51 Days!

In about 50 days we'll meet our son! He is scheduled to arrive on my Dad's birthday, June 11. But you never know about due dates... they tend to shift and change depending on the baby's development. Also, we have a very large, healthy boy on our hands. He's about a week ahead in development so the chances of him arriving early are very high. I guess we'll see. In the meantime, we're preparing as best we can and getting his nursery ready. Since my hubby is a fireman, the nursery is a fire truck theme and it's coming together quite nicely!

We're still on the fence about names. I sort of envy those who have already chosen names for their future children and know exactly what they plan to name them. That is so not M and me. I guess we'll have to wait and see on that one, too.

Here's the funny part about this pregnancy: our doctor was featured on an episode of "16 and Pregnant." In December, I was flipping channels and landed on MTV. I heard a girl say that she lived in McKinney, TX and that her relatives in Harlingen, TX were going to adopt her baby. Since it had a local connection to me, I continued watching. Much to my surprise, when the teen went into labor and the doctor came in, it was MY doctor! The hubby and I were totally surprised to see him! So if you happen to catch Ashley's episode of "16 and Pregnant" you will see my doctor and have a much too personal look at what I'll be going through in about 7 weeks.

Here is a pic of our little guy at 31 weeks:

Three is a Magic Number

After five years of dating, M and I eloped! We had been discussing it for a while and knew that a big wedding was not the way to go for us. Not my style. Fortunately, not M's style, either. So we told our family to meet us at a beautiful chapel in Austin on a sunny fall afternoon. We exchanged vows in front of our parents, siblings, nieces and nephews. It was perfect.

Granted, they were absolutely shocked when we told them they were invited to our elopement. The rest of our family/friends were equally shocked when we informed them (mostly via text-message and Facebook after the ceremony) that we had tied the knot! But they were all excited and happy for us.

As for M and I, we are excited about our life together and we're starting a family. Our son is due in June 2011! M truly is the love of my life and I am eternally grateful that I was blessed with him. There simply are not many men like him and I'm blissfully happy knowing that he's mine and the father of my child.

Nosy, Rude Or Both?

I recently bumped into someone I've known for a while. I don't see her too often but when we do see each other, it's usually not planned and a real "bump in" situation. Every time she sees me, she asks about M but not in a nice way. It's always a steady stream of questions that go something like this - all in ONE breath:

"Hey, C! How are you? How's M? Did he pop the question? Are you getting married? Do you discuss marriage? How long has it been now? Shouldn't you be concerned about having babies?"

Then she just pauses and waits for me to answer. I usually give her a puzzled smile because I honestly do not know which question I should answer first as she asked 7 rapid fire questions without giving me an opportunity to answer even one of them. On this most recent "bump in" I responded with, "Why don't you ever ask if we're happy?" She seemed stunned and made a quick excuse to get out of the situation. I don't understand why certain married people find it necessary to badger single people about not being married. It's not like I go around asking married people why they aren't divorced yet.

Perhaps those married people are unhappy and want someone to commiserate with. Perhaps they find marriage to be a drag and want someone else to be in that club with them. Like when you're eating something that tastes bad and you say to the person sitting next to you, "Taste this, it's awful!"

Or maybe they are just concerned. A lot of people in our society believe there's something "wrong" with people who are not married and don't have kids by a certain age. My friend C, who is more like family, recently spoke to a man in San Antonio, TX who chided her and all "career women" for not putting marriage and kids as the top priority in life. And yet, he himself was divorced.

Are they nosy? Are they rude? Is it a little bit of both? I call it rude. And as I told my friend C, she should have kindly reminded that stupid man that it's two thousand and f'ing TEN, not 1910. It's not even 1950:




( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deCHQdZuXog )

5 Things CC Taught Me

1. Red lights are optional in Corpus Christi. If you’re at a red light and no one is coming, you can just go on through the intersection. That annoying red light is more like an illuminated stop sign. I actually felt weird for staying at the red light while waiting for it to turn green. I simply could not bring myself to run it.

2. The only Mexican bakery in CC that still does pink cake correctly is the Michoacán. There are new variations of pink cake that I’ve found at different Mexican bakeries all over Texas. But, luckily, the original can still be found in CC. If you spot original pink cake in your neck of the woods, you must tell me.

3. Santa Selena (Saint Selena) is real if you believe. She is like the Santa Claus of Corpus Christ. Her grave is a regular spot for locals and tourists to visit. By the way, her grave is creepy and I won’t apologize for saying that. Her memorial statue is equally popular but a little less creepy. And people still jam out to her music, paint murals of her all over the city and I know someone who carries a pic of her in his wallet.

4. If you’re into people watching, you should hit up the Saratoga Bingo Hall. I went twice and will continue to go there. It’s as good as airport people watching! They bust out their lucky charms and have an entire gaming system that fascinates me. Have I ever won money from that bingo hall? No. Have I ever laughed so much I cried there? Hell-to-the-yes!

5. Pack your fat pants. Like New Orleans, you will eat. A LOT. This city has some of the best Mexican food (not necessarily Tex-Mex) and you just can’t help yourself. It’s the same with the pink cake; you won't be able to say no. But, most importantly, they have HEB Plus which is the most awesome grocery store in America. You’ll go in there and buy things just because you can. And why shouldn’t you?

5 Things NOLA Taught Me

1. Traveling to New Orleans, LA by car could mean hours added to your road trip. Especially if there is something going on, like a football game or a concert. We happened to be going there when the Cowboys played the Saints. The traffic was a nightmare and most of them were Saints fans who lived outside of NOLA. Good thing I wasn’t in my car with my Cowboys antenna ball. And I guess it was a good thing we didn't go to the game because the Cowboys won and we were probably their only fans in NOLA.

2. Café du Monde is always packed... except maybe when the Saints are playing. The café is typically overflowing with people but we walked right in and seated ourselves. The game was in the 4th quarter and the café was dead. There was only one other couple in the café and they looked like they just arrived from the set of Gilligan’s Island. Seriously, they were eerily similar to this. But I have to say that those little beignets are worth the wait and live up to the hype. AMAZING!

3. You can and should walk around with your adult beverage. You can buy wine, cocktails and other adult beverages just about everywhere including pharmacies, gas stations and small “walk ups.” (Imagine a hot dog vendor or snow cone stand that sells only mixed drinks.) As long as your beverage of choice is NOT in a glass container, you’re able to take it with you as you go; even from bar to bar.

4. A bicycle is the best way to see the city. We went on a bike tour with the Confederacy of Cruisers (named after the novel A Confederacy of Dunces about NOLA). It was AWESOME. We cruised through quiet neighborhoods and got a taste of the true Big Easy. Our tour guide rocked and it was my favorite part of the trip. But do it sober; it may be the Big Easy but you still can’t drink and drive.

5. Pack your fat pants. You will eat. And eat. And eat some more. This city has a wide range of restaurants that go from street carts to upscale dining and they’re all outstanding. You will try to restrain yourself but trust me, it will be for naught. Just open up your trap and give in. You will thank me later.

Word.

Today I heard some people talking about going out to lunch and burritos came up as an option. Chipotle was their winner but they didn’t pronounce it correctly. It came out as ‘chip-pole-tee’ and the correct pronunciation is 'chip-oat-lay.' Ugh.

Last month, I was at a Christmas party and I heard this woman talking to some children about Santa Claus. Only, she pronounced it as ‘san-tee’ instead of ‘san-tuh.’ Sigh.

This season on Top Chef, I noticed several of the contestants prepared ceviche. Only, they didn’t pronounce it correctly. They said ‘suh-veech’ instead of ‘seh-veech-eh.’ Groan.

And those are just the ones off the top of my head. There are more out there, I’m sure of it! What I am not sure of is why I am bothered by the way people mispronounce certain words. Perhaps it is linked to people calling me by the wrong name on a daily basis. I’ve been called Carla, Clarissa, Claire, Clarice and several other variations of the name Clara. Several of my coworkers, who have known me over 7 years, still don’t get it right.

Either way, there is just no excuse for saying “supposeBly” when the word is clearly spelled s-u-p-p-o-s-e-D-l-y.

Yes, Viginia, There Is A Rule About Drinking At Graduation

I graduated on Dec. 19 with my second Master's degree. It was a chilly day in Beaumont, TX and I rushed to get into the auditorium. We were divided into rooms based on the degree you were receiving and your last name. In my room, we had a lot of no-shows so we all just kinda sat around and talked.

As we were lining up, a woman came rushing in. She was running late and made it just in time. Her hair was all the way to her knees and she was carrying a wrinkled graduation gown and chugging a cold bottled coffee.

It turns out this long haired woman, Virginia, was full on drunk. At 9:30 a.m. Turns out that Starbucks drink was not just coffee. Virginia proceeded to tell us, in great detail, stories of her family, her stresses through grad school and other personal problems.

As luck would have it, Virginia sat next to me at the graduation. Our last names are not even close in the alphabet, but because of all the no-shows, she was my neighbor. The ceremony was in the opening phase when Virginia pulled up her graduation gown, hiked up her skirt and pulled a cell phone out of her thigh-highs. We were strictly told not take cell phones, but Virginia found a way.

It was time to go across the stage. (By the way, M got it on video and will post it soon.) As we were waiting in line to go across, some of our professors were sitting near the line. They were shaking the hands of the graduates and giving us a, "Congratulations!" as we walked by. But not Virginia. She reached over and did a full on hug. The kind of hug you get from a drunk relative at Christmas. And she didn't just hug one professor, she hugged them all- even the ones that were not from the education department.

Needless to say, Virgina made that graduation the funniest one yet... and thankfully, I do have a basis for comparison. There were other ceremonies that were more sentimental, like the first Master's where I sat next to one of my sweetest friends. Or my Bachelor's graduation when my brother yelled, "Way to go Munchkin" and everyone laughed. But this one, with drunk Virginia, was the funniest. Thanks, Virginia!

After the ceremony, I joined my family and M for lunch. The graduation was actually really short and didn't last all afternoon like some ceremonies. During lunch, I told my family about Virginia and we all laughed. I couldn't help but wonder what Virginia was having for lunch.