Say Goodbye 2 Depression, It's Baseball Season

Here is a photo of Kirk Gibson after his 1988 World Series home run. This is my way of celebrating the Dodgers 2008 Opening Day win.

Enjoy the season, baseball fans!

P.S. You can watch the homer on you tube (my all time favorite Dodger moment): Kirk Gibson Homer

Celebrate Life With Ketchup!

Because it's just been too long since we celebrated Ketchup..... (P.S. Thanks MTC)

Dinner At El Torito

Even though I was tired, tonight when David suggested we go to El Torito for dinner, I jumped at the idea. I wasn't excited because I would soon be eating my favorite chicken flautas, I was excited because I would be getting a second condiment container to take home.

I'll explain, whenever we go to El Torito I order the chicken flautas. They are really good! I usually eat three of them and then take home 3. The flautas are delicious but the red pepper dip (recipe found here) completes them. When taking my 3 home, I find that in the to-go container the flautas roll around in the red pepper dip which causes two problems for me. (1) Makes the flautas soggy (2) wastes the dip. So, last time we went, I decided to just take the little container with the red pepper dip in it. (David wasn't happy) I found that keeping the pepper dip in the little container solved both of my problems and the little container can then be used for holding other types of condiments as well.

So after dinner tonight, I now have two of these containers and some great chicken flautas and red pepper dip to have for lunch tomorrow. Yummy!

Off For 3 Months (Sort of)

Before I get too deep into this blog let me say that I realize that I will not be "off" and doing my own thing with no responsibilities for the next 3 months. I get it, I'll be taking care of a baby. With that disclaimer, let me get to the meat of this blog:

Today was weird. When you go on vacation there is tons of stuff that you don't hand off because it can wait, when you are going to be gone for 3 months things just can't wait that long. For the last month I have spent my time finishing up every outstanding project, issue, phone call that I owed and all other items that required my action. At the end of today I had no Peoplesoft worklist items, ZERO emails in my inbox, no outstanding Outlook tasks.

I left the office feeling great! I feel confident that everything that could have been finished, has been. I also feel really grateful that I work with such great people who always take care of business whether I am there or not. You all rock! Thanks for giving me the peace of mind that I can be off and not have to worry!!!! You're the best!

Check out my office white board

Blog Reading Levels

I noticed over at the Braun Family Circus that Andrea's blog is rated at a "Genius" reading level. There was a link where you could find out what your blog was rated so I did a little checking. Below is the list of the appropriate reading level of the HCBC members. Please note that I do not necessarily concur with the results.......

Genius
Rachel Made Me Do This (Jenn Ann)

College Level (Postgrad)
Nanifestos (Gramma Nan)
Random Thoughts (Ann)
Skinner Family News (Ruth Anne)

College Level (Undergrad)
Kim1Champ (Kim)
Look For The Brighter Side (Paula)
My Thoughts By Teri (Teri)

High School
Jane Says (Jane)
Lospace (Lospace)
The World In My Eyes (Jinjer)
The Pickle (Pickle)

Junior High School
Queen B
Bianka's Baby Blog (Bianka)
KFUG (Kfug)

Happy Birthday Melody!

I love you, I hope you have a fabulous day and I wish Sydney was born today so she could share her birthday with someone as cool as you!

Week 39: A PG Update

Here are the results of the "When Will Sydney Be Born?" poll:

Before March 22nd: 5 Votes or 10%
March 22nd-24th: 3 Votes or 6%
March 25th-31st: 14 Votes or 29%
April 1st-April 7th: 25 Votes or 53%

Judging from my trip to the doctor today the date will probably be after April 7th.....I didn't include that as an option because I didn't think we would ever be in that position. I am used to being early, not late!!!!!

I hit my goal weight this week. It's unfortunate that I will probably pile on a few more pounds before this is over but since I am overall doing pretty well, I won't complain.

Friday is my last day at work. I will not be back until 7/7 and I will not be checking work email :)

By request: there is a new PG poll

How Would You React?

The video below is of the 2008 HGTV Dream Home winner, Stephanie Dee. Her reaction is so blase and she seems so ungrateful. The video is hilarious and definitely worth watching!

Panicky Pam

It seems that the City of Pasadena thinks they can steal their sense of humor from David. Their latest water saving campaign could have been written by my husband. David has long referred to me as "Panicky Pam", since I have a tendency to sometimes panic. He also uses "Starvin Marvin" quite frequently and occasionally he will come up with others. Examples like: Sweaty Sam, Cheap Charlie, Dramatic Diane etc.

Now that you have that background. Here are a couple of the signs that I have recently seen around town:









In case you can't read these they say: Long Shower Larry and Lawn Soaker Lana.
P.S. It is an absolute coincidence that Queen B decided to be Nancy Negative yesterday.

Happy Easter

Oh yeah, I found another one!!!! Now, take my picture!

I Give....Apio Verde Queen B

The daily A22, celebrates another birthday! Happy Birthday Queen B!

If you would like to experience the "Daily A22" on your google home page, click here: Daily A22

It's Finally Here!!!!!

March 22nd is International World Water Day! If you live in Los Angeles, Seattle or New York you can also participate in the World Walk for Water!

More information can be found at World Water Day.org

A date this important must be remembered so don't ever forget that March 22nd is World Water Day!

The Labeling System

On my very first visit to Jane's house I discovered the "Labeling System" and after laughing, I took a picture of it. On the second visit I discovered the extent that the labeling system was used and then I promptly took a picture of it.

Today, I found someone who appreciates their labeling system just as much. Visit this

blog, entitled "Ode To My Labeler" and be sure to leave her a comment!

Today Is Maundy Thursday

So it's last years picture.....

Drink Yakult?

Background: Yakult is a health drink and the commercial bragged that over 25 million people drink it everyday. A few weeks ago I saw this commercial for Yakult. The commercial baffled me, than made me laugh than took me back to being baffled.

Baffling-I asked several people (many who I would consider very healthy) if they drank Yakult. Every person I asked responded the same way: "What is that?"

Laughing-I was amazed by the size of the "little" Yakult drinks. These pictures I took illustrate the "little" drinks, they are so funny!










Baffling and Laughing-Without any other explanation the commercial states the following "One little bottle of Yakult contains more than 8 billion Lactobacillus casei Shirota". Now, when I heard this I thought, what in the world is that and I why in the world would I want it? I played the commercial for David and he had the same reaction. What in the world is Lactobacillius Casei Shirota?

Additional Information-Further note, that there are two versions of this commercial. In the other commercial it replaces the "8 billion Lactobacillius casei Shirota" with something like "good bacteria" (I don't remember the exact words on the other version).

KT's Question-I wonder how they choose which version of the commercial to play? Do you think they play the "8 billion Lactobacillius casei Shirota" version during Jeopardy and the "Good Bacteria" verison during the Nascar race?

Welcome Chase Williams!

Hey all: Welcome Chase Williams into the world. This was the first (and only) baby this blog's readers have helped name! Congratualations Tony and Misty! Chase is a looker!

Note Chase is one hour old in this picture with Tony. He was 6 pounds 10 ounces.

For All You Purse Lovers

This is absolutely one product I will never need. It's an over the door purse rack and it's on sale this week at Bed Bath and Beyond.

207 People Freeze In Grand Central Station

I first heard about this over at aspotofsun but there are links of this video all over the web. Basically, 207 people pretended to freeze (all at the same time) in Grand Central Station. Pretty cool video. Here it is: Video on Youtube

Thinking About Getting A Roomba

Does anybody have a Roomba? There is something really appealing of having the house vacuumed with no effort on my part. Supposedly, these things work great but I would like to know if anyone has actually used one?

I mean, with adding diaper changing to my usual to do list how in the world will I have time to vacuum?

In Support Of The New "Twin" Series

See this blog:

Twin Trees

Another Food First For KT

Today, I tried hard boiled eggs for the first time. Yes, I have never had hard boiled eggs. I have avoided Egg Salad, hard boiled eggs in Chef salads, Potato salad with hard boiled eggs, Egg McMuffins and of course Deviled eggs. Well, today, when James saw the Deviled egg appetizer at La Grande Orange in Pasadena he couldn't help but order it. (The La Grande visit will be memorialized in another blog soon) When James and Mom heard I had never tried a Deviled egg, let alone a hard boiled egg, I decided that it was now time to branch out and actually try one.

What follows is my first bite of hard boiled eggs ever via a Deviled egg. I will have to admit, this is just one more thing I have been missing out on, it was delicious.

Queen B Passed On It....

The Queen passed on writing about this story because it was too weird. Two days ago, I laughed when I read her email to me about this woman who sat on her boyfriend's toilet for two years. I then forwarded it on to a bunch of people, never actually reading the article. I discussed the situation with several people and it had prompted many questions like:

*Was she wearing clothes?
*Did they have sex? If so how?
*Was he forcing her to stay on the toilet?
*Did she try to escape?
*Does she sleep on the toilet?

Most of these questions can be answered if you read the articles, which I finally did. Here are some of the take away comments I found interesting:

*a woman in western Kansas sat on her boyfriend's toilet for two years, and they're investigating whether she was mistreated.
*the 35-year-old Ness City woman’s skin had grown around the seat. “We pried the toilet seat off with a pry bar and the seat went with her to the hospital,”
*He told investigators he brought his girlfriend food and water, and asked her every day to come out of the bathroom. “And her reply would be, ‘Maybe tomorrow,”’
*When asked to pinpoint how long she had been on there, the boyfriend said “time just went by so quick I can’t pinpoint how long.”
*They had conversations and had an otherwise normal relationship — except it all happened in the bathroom.
*“She would have to be sleeping on the toilet,” the sheriff said.
*The boyfriend, insisted that he tried to coax her out of the bathroom every day. The home has a second bathroom.
*“She said that she didn’t need any help, that she was OK and did not want to leave,” he said.

WOW, you gotta at least watch the video. Article 1 Article 2 Video

Where Is The Easter Bunny From?

Today, I get a call from what I assumed was Jane (It was from her phone). The call was actually from Jessica. This was the conversation:

Kim: Hello there.
Jessica: This is Jessica. How are you?
Kim: I'm fine, Jessica. How are you?
Jessica: Fine. Well, Do you know where the Easter Bunny comes from?
Kim: What?
Jessica: My mom didn't know where the Easter Bunny came from but she said that you might know
Kim: Oh, yes, I know. She didn't know, really?
Jessica: No
Kim: Everybody knows that the Easter Bunny is from Pennsylvania
Jessica: Oh, Pennsylvania
Kim: Yes, please tell your mom
Jessica: OK Bye
Kim: Bye

Daylight Savings Is Back!!!

Ask me how happy am I am that we are on Daylight Savings Time in California???? My 7:00AM call, is now at 8:00PM because Arizona and California are once again "Kumbaya".

Had To Do A Tribute......

Adios Brett Favre, Packer fans will miss you....You are hot!

Katie Gets Locked Out

Since we live on a busy street, I used to worry that if Katie was outside without supervision she would end up getting hit by a car. This is no longer a worry. Katie, is an inside dog. She goes outside to "do her business" (as my grandmother used to say) and that really is about it. She likes going out but usually only if we are out there with her. If she is hanging outside then we will leave the backdoor open and she can wander in when she is ready.

Last night, Katie was outside with David while he was watering. When he came back in the house, he asked where she was and I said that the last time I had seen her she was outside with him. David opened the backdoor and Katie practically knocked him down running in. She was literally outside less than 7-8 minutes alone and she was completely freaked out. LOL

She didn't want to go back out later and when she finally went out she watched us closely as if we were going to lock her out. This has been the case every time I have told her to go outside since. She is absolutely freaked out, I think it's hilarious.

Sick

While I have worked everyday but one in the last week and a half let it be known that I am super sick and it has been a struggle. I don't really feel like I can take off and call in sick considering I am about to be off for 3 months but at 9 months pg, being this sick is truly a problem. I have spent the last week sneezing and coughing up a storm and it is getting no better. I am beginning to think that I may actually have a bacterial infection rather than the flu virus that is currently going around. If it's bacterial I am afraid she could get it....plus with every cough and sneeze I am shaking her like crazy. Have I mentioned that my ears are killing me too? Simply put, I am miserable, pissed, depressed and unable to breath.

I guess I will phone the doctor today and see if he cares. When I mentioned that I was sick to the doc last Wednesday he didn't seem concerned in the least. Shocking, I know......I don't think I will do any bad mouthing though until after she is born. The only thing of value at my last appointment was that he announced he was going to be on vacation the last week of the month. Great.

How's that for a Monday morning pick-me-up?

The Blackberry Comment

Several people responded about my Blackberry Comment: Following her birth, should I turn off email to my Blackberry during the first six weeks?

Let me clarify this statement. First, there is no way I am turning off my blackberry-LOL! I have to have my Blackberry Messenger and phone. I also have no intention of turning off all email to my Blackberry but I have been considering turning off work email. Mostly because, (1) For the first time ever, I am really going to be off (2) I don't want the messages queuing up on my blackberry and if they are I will most likely be reading them to avoid this.

The good news is I found a setting on the blackberry that allows me to choose to not send emails (from whichever accounts I want to) to my blackberry. This is the option I have decided to use. I will still get all my regular emails but I can actually avoid getting my work emails sent without me having to be disconnected from the BES (Blackberry Enterprise Server)

Must Have's For Easter?

The following two products are brought to you by Kim Thomas but can be purchased at Williams Sonoma.
The first is called an "Egg Topper". It can be yours for a mere $30.00. The egg topper allows you to make a cut in the top of the egg (in a perfect circle) It has chicken shaped handles for some whimsy.




The second product is a "Wire Egg Holder" that can hold your egg after you have used the Egg Topper. The wire egg topper seriously made me laugh, those little legs are just so cute. LOL. You can get a set of four for 24 bucks.



So tell me. Would anybody actually buy these products?

Die & You Will Be Severely Punnished

The cemetery in Bordeaux France is full. The mayor has warned residents and threatened them with "severe punishment" stating "all persons not having a plot in the cemetery and wishing to be buried in Sarpourenx are forbidden from dying in the parish."

The full story is here: http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL0552076620080305?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

The Google Search Box #1

You can learn alot about a person by reviewing what they search for. Here are some of the items (A-E) I have recently searched for on Google (and some commentary)

Acronyms (Was I searching for something specific or just generalities?)
Bad Customer Service (Is there not enough real world examples that I now need to do a search)
Bathroom (What in the world was I hoping to find?)
Blue Hibiscus Bedding (So I am trying to find a specific pattern for our 2nd bedroom)
California riding in the back of trucks law (I wanted to know what year the ban went into effect)
Camera Store San Diego (Hey, we were there for almost 48 hours, David needed to shop)
Cheryl (Who knows)
Clearmans red cabbage salad recipe (Someone asked me for the recipe)
Dead Governors of Arizona (Don't Ask)
Diabetes Types (Someone I care about was diagnosed, I needed to research)
Dork (Who knows)
Emergency 51 (Looking for my stuff on my favorite show, will be a blog someday)
Episiotomy Avoid (LOL)

It's The Sev 1 Rescue Squad

Last week was my last MOD before maternity leave, I am so happy to be relieved of MOD duties for awhile! I was the MOD, Jane was the Senior Leader. What are the chances? Luckily, we only had one fire.

Happy Birthday Jenn Ann!!!

Here is my little tribute to Jenn Ann's birthday.

When do I randomly think of Jenn Ann?

• When on the rare occasion, I enter Wallmart
• Anytime I hear about the Los Angeles Kings
• When I pass by a Staples
• If I see Ants in the house
• Coach purses
• If I hear anything remotely about brain surgery
• When I see an Outback steakhouse
• If it's raining, I wonder if Jenn is eating soup at Claimjumper

Happy Birthday, Jenn Ann!!!!!!

Almost Week 36, A PG Update

I guess she is about here. (Yikes) I have tried my best over the past 23.5 weeks to not inundate the blog with PG stories but I imagine that over the next 8 weeks there might be more than usual. (That's a public service announcement)

Here are a couple of updates:
* A few days ago, my sister Rachel, said that she was getting sick. I then bragged that all those pg vitamins had kept me from getting sick like everybody else out there. BAD MOVE-I am now completely sick, coughing and sneezing and barely sleeping.
* I am still on target for meeting my pg weight goal. So far I have gained 19 pounds.
* Ultrasound scheduled for week 37. I have no idea how big she is. Hopefully she's small ;)
* David and I are going shopping for the last of the big items this week (Pac N Play, bouncer etc.)
* Mom and I are going shopping for the last of the little items this week
* If I don't have her by the 31st I will probably take that last week off (meaning my last day of work will be March 28th) and I will officially be back to work on 7/7/08
* Originally, I was shooting for her birth on the 22nd however my sister Rachel will be out of town that day so I am now hoping for March 27th.
* The birth certificate paperwork has not been filled out since David and I still have not agreed on the spelling of her middle name (I think he still hates the name Leeann)
* Sydney does not kick me, hardly ever. If I have felt more than 1 kick in the last couple of weeks I would be surprised. She moves all the time, but no kicking or hitting.
* Following her birth, should I turn off email to my Blackberry during the first six weeks?

Thanks Lospace, You Rock!

Earlier in the week, I received a piece of mail addressed to Kim1Champ Thomas.

The mail was from fellow HCBC member, Lospace. In it I found the following:



*2 grams of Lansinoh Lanolin (not leaking)
*A purchasing tip that will save me at least $4.99
*A reminder to take a photo before leaving for the hospital
*Bunches of smiles

Thanks for brightening my day, Lois! P.S. Love your stationary