1. Do not use sharp objects to open box. Try a baseball bat.
2. Remove copious amounts of Styrofoam packaging and plastic wrap.
3. Identify all unlabeled components using 1/4 inch pictures labeled in French only.
4. Ponder inclusion of empty box clearly labeled "Empty Box".
5. Attempt to assemble chair arms using included Allen wrench 3 inches too long to fit in chair's tight joints.
6. Attempt to attach base to chair. Please note there is no actual attaching of anything to anything.
7. Discard random plastic tube that fits nowhere.
8. Perch precariously on chair to ensure base is "attached" correctly. Swivel a bit just to see if whole assembly falls apart.



See? This is what I do with my time now.

I'm 30!

Eleanor is 8 months old!

Time flies. I rarely do things I used to as, surprise, surprise, having a baby makes you life completely different. She's great though, almost crawling and just like all the other 8 month old babies in our circle of friends.

I will finish Book of Shadows. I actually have it open on the desktop right now and even wrote a conversation this morning. Still, free time is hard to find and when I do get some, I spend it doing things like taking a shower or emptying the dishwasher.

Things are good. Maybe someday I'll draw again. Or post Elanor's scribbles. One of the two.

I had my daughter by emergency c-section on January 22, 2009. She wasn't growing properly and my blood pressure spiked out of control, luckily on a day I had a doctor's appointment. They originally wanted to put me on bed rest for a week and deliver at 34 weeks but it wasn't safe to wait, so I had her the next day. It was very scary.

The good news is, we're both fine. She was tiny, tiny, tiny- 2 pounds 15 ounces. I was on serious medication for a few days in the hospital and still on one med for now to control my blood pressure. She's still in the NICU, but doing really well.

However, Eleanor is doing fantastic. She's up to 3 pounds 9 ounces and taking most of her food by bottle. She was off oxygen and the IVs within a week. She's just amazing. We hope to get to take her home soon.

So all in all, we consider ourselves very lucky.

A freaking YEAR later I update:

[link]

Anyway, it's almost finished. Yay!

Ah yes.

First, our baby is fine. We had a scare with a blood test showing a 1 in 9 chance of spina bifida but an emergency ultrasound (by which I mean a whole week earlier than scheduled, but five days after the results of the blood test) showed all is well. Thank god. There may be some other concerns but I just have to go in again next month to make sure the baby is growing all right. The kicking has begun which makes me think everything's just dandy.

We're having a GIRL! So pictures should be posted soon as soon as I decide what I want to do for her room. Eleanor Kristin in case you were curious as to her name.

And a poor stray kitty has shown up in our yard (Do I have my mom's invisible sign saying "The lady here will feed you?" Possibly so.) All I had was leftover chicken but he did come back for it. Perhaps I shall pick up kitty food after the gym tomorrow. Poor thing is so very skinny and it's getting cold.