OMG, the decade is almost over!
Had you noticed that? We're practically ten years into this millennium. I mean, it wasn't all that long ago when we were told the end of the world was coming with the Y2K bug. Wonder what people did with all those Amish-type-no-electricity-required purchases. Must be a section of Craig's List devoted just to that stuff.
I'd tell you lots of deep, pithy lessons I've learned in the past nine years, but I'm nursing and my brain is still addled from the pregnancy hormones. So I'll tell you a couple of things I learned in this six weeks postpartum:
-- Doctors and books say "it's difficult to spot jaundice in babies of color." Well, duh! The hospital pediatrician showed me this neat, painless trick to figure it out.
Press the baby's skin briefly with your finger to watch the skin color change. (Like if you've been sunburned, and you press the reddened skin to see it turn white and then go back to red.) If the "white" looks yellowish, the baby has jaundice.
-- Fenugreek is quite the versatile herb. It's mostly recommended to boost milk production when you're nursing. It can also increase the effectiveness of diabetes medications (talk to your doctor before trying it, serious potential consequences). But DON'T TAKE IT WITHOUT FOOD. Um, it can have "a mild laxative effect."
As for 2010 -- wouldn't it be a trip if a monolith showed up that year? -- I'm looking forward to the next release of U.S. Census information. Currently, the most recent census available to genealogy researchers is the 1930 census. The reasoning is that this somewhat protects the privacy of people born after 1930, who are likely to be still alive.
And that's the closest I'll get to deep thoughts for the new year.
I'd tell you lots of deep, pithy lessons I've learned in the past nine years, but I'm nursing and my brain is still addled from the pregnancy hormones. So I'll tell you a couple of things I learned in this six weeks postpartum:
-- Doctors and books say "it's difficult to spot jaundice in babies of color." Well, duh! The hospital pediatrician showed me this neat, painless trick to figure it out.
Press the baby's skin briefly with your finger to watch the skin color change. (Like if you've been sunburned, and you press the reddened skin to see it turn white and then go back to red.) If the "white" looks yellowish, the baby has jaundice.
-- Fenugreek is quite the versatile herb. It's mostly recommended to boost milk production when you're nursing. It can also increase the effectiveness of diabetes medications (talk to your doctor before trying it, serious potential consequences). But DON'T TAKE IT WITHOUT FOOD. Um, it can have "a mild laxative effect."
As for 2010 -- wouldn't it be a trip if a monolith showed up that year? -- I'm looking forward to the next release of U.S. Census information. Currently, the most recent census available to genealogy researchers is the 1930 census. The reasoning is that this somewhat protects the privacy of people born after 1930, who are likely to be still alive.
And that's the closest I'll get to deep thoughts for the new year.
Christmas BOT
We walked over to our neighbor's house for Christmas dinner last night, and it was a wonderful antidote to my cabin fever. Food and friends were great, and TwoBoo settled down after being cranky most of the day. The Boy was mostly bored, of course, being the second-youngest guest. But then he got three M&M's, made friends with the neighbor's dog, and ran around like mad with The Husband for about 15 minutes. So he was happy.
As we got ready to leave, the Bluebird of Testosterone made a quick visit. Check out the exchange between The Husband and The Boy while zipping up The Boy's jacket:
The Husband - Do you need help?
The Boy - No thank you, I can handle anything.
As we got ready to leave, the Bluebird of Testosterone made a quick visit. Check out the exchange between The Husband and The Boy while zipping up The Boy's jacket:
The Husband - Do you need help?
The Boy - No thank you, I can handle anything.
It's a mad, mad, mad, mad...
I didn't used to understand how people could work on more than one art piece at a time, but it's clearer to me now. I have several ideas bubbling in my head, and I don't want Ideas 2 through 4 to disappear because I insisted on finishing Idea 1 before I started another.
Plus, life tends to intervene and slow down the arting. You know. Or maybe something in me wants to work under stressful conditions. Must be that "suffering for my art" crap.
Continuing work in the Fears book... I finished up this page tonight.
The gate I stamped on a transparency scrap and adhered with mini-hinges.
The lunatic asylum page is also attached with hinges.
That's all one stamp, from the dearly departed Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers Stamps. (They went out of business and sold their stamp designs to Stamp Francisco.)
I used it on paper my in-laws brought me from a Kenyan safari. I'd tell you what the paper's made from, but somebody I know would never read my blog again if I told you here. (Email me if you gotta know.)
Yes, I do love lace paper. Sue me.
Misjudged the depth the hinges would need in order for me to be able to close the book. But hey, that's what box cutters are for -- to remove the pages beyond the one I just altered!
Plus, life tends to intervene and slow down the arting. You know. Or maybe something in me wants to work under stressful conditions. Must be that "suffering for my art" crap.Continuing work in the Fears book... I finished up this page tonight.
The gate I stamped on a transparency scrap and adhered with mini-hinges.The lunatic asylum page is also attached with hinges. That's all one stamp, from the dearly departed Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers Stamps. (They went out of business and sold their stamp designs to Stamp Francisco.)I used it on paper my in-laws brought me from a Kenyan safari. I'd tell you what the paper's made from, but somebody I know would never read my blog again if I told you here. (Email me if you gotta know.)
Yes, I do love lace paper. Sue me.Misjudged the depth the hinges would need in order for me to be able to close the book. But hey, that's what box cutters are for -- to remove the pages beyond the one I just altered!