T14:05:48Z

For those of you out there who have babies who aren't talking yet: DON'T TEACH THEM HOW TO TALK. It just gives them new ways to torment you.

Mommy: Here's your purple skirt.
Miette: (falls to the floor, launches into a full-on incoherent tempter tantrum)
Mommy: What? WHAT?! What is it you want?
Miette: I DON'T WANT MY PURPLE SKIRT!!!
Mommy: Ok, here's your green skirt.
Miette: (more screaming)
Mommy: And now the problem is...?
Miette: I WANT MY PURPLE SKIRT!!!
Mommy: ::headfloor::

SWP

2009-10-19T14:14:28Z

Stitching: Robot tea towels to go with the (completed) robot cocktail napkins.

ETA the pictures:

The whole set of napkins.

Close-up of my favorite little robot guy:

The towels will have one each of the three robots.

Next up: my SIL's lingerie bag, which I think will be the most time-consuming project I do this year.

Wearing: Grey pencil skirt; grey short-sleeved seersucker button-down; high black heels. This is the only straight skirt I own; it's very different than my usual silhoutte. A bit more va-va-voom than usual, but I think it works. Silver cross, round marcasite earrings, Chanel No. 5.

Planning: Trial prep...we're two weeks out today. Wheee! This is where the crazy part of my brain takes over and this nonsense starts seeming like fun. I intend to kick a great deal of ass today. I am not going to procrastinate and I'm not going to give in to the temptation to bitch and moan all day. A great deal of ass, watch and see.

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Trousers

2009-10-13T13:33:55Z

I'm wearing trousers today, which I almost NEVER do because I'm always afraid they make me look stubby. But I liked the look of these in the store so much that I bought them despite past misgivings.

They're tweedy brown, and wide-legged. I'm wearing a white button-down and brown heels, and I'm trying to convince myself that the effect is more Katherine Hepburn than Oliver Hardy.

I may take a picture when I get to work so that y'all can weigh in.

They are super comfy, I will give them that. It's nice to be able to sit on the bus and not worry about what I'm showing the gentleman across the aisle.

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SWP

2009-10-12T13:41:03Z

Stitching: Robot cocktail napkins and matching dishtowels. Also, I've decided how to wrap all the Christmas gifts this year and I think I've settled on a card design.

In other crafting: I finished Shawnee's swap gift and my Reclaimers project, and I finished Miette's Halloween costume. It was a crafty weekend!

Wearing: Black sweater dress; black patterned tights; black patent flats. I meant to bring a pair of heels to change into but I had so much stuff to carry that I couldn't manage the shoe bag. If I have any heels at work I'll change. The flats don't look bad, but heels would be better.

Also: silver and black earrings from Brazil; silver cross necklace; Shalimar perfume. Yum.

Planning: In Big Case...prepare for mediation; another round of phone calls to people who won't call me back; begin the witness and exhibit lists; update the trial notebook and make another copy for second chair; update expert witness notebooks with new reports that came in on Friday. In Adjacent Case...prepare for deposition on Friday. In other cases...get continuances on the two trials that have somehow been set during Big Case's trial setting; follow up on some discovery issues. Try not to panic, which is basically my standing order these days.

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Quote(s) of the Day

2009-09-23T15:40:08Z

One of Miette's favorite words right now is "actually." She uses it a lot when she asks questions. Here are some I've heard in the last couple of days:

"Do rhinos actually play baseball?"
"Do long pants actually go with tights?"
"Are you actually wearing grey pajamas?"

Also, she had a bug bite of some kind that got all swollen and weird looking, so I called the after-hours nurse to discuss it. When I got off the phone, she asked who I'd been talking to. When I said it was the nurse, she goes, "Did you say hi for me?"

My kid is 15 kinds of cute.

Quote of the Day

2009-09-15T21:12:40Z

Last night Miette asked for a bell pepper as a snack. She took the first bite and chewed it very thoughtfully, then looked at me and said, "Apparently I like green peppers."

Heathen

2009-09-06T15:46:53Z

I'm skipping church today out of nothing more than sheer sheer laziness. I got up on time, I made Sunday Eggs for the spouse and offspring as usual, and then completely ran out of motivation to take a shower and put on nice clothes. So I sent Mimi to the park with her daddy, and I'm having a second cup of coffee and some alone time in my pajamas.

Lazy heathen Heather.

Shoppy!

2009-09-01T17:52:53Z

Corey, for whatEVER totally unfathomable reason, doesn't seem inclined to give in and buy me that $600 briefcase, despite the fact that it is absolutely everything I want in a briefcase. He's so weird sometimes.

Thus: Do any of y'all carry a briefcase? Got any recommendations? I'm looking for:

1. black
2. leather
3. no stupid lock, or at least a very very small one that you can hardly see
4. at least 14" long, to accomodate legal-sized files
5. preferably expandable sides
6. short handle, not a shoulder strap

Seriously, the $600 one is all of those things, and it is beautiful and I WANT IT. Stupid $600 price tag.

RWP

2009-08-31T20:33:48Z

Reading: An Ideal Husband, Oscar Wilde. Via the Stanza e-book app on my iPhone. :)

Wearing: Grey circle skirt; emerald green 3/4-sleeve scoop-necked knit top; black patent heels. Have I mentioned that I need new shoes? I do. Black dangly earrings, silver cross. I also need a new cross, I want a gold one instead of silver. Or ha, maybe I should get a marcasite one since I wear marcasite earrings like 90% of the time.

Planning: Expert witness stuff in the Big Case - scheduling depositions and putting together notebooks. Completing a deposition summary in another case, which I should have finished last week but it kept getting pushed to the back burner. Not panicking (or so I tell myself). Trying to convince Corey that a $600 attache case would be a good investment in my working wardrobe; so far he's not buying it. At home: Trip to Sears tonight for various things; putting away the laundry that was washed but not folded yesterday; no idea what we're having for dinner. We'll probably eat out since we're going to be out anyway.

I have the worst damn headache. Actually it's my neck that aches, and it hurts so bad that it's affecting my head, too. I think I must have slept at some funky angle. I wish the Excedrin would start working.

Holy HELL

2009-08-27T13:31:21Z

You know, there are days when I look at Miette and think, "You are the cutest thing in five states."

And then there are days when I look at her and think, "I am going to sell you to the first person who makes me a halfway decent offer."

Guess which kind of morning we had today.

YAY!

2009-08-26T19:18:47Z

So last week Corey had a job interview with the Railroad Commission, and today they offered him the job!!

Yay!!

RWP

2009-08-24T14:46:36Z

Reading: Howard's End. I'm really enjoying it, which is immensely cheering since I've hated (and have been unable to finish) the last 3 "classics" I tried to read.

Wearing: Black pin-striped skirt; black 3/4-sleeve knit top with a slight cowl neck; black patent heels (I need some new shoes). Silver cross necklace; marcasite earrings. Perfume!! I bought some perfume yesterday - Shalimar. I smell heavenly.

Planning: Writing a deposition summary; beginning another round of deposition scheduling in the Big Case; a few small miscellaneous things for the Big Case, including updating the expert witness notebook. Red beans and rice for dinner tonight - I'm already looking forward to it, as it is YUM. And that's about it - nothing giant is looming over my head, thank goodness. At least not for a few more weeks. Corey goes back to school this week, though, so that's going to make my evenings a lot busier.

Oh, I went to the doctor - it's bronchitis. :) Now I have an antibiotic and some delightful cough syrup that has vicodin in it. I'm feeling much better, but the cough is starting to become, ahem, productive, and that's always gross. But still - getting better.

Happy Monday!

Wheezy Joe, That's Me

2009-08-20T19:41:29Z

Ugh, I think I might have pnuemonia. I've had that cough for awhile now, and I can feel it getting progressively deeper and deeper into my lungs. Plus it's kind of...this is gross, but: the cough is getting wetter-sounding. And there's a lot of whistling when I breathe out. Ok, it's probably not pneumonia, but something is definitely wrong in my thorax.

And whatever it is, it fucking HURTS. I feel like someone is standing on my chest. My inhaler isn't helping, it just makes me shakey on top of the wheezy. I'm going to the doctor tomorrow but in the meantime, I'm all icky and whiny. And wheezy.

But on the upside, did I mention that I HAVE AN IPHONE NOW? I have a Web MD app on it, so I can diagnose myself all the way home on the bus. I also have Pandora, NPR, the Book of Common Prayer, and a to-do list app. I told Corey he's got to figure out a way to make someone buy one for him. I'm generally not too much of tech-toy gal, but this little sucker won me over big time. It's sassy!

RWP

2009-08-17T15:49:22Z

Reading: A Virtuous Woman, by Kaye Gibbons. I love love LOVE her. I think this is the only one of her books that I haven't read yet. I didn't love Ellen Foster, which she's most famous for, but Charms for the Easy Life is one of my favorite books, ever. A Virtuous Woman is just as enchanting. I LOVE HER WRITING SO MUCH.

Wearing: Black skirt with blue flowers; black 3/4-sleeve v-neck knit top; black patent heels. Black marcasite earrings, silver cross necklace. FANTASTIC hair day; Joshua cut it yesterday and styled it for me, so I didn't wash it this morning and it just looks awesome.

Planning: Housecleaning-type things at work; rescheduling some depositions; making a trial notebook for the January trial (which will be in Dallas, I'm probably not going to that one). At home: Dinner with my FIL tonight, hopefully dinner out at a restaurant because my kitchen is a mess AND! Because I want to go out and buy my iPhone tonight!! Brian said he would reimburse me if I buy it myself, so YAY!!

On the not-so-yay side: Doctor's appointment on Friday to get my boobie-squishing referral, and probably a trip to my regular GP tomorrow because I'm SICK. I was terribly sick all weekend. Miette had bronchitis last week and I believe she gave it to me. I feel better today (no fever, at least not so far) but the cough is killing me. My lungs feel like they're all full of ashes. So, doctor's offices all around.

But:: iPHONE!!! Whoo!!

RWP

2009-08-10T18:35:49Z

Reading: How the Pro-Choice Movement Saved America, by Cristina Page. I've decided that I'm only going to read books that correspond to and corroborate my world view - enough being challenged, it just takes too much time. In all seriousness, though, it's just making me kind of tired to read about how uphill this particular battle is, when it seems like something so basic to me.

Wearing: Green v-neck top; camel circle skirt; brown sandals. Gold hoop earrings. Resigned facial expression.

Planning: A ton of work stuff. I could potentially be here at work until midnight, as we have a pleading deadline today and midnight is the cutoff. I hope that doesn't happen. At home: Organizing the Christmas gift projects (a whole lot of stitching will be done); laundry that I didn't do yesterday; red beans and rice for dinner. Dinner with gov_moonbeam and donrickles tomorrow night!!! Appointment with my gynecologist next week for my (long overdue, it was supposed to be in February) annual exam and to get my mammogram referral. Trying not to freak out; taking a lot of deep breaths.

Deep, deep breaths.

Parenting FAIL

2009-08-05T04:21:52Z

Tonight when I was brushing Miette's teeth before bed, she was making a terrible face. She finally pulled away and said, "Something is...smelly!" and spit out a mouthful of toothpaste. So I smelled the toothbrush.

It was diaper cream. Not toothpaste.

I brushed my kid's teeth with ass paste.