4.30.2003

The benefits of 35mm....this post is especially important for parents to read.

Being the newshound I am, I was google searching for more detailed stories on the Laci Peterson investigation and came across this Jacksonville, Florida news station website. Before I got a chance to locate the Peterson article this title grabbed my attention: The "red eye" effect in pictures could help save your child's life. Immediately when I saw the pictures of Madison Sandlin, I remembered some pictures of Mia I thought looked funny. Madison's eye reflected white; Mia's pictures didn't have that in common, but a few pictures did bother me. In one picture of Mia, her entire left eye is blacked out while her right eye reflected red. In another photo, her right eye reflected back a lot more of the flash than her left. The pictures along with the article made me think, and the fact that Mia usually has what appears to be a black eye (the kind you get after you've been injured) made me a little concerned.

So Mia had an appointment with her doctor this afternoon and while she responded very well to the light testing, Dr. Jones and one of his colleagues notices that her retinas aren't entirely symmetrical. My baby girl has been referred to a Pediatric Ophthalmologist who will conduct a more thorough exam to cast away any lingering worries or concerns.

The moral of this story: Snap a roll of 35mm once in awhile folks. I'm all about the digital, but my DV isn't the camera that resulted in Mia's appointment today.

Posted by Deir at 22:01 | |

Happy Birthday Mom.

Posted by Deir at 22:01 | |

4.27.2003

Blah.

In family news... Mia and I started our walking/jogging routine. It's very exciting. She wears her Nike windpants and I wear my a.d.i.d.a.s windpants. Clashing brands, I know, but the colors match. Mia is also starting to flap only ONE arm in response to a wave. She's so smart. I'm so proud of my girl.

In Hooters news...God help me. If I have to barback ever again, I may leave Hooters...and NOT in good standing. As pretty much a non-smoker, I don't get to take the infamous "smoke-break." The bartender I was barbacking for DOES smoke. How nice. Anyway, I had to watch the tickets from the Hootresses (barback job) AND take phone calls, including to-go orders (not barback job) AND watch the FULL BAR of patrons (not barback job) while Bartendress went and did her thang. I take that back, I didn't HAVE to, I just did. So (ab)using my ability to get whatever I want by...well, being myself :) I got my manager to comp my dinner. I asked Bartendress to watch MY job so I could go eat my grilled cheese sandwich. So, as I was finishing the first half of my sandwich, I was called back to my post at the ticket spitter, not because Bartendress couldn't handle my job, just because she wasn't doing it. Bartendress did not hold up her end of the bargain. I have several other stories I could tell to illustrate what a selfish and annoying psycho-smoker this girl was/is, but I haven't posted in so long, I don't want to overrun my site with negativity. So I'll leave it at that.

Good day.

Posted by Deir at 21:40 | |

4.22.2003

Hootress' Restaurant Critique: Outback Steakhouse, Nimmo Parkway, VA Beach.

Elizabeth, Mia, and I had dinner together tonight. Our waiter, who didn't introduce himself, approached our table and asked if he could give us a few minutes to look over the menu, pretty much whether we needed it or not, and we said SURE. He took down our drink order and scurried off. Our drinks were brought out by some chick and our waiter was back at our table within 6-7 minutes (way TOO long). Liz ordered some ribs, I ordered the Walhalla Pasta for myself, some mashed potatoes for Miss Mia, and I asked that an order of sauteed mushrooms be delivered to the table as an appetizer. This is where things got weird. Senor Waiter looked at me like I was crazy for wanting mushrooms as an appetizer and said "Um, I'm not sure, it's on the same ticket, so it may come out with the rest of your food, but if it's done in time, I can bring it with the bread." Excuse me, Senor Waiter...I'm not able to have sauteed mushrooms as an app. because it's from the "side items" menu? And that would just be too complicated? What's the story?? HELP ME UNDERSTAND!! Anyway, the mushrooms came out with the entrees and I let it slide. The guy was clearly an idiot and I didn't feel like pointing it out was going to help at all. That covers service...now food. Um. Walhalla pasta...eh. C+. It's clearly supposed to be Fettuccine Alfredo with some fresh vegetables. The vegetables were too big and not cooked well enough or evenly for that matter. And note to chef: Alfredo is a cheese sauce. I'd like to taste a lot more cheese and a lot less black pepper next time. Thanks. Liz hated the ribs (too much bbq sauce, she said), but she enjoyed the mashed potatoes which incidentally, Mia did not. Overall...C-. We won't be returning.

Gracias, Merci.

Dear People Who Have Signed My Guestbook,
Thank you. I love you.

XOXO,
Hootress

And a small shoutout to [d] for sending the people over to do so. Holla.

4.21.2003

Ooooooooooo-oh Blogger Control!! Oh!

Hook it up y'all.

4.18.2003

Big Girls Don't Cry.

Not when they have two teeth!!

4.17.2003

I'm ba-aaaaaaaaaaack.

The trusty old computer was down for awhile, but we're up and running again BABY!! And SPEAKING of babies...Shawn visited Mia this weekend. I went up to Richmond to fetch him on Sunday and he stayed until Tuesday morning. Mia was VERY excited to see her Daddy and she pulled out a whole bunch of new "tricks." She busted out with some lip smacking/popping on Sunday afternoon and rounded out the day by cruising from one end of the coffee table to the other. That's my 7 month old baby (7 mos. today people) for ya. Lock and load, that girl is ready to run.

Shawn and I had some fun of our own this weekend...at my dog's expense. Maxx needed a haircut and Shawn thought it would be a good idea to shave him. In theory, it was a great idea. In practice, a $7.99 Conair Clipper from Target isn't going to clip a Wire Fox Terrier. No sir. So Maxx got a shave in some spots, a trim in others, and stayed fluffy in still others. I totally should have taken a picture, considering that isn't the type of mistake you make twice, but Mom was in such a rush to get Maxx off to the groomer after our botched job that I forgot all about it. Note: Shawn paid for the grooming...as it WAS his idea to try it himself first.

4.11.2003



Mia just LOVES watching Riverdance. She sits down and watches intently while she flaps her arms.

She had her well check-up today. She's 19lbs. 12ozs. (90th percentile) and 27.5 inches long (95th percentile). While Dr. Jones was listening to her chest she grabbed his hand and the stethescope and tried very hard to push him away. He was impressed that she was so forthright with her opinion of the cold metal. He said she is advanced for age :)

Bills, cars, college educations...now boobs.

Click here.

4.10.2003


[d]: dude.
[d]: i wish i was a girl.
[d]: wait.
Me: u r
[d]: i wish i was a girl ONLY to lick other girls.
[d]: lol
[d]: gah.
[d]: not that i CANT lick girls, but girls licking each other is pretty hot.
[d]: forget i said anything.
Me: riiiiiight

Good news Mom!!

According to a quiz at emode.com, I'm likely to be married by September 2, 2006. So...2.5 years. And hopefully my fiance/husband will be as unconventional/non-traditional as I've shown to be, and would to want cohabitate prior to the nuptials. That's 2 years :)








4.09.2003

Count me out.

I'm canceling my trip to Richmond this weekend. I was supposed to be heading up there with my upline and his wife (Quixtar stuff) for the Spring Leadership Seminar. The ticket cost $95 and the hotel room was $28.50 per person in a 4 person (all girls) room. The ticket money is refundable, and more likely than not, so is the hotel money.

I'm still interested in pursuing "the business." But I want to do it on my terms. It was supposed to be a "spare time" thing, as I was initially told. To me, spare time is the time I have in which I wouldn't be doing something else. This weekend is not spare time. This weekend I would be working or at home with Mia, and most likely going out with my friends on Saturday night. $123.50 plus the cost of food and learning tools is an awful lot of money to be let go of ON TOP of the 3 days of MY time I would be losing.

One of my major problems with the business, isn't really a problem with "the business." While I haven't been encouraged to LIE to anyone I meet, I HAVE been encouraged to NOT tell people where I actually work. Excuse me, what's wrong with Hooters?? As I've stated before, we wear more clothing that people wear to the beach, and unlike the beach, Hooters is very much avoidable by those that are offended by the nature of the business. I earn money to pay for things Mia needs, things I need, and can occasionally toss some money my mom's way. It's honest work, and I'm proud of the fact that I'm still able to do it not even 7 months after having a baby.

So aside from the time issue, it's a pride issue. And I'll be staying home with Mia (can't work with a sprained neck), and I'll keep my SPARE TIME (those times she's sleeping) for myself.

4.08.2003

***Baby Update***

Mia's first tooth is poking in today!! Bottom front tooth on the left :)

4.04.2003

It's About Time.

Mia is adopting a new sleep schedule. She sleeps through most of the night from about 10:30pm to anywhere between 6:45am and 8:30am. It varies. And now, instead of her regular nap at 9:45 that I enjoyed taking with her so much, she's pushed it back to the later morning/earlier afternoon slot. By the time she went back down today (11), it was too late for me to take a nap. Even though I could use the sleep and if awake, I would probably only do the dishes and watch the View during her naptime...it just seems way more counterproductive to go back to sleep at the day's peak.

4.03.2003

With Eyes Wide Open.


Mia woke up at 6:45am today. She went down for her first nap at 2:00pm. Mommy Sleepy.

I hope you know I pack a chainsaw.

Not really. But sometimes I wish I could. I have a cold and I wish that right now it was my cold that was keeping me up. I wish that it was Mia that was keeping me up. I celebrate not having any drama. I relish in it. And then THE dramatic fool I associate myself with the absolute least often and the least amount necessary goes and creates some for me. It's not really drama. No 'he said' 'she said' stuff, no one's mad at me, nothing like that. I'm talking about a potentially missed opportunity. And for the one person who least deserves to have things go right, this person seems to have an awful lot of things NOT going wrong. So I wish I could pack a chainsaw. I wish I could be the kind of person to exact revenge. But I'm a mom. I can still be a bitch if I want to be, but I've lost my ability to be full-blown evil. It's funny though, because she's a mom, too.

4.02.2003

Only Time Will Tell.

Well, I'm not thrilled with my links, but I like the placement of my posts. It's still a work in progress, and I'd like to thank Ro for his help, even though I switched everything back. :) I e-mailed MayStar, the designer of the original template, to see if she had any suggestions. We'll see if she's as good at customer service as she is at designing these buggers. In the meantime, if you have a comment that you'd normally leave in the shoutbox, how about trying something new and leaving a comment?? :)

HELP!

If someone can help me get all my stuff in the right spot, I would be much obliged. When I try to put my shoutbox and my links on the site, they shove my posts to the bottom. :( D'oh.

Under Construction.

I'll be up and running as soon as [drunkadelic] gets everything straightened out.