Red Pencil Diaries

On Saturday, I started feeling sniffly... by Sunday, I had a sore throat... Sunday night... full blown cold ick. Yesterday, Dave stayed home to help take care of Zack. Zack is kinda sniffly too. Then today, Dave woke up with the sniffles... so he stayed home. I haven''t been sick like this in awhile. I''ve felt so tired... can''t sleep at night b/c I can''t breathe well. But today I''m feeling much better. I actually went to the grocery for a bit. And I can breathe now.
Zack has started eating baby food this week. We''ve started with green beans. He seems to like them, although his appetite hasn''t been as big lately with the icky sniffles. But today he ate nearly an entire container of mushy green beans for Dave. He''s also eating oatmeal for breakfast and right before bedtime. And he''s found his voice... he squeals and yelps all the time... louder and louder and louder... just to hear himself "talk." So cute.

When I was growing up, I had a friend who was both annoying and great fun. Sometimes, I think I was her only friend. She had a rough childhood--her mom and dad divorced when she was young, her mom worked all the time, she stayed home and practically raised her sister. Her mom used to hit her and throw things at her (I witnessed several fights where things were thrown--namely shoes). In middle school, we were nearly inseperable. We dressed alike, and swooned over Duran Duran, and had sleep overs nearly every weekend. We had other friends, too... and through the years we''d often drift apart and then find each other again and be best friends. We even went to our senior prom together. So when she disappeared from my life back in 1997, I just figured I''d eventually see her again. Sadly, several years later, her sister called to tell me she had died. A strange and mysterious gun shot wound that she survived, only to die later in the hospital due to "complications". When we went to the Duran Duran concert on Sunday, we made a toast to her at dinner. And I couldn''t help but see moments in the concert where I knew if she''d been there with us, she''d be screaming and freaking out and enjoying even more than we did. I miss Jenn. Crazy, fruity, silly, and sometimes downright annoying. But she was also the most fun I had several times in my life. She was there when I felt alone. And I feel bad that I wasn''t there for her more in the later years. Hope you enjoyed that concert, Jenn.

OMG... where to begin. John Taylor in a kilt/skirt... Simon LeBon looking very fit and bouncing all over the stage... Roger Taylor''s fab drumming... even Nick Rhodes looked very, uhm, Andy Warhol. It was just as I had hoped and then some. We started our evening having dinner at The Pub on 4th Street Live (thought it made sense to have an "all british" evening). Fish and chips and a boddington''s later... we practically skipped down 4th street to the Palace. First stop... the tshirt vendor. My friends and I all opted for the reddish vintage Rio tshirt. We were amazed at how many women there looked our age, but somehow hadn''t quite made it out of the 1980s. Sooo many bad perms and wings and awful blush and eye shadow. We did see a lot of husbands who''d apparently been dragged to the concert with "Duranie" wives. One couple had on tshirts that said "Duranie" on her and "Duranie by marriage" on his. Too funny. There were also quite a few young fans in the audience. And by young, I mean, 20 somethings with no clue as to the amazing spectacle they were about to witness. One young guy in line behind us at the tshirt vendor saw the tshirt that said "1978" on the front. He asked his young friend, "Is that the year they stopped playing?" OMG... I totally just about lost it. But bit my tongue and pushed on toward the front of the crowd.

The opening band was VHS Or Beta. We actually enjoyed them and they are from Louisville, too. When the concert started... wooohooo.. We jumped up and didn''t sit down until it was over. We sang all the lyrics (we couldn''t believe they played sooo many of our old favorites), danced sooo much, laughed, ooohed and ahhhhed, and even broke out our cell phones and turned on the flashlights to wave in place of lighters when they played "Save A Prayer." The encore performance of "Rio" was just amazing and I don''t think I''ve had such fun at a concert before. I felt like a dork, but then when I looked around, most of the women there were behaving the same way, so at least I was at home. Now my voice is recovering and I''m still tired and bleary. But it was oooooh soooo worth it!

So I''m really really wanting to get another tattoo. I am going to go soon to get another star added to my current tattoo (for Zack), but I would really like to get a second tattoo somewhere else on my body. Not sure where yet. Was thinking maybe on my left thigh (to balance things out). I found a really cool tattoo artist (in California, of course) who has some cool designs up on a web site. I have fallen in love with this one cool one of a tribal inspired dragon and also a replica of a crop circle that shows the sun and the moon. I may just order those designs and go get them put on myself somewhere. Maybe my shoulder... or my back. Hmmmm. Decisions decisions...

I''ve also been looking at my intensely pale skin... I want to be tan. But I don''t want to risk the sun damage. Last night Dave and I were watching a show that showed these women getting the spray on tan. Might be a better option. But it only lasts a week or so. I''ve not had any color on my skin in soooo long. Then again, I do have a nice contrast with my dark hair.

Yesterday Zack had his 4 month checkup. He now weighs 16 lbs. 15 1/2 oz. and is 25 inches tall. He got to eat a bowl of rice cereal last night. We have a short video of his first bites. He hasn''t quite gotten the "eating from a spoon" thing down. Very messy. He has also started rolling over from his back to his tummy in his bed at night... but he can''t roll from his tummy to his back yet. So he gets frustrated. Such fun!

March 1st. Woke up to snow. I hate that. I want spring soooooooooooooooooooooo bad. After spending most of last summer in bed inside, I need to get out in the sun. I want to put Zack in the stroller and walk--everywhere. I want to feel the sun on my arms and face. I want to be outside! But instead, here we are. Zack in his warm pajamas. Me in my sweatpants. Weathering the cold inside yet again. This will be my first summer in two years that I won''t be pregnant! Woohoo! I''ve lost about 10 lbs. so far this year. My goal is to drop about 40 more lbs. before fall. I''m trying to take it slow so maybe it will stay off. I feel better. I have a lot more energy already--which kind of explains my deep desire to be outside.