Checking Off The Wyoming

Well, this is it. One of, if not THE LAST time Jacob will have to don the old kakis. I can't report to you that he had any sense of nostalgia or wistfulness...just relief. We are both terribly excited for the transition. He didn't even have to go in to work today; just on base to get a physical, check out, and turn in his supper sneaky get-down-to-the-boat badge. He's done. ... In fact, no shit, as soon as I typed "He's done" I answered the ringing phone to the sound of his voice proclaiming, "I'm done!" Cool huh? We're in sync. I know down the line there will be days that he wonders, "What if?" And perhaps when he hears other's talk about the good experiences they've had in the service he might wish things had gone different. But I think that is healthy and normal. I am sure if he had done twenty years in the Navy he would have days when he contemplated what he could have made of himself in the civilan world. Once in a while everyone daydreams about the paths passed by for different roads.

I for one, am very proud of my husband. He has balls. It would be SAFER in many respects for him to stay in. Initially the civilian world just can't compeat with the Navy in terms of money and benifits. Jacob however, is driven and he has an entrepreneurial spirit that just won't quit. Now is the time for him to get out there and make it happen. It would only get harder for him to do that if he stayed in even the two years of a shore tour. It's better that he take this step now while there are only 2.5 or 3 of us. Besides, I know that whatever job he does, or plan he makes is bound to be a success. He has that perfect blend of brains and intestinal fortitude to accomplish anything. OK, I'm done bragging about him. :-)

In other news, today I received the coolest birthday package from my Mom and Grandma. It was an awesome pick-me-up. It was like getting a hug in the mail. Only better, because it was a hug with presents! ;-) Thank you both! Included in the package was a cassette tape made of me as a little kid...5 or under? The date wasn't on the tape, but it was so special. It was a recording of me singing the 12 Days of Christmas (my all time favorite Christmas song). It is so hard to imagine that little voice used to be mine. I have no memory of ever sounding like that. Does my Mom? Or did the voice on the cassette sound as alien to her as it did to me? After I finished my little solo everyone in the room cheered. I can imagine my grandparents and both parents were in the crowd, but really the only voice I could pick out for certain was my Mom's. Probably in part because she was always my most zealous cheerleader. I can still clearly remember her shouts from the stands of countless softball games.

There are only a handful of people's voices that I can remember after going a long time without talking to them. But really my Mom and Dad's voices stand out the sharpest in my memory. And I just must be hardwired to remember their voices. I love reading that when a baby is born it recognizes it's parents' voices and will turn it's head to face them. How wonderful! I can't wait to meet my little Jacob. His Daddy and I sing and talk to him all the time. I can't wait to make recordings of him singing his favorite songs. It is all going to be so much fun!

Thursday I'll be 22 weeks pregnant. Hopefully Jacob and I will take some belly pictures soon so I can share with you all the massively expanding dimensions of my stomach. I feel him kicking al the time now. Jacob has even been able to feel him finally as well. This is really starting to be fun!

Mr. & Mrs. Smoochy in California

My hubby is on the fast track to greatness! 80% of all His interviewers this weekend wanted to pursue him further! Not to mention, he looks SO dapper in his suite and tie! Dashing! So, all and all our trip to California was a complete success. He had two companies essentially offer him positions. However, let me start from the beginning.

We landed in Irvine, CA (in Orange County...south of LA) last Wednesday. As we are older now and move at a more steady tempo our first thought wasn't "Where's the party?" But rather, "Where is our bed?" After an early meal and a hot shower, we were tucked in our surprisingly comfy hotel bed.

Thursday was an early start for us. Thankfully we were still on East Coast time, so 6:00 am actually felt like 9:00 am. We had slept in! We never quite adjusted, so early to bed, early to rise was the theme of the week. Jacob's day was spent in a series of briefs on all the different companies he would be interviewing with. 11 total! I was itching to explore southern California, but due to some transportation issues, I never made it further than a mall! I was severely disappointed in myself for coming across the country and spending the day window-shopping at the Gap and Banana Republic. LAME. So, I arranged to rent a car the following day.

Friday was much more exciting for both of us. My Darling Jacob and I started the day with complimentary breakfast at the Embassy Suites (which turned out to be my FAVORITE part of our days in CA!) he started interviewing at 8:00 am... and I hit the road! Imagine, Rebecca W!*&$%@(#, LOOSE IN CALIFORNIA! I very quickly discovered a few things about driving in California. #1: Every one drives as fast as they possibly can...ALL THE TIME. This is no exaggeration. It was crazy. We maybe saw two cops on the road all week. It is as though people get so tired of traffic jams, that when they have the chance to they FLY. Which brings me to #2: Nasty Nasty traffic build ups and back ups. We were smart (or scared) enough to avoid the roads at peaks times, but even at 4:oo am on a weekday and 2:oo pm on a Saturday highway traffic was much thicker than either of us were used to. Lastly, #3: THE PRICE OF GAS! Let's just say over all, I don't envy Southern California drivers.

What they do have going for them is a gorgeous view. Friday I drove from Irvine to Laguna Beach then up to Huntington Beach. The whole car ride (from what I could see racing to stay just slower than the flow of traffic) was picturesque. To the East where rising, undulating hills and to the West was a drop and then the swell of the Pacific Ocean. Being a Floridian I naturally wanted to compare CA with FL. Sadly for my great swampy home, there is no contest. Southern California has these incredible hills and beautiful foliage that Florida just can't touch. Not to mention the Californians claim that though the summers are HOT they are not at all humid.

I enjoyed a fantastic walk along the Pacific. Instantly I was struck by the might of that ocean. OK , I grew up on the Gulf of Mexico; when I moved to the Atlantic Coast as a college student I was struck by the might of that ocean as well. But this was different. The waves of the Pacific were HUGE. And the locals claimed it was a flat day. The waves came crashing ashore with more noise than I ever heard in my life. Each time one hit it thundered with a tremendous BOOM. It was very impressive. I parked my butt of the top of a huge rock on the beach (see below) and watched the waves come in for quite some time.

Notice in the picture there isn't a cloud in the sky. I don't remember seeing clouds all week. It was amazing. This HUGE flawless blue expanse of sky. It left a certain impression in my mind, a clarity, a crispness, I will always associate with the state. At least until I have other experiences in CA.

Following the walk on the beach I spent the day in the little shops along the beach. Laguna Beach was more like a younger 5th Ave Naples, FL with art galleries, cafes, ritzy boutiques, and of course a Starbucks. I enjoyed it, and probably fit in best there...though I CERTAINLY could not afford to live in a 30 mile radius of the place.
Huntington Beach was a different vibe all together. A MUCH younger scene. Here is where all the surfers hang out. They have a fantastic pier; a huge shopping area; and coolest of all, a little tented flea market where you can purchase all sorts of locally grown goods, as well as crafts and art. It's like a tiny strip of a local fair. Here is where I ended my day after eating lunch at a local spot, the Longboard Restaurant and Pub (good service and a yummy Rubin sandwich!) I meandered through the over priced and very youthful surf shops, and decided to head back to my hubby, who I was missing terribly by now.

I returned to our hotel about 6 o'clock in the evening to find Jacob through with his barrage of interviews and completely spent. No surprise he was pooped! We walked across the street to McCormick & Schmidt (a delightful seafood restaurant) for a hot meal and a chance to catch up on each other's adventures. Jacob's 11 interviews had mostly all been excellent. He was disappointed that most of them were for engineering positions, where as he is most interested in pursuing sales, but the experience was a very positive one for him. There were a couple companies he liked, and we both had our fingers crossed that come Monday he would get a second interview some place, thereby justifying our stay through the week.

Saturday morning we checked out of the fantastic Embassy Suites, hopped into the rental, and headed south on THE 405 to San Diego (Californians seem to refer to their highways as THE 405 or THE 101). It was 2:00 pm on a Saturday with bumper to bumper traffic. Jacob has a good buddy who he went to the Academy with (as well as power school and prototype) who is also a submarine officer, and recently stationed in San Diego for his two-year shore tour. Josh was kind enough to open his apartment to us to come for a visit.

What can I say. This was defiantly the highlight of our trip to California. I immediately took a liking to Josh. He is a very warm, relaxing, humorous, and a very hospitable friend. From the start conversation was easy, and Jacob and I were made to feel right at home. Not to mention, the man fed us! That night he made us chicken skewers on his new grill. Delicious! All day the guys had been talking about going out for a night on the town. When Jacob and I had talked about it earlier, I said really didn't want to go. Pregnant, I can sometimes be a wet blanket. I get tired quick, and then get irritated that I can't enjoy a party like I did pre-pregnancy. But, when Jacob told me he was glad I felt that way because he wasn't going to let me go...suddenly my attitude changed and I didn't want to be left out! ;-) Surprise, surprise! So, after dinner It was time to decide. We had all been laughing and having a good time, the music was playing at Josh's apartment, and I just couldn't stand the thought of seeing the action in down town San Diego! I was in the mood to play!

I am so glad I tagged along. It was a blast! Down town San Diego is a very cool spot. It has a great feel to it, with tons of fun little bars, clubs, shops, and restaurants. We went to a place called Aubergine which is both a sushi restaurant and a night club. When we arrived at about 8:00ish Joshes group of friends was just sitting down to order some sushi (lucky bastards, yet another thing off the list for the pregnant lady!) The club was filled with the sound of this soulful and sultry lounge singer. She was absolutely beautiful (HOT, is what the guys claimed) and it added so much ambiance to the already swanky little club. After sushi, there was dancing and shots of sake for the crew. I stuck to water of course, but I stayed upbeat all night. I wasn't even TOO jealous of all the sushi and sake. It was just fun. Except for a little incident in which of the owner of the club tried to pick a fight with and kick Jacob out. It was an insane misunderstanding. My hubby, brushed it off like the level headed rational guy he is and didn't let it ruin his time...too much. ;-) You know Jacob, he vowed not to spend another cent in the place, but eventually sucked it up for his friend and soon found himself at the bar buying a round of Dirty Apples for everyone. I was really proud of him for being so cool.

The truth of the matter is by the end of the night, though we had had a really great time, Jacob and I were BOTH showing our age. By midnight, the lazy lounge atmosphere had turned into a full blown PACKED OUT club scene, complete with a hour line for the ladies room, a single mass of bodies pressed into one another on the dance floor for lack of space to dance, and no chance of getting to the bar. In fact, there was a line down the street of people waiting to get into the club. It was a young crowd and the music was all dance anthems. The body-to-body atmosphere just didn't suite us. And my hubby was so sweet and protective of where I stood to keep Little Jacob and I safe!

It was about that time he and I decided to take a walk. The San Diego air was cold and wonderful compared to the club. We walked down the street and stopped at a cigar bar where he enjoyed a local DARK San Diego beer called Arrogant Bastard. He really enjoyed it, and I couldn't help commenting that I thought the beer was perfectly suited to my Hubby! That was pretty much the end of the night. By the time we walked back to Aubergine Josh was ready to head for home, as were we! All and all and awesome night!

The next day, Josh our kick-ass-host, cooked us bacon and eggs on the grill. We drank coffee and recapped the night's events. Sunday was a lazy day. We watched some movies and goofed off. Josh had organized for a night of poker playing with a group of his friends. So about four pm we started gearing up for that. I made a trip to the supper marked for some supplies, and Josh planned a feast of grilled wings and chicken, as well as chips and dips. Poker night was a hoot. Josh has very nice friends (mostly Navy medical interns so they are a pretty smart bunch) and it was just generally a swell time.

However, Jacob ended up turning in early. He had discovered in an email that evening, that he was expected in L.A. at 8:00 am the next morning for a follow up interview with FM Global. Some how there had been a break down in communication between the company and the head-hunter, leaving Jacob out of the loop. Well, in the end, after a few phone calls, he decided that we would just have to get to L.A. the next morning and make it happen. That after all, is why we had made the trip.

We found ourselves up at 3:00 am and on the road an hour later heading towards L.A. The distence between the two cities is not that far, but we had been warned that there might be no appeasing the traffic gods, and had been urged to get an early start. In fact, with a couple wrong turns we found ourselves in L.A. with plenty of time for McDonalds for breakfast (I was thrilled Jacob was grossed out as usual). As we drove into Jacob's interview we could see the big Hollywood sign up in the hills to our right. It was very cool to see. We didn't have the strength to check out the other touristy sights.

After dropping Jacob off at the interview I was EXHAUSTED. I had only got about three hours sleep and my tummy was very upset. I found my way to a Starbucks, parked my butt on a big comfy chair and read a book until about 11:00am. Finally I got a call from Jacob, FM Global was putting us up in a hotel and I could go check in! Hallelujah! No sooner did I draw the curtains, get undressed, and into bed... I was OUT like a light. The next thing I knew, it was 3:00pm and Jacob was walking in the door! (He had been dropped off by someone at FM Global.)

He interview had gone very well, in fact they offered him a job on the spot. Smoochy though, had declined. He was glad he went yet, it was not what he wanted to do. Once back to the hotel, his day was not over. He spent an hour or two on the phone with different companies and his head- hunter. The one job from the conference he WAS interested in was BOC Gasses. He arranged to go out to dinner with one of their representatives that night. I was so pooped, I opted out. BIG MISTAKE! They went to Ruth's Chris! Man, I should have rallied! Oh well, everything went great for Jacob at that meeting and everything was set. The next day Jacob had an meeting with BOC's district sales manager in L.A. for an interview and a tour of their plant. Good stuff, he was on a roll.

Tuesday dawned, our last day in California. I decided to tag along with Jacob to his meeting at BOC. Really there wasn't much else for me to do. Everything went great. Jacob is a very good interviewer. He speaks clearly, precisely, with tons of energy and confidence. No surprise to those who know him I am sure. BOC is hiring for an industrial sales job in San Francisco. Despite my hesitation about living in CA, I think it would be a great opportunity for Jacob. BOC manufactures and transports raw materials like hydrogen, helium, and other elements for a variety of uses in a variety of industries. It would be easy for Jacob because he's got the chemistry stuff down pat, and there is a proven and solid demand for their products. We'll see. The interview he had Tuesday was a success, and now they are flying him out to San Francisco on February 1st for another interview.

There isn't much else to say about our Californian adventure. After lunch with the BOC guy on Tuesday at the Elephant Grill (great food yet again!) we drove back to Irvine, CA. Jacob and I had a little down time to spend together. We finally saw Underworld Evolutions (Disappointing to both of us after much expectation) and caught a bite to eat. We checked back into the Embassy Suites for our last night in California. We could have stayed at the holiday in for $20 cheaper, but we both were looking forward to breakfast at the Embassy Suits so decided to splurge! :-)

The next day found us at the air port by 10:30 am and soon on a airplane! Goodbye California! We traded back in our borrowed three hours of time change and found ourselves returned to South Georgia and in our own bed by midnight. The trip turned out to be worth it from every perspective. Jacob got solid experience interviewing, another prospect, and we both got a little taste of California. After seeing it, I know I would enjoy living there if we could find a financially healthy way to make it happen. It was not the "other country" I had expected, but there were some cultural differences and attitudes that stood apart from what I've know in the South. For one, there was a greater openness and an energy level about the people. Not to mention there was a yoga studio on every corner! We'll see. Jacob and I have a lot to think about. There are so many pros and cons to each Colorado and California...and sadly, neither of them are close to family. Mostly, I just want my husband to be happy in his new job. In the end, I think that will be the number one factor in our happiness as a family.

Weekend With My Siblings

As all great things must end, the weekend is over. This one has been particularly wonderful thanks to a visit from Kate, Zach, and Cathy. I couldn't ask for a better family. We indulged in laid back, silly, child-like entertainment all weekend. Saturday we took a shopping trip to Jacksonville, where we outfitted Jacob with the remaining necessities of his corporate wardrobe. We had coffee at Starbucks; a tasty lunch at The Loop; and a Saturday night dinner time adventure at the Cheesecake Factory. I got the triple date I had been hoping for! It was a very full day.
Sunday was much more relaxed. We spent the whole morning around the kitchen table drinking coffee and nibbling on bread and fruit. Later we watched our ultrasound video and other pregnancy and labor videos furnished by Kate for part of the afternoon, then we switched over to Zach's favorite, Scrubs! Jacob grilled some killer steaks for dinner followed by still more chat around the kitchen table. Despite all of our differences, we get along so well and the conversation is never dull.
This morning the crew had planned to be on the road to Tampa no later than noon. But we all probably were stalling because in the back of our minds we (or at least I) kept thinking that this could be the last time we are all together like this for who know how long. We spent another several hours around the kitchen table until three o'clock was bearing down on us and their departure could no longer be delayed. It's only three hours later and I miss them already!

Our House

The bear you see to the left is my new son's first teddy bear. And the bear is celebrating along with the rest of us, that he now knows who he will belong to. Lil' Jacob. JW, J-Butt, Jake? I wonder if the kid will pick up a nickname? I almost doubt it. I don't care for Jake (i.e. Jake-the-Snake, Jake the guy in black leather, smoking, with a five o'clock shadow, skinny, with a black eye, and a crow bar in his back pocket, Jake!) Big Jacob doesn't like JJ (i.e. Jacob Jr.) so unless we come up with some thing more creative I am sure it will be my hubby Jacob who gets the new name. I will call my boys Dad and Jacob! That will only be tough for me. I think of Dad as MY Dad! But he will be getting a new name too. Grampy. I have never noticed before the effect a new child can have on the identities of SO Many people. Lil'J will simultaneously make five people grandparents, five people uncles, three people aunts, and two people parents. We've been beaten out on the great-grandparent level on every side! BLAST! I guess we are still in the running to make Grandpa & Grandma Ledom (Jacob's Maternal Grandparents) GREATS if cousin Amber has her baby two weeks late and Lil'J comes two weeks early. It'll be a close race!

I wasn't going to talk about baby at all, and off I went! It is so easy to do when that is ALL I can think about these days! What I need to be doing is cleaning up my house! My siblings are driving from Tampa this weekend for a visit!!!! Kate is actually coming to visit her boyfriend more than us (He lives next door, and is our best friend). But Zach is bringing his latest love, Cathy for a weekend visit! I am so looking forward to it! I have been hearing about all the great times Zach, Cathy, Kate, and Chuck have been having on double dates in Tampa, and I must admit I have felt left out! This weekend is also special because it might be the last we are all together for a while. Chuck is moveing in with Zach and Kate. An era is ending. For the past two and a half years Chuck, Jacob, and I have been like the Three Musketeers. OK, maybe more like the Three Stooges! It's hard to believe we are all moving on our separate ways. I am going to miss Chuck wandering across the street for daily visits. It will be strange to walk over to the Booth's and not find him there. We have shared SO much time with each other. I have to say though, I am so glad he is moving in with Kate. At least he will still be in the family so to speak!

Then of course within two months (God willing) my hubby and I will be pulling up stakes and moving out west. Our city of destination is still up in the air, but I feel confident writing that we will be moving "Out West" because currently our home is on the Atlantic coast... West is the most probable direction we'll travel. Well, that and Jacob has interviews in California and Colorado coming up! ;-) It is really Charlie and Sharon who will feel the most immediate day-to-day effects of all this transition. Not only are their adoptive kids moving away, but their oldest son is leaving the nest. The Booth household will certainly quite down for a spell. At least we won't be drinking all of Charlie's beer! That has to be a good thing for him!

Meet My Son!

I'd like to introduce to you my son, Jacob. How incredible is modern technology? Not only have I seen the face of my unborn baby, but I have seen him turn around, yawn, kick, and search for his thumb all from within my womb. Ultrasound is the coolest thing ever invented. Sorry the picture to the left is so fuzzy. I know on a good day it is hard to make out an ultrasound image, but this is a picture of a picture. I don't know anyone with a scanner, or possibly don't know that one of my acquaintances has a scanner. Anyway, this is the best I could do. What you're seeing is Jacob's head in the left of the picture. You can see the profile of his face, eyes, nose, lips and chin. His spine is visible from the base of his skull to his little tailbone, and the bump you see on his belly is a hand.

I LOVE that I can call him him now. I love that he has a name. I feel like I can already begin to know our son. OUR SON. Of course my husband is beaming pride. I know a daughter would not have disappointed him at all, not to mention melted his heart. But every father wants a son. My Hubby, Big Jacob, also delights in pointing out that his intuition was correct and mine was not. ;-) I had a dream the night before the ultrasound that the baby was a girl. Oh well, so much for mother's intuition!

Truly though, the best news is that Little Jacob looks 100% normal and healthy. 10 fingers, 10 toes, his spine's on the inside, correct facial dimensions, and no cleft palate. What a relief! What a gift! I am so overwhelmed with joy and excitement. I wouldn't have traded yesterday for the world.

Many women suggested that I should wait to find out his sex until the birth. That the surprise would be so much better. Well, I have to argue that finding out like this is perfect for me. I feel like I have a double whammy of excitement and surprise this way. Little Jacob's birthday is going to be excitement and surprise enough. I feel like after the pain and effort of labor that I probably won't care one bit about boy or girl. I'll just want to hold my child. And yesterday was this whole thrilling process. A day that brought my hubby and I closer, a day of infinite expectation and excitement. Not to mention it was another excuse to pick up the phone and call our of our loved ones, "It's a Boy!" Next time we will get to do that will be even better! "He's Here!!!" I just can't wait!

Tummy Before, Tummy After

Wow! What a difference a few short months make! It's funny, a lot of the time I don't feel pregnant. I have NEVER had morning sickness (Thank God!), most of my clothes still fit, and I haven't felt any fluttering yet. Besides the worst case of acne I've ever had in my life not much has changed. Or so I thought. These pictures are a terrific reminder that YES, there is a whole new life growing in my belly. Jacob and I are going to blink, the months will flash by, and we will be Mommy and Daddy! What a wonderful gift. I know that there have been BILLIONS of women who have gone through this before...but I am just struck by what an utter miracle this whole experience is. There is a human life INSIDE my body. What's more is this tiny baby is going to finally, by great effort, struggle free of me and grow into a self-sufficient adult in a few short years. How did God ever come up with this? Half me, half my husband, and yet entirely unique to both of us. A miacle. What's also a miracle is this child, not even yet arrived, has started changing my husband and I from slightly selfish and wild, to more conscious and thoughtful people. Wonders never cease. Even as I type, 18 weeks pregnant I am already worrying, will my baby be healthy? Will I be able to give good council? HOW WILL I EVER HANDLE MIDDLE SCHOOL!?!?! Then will come the bitter, bitter/sweet day he will leave home... When my child is grown and on his own (or maybe just starting kindergarten) I will comfort myself with the words of Kahlil Gibran from The Prophet:

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, Speak to us of Children.

And he said:

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor terries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are set forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinire, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far..
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies,
So he loves also the bow that is stable.

PS- Thank you Ray Carroll for turning my on to this most wonderful and beautiful book.
PPS- I know my soul will never be the same after motherhood, but what about my stomach??? ;-)

Sleeping Smoochy

Ahh... another peaceful night at the home of the Smoochy family. Dinner (Chili) and a movie (Interview with a Vampire) turned into everyone asleep on the couch, how peaceful. Oh well, it just means more ice cream for me! Scooter's ears sure perked up at the sound of that. He just came bolting into the kitchen to share my Edy's Double Fudge Brownie. Sorry dog, this much chocolate would be a veritable bomb going off in your poor little Chihuahua heart. It must be tough being a dog. Living in a black and white world without any chocolate. The only things that might compensate for having to eat the exact same meal of kibble day after day is frequent belly rubs and good scratches behind the ear. Our dogs get plenty of each, so I don't feel TOO sorry for them. Well, I'm sleepy...I'm going try to move my little family into the bedroom, and join them in some slumber. Good night Blogland!

Abramoff

Oh Ewww! The more I read about the Abramoff scandal the more depressed I get. Our democracy began with such great promise. Sure, I suppose that you have to acknowledge that it began with a group of aristocratic, wealthy, white men who did not intend to inclue the landless, minorities or women into the democracy. At least their votes couldn't be bought. History leads us to believe that several of these men were actually of great conscious. You have to wonder at today's politicians. And certainly I will blame them, but the sad truth is that the system seems almost to hinge on bribery, which has been exaggerated by virtually toothless finance laws, (admittedly better thanks to the McCain-Feingold Reform Act) and the need for BIG TIME funds to win elections . Seriously, for a candidate to actually win a national election in the United States s/he has to come up with such an INCREDIBLE amount of money to cover not only travel and touring expenses but a fortune in airtime. The magnificent funds needed to run a successful campaign lends itself that only those shady enough to get the money by whatever means necessary are going to win the seats in our House and Congress.

Today's article in the New York Times featured some pretty interesting points. The times reports, "Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois announced that he would donate to charity $69,000 in campaign contributions directed to him from Mr. Abramoff." Is your skin crawling? the article goes on to quote Hastert's spokesman as saying, "The speaker believes that while these contributions were legal, is is appropriate to donate the money to charity." Will giving the money to charity make it look legal to the Justice Department investigators? Will it really distance Hastert from Abramoff in the eyes of his constituency? I don't know. There are a lot of stupid people in the world.

But my favorite bit in the article was a one liner near the end that read, "Mr. Hastert has raised the possibility of new ethics training for lawmakers." Ah-ha! This cracks me up. Have you ever had to sit through a training video for OSHA or any other kinda' of low-budget type training production? You have to do it for some certification or another, so your whole office gathers, drinks coffee, eats donuts, and chats through the whole video. Can't you see our illustrious Senator and Representatives sitting through such a program? What a joke. If the elite, the chosen few among us who have been picked to represent the voice of the American people based on their experience, intelligence, and integrity need training on ethics we are in serious trouble.

This Side of Paradise

Well, we're a couple days into the new year. Frankly, I haven't noticed anything new since last year. Right now, I am simultaneously excited with my life and stuck in a rut. My biggest problem is that I am pathetic at motivating myself. Unless there is something urgent or exciting or immediate, my natural propensity is to languish in inactivity. GRRRR. That should be my New Years resolution. To wake up every day by 8am and stay busy with productive activities including, home improvements (basic maintenance and cleaning), exercise, personal education, and healthy social activities. Now, I so often fall into a spell of laziness. I haven't worked out regularly since the wedding, sleep past 9am most days, and spend TOO many of my waking hours online and reading novels.

Today I started Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise. So far, the book, that many claim is Fitzgerald's most brilliant work, (written before Zelda and alcoholism) is fascinating in a way. Interesting, with overblown almost poetic prose, about an autobiographcally based character who is youthful, rich, egotistical, self-absorbed and soaked with ambition. OK, so the book is ALL about the coming of age of this above mentioned charachter, which is rather shallow...but the writing is so gorgeous and descriptive, it makes the whole thing come off as romantic and captivating. Besides, as uncomfortable as it is to admit, I can relate to a character that wants little more than to pursue the pleasures of life. I am becoming more tempered and practical as I enter my LATE twenties, but I still like to daydream I am living Hemingway's A Moveable Feast. I could exist for nothing but tanning and swimming in Spain or idling away in Parisian cafes drinking whiskey and soda. Who couldn't? It would be especially lovely if there were sexy and captivating poets, painters, and authors to philosophize with while I swam and drank! At least it's fun to imagine. My real life is NOTHING like that, and will get even less so when baby comes.

I do have one small claim to productivity today. I have boxed up Christmas for the year. The decorations are packed and the tree is by the curb. The house looks clean and crisp with everything back to normal. It is always such a delight to get out the Chistmas decorations at the beginning of the season. Now, almost a relief to have everything retuned to normalcy since it's all over. I wish I had done more, though. We are suppose to close on out house Friday and I forgot to order the termite inspection. I hope we can get it done in time. It would SUCK if we had to reschedule because I goofed. Well, I am off to finish tidying the house for the evening and then I'll write my to do list for tomorrow, so maybe it'll be more productive than today. sigh...