ha!

It's not 2:15 am or whatever it thinks it is... my iPhone (got it for my b-day from R!!!) also has this problem with my gmail calendar. can be annoying. Fortunately, 3 hours off is enough for me to know that it's wrong.

oh - and I had a friend adamant tonight (just went out for a couple of drinks) to pay for the night. It was nice. I think friends should do that more. I certainly plan on returning the favor, but there's something sweet about friends paying for each other.

Friends

I gotta say that I've got a pretty awesome group of friends here. I was worried when we moved here, as I'm used to being able to have people to hang out with... but it's been great! Friends who buy me drinks, who meet up for a late night drink, who are EXCITED about us wanting a baby, who are foodies, a group of friends where someone is often available at the drop of the hat, etc.

Yeah, I'm pretty happy. And a week of sunny weather made it even better. Choosing to move here was hard, and I definitely miss my Mass friends (I grew up there for crying out loud!), but I think we made a good decision... especially as Rob is really enjoying his job. If only I could get myself to love my job too.......................... then it would be perfect.

(And, no, I don't want to get pregnant, so I can leave my job. Totally independent thoughts/decisions.)

Vitamin D

I can't stop thinking about it... just got my bloodwork results last week (from a physical), and I am insanely Vitamin D deficient. The sheet says you're supposed to be between 32-100 (don't ask me the measurement units). Some would say that you should be between 25-100, especially considering that most people north of DC/San Francisco line are Vitamin D deficient in the winter. Then I read somewhere that under 12 is considered extremely deficient and a cause for concern. Me < 7. I am concerned.

Along with this information, there was a statement from my Doc saying that I had to take 10,000 IU a day of Vitamin D and follow up in 6 months. I went to the store, and the recommended daily amount is 400 IU. NOBODY sells anywhere near 10,000 IU tablets... apparently Costco sells 1,000 IU tablets, but am I really expected to take 10 of those a day? (Uncoated pills too - yuck!)Plus, I felt like 10,000 IU a day had to be toxic. Fortunately, I have a brain and looked this up.

Based on what I found, I called the doctor's office and here is how the conversation went:

Me: What is going on here? These amounts don't make sense to me.
Nurse: Did you not get the prescription in the mail?
Me: Uh, no.
Nurse: Oops! I'll call one in to a pharmacy for you. Which is convenient for you.
Me: Why, thank you! Broadway QFC would be great. Oh and, I really take them once a day?
Nurse: Oh, the once a day was a typo. It's once a week.
Me: Good to know. Thanks. Bye. Have a nice life. Thanks for trying to kill me.

What if I had just taken 10 a day? Geez. Fortunately, I read about Vitamin D overdoses - not pretty. That's why I called in the first place. If I'd ended up with renal failure (I'm sure even someone without a brain would not have progressed to this point!), I would have been pissed... to say the least.

Baby Talk

Just got back from my first sig. other "Firm" book club. It was interesting. I hated the book"Eat, Pray, Love." It's just not a very me book... maybe it should be a me book though. My whole issue is that the idea of meditating drives me up a wall. There's a whole portion of the book where she talks about struggling with that, and maybe I should struggle with it and find my inner peace. hahahahhaha. yeah, right. I'm pretty sure that that idea won't appeal to me any time soon.

But there is an idea that does appeal to me soon... becoming a mommy. Two pregnancies were announced at the dinner and there was a mom with her 12 day old. I have been so worried about being on my own here, without friends with babies. Now, I walked into a WHOLE bunch of them. Only two people there tonight (there are others, of course) did NOT have babies... and some of the mom's were even my age! It was just really neat, and I felt that I would have a support network.

In addition to all the baby talk, there was lots of talking in general. How would that not be possible with 12 women in a room?? Seriously, though. We were at the top guy in the office's house, having a relaxed dinner with totally normal talk. I drove over one of the other "SO's" and in the car ride there she said, "I am so not into hierarchy. I hope it won't be a problem." Except for her being the one with the incredible house on the water (with the kitchen she designed as she's an architect) and the largest diamond ever, you would have no clue who you were talking to! It was awesome.

Anyway, I'll stop here. Suffice it to say that I really do enjoy my husband's colleagues and their partners. Seattle is feeling pretty good right now... esp. after a week of sunny "winter" days!

Favorite Work Benefits and Spiders?!?!?

There are two things about my job that I especially love: getting one day off every other week (Flex Day) and that we're allowed to bring dogs to work. Dogs are certainly a distraction, but they also make for a very cheery workplace at times. Who else can say that they've had a meeting interrupted by a dog fart?

Zelda, the owner's huge Bernese Mountain Dog, is awesome. She's very gentle, and has a funny personality. She loves to bang her head against you, so you'll pet her and give her attention. The other day, she stole my water bottle... it was pretty hilarious chasing her around the house, and then getting the water bottle back in exchange for my opening the porch door for her. For some reason, she has especially taken to pushing herself through my legs and maybe even purposefully trying to get me to fall over. Due to her height, I do always nearly fall over, whilst I burst out into giggles along with a minor gasp/shout. It doesn't get old, and no, it doesn't annoy me. It's just too darned funny, and I get to wear jeans to work anyhow.

The same day that Zelda so gloriously interrupted a meeting with a fart, she was also OBSESSIVELY licking one of her paws... for 2 hours straight. It was super annoying, and we were all four of us pleading with her to stop. It was incredibly aggravating. However, this licking turned into something she was doing often, and combined with a week of her seeming a bit off (tired, really red eyes, fever) and then seeing a little spot on her paw, she was taken to the vet. It turns out she was bit by a spider. Poor Zelda! I hope she feels better soon. The vet called with more info today, and she's on antibiotics. Stupid spider.

Spider... What? A spider bite did this... wait a minute? Did you say it's a poisonous spider? As in, poisonous to pets and people? Let me get this straight - POISONOUS SPIDER. What?!?! WHAT?!?! There are poisonous spiders here?!?!!?

And there are. oh my gosh there are. Hobo Spiders... a.k.a. Aggressive House Spiders. HOUSE?!?! You mean this thing can be in my house?!?! And there are reports of maybe there being Brown Recluse Spiders?!? I apologize for the excessive interrobang (new favorite word) usage, but I just got finished looking at what these bites can look like on a human being. OMG.

I'm generally not freaked out by bugs, spiders, worms, etc. but we're talking poisonous spiders here. I just need a bit of time to accept that they're around and biting our pets! and us! (Watch out Sheitoon!) It's going to take some effort to keep to my one true irrational fear... bees. (Never been stung myself, but watched my sister have severe allergic reactions enough times to scare the crap out of me.) For now, spiders are on the list too.

I wonder how this will affect my general attitude towards spiders in the house... pretend I don't see them, so they can go eat bugs and do their vital part for the planet. I've only seen one spider in our house here so far - phew! Hopefully, it'll have been my last. But for now, indoors or outdoors, I'm pretty sure that every time I see a spider, I'm going to pray that it's not a hobo, recluse, or any other social outcast.

New Post.

I should get back to posting. I reread my last post and it was nice to remember that time and moment... even if it was about how I was feeling old. :) Thank you BS for bringing me back to blogging, but I guess the thanks should really come after I do some more regular posting.

Valentine's Day. I really do love this day. I know many people hate it, but I love it. It's a family holiday to me... my dad always had chocolate and flowers for me, my two sisters, and my mom. I'm sure a brother would have gotten something as well, if I had one. We even got jewelry sometimes... very cute! Actually, my first semester at Wellesley, he drove to campus with flowers and chocolate. Dad's are awesome.

Rob got got me a dozen roses and a balloon! I love the flowers, but I have to say that I REALLY love the balloon! How can balloons be so fun? He also got me my first piece of jewelry from Tiffany's. A pretty heart pendant with a short silver chain to go with it... I've really needed a short silver chain so I am VERY happy about it!

We're having Valentine's Day dinner at the airport. SO romantic. Rob flies in from Portland, I cab to the airport, and we have dinner before our flight to FL. I am very much looking forward to our weekend in FL... sunny and warm, I hope! I'm sure the wedding will be a blast too!

Ok, enough. I just felt like I needed to summarize a bit of what is currently going on in my head.