Sweet Oliver

Erica had a nice afternoon visit with Leah and Oliver yesterday. Erica said they hung out and Leah even got a chance to knit a little while Erica held the baby. We are all looking forward to my visit in March. I can't wait! (Pictures by Erica.) (I am not sure what the white border is around the pic of Mama and baby.)

Exhausted!

It's Monday morning at around 9:30 and I am exhausted. Good thing I have my Go Girl energy drink for a pick me up later.
Curt and I spent the weekend in Tucson. We had a great time.
We got in late Friday night.
Saturday morning we picked my grandpa up and headed to the Arizona vs. North Carolina game at McKale Center. It was my grandpa's first time ever at McKale. We had great seats, but unfortunately it was not a great game. And there was so much hype for the game--it was nationally televised. When we got to McKale we ran into the athletic director. He told my dad that students showed up Saturday morning after the bars closed. So at 2:30 in the morning they were out there??? Not really sure why since there is no general admission. The student sections were pretty full when we got there about 50 minutes before the game started. And let me tell you, the student sections are not like they were when I was in school. They actually have a section down low with rowdy, painted student fans--that is the way it should be. It is called the Zona Zoo.
So the Cats played horribly and the refs made bad calls. But we still had fun.
After the game we tried to go to Bisonwitches for lunch. They were pretty busy. So we ended up at The Cup. Hilda joined us for lunch.
Afterward we took Grandpa home and headed back to Dad and Hilda's. We all ended up napping. Then walked to dinner. I had this amazing fettucine. I was good and only ate half--I could have easily eaten the whole thing. But let's just say I wasn't really Weight Watching it this weekend. After dinner we headed to Starbucks for some caffeine before our 10 p.m. movie. We saw "Babel." Excellent movie!
Sunday morning we met Mom, Fred and Grandma at the Arizona Inn for brunch. It was a beautiful day. We sat poolside and soaked up the sun. Then to Grandma's to hang out. My Uncle Mike and cousin Jackie were there. So we were able to visit with them, too. We had a really fun visit with everyone.
Back to Mom and Fred's for a little relaxing (I took a little nap) and then a little food (menudo and tamales) before heading to the airport. We also came home with a dozen red chile tamales and a dozen green corn tamales. Yum!
We landed in Oakland about 9:30 and got home about 11 p.m.
We had a great weekend, but of course, we are exhausted. But it was totally worth it!

Off to Tucson

I am taking off work early today. Curt and I are heading to Tucson tonight.
My dad gave us tickets to the UA basketball game for tomorrow vs. North Carolina. We will be joined by my dad and my grandpa. Apparently my grandpa is very excited and has been bragging to his friends. Should be a good game. (Oh, and we will be in Rows 1 &2.)
After the game I am hoping to hit BisonWitches. Yummy sandwiches and soups. (Forget WW this weekend!)
Saturday evening a night out with Dad and Hilda.
Then Sunday brunch at the Arizona Inn with Mom, Fred and my grandma. After that hanging out at Mom and Fred's (until we have to head to the airport). I am hoping John will get a chance to stop by.
Quick, but fun weekend planned.

Oh, and I booked my flight for Phoenix for the first weekend in March so I can meet the adorable Oliver. I will come in the evening of March 2 and leave the evening of March 5. So for friends in the area I will likely plan a dinner and drinks outing the night of March 3. Mark your calendars now!

Let's see if this works

I created a ticker to track my weight loss:

So Annoyed!!!

The other day I received a summons for jury duty. I have not even lived in California for 2 years and this is the 5th summons I have received. Yup, 5! The first one was for December 2005. I had it deferred until January because we were going on vacation. So I had jury service in January--didn't actually have to serve. But was told my service was complete for a year. Then in April 2006 got another summons. I called and they told me it was an error and cleared it from the computer.
Then December 2006 another summons. Technically my year service wasn't complete. So I called and they cleared that one. As that woman was looking in the computer she noticed another one would be coming to me and told me to ignore it. It came about a month later and I ignored it.
So just the other day I received the latest one. The jury date is right before we got to Hawaii. So I tried to defer online. It wouldn't let me: DENIED! Because I didn't pick a date 6 weeks after my initial summons. Whatever! So I called this morning. The guy asks if I deferred before. I said yes. I kept getting put on hold. (Also when he answered the phone he just said, hello? I had no idea if I had called the right number.) He comes back on and tells me this is my last deferrment! What the H???? I don't mind serving jury duty. But I better not get a summons next year for when we are in England and Ireland. There are plenty of people I work with who have lived in California waaaaay longer than I have and have never received a summons.
I just had to get that off my chest!

Meet Hungry Girl

So I already posted this and Blogspot freaked out. Here it goes for a second time.
Meet Hungry Girl. She maintains a blog all about food. She writes about some cool stuff. I just found her today through my Yahoo!
Today I was reading about Little Light Lies, food that says it is light, but it ain't. She also wrote about healthier options at Fast Food restaurants.
She also linked up to a 1 point fettucine recipe. She gives the nutritional information, which is great for someone like me who is counting points.

Snow???

Tucson Citizen

My mom called me last night to tell me it was snowing in Tucson. Crazy, huh? I do recall a few times it snowed. And we actually did have a White Christmas one year. Our dog had no idea what the snow was and was barking at it. Pretty funny!

(I remember one time John and I made a one-foot snow man. He was pretty cute.)

To read more about the snow in Tucson (and I was told it snowed in parts of Phx, too) here is a link to the Tucson Citizen.

Funny pics & yummy food

A Highland bovine slurps flakes from her lips after a heavy overnight snowfall in Carronbridge, Scotland.

Arizona's signature saguaro cactuses wear party hats at a nursery in the Phoenix suburb of Surprise. The Styrofoam cups keep the plants warm during the chilly Sonoran Desert nights.

Last night we had dinner at our friends' house, Alexa and Darius. Curt and Alexa work together. Alexa made this awesome soup. They also had another couple over, Matt and Sasha. We had great food, great conversation and fun playing Sequence. Though the Blue Team never won--we fought hard!

Curt and I have decided to have a Taboo and enchilada night with those 4 very soon. I love Taboo--I get a little crazy with that game.

And Happy Friday! (Well, if you work Monday-Friday anyway.)

Good news and good news

I can finally fit in my leather pants. That has been a goal for me at Weight Watchers. I haven't worn them in almost 3 years. And the last time I did it was quite difficult to zip them up! When I went in to my meeting today all the women were squawking and laughing because I wore them today. It felt really good! I have lost almost 20 pounds. I think the leather pants threw me off--but it was worth it. So I am hoping I will hit 20 next week.
The other good news is I talked to Leah last night. I had called Monday night and just left a message. She called me back and apologized for not calling back sooner. I think a new mother returning a call within 24 hours is pretty great. She sounds great. We had a nice little chat. I told her that Oliver is beautiful and she agreed. She says there are times she just stares at him for hours. She says his feeding sked alone keeps her busy. Both grandmas are taking shifts so Robert and Leah can sleep. Everything sounds great for them. I am so happy. I can't wait to meet him--have I said that enough yet???

Beckidad family

Robert, Leah and Oliver.

Isn't Oliver a beautiful baby?

Erica went to visit the new parents and baby Monday. She was sweet enough to send me some pics of the new little guy. Isn't he adorable? I can't wait to meet him!

Panda sneezes

I found this on another blog and thought I would share it. It cracks me up.

Paula Abdul--Yikes!

Update on Oliver

So I had an e-mail from Leah's e-mail.
I am assuming Robert sent it.
Here is what it said:

Hi everyone! . I know many of you called to give us your good wishes. Sorry that we haven't been in touch. We do thank you sincerely, We'll call as soon as we can.

"It's a Boy!"

Oliver Trinidad Becker was born on Sat, January 13, 2007 at 4:34 AM. He is 19 inches long and weighed in at 7 lbs. He is so adorable.

He needed a little extra help to get some fluid out of his lungs (a little more complicated than that...), but he is doing just fine. So you'll notice that some of the pictures are in the nursery. He has a strong grip and is very curious. We'll be heading home on Sunday or Monday.

If I missed anyone, please feel free to fwd on. I don't have access to everyone's email addresses right now.

More pictures to come as soon as we can.

Love,

Robert and Leah

Here's a picture of little Oliver right after the birth. Leah looked tired, but good right after delivering Oliver. Man, I can't believe Robert and Leah are parents. Congrats to them!

Oliver Trinidad Becker ...

was born this morning around 4:30 a.m.
Unfortunately, I don't have any other details.
But I am so happy for Robert and Leah. And I love his name!

Starbean is coming!

I just got word from a friend and former co-worker that Leah has gone into labor!
Dang little stinker. I was hoping the baby would wait another week--so I could come out to visit while Leah is still on maternity leave. Oh well.
I am still coming to visit.
And we will finally find out the sex!


******UPDATE*******(7:56 a.m. Saturday)
Last night Robert sent a text message (which I just got) saying: Tis True! Baby is coming. Leah is sleeping, just got epidural. no other news so far.
That was at 7:13 last night.
So by now there should be a little Starbean with a name. :)

John is home

So John is already home.
I sign on to meebo.com every day (during the work week anyway). It is a Web site where you can sign on to more than one IM at a time. Anyway, I saw that he was signed on. So I messaged him to ask if he was really online. He wrote back saying he had just gotten home from the hospital.
I thought for sure they would keep him until tomorrow.
But whatever. He is doing well. He says his stomach hurts (where the incisions are) and he has a headache. Other than that he is doing OK. He will see the surgeon on Tuesday and then they will decide when he can go back to work. He has antibiotics to take and percocet (sp?) for the pain.

John Update

Talked to my mom and brother a little bit ago. (And talked to my dad this morning.)
John and I just talked for a couple of minutes. He sounded tired and out of it. But good, considering. I asked him how he was doing. He said, "I've been better."
Curt and I sent him Get Well balloons with a small bear. I tried to find a pic of it on the 1-800-Flowers Web site that I ordered it on and couldn't find it!
John still isn't on solids (eating lots of Jell-O and broth) and has a slight fever. But nothing to be alarmed about.

Oh, wait. I found a pic of what we sent. (I know you are on the edge of your seats in anticipation.)

Gall Bladders

Do you know what the gall gladder does?
Well, according to the Gall Bladder Guide it is an organ that assists the liver in the digestion of fat. The gall bladder stores the bile produced by the liver and releases it when it is needed in the process of digestion.
I know this doesn't seem like an exciting post ... but my brother had his removed this morning. He had to have emergency surgery. He and my mom went to the ER yesterday evening about 5 p.m. or so. My mom said John was in a lot of pain: doubled-over, sweating and shaking. They didn't get out of the waiting room until 9ish and didn't see an actual doctor until 10ish. Lots of tests and blood work, CAT scan at 1:30 a.m. And finally around 3 a.m. they found out it was his gall bladder. At that point they could finally put him on pain medication. (My mom told me that people who have had this say there is no pain like it.)
So he had surgery this morning to have it removed. My parents called me about 10:30 a.m. my time to tell me. They waited until after John was out of surgery. He will spend a few days in the hospital. But doctors expect a full recovery. (I haven't received any updates since this morning. Should get one tonight.)
So sounds like John is gonna have to ditch the coffee, soda and fatty foods.

********UPDATE*********
Talked to my mom tonight. John had the laproscopic surgery to remove the gall bladder. That is much less invasive and he will heal faster. She said he looked good after the surgery. She and Fred and my dad and Hilda went back this evening to see him. He was outta of it but doing good. And eating Jell-O. Bleh--I hate Jell-O!
He will likely be in the hospital until Friday morning or so.
So I sent him some get-well balloons and stuffed animal.
Thanks for well-wishes, good thoughts and prayers.

My favorite commercial

Pants Off Dance Off

Now that we have digital cable we have a million channels--many of which are totally useless. Last night I was trying to find something to watch. On the Fuse channel there was a show called Pants Off Dance Off. I was intrigued. A bunch of lame losers dance to music and take their clothes off. None of them are good or good looking. It is completely humiliating. Jodie Sweetin is the host--aka Stephanie Tanner on "Full House."
And the funny thing is these people think this show is gonna make them famous.
They also have a Web site where apparently you can really see them take everything off. The "pancers" were censored on TV. So Curt and I looked it up online. Bunch of liars! It is censored on the Web, too. They are blurred out--which is probably a good thing.

Happy New Year and a day!

Our New Year's Eve night was pretty mellow. I did some knitting and watched the Law and Order: SVU marathon. About 9 p.m. I went into the living room to watch TV with Curt. We watched Dane Cook do standup. Some of it was downright hilarious. (I was crying.) Other stuff was just OK. Then after that a marathon of a sort of reality show with Dane Cook and three other comedians was on. In 30 days they drove around in a bus doing standup at different colleges. It was rather entertaining.
About 11:45 we switched over to Dick Clark. Man, Dick Clark was sad. He looks fine. But his speech was horrible. It was really sad. He needs to retire. Then when they were counting down they were on 10 and Dick Clark was on 12!!!!! I was laughing--and of course felt guilty. Please, Dick Clark retire and save yourself some dignity.
I actually stayed up until 1:30 a.m. Never thought that would happen. I usually zonk out early most nights.
New Year's Day we were supposed to have calendars and crepes. Our friends Phil and Lisa decided not to come. Phil wasn't feeling well. (I am guessing he was hung over.) So we skipped the calendars since the place was a mob scene and had breakfast at Rockridge Cafe with Alexa, Jennifer and Jim. Great breakfast! We all came back to our place and hung out. Then Alexa had to take off. J&J stayed for football and chatting and yummy salsa and cheeseball. The guys had beer and the girls shared a bottle of champagne.
After they left Curt and I watched more football. Now I don't like football at all. But the Boise State/Oklahoma game was amazing. Boise State kept the game exciting until the last possible minute in regulation and OT. It was nice to see the underdogs win in an amazing way.
Now I am back to work. It was so hard to get up this morning. I am still kinda out of it.
Hope you all had a safe and happy new year.