Blah

I'm feeling blah. I'm not sick. I'm not pregnant. I'm just a little down. Everything I'm excited about just doesn't seem so exciting. The things I've planned to do aren't working out the way I'd planned.

Take today for instance. Adam has a day off, so we were planning to visit the library book sale that was scheduled for Wednesday, yesterday, and today. As we were getting ready to leave, I wanted to double check the website just to be sure I had the directions right since the sale wasn't at our regular branch. On the library home page they'd posted a big ad for the sale. This morning, however, the ad had a notice: SOLD OUT. Adam called to double check and, yes, they were out of books by noon, yesterday.

We were all ready to head out the door, though, so we decided we'd take a drive instead. Adam took our daughter downstairs as I went to grab a couple of extra items for our planned car trip. I was surprised when I got to the garage that he hadn't pulled the car around to meet me by the door. As I walked closer, I found he hadn't even started the car. I opened the door to get in and he told me I might as well not; the battery was dead. A light had been left on overnight.

Now we're waiting for the towing company to send out a truck for a jump start. Maybe once we make it to the open road I'll manage to leave the blahs behind for a bit.

Lia's Surgery

The operation took nearly six hours, but everything has been replace in it's proper position and they found no adhesions at all. The surgeon made the external incision so small it didn't require any stitches. The x-ray taken after surgery shows both lungs inflated and no free air in the chest cavity.

I'm not sure what happens next, but I know the goal is for Lia to be breathing on her own, so please be praying for that.

A Specific Prayer (updated 8:18 pm MST)

Baby Lia is scheduled for surgery on her diaphragm this evening at 8:00 PM MST. Please be praying with me that this operation will allow her to begin breathing on her own. You can continue to follow Lia's story at her CaringBridge page here.

***Update***
Surgery has been pushed back to tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 PM.

Some Crazy Numbers

I was thinking the other evening about how often I've moved from one house to another. Because I'm me, I started doing some math about it. Here's what I came up with:

17. The number of permanent home addresses I've had
4. The number of temporary home addresses I've had
9. The longest number of years I lived at one "permanent" address
6. The shortest number of months I lived at one "permanent" address
23. The lifetime average number of months I spent at one "permanent" address
16. The number of moves I've made as an adult
11. The average number of months I spent at one "permanent" address as an adult

Chocolate Pancakes

Monday's a good day for chocolate, right?

4 eggs
1½ c milk
2 T oil
2 c flour
¼ c sugar
¼ c cocoa powder
2 t baking powder
½ t salt

1. Beat eggs in milk and oil.
2. Stir together dry ingredients.
3. Mix wet ingredients into dry until smooth.
4. Pour by 1/3 c measure onto greased griddle over medium high heat.
5. Cook on one side until bubbles burst at center of cakes, then turn.

Makes 12-15 pancakes.

Variations and serving suggestions:
Add ½ c chocolate chips or chopped walnuts to batter
Top with sliced fresh strawberries

Do You Suppose They'd Want to Know?

Well, it's been quite the afternoon at the Gray household. A three-post day doesn't happen too often around here. We now join your regularly unscheduled program, already in progress.

I was on my way down the hallway past my daughter's room. She jumped in front of me to stand with her arms across the doorway.

"Don't come in here," she announced. "Don't play with me."
I laughed, "That's a new one."
"What?" She scrunched up her nose in confusion.
"Usually," I explained, "you're pulling me into your room wanting to play. This time you're barring the door telling me to stay out."

I should have been suspicious by then, but I was on my own errand. A few minutes later the warning bells in my brain finally kicked in.

"Why didn't you want me in your room?" I asked my daughter.
Silence.
"Did you pee in your bedroom?"
"And pooh."
"What!?!"

I ran to her doorway. Sure enough, a slightly squished pile of brown goo was on her carpet. I imagined it steaming, but it wasn't really. Thanking God once again for the inventor of rubber gloves, I cleaned up the mess for a second time in two weeks. We ran out of my go-to cleanser, Formula 409 the last time, so I tried some Easy-Off BAM.

The bottle promises to cut grease on any number of surfaces, but doesn't mention anything about carpets or bodily waste. Which led me to wonder, if I wrote a letter to the Easy-Off people, would they add this use to the label?

Hey, Mark ... (um, nevermind) ... FREE COOLNESS!

I know most of you who read this blog don't know any more about the web and technology issues than I do, but for the one of two of you who do, maybe you can help me out. I seem to have broken my computer.

I've had no problems watching video ever since I installed my speakers. My daughter has been enjoying the shows on JellyTelly (all free now--check it out!) since the week they started. This week, they added a new section to the site which included links to some of the character/video websites. I clicked on her current favorite and was taken to GodRocks.ca. I was trying to play some of the sample videos there, but could only get the audio to play. I checked the setting on my QuickTime player and it looked like it hadn't been set to play video, just audio. I clicked on the "play video" button, and nothing has worked since.

JellyTelly won't play. Videos I've embedded on my own blog don't even show up. I keep getting this message that I need to install the QuickTime player version 5 or later. I've uninstalled and reinstalled QuickTime twice (both with iTunes and without). I've reinstalled Adobe Flash player (since I think that's what I was using to view JellyTelly videos before). I've reset my Firefox preferences several times. Nothing is working.

Anybody have any ideas?

***Update***

Well, I can't remember what terms I searched to find this page, but I followed the suggestions and something I did must have worked because JellyTelly is back. YAY!!

Now, seriously, all of you who haven't checked it out yet, you need to go watch JellyTelly. They've changed the format slightly so you don't even need to sign up now--it's free for everybody, at least for the next couple of months. They've got some really great little features. I think my favorite is The Bentley Brothers (which my daughter calls "The Medley Brothers"). My favorite song of theirs is the description of 2nd Samuel (see a preview here).

It Happened Again

I had all kinds of symptoms. I was feeling nauseated, tired, achy. I knew their origin was not sure, and yet, I'd been hoping ... and now that hope is dashed and I'm feeling rather stupid for having hoped at all. Again.

Maybe the hardest thing for me to understand is that my daughter's conception was so quick and easy. She missed being a "honeymoon baby" by mere days. We weren't planning or trying or even feeling ready (at least I wasn't).

Someday, when I get to heaven and all things will be known, I've got some big questions for God.

Another Reading List Update

I have added a review of Lost & Found by Jane Sigaloff to my reading list.

From My Reading

A couple of interesting quotes I have read in the last couple of weeks.

     "You're worried about something that may or may not happen six years from now?"
     "Right."
     "Do you think that's a good use of your emotional energy?"
     "No. But on the other hand, it's the whole Boy Scout thing about how you should always be prepared. If you anticipate what things might go wrong, you can take steps to avoid it."
     "You have to stop worrying. Worrying gives you the false impression you have control over things. You don't. You don't know what the future brings. Anything could happen."

~Theresa Alan, Getting Married

I think I have always had the misguided sense that worry and fear serve as an insurance policy of sorts. On a subconscious level, I subscribe to the notion that if you worry about something, it is somehow less likely to happen. Well, I am here to say that it doesn't work like that. The very thing you fear the most can still happen anyway. And when it does, you feel that much more cheated for having feared it in the first place.

~Emily Giffin, Baby Proof

Do You Hulu?

www.hulu.com

TV shows ...
Films ...
Sports ...
Movie Trailers ...

oh, and did I mention ...

FREE!

Check it out.

(N.B. Still not sleeping well here, so the blog forecast is for light, fluffy posting through the weekend)

Tired

Someone *ahem* has been getting to bed 2-3 hours after her bedtime all week, but still waking up at her usual hour. And she has the audacity to actually have energy.

I, on the other hand, have been sleeping an extra few hours each morning and I'm still feeling like I could take a three-hour nap every afternoon.

It's just not fair. She doesn't have anything she needs to do with all that energy. I could totally use some extra. The bathroom needs to be cleaned, and there are always extra dishes in the sink I could wash. The floors desperately need to be vacuumed ... I wonder if I could teach her to vacuum. Hmmm ....

Until then, anybody know where I can sign up for a robot clone to do the housework around here?