Found an old post from an Air Force wife where she encountered Extreme Snottiness from other wives:

As I was paying for my groceries I heard "you would think the commander's wife would put a little more thought into her appearance before leaving the house."

I looked around and realized they were talking about me.

Thank heavens my husband will never be a traditional commander because of his switch to CA. I haven't worn make-up in two years, except for that one day at SpouseBUZZ Live. And I wear so many track suits I chould be in a Wes Anderson movie. Today I have on courderoy pants covered in drips of baby blue paint. They used to belong to my dad 15 years ago. I think the paint came from his boat or something. A beauty queen, I am not.

Posted by: Sarah at 08:38 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Via RWN via Polipundit:
Police chief's pick stuns black leaders: Whitman names Hispanic to head special operations

It doesn't get any more karmic than this, folks. The Black Police Officers Association is furious that a qualified black woman was passed over for a qualified Hispanic. There aren't any Hispanics in leadership yet, so this was affirmative action at its definition. But because it was at the expense of a black candidate, it's "a travesty."

This is what happens when skin color is allowed to matter more than who can best do the job. I have no idea who would be the best division chief here, but when it becomes more important to have a collector's set of races in leadership rather than actually valuing, uh, leadership, then we're all screwed.

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An excellent comment on Polipundit's post:

Diversity?

I have searched for a long time to find out what the value of diversity is per se and I have never had an answer. It has been like Diogenes walking the street of Athens looing for an honest man.He emphasized the point by walking with a lantern in daylight.

Presumably diversity broadens an outlook by exposing people to other perspectives etc. I have never seen this to be the case. Outside of cuisine what do most people know or care about China or any other culture. There are people of course who know all about specific facets of a culture such as the mosaics on Persian rugs, ceramics from India, etc. But the vast majority of people know little and care less and I donÂ’t see them in anyway impoversied emotionally, physically, or spiritually.

I always mocked the denizens from NYC who claimed to be cultured as contrasted to the “rubes” from Middle America or from anywhere in New York State north of Poughkipsee. Their idea of culture was to be able to claim to be from NYC wherein you will find museums, opera houses, etc. They never spent an afternoon contemplating a Van Gogh etc.

You wonÂ’t learn anything new about physics, chemistry, geography, etc from diversity and most moral codes are the same the world over. The great aspect of America is that diversity becomes blunted when one becomes an American. It was always this way and being an American was something to brag about and not something to be hyphenated.

The old days were better. Straight ahead

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Just a quick post about the MilBlog conference.

I will be attending with the illustrious CaliValleyGirl, and I'll be speaking on the "All in the Family" panel at the event, in the company of Some Soldier's Mom and ArmyWifeToddlerMom. I have no idea what substance I'll bring to the panel, seeing as my blog has devolved into into the fated make-up and houseplants, or in my case, Charlie and having a baby. I'm finding it hard lately to get worked up enough over Pelosi's jet or Arkin's diarrhea of the mouth to bore you with thoughts you can certainly read better elsewhere. But I'll do my best to appear legit in Washington.

So if you're in the area, or anywhere near the eastern half of the country, come on out and meet us! More info on the Milblog Conference webpage.

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Yesterday I babysat our neighbors' four year old while they were in the hospital delivering their second. All in all, I think I did pretty well, in spite of the fact that I have no idea how much a four year old eats, how fast he can walk, how long he should nap, and how often I should reply to the incoherent strings of speech flowing nonstop from his mouth. I went in pretty blind, but we managed to get along. The only headache all day was this kid's bipolar spastic attitude towards the dog. "Charlie, come here!" he'd screech at the top of his lungs. Five seconds later: "Charlie, go away!" We had a couple close calls where the kid would dangle a toy at Charlie's nose and then yell at him if he took it, or where he thought it was great fun to keep tapping Charlie in the face with his bare foot, but thank heavens Charlie supressed all his normal dog instincts and just went with the flow. And I realized what a blessing it will be that our child will just grow up alongside Charlie so he won't be such a novelty.

So I managed to handle a kid for 12 hours...with the extreme help of Lightning McQueen, Mike Wazowski, and Willie Wonka. And I realized how much I should cherish the absolute silence of our home for as long as is still possible; it will never be that way again.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:13 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Mark Steyn: What's so hot about fickle science?

Joe's Global Warming Groundhog Day

Glenn Reynolds' thoughts on global warming

And make sure to check out Donald Sensing's very interesting post What if global warming is a good thing? The gist:

Folks my age and maybe a little younger can remember when the Environmental Apocaplypse was not global warming but global cooling. So let us suppose two things: first that global warming really is occurring and human attention to it can reverse it, and second, that we do reverse it. Are we then to agree that a cooler earth really is in our best interests? Why?

That's actually a very interesting question.

Posted by: Sarah at 04:34 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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1 Current temp. - 8 Deg's. Yup, love that Global Warming.

Posted by: tim at February 05, 2007 05:06 AM (nno0f)

2 Gonna have to agree with you on this.....Global warming just seems to be something else for people to complain about and blame America for....we use to many aerosols, we use too many fossil fuels, we waste our natural resources....if we fixed all that, they would pick another issue to find issue with us over.....If you listen to some scientists, they will tell you that their data says we are headed for another ice age, and the magnetic reversals are well on their way, signifying that we could enter an ice age within the matter of centuries....if you believe that data how does global warming figure in? Wouldn't you think it would mean the opposite? Maybe that is the NEW MATH hard at work....I don't know I liked when 2+2 actually equalled 4!

Posted by: HH6 at February 06, 2007 09:54 AM (Yo28E)

3 Today everybody is anxious about the global worming.

Posted by: Kliff at February 06, 2007 04:02 PM (pGt94)

4 Anyone who is considering the possibility starting a family in the near future should be very concerned with the CO2 emissions America is creating - we're talking worst than China here... yes, America has LOWER car standards than CHINA! Look it up.

Posted by: Will Somerset at February 07, 2007 11:22 AM (QRBGL)

5 the global cooling theory was primarily media hype, and no major scientific organizations supported the theory. the entire scientific community is in agreement about global warming. temporary weather conditions are not indicative of overall climate change unless studied as a whole over a period of hundreds to thousands of years. the recent cold front which moved across the US has nothing to do with the average temperature increase or the fallout which will happen over the next few years if we do not try to curb the warming trend. in this case it is extremely important to listen to scientists and climatologists, and not political pundits (of any party) who have ulterior motives for obscuring the truth. this is a human issue, a global issue. this is not a partisan issue. not that i have a strong opinion on this one or anything...

Posted by: Sis B at February 07, 2007 06:10 PM (gPOch)

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A few weeks ago, CaliValleyGirl lamented the fact that my German isn't good enough to read the book Hurra, Wir Kapitulieren. But der Spiegel was nice enough to translate part of it for us.

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1 And what is your opinion about your German?

Posted by: Flamingo at February 06, 2007 04:02 AM (qC7fx)

2 My German is decent enough for getting through the basics like grocery shopping and talking about the weather. Not good enough to read political books though

Posted by: Sarah at February 06, 2007 06:00 AM (BP8jf)

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The husband has been considerably less excited about starting a family right now. He had certain milestones he wanted to reach before he became a father -- a specific chunk of change in investments, finished with his MBA -- and if we get started now, he won't be at his benchmarks. But he did have an a-ha moment that has made him more receptive to the idea over the past 24 hours: he realized that if we had the baby now, we'd get the earned income credit for 2007. Lord, I married my father.

We have been having a good deal of fun making up names for the imaginary baby. Jack Bauer LastName is a common joke around the house. Though the absolute gut-buster was when my husband suggested David Lo Pan LastName. And when he said it was no big deal if I stopped drinking, that we could easily raise a "party baby."

My husband's got jokes.

Posted by: Sarah at 05:00 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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1 I vote for "Doniphan"....I sent you an email about it this morning. Too funny! Russ ALWAYS makes me laugh

Posted by: Angie at February 02, 2007 07:28 AM (0AAcM)

2 well, I give him the MBA, but there is never enough money when you have a kid. so go for broke and have that kid!!!!

Posted by: catwin at February 02, 2007 10:33 AM (iUrvV)

3 "LIFE" is what happens, while we're trying to make ''plans''.....................get practiced up, either way!!!

Posted by: debey at February 02, 2007 12:35 PM (Aqt2t)

4 I am sure it may be sacreligious to name the kids after a charactor played by Keiffer Sutherland. His Daddy is Donald afterall. The apple cannot fall very far from the tree after all. A sort of 6 degrees of separation to liberalism if you will.

Posted by: armywifetoddlermom at February 02, 2007 03:50 PM (30YLh)

5 The actor who plays Jack Bauer has a father who is a liberal huh? Well, definately can't call him that then... jeez... what were you thinking sarah?

Posted by: Will at February 03, 2007 02:09 AM (QRBGL)

6 laughing at Will... really I only brought it up, because I was surprised Sarah had not thought of it..

Posted by: armywifetoddlermom at February 03, 2007 12:28 PM (30YLh)

7 My brother, and let me say right here my entire family are uber-libs from California, was almost christened Abraham Maslow James Carter [last name]". Good God in Heaven. I asked him a few weeks ago how he felt about his near miss at being named for an anti-semite... He said at least he wasn't nearly Adolph. And thank God we only had one boy. My husband is absolutely enamored of the George Foreman school of naming children. As an aside... my hair stylist has a family member named Bernardo. He has nine kids (boys and girls). They are ALL named Bernardo. He just had his first grandkid last year... named Bernardo.

Posted by: airforcewife at February 05, 2007 05:42 AM (0dU3f)

8 Howse 'bout Charlie? Short for Charles or Charlotte and you can just yell at anything that moves,baby or dog..

Posted by: MaryIndiana at February 05, 2007 03:14 PM (YwdKL)

9 Oh Lord! Our husbands are so similar! My husband didn't want to start trying until we had x amount of dollars put into investments, we were out of the Army, Master's Degree for him AND me, etc. etc. One day he finally just said out of the blue that he was ready -- even though all of those benchmarks hadn't been met. And the Jack Bauer thing -- We've TOTALLY joked about that before, too! Too Funny! We even though that if we had a girl we could make her middle name be Chloe. So glad you guys have a great sense of humor!

Posted by: Rachel at February 07, 2007 02:33 PM (qAmfL)

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This is what our neighborhood looks like this morning.

My husband left for work and then came home about 10 minutes later. There's a two hour snow delay. They told him he doesn't even need to bother coming in today.

The South is hilarious.

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1 Imagine your mail box buried in white stuff, thatÂ’s my neighborhood.

Posted by: tim at February 01, 2007 03:28 AM (nno0f)

2 same here. I will gladly stay in the house.

Posted by: armywifetoddlermom at February 01, 2007 03:44 AM (30YLh)

3 Sarah, We have a ton of snow in Ohio and the kids are at school The north certainly deals with snow better! Congrats on the jobs!

Posted by: Stephanie at February 01, 2007 04:36 AM (+bp0U)

4 hey, we haven't had snow in two... maybe three years! this is a major event! welcome to NC.

Posted by: Sis B at February 01, 2007 07:01 AM (gPOch)

5 It looks like a good opportunity for you to wear some of those wonderful sweaters you knitted in Germany!!

Posted by: Ruth H at February 01, 2007 10:03 AM (lS0ga)

6 I am in stitches. THAT'S snow!?! God Bless our Southern neighbors.

Posted by: MaryIndiana at February 01, 2007 11:46 AM (YwdKL)

7 She says after living through 5 winter storms in 5 weeks and 2 blizzards in one winter season in Colorado, "I love it! I just love it!" Hope Charlie enjoyed a little taste of snow too.

Posted by: Angie at February 01, 2007 12:54 PM (oIZIB)

8 this will henceforth be known as "the great blizzrd of '07"

Posted by: Sis B at February 01, 2007 02:30 PM (gPOch)

9 Yep, we got hit by the same blizzard! Pretty much all the schools around here are closed (they announced the closings last night, in fact). We don't even have the dusting that you got, just a few flurries on and off thru the day... My husband's from Pittsburgh, so he's even out without his coat just so he can rub it in for other people that he's not cold

Posted by: karishma at February 01, 2007 03:36 PM (yU8Jx)

10 We got a whopping 2 inches of snow and 2 inches of ice a couple of weeks ago......Post closed for 2 days and schools were closed the entire week. The best part is the city only budgeted for 5 snow days.............we've surpassed their expectations for the year. LOL!

Posted by: Vonn at February 01, 2007 04:07 PM (/VoEr)

11 Sarah, Funny, my neighborhood looked very much the same this morning. But the county my kids go to school in was the ONLY county in the area that didn't delay school or close altogether today. Congrats on the new jobs. How lucky for you to have a job doing something you love so much, although I'm sure luck had very little to do with it. I'd love to learn how to knit. I also bought a book but haven't been able to really get the hang of it. Would you email me when you get a chance?

Posted by: Robin at February 01, 2007 04:15 PM (V5aG3)

12 When i was stationed at Ft Stewart (GA) they closed the post for about the same amount of snow one year, I was the only one at PT that am and was shocked when the MP's told me to leave because the "The post is closed, and the roads are not safe to travel on." but they still wanted me to drive off post to my house. But hey i took a tank trail most of the way to work/home anyways

Posted by: dagamore at February 03, 2007 08:08 AM (fA13W)

13 That's all it takes to cancel work/school? I am moving to the South!

Posted by: Shawn at February 05, 2007 04:08 AM (xZebA)

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I haven't written about my jobs yet because there hasn't been much to say yet. My first job is that I will be the new installation ambassador for Military.com. Basically, it will be my job to promote the website and their services in this area. Since my job boils down to getting more eyeballs on their website, maybe you could take a minute to check it out? Maybe read some opinions or watch some Shock and Awe videos or read SpouseBUZZ? And if you're a veteran or a spouse looking for a job, they have a great employment tool.

My second job starts this weekend, and I haven't said anything yet because I thought if I said it out loud, I would jinx it. I am going to start teaching the knitting classes at our local Michael's. A knitting job...how can it get any better? And part of my job description is that I have to promote the class by knitting in the Michael's and answering customer questions. So I get paid to go sit in Michael's and knit. I've been in a perpetual Michael Moore "Was it all just a dream?" fog about this job. I can't wait to get started.

So, life is pretty sweet right now. Except for the dead fish.

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One more fish down, the remaining two are hovering near the surface and covered in a mold-like fuzz. Don't expect them to last long. Sigh.

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We set up an aquarium when we lived in Missouri, and we loved watching our fish. We skipped the aquarium in Germany because I don't know what I would've done if the fish had lived longer than our stay there. And now that we're staying put for a while, we started the aquarium up again. We bought nine tropical fish, three of each type of tetra, and named them 1st, 2nd, and 3rd squad of our "tank" platoon (hardy har). And we loved them dearly...for eight days.

Yesterday, our tank turned into Lord of the Flies.

It started as a silly joke: "Man down in 2nd squad! Medic!" But the joke stopped being funny when the fish wouldn't stop dying. We lost six of them in 24 hours, including one who died during the night and was reduced to a pulpy spine by morning. Today, the fish who had been so happily schooling together for a week were all spread out around the tank, eyeing each other warily.

I went back to the store with all the corpses to ask which circle of hell my aquarium had morphed into. The girl told me that we had way too many fish in the aquarium, which sucks because it's the exact opposite information that a different girl told me when we came in to pick them out. I will go back tomorrow with a water sample to test it out, and if all checks out, I will buy two more fish. Five instead of nine. No more squads, but I guess that's OK.

Oh, and I bought the fish on my credit card, so I had a great sob story for the checkout girl: Not only did five of my fish die, but I bought them on a credit card that's now been cancelled for fraud. And how has your day been?

Posted by: Sarah at 09:38 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I just found this Army wife's blog post and it made my fingers itch to write:

I was told the other day that Hubble's ultimate mission is to come home to me (actually the choice of words was "come home to his mother" but we're not going there today). I had to bite my tongue. That is not the ultimate mission. It is to succeed, to better, to save, to secure. I know he can do all that. After all, I married him.

He did not enter the service to fulfill the mission of coming home to me. We both well know that there is a chance he may make the ultimate sacrifice. That is something we've come to terms with. There IS a war and there ARE people depending on him.

My husband is freaking out that when it comes time to get his Civil Affairs assignment, he'll get South America or something. We have no idea if this is even something to worry about, but I've seen the Army do dumber things. (I met a soldier on our post in Germany who was an Algerian-born fluent Arabic speaker...and he was on Rear D while the rest of the post was deployed to Iraq. The Army is anything but logical sometimes, but I digress.) My husband wants desperately to be put to good use to support the Global War on Terrorism because, like kd's husband, his mission is "to succeed, to better, to save, to secure."

The meaning of life is not Avoid Death. The meaning of life is to use your life for meaning.

Not everyone in the United States sees meaning in what we're doing in Iraq. I attribute this to many things. AWTM remarked that "people are much too busy watching American Idol/Dancing with the Stars and Deal or No Deal to bother researching world Events." I also fault the Bush administration for not helping Americans see what's really going on. But some people, like my husband, want to do what they think is right, no matter how many people the polls say are backing them.

As den Beste put it,

Honor comes from inside. An honorable man is true to himself and his own ideals, and he lives and acts according to those ideals no matter what anyone else says. It doesn't matter if that makes him respected or despised, for honor is not based on peer opinion.

And an honorable man will, if necessary, die for honor, die for what's right. There are issues worth dying for, and issues worth killing for. These things are not done lightly, but when they must be done an honorable man does not shy from his duty, even if he has to face it alone. It is more important what you stand for than who you stand with.

Honor is not and cannot be "multilateral". When you stand up for what's right, you may stand with many others, but each of those others stands there because of his honor. Each makes that decision for himself, and every one decides unilaterally.

If you compromise your honor in the name of "unity", or of "harmony" (or "alliance", or "multilateralism"), then you have lost your honor and have sold it cheaply. But if you are willing to do that, you never really had any honor to begin with.

I admire kd's husband's honor and sense of duty despite the naysayers around him. And I admire my husband for taking a job that will take him closer to the fight.

And I pray they don't give him South America. We'd have another ukulele incident for certain.

Posted by: Sarah at 06:46 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Dear people who dabble in credit card fraud,
I hope you die of gonorrhea and rot in hell.
Sincerely,
Sarah

Yep, somebody bought somethin' on e-bay, and it sure wasn't me. I started this website to try to grok people whose value systems are different from mine, but this is over the top. I admit that I nod in agreement when Neal Boortz refers to taxes as stealing, or when my husband talks about "taking from those who can and giving to those who won't", but honest-to-goodness cheating and stealing is beyond my comprehension. Someone on this planet thought it would be OK to use my husband's hard-earned money to buy $900 worth of stuff. I hope they find "Ruth Belton" and lock her up. Or string her up, but I know that's too much to hope for.

Posted by: Sarah at 06:14 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Just when we all thought the UN couldn't get any more disgusting. Go see some lauded entries from the UN political cartoon contest, entries that were "chosen for their ability to enhance, explain and even help direct the spirit and principles of the U.N." And then tear your hair out.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:28 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Thank heavens this man did not end up as our president...

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Nor this guy our vice-president (via Conservative Grapevine)...

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Charlie got his hair cut on Thursday, and man, did he get it cut short! He's been walking around the house shivering for two days. I spent all day Friday looking for a doggy coat for him, but the only ones I could find were ones my husband would kill me for putting on the dog. So I found this website with a Free Resizable Pet Clothing Pattern. I gave it a shot, and for $5 Charlie now has a handsome reversible coat to keep him warm.

I'm pretty danged proud of myself. And Charlie's only tried to tear it off once.

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I went to the doctor on Wednesday to ask some questions about prenatal care. I figure if we're going to do this, we need all the info before we dive in. The doctor was incredibly sweet and very encouraging, but she seemed almost surprised that I would bother asking her these questions. She said something like, "So, that's neat that you're planning everything in advance."

I realize that I'm overly anal, but is it really that shocking in 2007 that someone would plan for a baby?

I've been reading What to Expect When You're Expecting. (Remember when I bought it and had to sheepishly explain to the pregnant salesgirl that I wasn't pregnant or even thinking of being pregnant yet?) I was shocked to open the book and find the first chapter was "Are You Pregnant?" Huh? Chapter 21 is called "Preparing for the Next Baby" and starts out with:

In the best of all possible worlds, we would be able to plan life to our precise specifications. In the real world, where most of us live, the best-laid plans often give way to the unexpected twists and turns of fate over which we have precious little control, leaving us to accept, and to make the best of, what comes our way.
To assure the best of all possible pregnancies, we would know in advance when we will be conceiving -- and before we did we'd make all the changes and adjustments in our lifestyle necessary to help ensure the best possible outcome. But such advance planning is a luxury many women -- because of menstrual irregularity and/or the fallibility of contraception (or that of a couple winging it) -- may never be able to indulge in.

If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it right and "assure the best of all possible pregnancies." I accept the fact that I might not get pregnant the instant I start trying, but I do not accept the fact that I would get pregnant earlier than expected. My husband and I have gone above and beyond to be sure there have never been any oopsies; is that really that strange?

This is the single most important thing I will ever do with my life. Doesn't it make sense to plan for it?

I guess I've just been surprised that a very modern and updated book -- one that even makes sure to include a section about the effects of doing cocaine before you know you've conceived -- assumes that people still don't know where babies come from or how to prevent them. The book that repeatedly makes assurances that you can still get pregnant despite multiple abortions for some reason also assumes that women don't know anything about their own bodies. You have the right to choose, obviously, because it's your body, but heaven forbid you learn enough about your body to prevent all those danged abortions in the first place. Planning for a pregnancy? That's absurd. We'll shove it into chapter 21. But let's make sure to address previous abortions on page 21.

How out of whack are our priorities...

Posted by: Sarah at 04:48 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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1 I feel the same way! My husband and I have been married almost 3 years. We aren't planning to even start thinking about getting pregnant until 2009 due to finishing graduate school and promotions and such. It just makes sense to us to wait. But I've already started reading about the whole process and how to prepare your body properly for the best results. My friends with children look at me funny when I ask what their doctor's opinion is on certain topics and ask me if we're trying. Why is it so hard to believe that we can actually plan when we want to be open to having a child and stick to that plan?! And that we care enough to prepare ourselves to give the child the best advantages from the onset, long before you actually want to conceive?

Posted by: InTheAirForceAgain at January 25, 2007 06:50 AM (6CMb0)

2 I was never a fan of the entire What to Expect series. There are a lot of other books out there you could look at for better information. Taking Charge of your fertility is a great resource to learn all about your body, cycles, getting pregnant, etc. I had my first child after I completed graduate school and the nurse at the military clinic asked me if it was really my first one. I assured her it was and she asked me if I was sure I didn't have any miscarriages or abortions. I told her I had common sense and waited for the right time. She told me that it was sure slow by military standards, and I was in my 20's! All of our children were very planned and very wanted and surprise my husband is the father of all of them! (Yes, people ask me if he is really the father of all of them because they are spaced out--like it is a new concept to get married and stay married!) GOod luck!

Posted by: Infantry Wife at January 25, 2007 08:41 AM (kQWmi)

3 I am glad to hear that you are all doing very good things in planning way ahead of time for your pregnancies. But, I'd venture to say that the overwhelming majority of women in the world do not go through such planning years in advance. Whether it be because of poverty, religion and the belief that birth control should not be used, or other reasons valid or not valid. It is certainly not strange or unrealistic to plan a few years before you conceive, it is an important part of family planning and is very commendable. But, at the same time if a woman does not even know enough to not ever use cocaine, then why should we, including the author of a book, assume that she has it together enough to start her planning years in advance. I wish more women were like you, and had the opportunity to be like you if only for the sake of their children. But I think, in reality, there are many more women out there who have not done all the planning for at least one of their children that you intend to do for all of yours. Just my 2 cents.

Posted by: Terri at January 25, 2007 10:12 AM (cgjLF)

4 If that is making your head explode wait until the moment you pull up to a car where a baby unrestrained , is in the car all windows rolled up and Mom is smoking... it will drive you nuts. SERIOUSLY... there should be permit handed out to have children.

Posted by: armywifetoddlermom at January 25, 2007 10:19 AM (nKVbZ)

5 Sarah, Isn't it amazing?!? For over 7 years of marraige, we never once had an "uh ohhh.." moment because we planned it that way. People spend all kinds of time planning so many other insignificant things in life. You'd think they'd give at least as much thought to when they want to have a baby as to what they are going to wear to work, but then you'd probably be wrong. When we decided to start trying, I asked my doctor about getting a pre-pregnancy physical. He said, "Well, if you are already trying, there's no point in having a pre-pregnancy physical. If you have any issues, we'll find them during your pregnancy and deal with them." Fortunately we didn't have any problems. I had planned on having that physical long before we started trying, but I never made it happen. SO, I say you are very smart to do it now. Now....GET BUSY!

Posted by: Petal at January 25, 2007 12:59 PM (B3mz/)

6 I've never been pregnant so maybe my opinion is worthless but I can say that you would be unpleasantly surprised at how many people neglect prenatal care altogether...no pre-planning, no interim planning...nothing. It's sad but true. So no, I don't think you're crazy for being prepared. You're just doing what's best for your future child.

Posted by: Nicole at January 26, 2007 04:00 AM (8QLUb)

7 This is only one of the many problems with the What to Expect books. I read every book I could get my hands on during my first pregnancy, and the ones that I remember the most and had the best information were Dr. Sears' The Baby Book, Pam England's Birthing from Within, and Naomi Wolfe's Misconceptions. You and I are completely different types as far as mothers go! Misconceptions describes a few different categories of mothering (not that anyone fits in just one). You would definitely be "the planner". I would fall in the "Earth Mother" category. Nothing wrong with either, just different approaches. Anyway, it's still my advice to burn "What to Expect". But that's probably just me.

Posted by: Sis B at January 26, 2007 10:55 AM (omG97)

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If I enjoy my child half as much as Lileks enjoys Gnat, then we'll be a happy little family indeed.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:43 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Read Varifrank's 10 Things I Learned From Iraq

Posted by: Sarah at 04:18 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Matt Sanchez has written a great article about the anti-military attitude he's encountered at Columbia. My favorite part:

For the academics, joining the Corps over attending an Ivy League school was an obvious sign of desperation.

Were we desperate? Our platoon "heavy hat," Staff Sgt. Forde, never once mentioned he was named the best tanker in the Corps — two years in a row. But my professors at Columbia always mention the books they and their colleagues have written and often assign those books, as graded papers, so we all have to mention them, too. Who is desperate?

(Found via SandGram)

Posted by: Sarah at 03:39 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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