Urban Drool

I’m still here.

I didn’t get the BIG ONE, or rather, I might be offered the BIG ONE but it won’t matter because what they are willing to pay me is $14,000 less per year than what I am earning now, and as we all know, I am barley making it month to month on what I earn now.

However, gentle readers, all is not lost. I had one telephone interview and 2 real-life in person interviews with a (yes, I know) mid-sized law firm that seemed to go well enough that the office manager has begun salary negotiations and asking questions about what I would require in terms of health coverage. It goes without saying that I am hoping against hope against hope that I nail this one. I seriously need out of this joint.

AND!! AND AND!! I went to an excellent information night at my alma mater to discuss how many years of my life and how many heard-earned dollars I will have to sacrifice to get my teacher’s license.


Answers: 1) about 3 and a half
And
2) um, a whole lot


I was very excited, nonetheless and will begin some of my coursework THIS FALL. Am very much looking forward to, thank you so very much. (Plus? My Juris Doctorate counts as a Master’s Degree – which is required to teach at public schools in my state -- at least, according to the State of Ohio Department of Education)

OH! AND ALSO AND I FORGOT TO MENTION THIS ONE BECAUSE I REALLY AM A COWARDLY WUSSY GIRL –

So, around about this past December it occurred tome that March of 2007 would mark the one year anniversary since a licensed medical professional examined the inner workings of my hoo-hoo. Remembering my midwife’s delicate and tactful parting words to me (to whit, “No midwife or standard OB will touch you with a 25 foot pole from now on. Best to go with a Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist”) I made an appointment for this month with a MFM who delivers at the hospital where Lucy was born.

I was so nervous and out of sorts and full of angst about the whole thing that I almost “forgot” to go. It literally took the Boy’s prodding and constant “Hey! You’re already 25 minutes late!!” and pushing me to my car etc to actually get me there.

I shouldn’t have been so flipped out though. It turns out this dude is a really nice guy. 50ish, white, male, slightly nerdy, nice glasses, very nice demeanor. Answered all my questions, asked me several of his own. Explained all possible options. Was extremely gentle during the exam.

Bottom line?

1) My midwives did nothing overtly “wrong” during the course of my pregnancy, labor and delivery, but there are several things that he would have done differently.
2) I am overall very healthy, but my PCOS and borderline Gestational Diabetes I had with Lucy means that I am very likely to have very large babies again
3) The scaring and number of layers of sutures in my uterus means that I am NOT 100% denied from attempting a VBAC with any future pregnancy, but he would want to “further discuss the risks and benefits involved with both me and my husband” when the time is right (i.e. when said future pregnancy is actually achieved)
4) My orders for the next year are thus: wean the baby (I am about 95% of the way there), go back on Yasmin, continue to eat a largely diabetic diet, come back in March of 08 for another exam and at that point we will discontinue Yasmin, begin with the Metformin and see if the Boy and I can manage to create a sibling for our little Zeus.

All in all, it’s been a very productive and largely positive month.

Admittedly, my writing is growing more dry and informative and less entertaining and therapeutic with every passing post. I am seriously thinking of quitting the blogging world for while. Any thoughts?

Kisses and Cheers.

With all the gripping and complaining about my job, I don’t know if I have ever really specified what it is that I do.

I am a Legal Assistant in a small law firm that specializes in immigration and naturalization law. My specific role at the office is primarily on the preparation and filing of professional visas and permanent resident applications for folks who are being sponsored by their employer. A large majority of our clients are scientists and medical personnel from area hospitals.

Including the hospital where I had Lucy.

I have worked on dozens of applications for doctors who work at that hospital. Every time I do, there is a little part of me that stares at their name on the file and wonders “where you there that day? There were so many doctors and nurses and specialists in the room, where you one of the people who saved me and saved my uterus?”

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Something really, really, REALLY REALLY good might happen to me soon. If it happens, I will be over the moon. If it doesn’t happen, I will be more crushed than I have been in a long time, which is to say, pretty fucking crushed.

I am notoriously superstitious. I hate walking near ladders for fear that I might accidentally walk underneath it. I carry a little hunk of streaked polished jade around in my pocket on really important days or whenever I take a test. If I spill salt, I always throw some of it over my left shoulder before I clean it up. If I am walking along and notice a coin TAILS SIDE UP I turn it over so that it’s heads up and walk away (that’s good juju, in case you didn’t know. It allows someone else to pick up the now “lucky” coin and get the good luck themselves, which in turn, will bring good luck to you for being such a generous person).

Silly? Absolutely. But, it doesn’t hurt anything and it brings me a wee bit of comfort so there you go.

Anyway, I bring this up to explain why I’m not really talking about it. I am afraid that if I talk about it too much than I won’t get it. Like…fate will punish me for assuming that I deserve it by taking it away from me.

Heh.

Let’s leave it at this: there might be a position opening at a place that would be perfect in every. single. way. for me to work at. They say they want to talk to me. We are trying to set up a time to meet.

That’s it.

I have already screwed myself by building this up in my mind about how WONDERFUL it would be. I have already planned out, in my head, how long it would take me to drive there, how much more time with the baby I would have and where I would get take out for my lunches.

Sigh.

I know, I’m completely fucked now, right? Shouldn’t even have brought it up.

I’ll keep you guys posted. Win or Lose this one, I’ll let ya know.



“You take what you've learned from this life and use it in the next. That's karma.”
”I thought karma was I do something bad in this life and I'm a termite in the next.”
”Hey, if you ask me, pal, you're already a termite in this life in a shitty suit, OK?”


“It’s the Karma Credit Plan, buy now, pay forever”


“Well I, for one, am v-v-very interested to see w-w-what's going to happen next.”



C’mon guys, what totally awesome movie are the above quotes from? Winner gets….I dunno…to say that they’re the winner.

I am a mom like ANY other mom in that, once that kid arrived, everything else, including myself, went right out the window. I had seen this scenario countless times with new moms and I would always think to myself “now, look at how shabby and frumpy she is! Why can’t she just take 5 minutes and a little bit of money and treat herself? She is really neglecting herself and she works so hard! She deserves a little something!”

I was such a schmoo. Just like all things, where you never really know what it’s like to be someone else until you have walked a mile in their shoes, I am now that frumpy, half-put together mom who totally neglects herself. Time being so limited and funds being so very, very tight, everything goes to the baby and basic household needs…and now the Boy and I are planning a huge addition to our house. This addition is badly needed, and when I say badly needed, I don’t mean “Oh, wouldn’t it be nice to have some more space for storage and a room for entertaining, etc.” I mean “That baby has been sleeping in our bedroom since the day she was born because it is the only bedroom in the house and gee I think it’s time a second bedroom and second bathroom were added on and we should probably do something about the utility room that is sinking into the backyard and making a great home for those raccoons that burrowed under there last spring!”

So, the addition is badly needed and has to be done. That means that there is going to be even less “play money” than before. So I thought it would be fun to truly torture myself and make a list of all the unnecessary but still really yummy nice things that I really want but cannot allow myself to buy.

Lumi’s wish list:

New pair of black boots (the kind I can wear to work or out at night…not the kind for tromping through endless drifts of Cleveland’s lake effect snow) (estimated price = $40)

Shampoo and Conditioner that is NOT Suave or White Rain and will NOT dry out my hair so that it’s the consistency of straw (and thus, costs more than $1.49 a bottle) (estimated price = $35)

The $68 gift starter set of Philosophy face care products from Sephora (thank you Amalah and your Advice Smackdown for making me dream of lovely girly products that I would love to have but cannot really afford!) (estimated price = $68)

A matching set of shower gel, body lotion and perfume spray of “Pure Seduction” from Victoria Secret. Serioulsy, I met this wonderful lady over the weekend and she smelled so amazing that I had to ask her what she was wearing. (estimated price = $25)

As since we’re at V.S., I would like to point out that I have worn the same two nursing bras since this past May. That would be May of 2006. And since a certain little someone is being weaned off my chewed up, size of a quarter nipples, I think the occasion calls for a couple new bras that don’t make my boobs hang down around my belly button. (estimated price = $80)

The starter set of makeup from Bare Essentials. I have wanted some of this makeup for almost a year now. Covet, covet, covet!! (estimated price = $50)

A pretty new bag. The Boy got me a great bag from a little arty boutique in our neighborhood, and it totally got me addicted. Now I would love a cute new bag for every flipping day of the week. (or at least an alternate so that I can give my one and only bag a day off now and then!)

A trim and shape up and split end removal treatment from Lance (remember him?) (estimated price = $55)

A manicure and pedicure (estimated price $60)

A HUGE bottle of Curel to help my poor skin, which was really and truly neglected this winter and thus has the feel of your average alligator. There are patches of my skin that are so dry and cracked that it resembles a drought-stricken Texas plain. Seriously. (estimated price = $10)  OK, so maybe this one is not so unreasonable and potentially do-able.

The deluxe set of TTapp exercise DVDs to get my fat ass in gear and in shape for my wonderful, dear, sweet friend’s wedding in December. I was honored when she asked me to be a bridesmaid and I am DETERMINED to look amazing for her big day. So, I got 8 months to drop 40 pounds and 4 dress sizes. (estimated price = $115)

Grand total? $558.

Wow.

Do you know what I could do with $558? That’s 3 weeks of daycare for Lucy. That’s 2 months of heating bills. That’s 6 months of our Dish Network TV service. That’s 225 gallons of organic whole milk for Lucy. That’s two months of student loan payments. That's a million billion diapers!

That’s also the price of a huge amount of pampering and an all-around self-esteem booster for me. Hmm…

So, that’s my list. I would actually love to know what you guys would put on your list. So, pretty please leave a comment and tell me what you would splurge on yourself if you had the time/money/freedom to do so.