I am very skeptical of people who claim that they "loved every second of their pregnancy." My theory is that after you give birth, you are so enchanted by your baby that you forget about all the discomfort of being 1.5x your normal size and remember your pregnancy with rose colored glasses. So I figured that now is the time to put this in writing: being pregnant is a huge pain in the ass. Please let the record show this, so that in 2 months when I start babbling about how magical and beautiful pregnancy was, you can all laugh in my faces.
In other news, we are house hunting. We are looking at houses, condos and townhouses in all kinds of neighborhoods in and around DC. We'll probably pick one soon because we are running out of time, and there are several good options.
Also, the weather is awesome! I've never lived this far south, and its everything I hoped, including those occasional crazy thunderstorms that sound like the apocalypse.
Gautam and I are getting very impatient to meet our baby. I am also looking forward to being able to lie on my belly, sit in a chair for more than 5 minutes without crazy pelvis pain, and being able to roll over in bed without swearing like a sailor. It would also be awesome to get in and out of the car without having Gautam pull me with both his hands - that's getting a bit old.
This past weekend was the world's best baby shower, hosted by the most-awesome Shilpi, Richa, Winna and Mom! People came from far and wide, and there was some hella creative onsie painting going on in the backyard. Check out the pictures Deb and Winna took!
If you want updates about the baby's pop-out status, make sure you are mine and Gautam's facebook friend. One of us will probably make some updates there when appropriate.
Peaceout!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Goals for the Seattle Trip
Gautam and I will be in Seattle from 3/19-3/26. I was starting to give up hope that we would make it out there before my immobility sets in, but I'm so excited that we're going to make it happen! Here are the goals:
1) Get our condo renovation underway. Hire the contractor, order everything we need (cabinets, counters, floors, appliances), and watch over at least the first few days of construction so that we feel comfortable leaving the contractors in charge. (We're splitting it into 2 condos, then upgrading the downstairs one to be fully functional).
2) See all my peeps. I don't know if I have to set some kind of schedule to see everyone? I haven't had a chance to really talk to most of y'all yet - but if you've got specific times that you can hang out, hit me up. If not, call/text/e-mail us while we're there, and we'll meet up! Also, we will hopefully get to meet Stella Hill-Stach for the first time, which is very exciting.
3) Eat as many Habanero Chicken Sandwiches from Saley as possible. Is 2/day unreasonable?
4) Go to Faire multiple times, and make up for the wine I can't drink in cupcakes. (and maybe a glass of wine too...)
5) Check out the awesome new businesses my friends have launched since we left! Can't wait to see Lucid and Calla Bridal in person.
6) See what Alexis thinks about chopping off all my hair, and then getting her to do it (or give me more a moderate haircut if she thinks its a terrible idea).
7) Retrieve our Jamglue development server, that has been sitting at the Baird-Liang household for the past 6 months.
Am I forgetting anything?
1) Get our condo renovation underway. Hire the contractor, order everything we need (cabinets, counters, floors, appliances), and watch over at least the first few days of construction so that we feel comfortable leaving the contractors in charge. (We're splitting it into 2 condos, then upgrading the downstairs one to be fully functional).
2) See all my peeps. I don't know if I have to set some kind of schedule to see everyone? I haven't had a chance to really talk to most of y'all yet - but if you've got specific times that you can hang out, hit me up. If not, call/text/e-mail us while we're there, and we'll meet up! Also, we will hopefully get to meet Stella Hill-Stach for the first time, which is very exciting.
3) Eat as many Habanero Chicken Sandwiches from Saley as possible. Is 2/day unreasonable?
4) Go to Faire multiple times, and make up for the wine I can't drink in cupcakes. (and maybe a glass of wine too...)
5) Check out the awesome new businesses my friends have launched since we left! Can't wait to see Lucid and Calla Bridal in person.
6) See what Alexis thinks about chopping off all my hair, and then getting her to do it (or give me more a moderate haircut if she thinks its a terrible idea).
7) Retrieve our Jamglue development server, that has been sitting at the Baird-Liang household for the past 6 months.
Am I forgetting anything?
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Request for Activities
Ok here is my issue.
Every night after I eat dinner, I end up getting really bored and getting into bed within 1-2 hours. This is very bad, especially since being "in a family way" creates some heartburn issues. I would like to find some interesting way to fill up 3-4 hours after dinner before I lie down. Here are my constraints:
1) I'd rather not be at the computer. I'm already maxing out the number of hours I can sit with my computer without ending up with back and shoulder issues.
2) Exercise is tough on a full stomach. And I'm generally getting all the exercise I can handle in the afternoons/evenings (swimming, yoga, etc.).
3) By default, I have been watching TV or movies. This works for 60-90 minutes. Still leaves me with a few hours of default down time. And I don't even like movies that much, so this is just a placeholder.
4) Reading at night makes me really sleepy. So if reading is part of this plan, it should only be for the last 30 minutes or so.
5) Would be cool if this activity included Gautam, but not critical. He can always drink a beer and catch up on Colbert on the DVR without getting restless.
For awhile, we were playing lots of Wii, but my roommates seem to have lost interest, and I don't think its very fun to play alone.
I like the idea of doing some kind of project or doing something creative. I shy away from crafts because I don't want to end up with a bunch of crap at the end, but maybe there are ways around this. Baking is a bad idea because I have the appetite of a cyclops right now, and certainly don't need all those empty calories.
I think the weather will start getting nicer and the days will start getting longer soon. I suppose then I can start taking some kind of constitutional or sitting on the porch swing. Might as well apply for my AARP card while I'm at it.
Ahh - those hours were much easier to while away when I could pour myself a glass of wine and plop down on my belly and gawk at real-estate on my laptop. Or head down to Faire and watch some free Jazz and chat with whoever was around. Those were the days.
Every night after I eat dinner, I end up getting really bored and getting into bed within 1-2 hours. This is very bad, especially since being "in a family way" creates some heartburn issues. I would like to find some interesting way to fill up 3-4 hours after dinner before I lie down. Here are my constraints:
1) I'd rather not be at the computer. I'm already maxing out the number of hours I can sit with my computer without ending up with back and shoulder issues.
2) Exercise is tough on a full stomach. And I'm generally getting all the exercise I can handle in the afternoons/evenings (swimming, yoga, etc.).
3) By default, I have been watching TV or movies. This works for 60-90 minutes. Still leaves me with a few hours of default down time. And I don't even like movies that much, so this is just a placeholder.
4) Reading at night makes me really sleepy. So if reading is part of this plan, it should only be for the last 30 minutes or so.
5) Would be cool if this activity included Gautam, but not critical. He can always drink a beer and catch up on Colbert on the DVR without getting restless.
For awhile, we were playing lots of Wii, but my roommates seem to have lost interest, and I don't think its very fun to play alone.
I like the idea of doing some kind of project or doing something creative. I shy away from crafts because I don't want to end up with a bunch of crap at the end, but maybe there are ways around this. Baking is a bad idea because I have the appetite of a cyclops right now, and certainly don't need all those empty calories.
I think the weather will start getting nicer and the days will start getting longer soon. I suppose then I can start taking some kind of constitutional or sitting on the porch swing. Might as well apply for my AARP card while I'm at it.
Ahh - those hours were much easier to while away when I could pour myself a glass of wine and plop down on my belly and gawk at real-estate on my laptop. Or head down to Faire and watch some free Jazz and chat with whoever was around. Those were the days.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
New Life
We've been here a month! I now have a sense of my new life, and feel that I can distill it in a blog post.
I start most days having coffee in our breakfast nook. Often, Shilpi is there, and we chat:
Then I go up to the Jamglue Lair:
Sometimes, I go outside and stare at our house, because I am enamored with it:
Then I cook food in this amazingly huge kitchen:
Using ingredients that I get to store in this luxurious pantry:
Once, we had people over for a BBQ in our backyard, which feels like the wilderness because the trees are enormous and dense:
I also get to bask in the glow of old friends and family; we have seen Gautam's parents at least once a week, and I've seen my mom twice (and dad once ) in the month that we've been here. And all our friends in DC have been warm, welcoming, fun and fantastic. And I've started making new friends too!
I've also gone to two shows at the 9:30 Club and I am in love with it.
And now the bittersweet:
Everytime I think about my Seattle friends, I feel both extra-warm, and like I'm going to throw up. I spent my entire adult life so far in Seattle, and I am so proud of the person I have become as a result of all the relationships and experiences I had over the past 6 years (that's should be taken as a compliment to the influencers, not just conceit!). I miss you guys so much...
I start most days having coffee in our breakfast nook. Often, Shilpi is there, and we chat:
 |
Then I go up to the Jamglue Lair:
 |
 |
Sometimes, I go outside and stare at our house, because I am enamored with it:
 |
Then I cook food in this amazingly huge kitchen:
 |
 |
Using ingredients that I get to store in this luxurious pantry:
 |
Once, we had people over for a BBQ in our backyard, which feels like the wilderness because the trees are enormous and dense:
 |
 |
I also get to bask in the glow of old friends and family; we have seen Gautam's parents at least once a week, and I've seen my mom twice (and dad once ) in the month that we've been here. And all our friends in DC have been warm, welcoming, fun and fantastic. And I've started making new friends too!
I've also gone to two shows at the 9:30 Club and I am in love with it.
And now the bittersweet:
Everytime I think about my Seattle friends, I feel both extra-warm, and like I'm going to throw up. I spent my entire adult life so far in Seattle, and I am so proud of the person I have become as a result of all the relationships and experiences I had over the past 6 years (that's should be taken as a compliment to the influencers, not just conceit!). I miss you guys so much...
Road Trip
We took an epic road trip. Here was our route:
View Larger Map
I tried to keep a video blog, but only remembered to do it three times:
And we also took a bunch of crappy pictures. The trip was really fun - way more fun than these pictures and videos indicate. It went by really fast, and we got to see lots of good friends and family along the way. The best part or the trip was New Mexico. The worst was the first leg of the drive - it was long as hell.
Highlights of the trip (all a far second to the awesome hospitality of Jay, Laura, Jacob and Margaret, Anu and Sameer, Sunil, Ben and Melissa):
View Larger Map
I tried to keep a video blog, but only remembered to do it three times:
And we also took a bunch of crappy pictures. The trip was really fun - way more fun than these pictures and videos indicate. It went by really fast, and we got to see lots of good friends and family along the way. The best part or the trip was New Mexico. The worst was the first leg of the drive - it was long as hell.
Highlights of the trip (all a far second to the awesome hospitality of Jay, Laura, Jacob and Margaret, Anu and Sameer, Sunil, Ben and Melissa):
- seeing Ratatat at The Filmore in San Francisco
- staying in the "Coming to America" room at Planet Hollywood
- the Grand Canyon (exceeded expectations)
- staying with a cattle rancher/doctor (and his awesome wife, who owns/runs a meat processing plant) in New Mexico, and seeing first-hand how farms and small business in America are being destroyed by rising gas/food/energy prices
- the William J. Clinton Library in Little Rock
- the Stax Museum of American Soul in Memphis
- Lexington, KY; it reminded me a lot of Utica (the motherland)
blog switching!
I'm switching to blogger, largely because I have issues embedding stuff (videos, flash objects, etc.) in my livejournal. This is not because I have a new life now.
For reference, here's the old Snoopy Cache.
I do not promise to blog any more frequently than I did in the past.
Also, please note that I update facebook pretty often, so that's where some of my blogging energy is going...
For reference, here's the old Snoopy Cache.
I do not promise to blog any more frequently than I did in the past.
Also, please note that I update facebook pretty often, so that's where some of my blogging energy is going...
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