They like meetings here. A lot. Friday I got pulled into meetings for a total of three hours, and the meetings weren't on my schedule when I got up that morning.

Today, I've had an 8 a.m., am waiting on someone who's running behind for an 11 a.m., will make a noon, then staff an interview at 2 p.m.

Anyway, I've been busy ... busy trying to get up to speed on the new position while wrapping up everything on the old and preparing for my colleague, who's been on maternity leave for six months, to return and take over the wireless stuff that I've been onsite doing. She's back tomorrow. TGIT -- tomorrow, I mean.

Brian put up an easel last night, while I sat on the sofa drinking V8 Splash and eating Caramel Sundae Crunch ice cream. He's in project mode; I find it terribly cute and amusing. Meanwhile, I can barely find the energy to get off the sofa for a refill. Luckily, I didn't have to so much ... you know, sensuous. "Since you was" up ...

I'm retarded. I've heard pregnancy does cause forgetfulness and such. We're five months pregnant now. Can you believe it? I just recently began feeling the baby move. It's very strange; it sort of feels like a giant heartbeat in your stomach.

Oh, and another reason TGIT tomorrow: we have a party at Brian's office! The folks are finally hosting that gathering they've been talking about for ages, so that means more wedding gifts. And cake. Afterward, we have dinner plans with a media rep with whom B regularly works.

So yeah, it's a very busy week. And it's half over.

We're getting ready for church; we haven't been to church in an embarrassingly long time.

We finished reading The Notebook yesterday so we can see it today. It opened Friday.

The weekend has been a good one for these types of activities ... it's rainy, rainy, rainy. I feel good and rested.

Hope you're having a good weekend, too.

Doughnuts-and-Diet-Coke breakfasts are yummy.

I used to put better stuff on here. Stuff like an old post I came across today, which was deleted when I killed the Band.

I'm in a creative rut, perhaps. Perhaps it's an overload of life experience, but isn't experience supposed to provide content for more writing? I have another theory, which is that this is due to lack of drink. I miss it, even though I know it's bad for me. I can be a very bad girl. And it's scary when that's part of your identity. At times, it's been part of mine. Such is not the case now. Sometimes I fear that's boring.

Talking to Amy last night about the circle and how I've met only one in the circle. And then, exactly how I met that one. Just showed up one Tuesday (was it a Tuesday?) night, by myself, at a bar, sang karaoke (miserably of course). I used to do shit like that. I've got that streak in me; I get it from my mama. I wonder if my son will get it from me. I'm sure he'll inherit all sorts of maladies from both B and I. We got it in the genes, and I suppose I have a love/hate relationship with that side of myself. Sometimes I really miss her because, when she wasn't getting my ass in trouble, she was a hell of a good time.

I miss sitting in my apartment, drinking beer, listening to music (often Texas music, Guy Clark), writing, eventually getting piss drunk. And late night phone calls.

Hey, you don't like it? Fuck off and quit reading. Talk real, write real -- because no one gives a shit about the edited version, the way you paint your life, the way you'd like for it to be, for us to see it.

I want to kiss every part of mine right now ... the present, naturally, and of course the future. But I'd even like to plant one on my past, with all of its blemishes and imperfections. I'd like to pick my bones up off the floor, scattered as they were in the living room, and forget about reassembling them. Throw 'em in the shaker and let go; see where they land, let them be. Don't worry about where the dust flies. Eventually everyone opens the windows.

Don't think I've forgotten.

I'm tired. I have to go to the ladies' room. ALL the time. I need a diet coke.

Good conversations on the other side.

Randomly written in my notebook at one time:
Plays scratch offs ($ blackjack)
Three women in his life
Babies, Babies everywhere
No monitor, works from laptop
Pics and models of airplanes

Leaving a company is weird, though this is only my second time to go through the exercise. This is the second time ever, but it's the second time in 6.5 years. I don't think that's too bad of a track record. Two years at my first post-college job. Four and a half at my second.

Both times, people have seemed a bit angry ... management seems angry. I think people generally get over it though; I still have lunch with folks from my previous job.

My last official day with the agency is Friday. I spent the day working in the office downtown, following an early morning court hearing in the municipal building (my traffic ticket was dismissed, in case you're wondering).

Apparently my departure hasn't yet been announced, so I'm wandering around looking for boxes and cleaning files and getting some inquisitive looks. I think it's smarter to tell your people what's going on than it is to wait and let them find out when things become obvious.

"Hey! Are you back working onsite?," I've been asked numerous times. "Um, no. No, not yet," I dutifully reply.

I think they'll send the note out tonight or tomorrow, informing people of my move. I'm at the client office until Friday anyway, when I'll come back in to turn in my computer, parking card, office key, etc. By that point, I'm hoping it'll be safe to ask for help carrying my things down. Surely everyone will know what's going on by then.

Leaving a company is weird.

OK, seriously, there are a million things to buy when you've got a baby on the way. And seeing how I rival GolfGirl in the OCD department, I've got a major dilemma. How do you make sure everything matches?

I mean, the pacifiers, shouldn't they match the diaper bag, which should match the bedding? Then there's the car seat and stroller and swing and bassinet. I don't think getting all these things to match is going to be an easy task. No, I don't think it will be at all.

The latest addition to my library and literature supporting my new stress management plan.

I had dreams about a white, upside-down triangle last night. I don't remember anymore than that. I woke up at some point and thought to myself how strange it was and to remember the white, upside-down triangle.

I pay entirely too little attention to politics and public affairs; I know entirely too much celebrity gossip.

I miss anti-depressants. My coping mechanism is way off.

I went to book club last night. We talked about this book that I didn't read.

Check out thisTime interview:
I N T E R V I E W
10 Questions For David Sedaris

AND THE INTERNET?
"I've never seen the Internet. I don't have email. I just enjoy lying on the couch and reading a magazine. When people say, 'You should visit my Web page,' I'm always perplexed by it. Why? What do you do there?"

Time for a random picture ... actually, I realized I never posted a wedding pic, though I shared photos with some of you offline; thus, it is random picture time. Yeah, and because I want to contradict what I said in the comments of today's earlier post.

I'm obsessed with my wardrobe. Nothing fits correctly right now, except perhaps t-shirts and (what I like to call) sweatshorts. (You know what I'm talking about, right?) Neither of which are appropriate for the office. Each morning, I change clothes several times before finally resigning to leave the house in whatever it is I last put on. So I've been on a maternity clothing mission.

Finding cute, affordable maternity attire is not an easy task. I've been to Old Navy and to the online site, but most of that stuff is too casual. The GAP has some good stuff, but really, even their clothes are a bit pricey unless you buy what's on sale ($54 for a short-sleeved black top? that you'll only wear for five more months??), which is what I managed to do yesterday. And it's tricky ... not all locations have maternity clothes. And the maternity wear isn't even in the regular GAP, it's in Baby GAP stores -- but just in certain ones.

I did find a really nice resale shop that happens to have maternity wear. I picked up a couple of nice, name brand tops there a week ago, but dropping in yesterday proved futile. Frustrated, I gave in and hit A Pea in the Pod, knowing full well that everything would be priced out of my comfort zone. A girl at work said stuff on their sale racks is reasonable; she lied.

The staff is super friendly; I think I was offered water at least three different times. The problem was that I ended up feeling obligated to purchase something, and I haven't allowed that to happen in a long time. Yeah, I bought a $68 shirt. I bought a $30 bra. I also got a "sale" shirt for $30. And it's not that these prices are ridiculous for normal clothes but these are TEMPORARY.

When the sales lady asked if she could help me, I said I was just looking for some clothes that fit. She seemed surprised that I was shopping for myself and asked how far along I am. "Four and a half months," I told her. "Wow! You're half way done! But don't worry, you'll pop out in the next month or so," she said.

Great. So I don't look pregnant -- I just look like I've gained 15 pounds for absolutely no reason.

I think I'm ready to look pregnant now.

Weekends are too short.

There should be no such thing as 7 p.m. doctor's appointments on Fridays.

Our dog, Sir Dexter, has been scalped with trimmers by my husband, and I think to myself, "How many times do I have to request you leave his 'stache alone?"

And then I have to be sweet because our other dog Cooper got quite the handsome cut from the same man, my husband.

Weekends are too short.

It takes an entire one just to clean out cabinets and closets in order to make room for the new stuff accumulated as a result of nuptials.

It takes another entire weekend to wash all the new dishes and put everything up and to start the major chore of cleaning the whole house ... oh yeah and to start your scrapbook. (Positive: I don't have to clean toilets, tubs or kitty boxes any longer. Until, of course, much further in the future.) Next weekend, maybe, I can get the rest of the house cleaned.

Weekends are too short.

We had dinner with Kevin and Sarah Saturday night, which was quite a bit of fun. I had to put the scrapbook down though in order to get cleaned up and out of the house.

They have 10-month-old twin boys. Boys who weigh 25 lbs. each and wear clothes made for 24-month-old babies. They left me in the house with these giants while they all went outside to smoke, abandoning the pregnant lady who can't smoke. I was nearly mauled.

Weekends are too short.

Why is there always so much to do?

There's so much going on lately that posting anything of substance has been difficult, but things are good.

I've accepted a position with my client organization, so I'll be busy wrapping up projects with one line of business before beginning my new role with another. Leaving my company, with whom I've been for nearly five years, is bittersweet. I've wanted something different for a while, craving new challenges, and it looks like that's what's arrived.

My company was less than thrilled to lose me to the client, but put an employee on-site for six months, and there's a pretty high risk factor that that employee might be snatched up. Given the dynamics of my past and present relationship with my boss, leaving that situation was probably number one under the list of "pros." Even still, the company itself has treated me well over the years, and I feel a tad guilty leaving ... but the raise helps alleviate that. It comes at a time when we can really use the extra money. Baby gear is expensive. And I feel a lot better about having taken on a car payment, though I probably should have felt fine about it regardless (I'm just rather frugal).

So yeah, that's what's been going on. And don't think I'm not aware of the significant life changes I've made recently. So much has changed. I mean, I got married, we're having a baby much sooner than expected, I ended my six-year relationship with the Acura and purchased a new vehicle, and now I've quit a job I've been at since 1999 and am starting a new gig (with a 35 percent increase in salary). The only thing left is to buy a new house -- which we're not doing for a few years. :)

Anyway, I understand what I'm doing, and I've got it under control. I just get nervous sometimes that when something good happens, something bad usually follows. I need to work on being more of an optimist; I've had more than my fair share of goodness lately, and I thank my California stars.

I like making other people look normal.

I know you, rider, gonna miss me when I’m gone;
I know you, rider, gonna miss me when I’m gone;
Gonna miss your baby, from rolling in your arms.

In life, there is entirely too much paperwork.

I heard from the recruiter, and it's all good news, but it's been overshadowed by new news ... better, more exciting news!

We had a sonogram Friday, and the baby is healthy ... everything checked out great. It was amazing to see how much baby has changed since the first sonogram at eight weeks. We're at 19 1/2 weeks now, which means we're about half way though the pregnancy.

Lil baby was very active, moving all around and waving various limbs (although I've not felt anything yet). Brian and I enjoyed watching, and we let my mom join us for a portion of the viewing. We got it all on video, too, so we've watched at home since then. It's really amazing and so hard to verbalize.

And, yes, we learned the sex of the baby. Brian and I are having a little boy!

I'm about to fall out of my chair, or pull my hair out or have some other equally physical reaction if I don't hear from this frickin' recruiter soon.

Have you ever taken into consideration that some foods/drinks are actually pretty?

Food example: Jello
Drink example: Champagne

We had dinner last night on the deck out back. Brian made really good steaks with a mushroom sauce, broccoli cheese rice, beans ... yum. We finished up and got everything inside just before the storms began and the rain fell. The electricity was out for about an hour. I fell asleep after dinner and slept through most of the storm activity.

I just realized today that my cube neighbor is gay. I learned this because I could hear him fighting with his ex, and his ex was yelling so loudly that I could actually make out his voice. I really like my cube neighbor, and I thought he MIGHT be gay, but I wasn't sure before. He's one of those who's hard to read.

This short week has me really thrown off. I had lunch yesterday with an old pal who, before I shared the news that I'm pregnant, thought I must've gotten a boob job -- or my "tires rotated," as he put it. I've mentioned it before, but that's the area of my body that has changed the most, and it's apparently not all in my head.

I'm supposed to be returning to the agency at the beginning of next month, but there are things in the works that might bring change. I'm actually hoping for change. It's hard to believe I've been onsite with the client for five plus months already.

I need to do some creative writing. I need to clean out my head.

It's one of those effin days. Probably has something to do with being back after a three day weekend, but really, it's a bit more than that.

I guess I'm due a bad day.