Proof Lillie Loves Husband as Much as Lillie Loves Me

Since we've had Lillie she's destroyed my hiking shoes,

my jeweled flip flops, brown suede flip flops, running shoes and an old pair of moccasins. Most of which, with the exception of the hiking shoes, happened when she was a true puppy.

A consummate foot licker (of her own as well as mine, when I let her) I suspected that my shoes were the second best thing when I was nowhere to be found.  Especially ones that tended to be well worn, if you know what I mean. 

But never once has she ever gotten even close to one of Husband's until a few days ago. 

(Those are/once were ultra expensive English leather from Selfridge's. Not a happy day in House Durel.  Though a funny one.  Poor Husband.  Poor swanky shoes. Poor Lillie.) 

In Other News

...this morning was the first time Pickle kicked Husband.  

For a few different reasons ---position of parts, general size and other fairly physical things---up until today, Husband hasn't felt a thing.  

And even 21 weeks into it (as of today) I have only felt a few flutters and a pokes or two. But we've seen Pickle swimming all about on several ultrasounds, so we're assuming that he's okay.

And every single evening and many mornings, Husband has been patiently waiting for a good kick. 

Today he got one, to the head, and then an elbow (we think) right in the ear. 

The Devil Made Me Do It

Happy Halloween, peoples....

Though  I suspect that if there's any true devil in our house, it's this one....

Who's Your Daddy?

As you may have gathered from the writings here, unless you'd like to do something totally sweaty and outdoorsy*, there's not much going on in Stavanger, Norway, at least not on a Sunday.

So last weekend we were spending our usual lazy Sunday** sleeping late, cooking pancakes and watching hours of quality television --- which includes but is not limited to Miami Ink, The Daily Show and various CNN anchors pontificating on the state of the world.  

Also, Husband likes to save the universe. 

But last weekend, Sunday was just days from the best monthaversary we had planned thus far. 

In Norway, once a pregnancy is confirmed, the doctor registers the mother and the due date with the hospital where she plans to give birth.  The hospital counts to a day that will fall somewhere between Week 18 and Week 22 and sends a note inviting the mother to come in for a detailed ultrasound.  

During that visit, not only will the ultrasound person look at the progress of major organ development and measure to more accurately gauge the due date, but also ---if Pickle feels like participating--- determine whether Pickle is a girl or a boy.

And we when received our letter weeks and weeks ago, it turned out that our date happened to fall our eighth Monthaversary...

So of course we had been looking forward to it for months. 

Because I couldn't totally predict the health, I focused on what I could, which was the sex, so I looked up all the old wives tales and Husband was nice enough to help*** me test them. 

And we found that we had a 75% chance of having a boy.****

So finally when the day came, instead the usual dinner, flowers or travel, we started early in the morning with Ultrasound Lisa.

She counted and measured all the parts, finding that everything seems to be exactly as it should be (at least up until right now...), which was the most important part of the whole morning.  

Then she poked my middle enough to make Pickle wiggle into just the right view.  And what she saw was pretty clear to both Husband and me...

The little person who is due sometime around March 8th will be known for the next while not just as Pickle, but also as Baby Boy Durel.

And judging from the photos, he's going to be just as handsome as his dad. 

*Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of the outdoors and trees. (I love knowing they are out there and I really like to look at them from a pretty clean window. Also, thanks for the oxygen, trees. Good stuff.) And I adore hiking, especially the urban kind, usually measured in blocks. And camping, I'm all for it, especially in a place with 400 count thread sheets, designer furniture made of wood and one those swanky huge showers...even better if I can see the outdoors from it.

**Not this Lazy Sunday.

***And by "nice enough to help" I mean, "was coerced into helping" with smiles and promises of nice things.  When we were done, his only real comment was "if I wasn't convinced already about finding out the sex, the possibility of 20 more weeks of this is enough for me to immediately beg for someone to check and tell us what Pickle is..."

**** In case you were wondering, these are the highly unscientific tests:

MAYBE IT'S A BOY

--Have I been extra moody? Nope, just the usual amount.

--Have I had any morning sickness? Nope.

--Middle is poking out front (boy) or spreading out wide (girl)? Poking out front

--Wedding ring on a string hung over middle. (swings in a circle is girl, swings in a line is boy)

--Bad skin during pregnancy (Yes is girl, No is boy) No more than usual

--Chinese Gender Predictor

MAYBE IT'S A GIRL

--Mother's age at conception and year of conception. (Both even or odd is girl, One of each is boy) 36/2008

--Other Chinese Gender Predictor

Companion Certificate in Expat Pregnancy

As you might remember, early on, I started thinking about devising a Masters in Expat Housewifery Program. 

It's been on the back burner for a while, but the past few months have convinced me it is necessary.  And not only is it necessary, but also that there should be an attached, or perhaps sub-program, in Expat Pregnancy.

It would include classes such as, but not limited to...

Medical mindset 101: 

Norwegian's do it differently. That is all. Get with the program or don't be shamed for how you want it handled.

Worries 101:

What happens, happens.  Come see us at about 20 weeks.

Do the Math 206:

They like babies so much, they'll pay you to have them.

and most importantly for my purposes here:

Cravings 301:

If you think you'll want it, save yourself some hassle and get it yourself --- from home

On Friday night, I spent part of the evening talking to C., a Norwegian friend who is about 32 weeks pregnant.  She and I have similar thoughts that pregnancy is a whole lot of "meh" but that the end result is worth it.  

When I asked her if she had any big cravings, she said no, that other than apples, she was just eating whatever.  Nothing cravings-wise has driven her nuts, which shocked me, but then we went on to something else...

But Sunday afternoon, I was lamenting the distance between me and the nearest* Whole Foods, which for those you who may not know, is one of the greatest places in quite possibly the entire United States.  

And by greatest, I am not talking about the "whole" part, I absolutely mean the "food" part. 

Whole Foods is a giant organic grocery store, but organic in a cool way, not in a "chokes you with the smell of pachouli and feet" way. 

Most importantly, it has miles and miles of prepared food and encourages sampling, so you don't have to commit** to a selection until you are absolutely sure.

And on this Sunday, I would have strongly considered selling my first born***  for just ten minutes in Whole Foods.  I would speed sample the soup bar selections and choose the best chunky soup, then head over to the hot counter for a mess of collard greens and a container of the best macaroni and cheese. ever. 

Then with the remaining seven or so minutes, I would just taste all the things I have been missing.  

I explained all of this to Husband, who just listened a bit and handed me a tissue when I got teary, because not only could I not have ANY of it, but all the grocery stores are closed on Sunday, so we couldn't even try to approximate it.   

(I also wanted a mani/pedi, but that is another post altogether.) 

It made me start thinking about how C. said she never had any major cravings in the way I described.  One possibility is that she just didn't. Every pregnancy is different, so that could just be that. 

Another (and this is the one that I'm going with...) is that a pregnant woman craves what is familiar and comforting.  

Even if you explain in scientifically (ie. a craving is your body needing to fulfill a need for a particular mineral or vitamin...) it only makes sense that you crave what you know.  

And if she craved, say for instance, Norwegian staples like salmon or reindeer meat or a sheep's skull or caviar in a tube, she could get it and quickly.  

But me, I'm hosed.  

There's no Thai food, at least not what I am used to eating.  The tomatoes are not from my Nana's garden.  Vanilla/Chocolate combo milkshake? Bwahahaha. Though there's a rumor that collard greens can be had with the right connections, I haven't seen them yet. Pudding had to be shipped from 7,000 miles away. I am even having a hard time find a good crunchy tart pickle. And there is no such thing as pickled okra.

But to be fair, the hosing is not complete...as I sat on the sofa sniffing, Husband,  who had just been listening patiently, got up, headed to the kitchen and started pulling all sorts of things out of the cabinets and refrigerator.  

He spread out things on the counter and chopped them all up...

And made a pot of soup-y goodness...

And cooked until it got even better...

And then served it up...

And it was about as close, to a Whole Foods soup I would have chosen, as it could be...

So that's something...

*564 miles---it turns out there are a few in London, still not helpful on a Sunday afternoon in Stavanger.  Also, it's approximately 5249 miles to the one in our neighborhood in Atlanta, also not helpful in the least to my predicament. 

**This also is a big selling point to me in all things.

**I kid, I kid.  No one can have Pickle, not for any price. Though if I know you, you can hold it or change a diaper, especially the yuck ones, whenever you'd like, free of charge. 

Party in Pictures

It all began as a girls' night.  

We'd already had one girls' afternoon at Eva's, so Victoria decided to host the next one on an evening when her husband Mike was on a business trip.  

Then, at the last minute, the trip was canceled.  

So instead of either banishing Mike for the evening or outnumbering him by twelve or so to one, Victoria did the only sensible thing...She invited all the girls to bring their partners.

It began fairly sedately.  

Phil and Husband clearly hadn't eaten in days or perhaps the quesadillas were just that good...

Marguerite and Mary demonstrate the correct way to serve themselves.  Derek takes careful mental notes while he waits for his turn. 

Then came the tequila shots and key lime pie squares.

Eva takes a break. 
Claudia, Erin, Victoria and Alistair remind me of the small pack of crayons little kids get in the kind of restaurants with white tablecloths made of paper. 

This was taken before Husband abandoned me for the tequila shots.

"I can't believe the size of Erin's wine glass,' says Jennifer. "Oh it's just to disguise the amount of wine I have poured into it," says Erin. "Brilliant!" thinks Husband. 

Phil was threatening to stuff the fancy shmancy wine glass in his pocket as a party favor, because he luuuuuurved it. Jennifer wouldn't let him.

Erin can lean, drink and smile all at the same time. Kyrre is all for multi-tasking.

"Oh no thank you, I wouldn't like seconds," says Mary. "Unless of course you insist." 

Marguerite was the newest friend at the party and I'm pretty sure that Victoria and Mike were awfully glad she came. 

The Pack at the Park

Or at least 3/4 of us...

Looking for "evidence"

I’ve gotten a few comments and emails wondering about my last post...

Why don’t I try to sway political opinion? 

(I will correct misconceptions and fact check the “interesting” emails, and answer attacks, but I will not send emails of my own and will only lecture when provoked.)

It's because I really believe in the right to choose your own, no matter how flawed I feel your logic is.

I also hold back because, at this point, it’s futile.

I am in no way saying that the next three weeks don't matter.  I absolutely think they do.  I absolutely think that the most vital thing to do right now is to continue to be vigilant. It's crucial to make sure that everyone gets to vote, that they register in time, then actually pull the lever or put their ballot in the mail.  

But as in swaying?  Right now, no matter what the polls say, there are only about three undecided American voters left. 

I know one of them. She’s been asking questions that I've been answering for her---using and quoting unbiased sources of information.  

And Husband, who also knows her well, is making a chart of each side’s position on the four main questions she has, the ones that really affect her life.

Everyone else? They’ve made their decisions.

For the most part, the Obama supporters just wait to cringe at another “ya’ know,” unintelligent inexperience, ethical misjudgment and the possibility of four more years of exactly the same.

And the McCain supporters just wait for more “evidence” that Obama is a terrorist, a Muslim extremist or worse--- black ---and the possibility of a freewheeling liberal country veering toward socialism.

But everyone is worried about the state of the country, the economy and maintaining or hopefully improving the state of their lives.

Right now, it’s getting tough and worrisome for almost everyone I know, and it’s touching us, too.

Really, it’s disappointing. 

And frankly, if Obama wins, the Republicans should be psyched. Sure they’ll have to deal with four years, but he’s going to be left with such a GIANT mess that soon people will not remember how this all happened.

And I worry that will be it…

And that will be the biggest shame. 

Obama has the potential to be great, not just a good man who will be a welcome contrast, but great.

I really hope he has the chance to try.

So vote.

I Can't Be Swayed

Along with most of the world, we've been keeping a close eye on the presidential race.  We've been gathering for debate watching parties and discussing the news.  One friend has even been wearing swanky, artsy earring with her candidate's name on them. 

And all of us have ordered our absentee ballots and we're mailing them well early. 

But with all that said, I also think it's important for each person to make their own decisions, but lately it's been driving me NUTS.

First of all, I can't be swayed.  Not only am I well-convinced that my candidate is by far the best man for the job, I've already voted.

My ballot, by this time, is sitting in a pile of ballots in Gainesvegas waiting to be counted, if it hasn't already.

Second of all, here are a few things that wouldn't sway me, in any case:

1) An email forward with the subject line: INTERESTING

You can 99% guarantee that these can be easily debunked by a quick Google search or a click over to Snopes.  

In just the past few days I've clarified, among other things:

 

Obama does not advocate that his daughters have abortions.  He is an American citizen. He financed his education through scholarships, loans and his grandmother scraping the rest of it together, not through shady Middle Eastern terrorist people..  (Michelle financed her own education in much the same way.) Then they paid off the loans with the results of hard work, including law school professor'ing, Michelle's high paying jobs and several best-selling books. Also, the people who had a big hand in running Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into the ground are not his primary financial advisors.

2) A blog post in which the writer bases her passionate argument on incorrect information.

This one actually was the worst.  

The writer, who I will not share with you, is a secondhand acquaintance of mine. She is absolutely in favor of one candidate and lays out in fairly clear logic why.  

The problem (other than the misspellings) was that she was using completely incorrect, misquoted, and taken-WAY-out-of-context information. 

And, all of this information can be clearly traced to these "interesting" emails, as well as various "attack" ads that have been exposed as misleading by the mainstream media. 

The worst part is that she is a board member of a gay and lesbian rights organization.  She has five young children, all under the age of 13 and her family is having financial issues right now, as is most of the country. 

So right there you've got gay rights, education and taxes, three topics I suspect she cares about an awful lot. Three issues each candidate has absolutely opposite plans on how to address them.

And she's advocating and choosing based on completely incorrect information.

But, I am not a pundit. I will correct misinformation and share my own views when asked, but I am a firm believer that you should make your own choice. 

But also, don't trust what I have to say.  

The information is out there, just know your source. 

News stories in reputable news outlets will present both sides.  Editorials and columnists are slanted and based on opinion.  Speeches are all over YouTube.  Their Congressional records are online.  Each candidate has a website.  

It's all out there and easily accessible.

Then vote.

Porn Berries

I'm not sure if I'm late to the game, or perhaps it's just me, but...

Is British tv chef person, Nigella Larson, kind of porn-y and overtly sexy, but in a slightly wholesome way?

(photo from Hollywood Grind, which is not a porn site, but sounds like one.)

I am flipping through the channels and she's having a dinner party.  She's totally boobalicious*, leaning into the camera, which is all on soft focus, as she's preparing the strawberry dessert...

(imagine a slightly throaty, calm and composed, posh British accent)

"MMMMMMM, the strawberries are just bulging over the sides, pulsing with flavor. MMMMMMM When we take the succulent berries into our mouth, they will explode with flavor..."

And that's just the part I paid attention to enough to scribble down.  

Then I just listened for a while in between snickers.  

It looked really good, though---but I am not sure whether to call Husband and ask him to come home early or to run to the grocery store for some porn-berries of my own. 

*Boobalicious is commonly defined as prominently displaying an amazing amount of cleavage, an amount so substantial and impressive that no one (male, female, gay or straight) can avert their eyes from without a fair amount of effort.

It Does Really Matter (or Please Don't Flip a Bird to the World)

In case you haven't been following the news, there's a US Presidential Election coming up.  

The US economy (which clearly spills over into the worldwide economy) is in dire straits.  It's likely that several Supreme Court seats will come open in the next few years.  We've got several "conflicts" going on around the world, not to mention several non-economic messes at home. 

And that's just speaking in generalities.  

Somewhere in the long, long list of issues the candidates are debating, there is at least one, if not many, that matters to you. 

Whether or not you think you've got a stake in that one issue, believe me, you do.

For instance: 

Maybe you don't have millions of dollars in the stock market, but perhaps you care about the rate you get for your next car loan. 

Maybe you are certain you'll never want or need an abortion, but perhaps you do care about your own right to privacy or have compassion for a victim of a crime.

Maybe you can afford groceries every week, but you really have your eye on a 40 foot schooner and are calculating whether or not your tax return will cover the sales tax.  

Pick your topic, however large or small.  The candidates have radically different plans and thoughts on everything.  The big plan initiatives will trickle down to affect your own life in myriad ways. 

Do your homework and see whose plans you actually agree with and trust.  Read their websites. Listen to them speak and hear what they say. 

(And don't think for a second think that the Vice-Presidential candidate doesn't matter. It does.) 

So vote. 

If you're not registered already, get on it.  

Some states' deadlines hit this Saturday, October 4. 

Both registering and voting are easy and painless.  If you're reading this right now, you have a computer, so click on the sites below.  

Don't trust the internets?  All counties have an office, staffed by real people who will help you. 

And voting, even easier...In some states you don't even have to stand in lines on Election Day in your local elementary school gym. You can vote early.  Perhaps you can even vote via absentee ballot.  

There is no reason not to vote.  

Not only is it convenient, more importantly, it's an amazing, and somewhat unique, right American citizens have. 

All around the world, there are millions of people who would love an election...Not to mention a free election, in which it's okay (and encouraged) to debate openly, then vote without fear of personal repercussion.  

We have the the ability to participate in choosing the direction and path in which our country,  and our own lives will follow. And frankly, much of what this president does will affect the rest of the world as well. 

By not voting, you're not only taking your own freedom for granted, you're also flipping a giant (and prolonged) bird to rest of the world. 

Also, if you're an American citizen and don't vote, please don't complain about the outcome. 

At least not to me.  

___________________________________________

Registration Deadlines begin this Saturday, October 4

Declare Yourself

Overseas Vote Foundation

Rock the Vote

2008 Absentee Voting Information for Americans Abroad

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NOTE:  And in case you don't read the comments, this what Erin wrote below...I thought it was important enough to pull up here....

Here here sister!

And for our foreign friends that just may have been BORN in the US, check out Vote From Abroad which will get you all set up to vote.

Don't worry, you wont be drafted, taxed, or treated any differently if you exercise your right to vote!