Last week was the long-awaited Death Cab for Cutie concert at The Fox! It was a very good show. They’re currently touring with the Magik*Magik Orchestra.

We went with Adan (aka Flan) and my friend Laura. Good times, good times. The opening act, Youth Lagoon, was just ok. A little whine-y – plus, the guy was like 12 and it was weird as opposed to impressive.  Ha.

I was happy to note that Ben Gibbard sounds just as good live as he does on the albums, and though a mellow style of music, the show was fun. So happy when they played ‘A Movie Script Ending’, but bummed that ‘Brothers on a Hotel Bed’ didn’t make the set list.  Phooey!

In other news, my adorable son is growing up ridiculously fast. Look at this:

Also, I don’t know how I am going to make do without ‘House’. Crying ridiculous amounts the past few episodes. One episode left.  One word: Oreos.

I’ve got a book post coming up, but before I delve into my literary adventures, there have been goings-on in other media. I’ll make it snappy, since I have reached critical mass in the need for sleep. It’s kind of ridiculous how little sleep I’ve had in the past two weeks (hence the eerie silence on this here blog).

Last week ‘House’ creators announced that this is the final season – and I actually teared up. What will I do without Dr House??

I’ve decided this will give Hugh more free time to play the piano (for me), eat good food (with me) and read novels aloud in his natural English accent (to me). You know, ’cause obviously he’s coming straight to the Napa Valley after his show ends.

Sunday night (19th) the Season Finale of Downton Abbey airs. GAHH! Too short! This show needs to be moved from mini-series to regular series, so there are more episodes to devour!

OH MY GOD, ANNA AND BATES. I don’t want to ruin ‘Downton Abbey’ for anyone…but last week’s episode had many awesome moments. That’s all I’ll say.

Lord Grantham is officially ‘On Notice’, and hopefully I will not have to move him to the ‘Dead to Me’ board a la Stephen Colbert.

Also, can someone please make me look like this? Lady Mary is so lovely I bet she sleeps on a cloud and bathes in milk.

On the music front, tickets to the Death Cab for Cutie concert have been purchased! I am thrilled to see them perform. I started listening with the ‘forbidden love’ EP back in high school, and I’ve NEVER been able to catch them live before;  the tickets usually sell out before I can get to them – but this time I got onto Ticketmaster on a break at work as soon as they went onsale.

Marco and I have been having dance parties in the car on the way home from work and daycare; I’ll crank out a tune and he shakes his groove-thang in his carseat. Lately, he loves The Black Keys’ “Gold on the Ceiling”.

I’m excited to finally see ‘The Artist’! It finally arrives at the Cameo this weekend. Sour Patch Kids and Milk Duds will be consumed. What? It’s dinner.

…AND YET!!

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!? I was so close to Hugh! Probably the closest I’ll ever get…for now. Just kidding, Timmy!!

I did have to throw an elbow to get this close. I wish I’d brought my DSLR and the zoom lens, so I could get even CLOSER photographs! Phooey.

Saturday’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass was 5 kinds of fun.

Marco’s first music festival! It was awesome! He was the cutest boy there.

Dude! Fried pickles with Sriracha sauce! Sooo good.

Marco just loves banjos.

Gillian Welch was great; some of you may know her voice from The Decemberist’s latest ‘The King is Dead’, or from the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack. Anyway, her voice carried over the park, and even from our position we could enjoy.

Next festival: I’m wearing makeup. I LOOK LIKE A GHOST.

The evening kind of ended badly, with Tim, Marco, and I walking across the entire city to get to our car (towed). No lie. Golden Gate Park to Mission Street next to the Bay Bridge. But…even that couldn’t exactly bring me down. LOL

 But also…yesssssssssssss!!

Lookie what I FINALLY got in the mail (happy birthday to meeee!)

I’m a little concerned over the rumours flying all over the interwebs about changes made to the movies, and am keeping my fingers crossed that Yoda still looks like the Yoda I love on VHS (yep, still got ‘em), only slightly less grainy. I know that you live in Northern California, George!! *shakes fist*

I can’t wait to watch this with Marco!

And people say nothing good ever comes in the mail.

I love the post office. My local branch has the nicest people ever! They smile whenever they see me, ask me how work is going (they remembered that I got promoted), and always tell me to have a beautiful day.

How can you hate it? Plus, they have stamps! I love stamps. Yes, I am a nerd. This is not news, readers. But I actually use my stamps, thankyouverymuch. I’m not one of those weird collectors. one day i’ll be rich and have books of stamps okay

I was geeking out at the Post Office when I saw these, and they are currently in use for my outgoing mail:

{poor NASA.}

The new Pixar stamps might be purchased soon:

Further nerd news: WTF Netflix?! So disappointed in you.

OK, I need to talk about something that will up my cool quotient…

 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is just a week and a half away!  OMG OMG OMG. HUGH LAURIE!!!!!!! I might faint.

Whoops. That didn’t help. LOL

Alright….

I am really looking forward for Hugh Laurie’s blues album:

This should be an interesting album; I’ve never been a big blues fan (the occasional B.B King aside), but I know Hugh is a talented musician (is there anything he can’t do!?), so I will most definitely give it a whirl.

I’m so glad the week has ended. It’s been so hectic and occasionally unpleasant – but some weeks are just like that, I guess!

Roux went missing earlier this week, and it was awful!! Stabler cried all over the house (seriously – for HOURS), and Chloe wandered in confusion. Luckily, though, she is home safe and I’ve kissed her little nose a million times.

I think I may have strained something in my shoulder, and, as I can’t think of any other reason (no work outs lately) I’m blaming Marco’s increasing weight. I have the hardest time trying to carry him in his car seat!

In happier news… my other hubby has been nominated for a Golden Globe AND a SAG award. I hope he wins!!

I’m finishing up Crime and Punishment by Fydor Dostoevsky, and I LOVE IT! It is so beautifully written, and thoroughly examines man’s morality and madness. The names get confusing (lots of ‘k’s and ‘y’s) but once you get them straight, the English translation is perfect. I may read The Brothers Karamazov next.

This weekend we’ll be visiting with the Gomers, and I’m hoping to get in some ‘me’ time on Sunday. Need to do a bit of Christmas shopping! I can’t believe that Christmas is next week. I haven’t even started wrapping gifts; my tree looks almost naked.

Off to give Roux another smooch.

XOXOXO

My birthday is only 1 month away (I’m turning 26)!

I love making wishlists, so here’s my birthday list:

One of the best British comedies! I was already a Hugh Laurie devotee, but I fell in love with Stephen Fry because of this awesome series, which is based on the hilarious ‘Jeeves’ stories by P.G. Wodehouse.

I love the black Converse slip ons that I purchased a few months back; but these are a bit girlier.

Found this on Etsy several months ago. A beautiful handmade journal with a bit of one of my favorite Sonnets!

Awesome color, and a classic sneaker.

We have a winner!! Balenciaga Paris has received the seal of approval from Tim. I love this scent. Wearing it made me feel elegant and bohemian at the same time; very European. All I had was a teeny sample to apply to my wrists and neck, though. I need a bottle!

I have the 3G, and it’s served me well over the past two years. My contract is officially up, and for now I will not renew unless I get the iPhone 4 (I’m just riding it out on monthly terms). I want FaceTime! There are, of course, rumours that AT&T is losing its exclusivity contract, and Verizon may have a CDMA iPhone – if that happens, I may wish to switch to Verizon. BUT, it wouldn’t happen until January 2011, and I don’t know what Verizon’s monthly price would be for service.

More vinyl records! I have a very small collection, and would love to expand it. I just pre-ordered Jimmy Eat World’s new album, ‘Invented’ on vinyl, and am very excited for it’s arrival; unfortunately, it won’t ship out until September 28th.

The questions..

1. Are you superstitious? There are some silly things that I do, I guess: I keep my fingers crossed when I drive by a cemetery, I try not to walk under ladders (though that’s just common sense – what if it collapses!?), and if I spill salt then I throw it over my left shoulder. But, I don’t worry about black cats (in fact, my next cat will either be all black or a ginger) and I would never carry around a rabbit’s foot.

2. If you were an animal..what kind would you be? I have no idea which animal I’d most likely be, but the animal I’d most LIKE to be would be a housecat; namely, Stabler. He’s got food, water and all the attention and belly rubs he wants. He’s got toys (OMG boxes!) and can spend a good hour tracking a fly like it’s Public Enemy No. 1. Stabler is ridiculously adorable, and is guaranteed a kitty treat or bit of milk if he hops into my arms like he’s hugging me, and purrs loudly.

3. You would never catch me wearing………? Ugg boots or sweatpants (yoga pants around the house, sure. Actual sweatpants?! Eww), a skirt with ankle leggings (too 80′s), ‘Mom’ jeans. Basically, you’ll never catch me in anything ugly.

4. If someone posts a VLOG..do you watch it? If it’s a blogger that I follow, and the topic is interesting.

5. Have you ever waxed your girlie/manly parts..or any other part of your body? Eyebrows and lady parts. The last is too painful.

6. Are you a spender or a saver? I suppose I’m a spender. I’m not great at saving money for a rainy day, but I am good at keeping costs down while I spend – using coupons, discount cards, and shopping around to find a better price on things I need.

7. If you were starring in a movie..who would you want to play your leading man/woman? Hugh Laurie, because he’s a fantastic talent (and I adore him); or Taye Diggs, because he’s delicious, like Mmmmm. If it was to be a woman, I’d want Cate Blanchett, because she’s so beautiful I could cry.

8. Smoker..never smoked..social smoker..or smoked back in the day? Tried a cigarette once. Coughed. End of smoking relationship.

Another weekend marked with a hospital visit!

Yesterday morning I had an appointment scheduled at the OB office. They took another fetal fibronectin test, and checked everything to make sure I wasn’t dilating or effacing (I wasn’t). My OB office closes at noon on Fridays, so Sue said she’d have someone from the hospital call me with the results of the test when they came in. She wants me to stay off my feet as much as possible, but did mention that if I’ve had a day with slow/light contractions and am really going nuts, I can go out to get some dinner, or go to a movie. PHEW! A reprieve!

So, I waited all day for the phone call. I was feeling pain in my lower regions and the contractions were really hurting. I was sitting or lying down for most of the day, with the exception of the time spent on the caramels (which involved a lot of sitting and waiting for it to cook down anyway). Tim arrived home at 6:30, and finally my phone rang.  I was told that the test came back negative, which was a relief. However, then the doctor asked about my contractions and when I explained how I was feeling, she asked me to come into the hospital to be monitored.  The contractions weren’t too frequent but they were REALLY strong. I was very annoyed at having to go back in, especially because Tim had a migraine and I wanted him to rest and relax.

We arrived at the hospital at about 7pm, and they hooked me up to the monitor. I was only there for fifteen minutes before they saw how strong the contractions were, and immediately they decided to give me a shot of terbutaline, which works faster than the Procardia. I’d had some the first time I went to the hospital. It makes you REALLY jittery, like you’ve had way too much caffeine to compensate for an all-nighter. It slowed my contractions, but they wanted to keep watching me for awhile. They did some other tests/cultures and a quick ultrasound to check on Marco. He’s perfectly healthy, but they commented on how low he was sitting again, and apparently they don’t like it much. :/ ME EITHER!  Tim and I were starving at this point (it was 8:30pm), so the nurse brought me some tomato soup, and Tim raided the vending machines (cafeteria closed at 6:30pm, worse luck).  I don’t think the frozen chimichanga and bagel dog he scarfed down was exactly good for his tummy, but he enjoyed his purchases. We watched some episodes of ‘House’ and I tried to imagine that Hugh was my doctor. I swear I’d be a verryyy cooperative patient…

Marco’s position is the cause of all the stabbing pain lower down, so I have no option but to just deal with it. They were going to keep me there overnight, since I was still having some small contractions; but Tim was in bad shape and I convinced them I’d sleep much better in my own bed. Luckily, they decided it was alright for me to go home, but they gave me one Procardia to take if the contractions picked up again. My doctor is going to call in a prescription of it to my pharmacy, and I will take one every 4-6 hours if my contractions get up to 4 or more per hour. Tim and I finally got home at 11pm and we went to bed (but not before snacking on a few more sea salt caramels, tee hee). It took me a long time to fall asleep, but finally sometime after midnight I made it into dreamland.

Unfortunately, I’ve been awake since 5:30am. I was really hoping to get a good night’s sleep, but it was not to be. Timmy is still sleeping and I hope that he is feeling much better.

I just have to make it a little less than 3 weeks and Marco can be born safely. Come on, dude! My uterus is clearly confused (Micaela officially coined the term ‘confuterus’ for me) about the stage of pregnancy I’m in; fortunately, my cervix is not responding. Hope it stays that way for the next few weeks!

At any given time, I’ll have about 40 different topics swirling around in my head, all vying for prime space in my brain’s receptors. All this jostling and shoving around can sometimes throw the important stuff into the background where it may remain for several hours, or even several days! This is one of the reasons I enjoy lists. I make lists for almost everything. Groceries needed, household chores needing to be done, books I’ve read, books to be read, people I’m not speaking to (KIDDING! Although, Stephen Colbert’s ‘On Notice’ board isn’t a bad idea — I’m looking at YOU, mean woman from a certain winery!!)… Anyway, this blog post is going to be a little like one of my lists. Slightly random and probably completely unhelpful to anyone other than myself.

-Tim is the loveliest husband. Example: He removed the chipped nail polish from my toes the other day because I couldn’t reach them very easily, and he HATES the smell of polish remover. He offered to help me paint them too, but I was kind and told him I’d keep them plain for now.  Further cementing his place in the ‘Awesome’ category: when we take showers, he always angles the shower head around my back so that the warmth can get through to my muscles; he runs out to get me veggie sandwiches even when he’s tired (and I don’t even have to ask!), and he not only tolerates my fussiness over picking the right shoe for the outfit – he’ll go through my stacks of shoe boxes and offer ideas (and funny justifications for polka dot espadrilles!) when I’m frazzled!  Tim’s also a faithful reader of my blog (how sweet is that!?) and I know this post will make him blush a lot little – sorry, hubby!

-I’m really having fun with this Richard Doyle’s FairyLand coloring book. I grabbed some colored pencils and am enjoying picking out my colors for each character and shape. I also have this coloring book arriving today or tomorrow from Amazon, and I’m looking forward to shaving off a few hours of my day with some scribbles.

-Haven’t seen anything more hilarious/oddly adorable than Hugh Laurie saying the word ‘Ba-donka-donk’ in his charming British accent. Check it out at the 1:59 mark

-Just finished reading The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff.  Also, Tim and I are finishing up Season 1 of ‘Mad Men’. What do they have in common? They’ve both got me thinking about how far women have come, in terms of our place in society. Do we still have far to go? Of course – we’re leaps and bounds away from true equal footing with men. BUT, in consideration of where we’ve been, I think it’s fair to say that our roles in the lives of our husbands/boyfriends/lovers have grown into real partnerships; and, I do also think it’s fair to say that some (NOT ALL) of the ‘imbalances’ today are probably more our own fault than we women would like to admit. One more note about Tim – bear with me! – watching ‘Mad Men’ has made him positively indignant about the way the men in the show treat their female co-workers and wives. I love him even more when he goes on a rant about it.

-Tomorrow I have another appointment at the OB office (2 in one week!). I’m having another fetal fibronectin test, and the unfortunate news is that I think the labwork has to be sent out, so I may not find out the results until next week.

-Need to remind Tim to pick up more Pink Lady apples. I <3 them.

-I’m really excited to see the pictures from our maternity photo session. The shoot was yesterday evening, (yes, I know I’m supposed to stay at home; but I wanted to make sure we had this done BEFORE Marco showed up!) and our photographer, Suzanne Becker Bronk, was great!  There was a little bit of a rough spot when a winery worker yelled at us for being on the property after hours (the gates were still open and it hadn’t quite closed yet when we arrived), and then drove down the road and proceeded to LOCK US IN. She saw that I was pregnant, knew we’d arrived on foot, and even after speaking to us she still locked us in. The three of us had to climb over a few rocks and onto a bridge (with a small creek below) in order to get back out to our cars. Apparently the woman couldn’t wait the 5 minutes for us to walk to the gate behind her truck. I was wearing 4 1/2″ heels, for cryin’ out loud! Don’t worry, they were one of my most comfortable heels – but she couldn’t have known that!

-I’m becoming more and more excited about my baby showers – and a lot of that has to do with the all the yummy food that’s set to appear. Is that sad? Probably. Will I be stuffing my face? OH YES.

I told you my grey matter was disorganized!