Author: Meredith

So for the past two weeks or so, my little Pumpkin has decided he really likes curling up in the breech position with his little butt resting happily on my bladder (of course, wouldn’t you like a squishy little bladder to sit on?). What gets me the most is that I went to the chiro because I felt like something was misaligned. They fixed my hip alignment, but then he flipped from vertex to breech! Go figure, right? In some states, this wouldn’t necessarily be a problem, but in Florida? Nope, people don’t really do breech births anymore. It’s not that it can’t be done (safely) — it’s just that the doctors are out of practice (so much easier to pick up a scalpel, I guess), and the midwives are legally banned from delivering such babies.

In any case, I’m getting ready to submit myself to serious amounts of torture to get him to flip vertex (anything to prevent another c-section). Think elevating hips, putting ice-packs on my tummy, no more lounging on the people-eating couch, and plenty of lights and music at the bottom of my tummy. All of the above are much less traumatic than a c-section. Please think happy baby flipping to the OA (occiput anterior, aka the optimal position for babies to be born in) position for me!

1. I am grateful for my continued youthful appearance, as I was mistaken for a teenager this morning.
2. I am grateful for the extra ten minutes I had to get ready this morning, even if I was a little bit cranky about it at first.
3. I am grateful for my midwife, who treats me like a normal patient/ client instead of a walking c-section scar.
4. I am grateful for knowledge.
5. I am grateful for apple season.

I will be documenting five things I am grateful for on a daily basis — or at least, that’s the plan. I apologize if I become repetitve at any point in time with my list, but I will try to be original as much as possible.

1. I am grateful for the delicious plate of tiramisu that I will consume today.
2. I am grateful for the cooler weather this morning.
3. I am grateful for having a job that allows me to utilize my creativity.
4. I am grateful for my lunch breaks that allow me to spend some mid-day time with my family.
5. I am grateful for the my cloth bags that make carrying groceries on the bus much easier.

It would seem I’m taking on another project that will need to be completely finished — as in printed and delivered — by the end of September. I’m pretty sure our friends over at Alta will be quite pleased with our upcoming orders. Luckily, this new project is virtually completed in its textual context. I’ve already placed the text in InDesign, and I simply need to cover work, two pages of short text, images scanned and placed, and text organized in such a way that it flows well. I don’t imagine this would take very long unless those final two pages of text are late. They’re being written by two different people.

Of course, there’s the ever-present newsletter that somehow always manages to go out two or three months later than I’d originally planned. I’m still persisting that this newsletter will go out before the baby comes out. I’ve got several things to get in order for that to happen, though. Make no mistake — I will not succumb to this deadline being pushed back unless it becomes absolutely necessary.

Here’s hoping we’ll succeed in going to print on time for both projects!

Utilizing my superb googling skills, I managed to find a great resource for mixing a good color palette (thank you, about.com!). While I can’t say I’m totally satisfied — this still isn’t the “wow” design I’m trying to fabricate — I think this should be a sufficient interim layout. Blue is supposed to be a calming color, and the dark text on the light background should be easy to read. Please be sure to leave feedback on my latest attempt!

Please be advised I will be altering the color scheme in intervals as I have time. I apologize for the ugly mess that will result for the interim.

If you’ve just landed on this site, please stop for a moment. I request your feedback on color schemes that tend to keep your interest. Do you have a preference? Clearly, I have no desire to cause severe eye strain by placing yellow text on white background (or any other such atrocity). However, I only know what colors appeal to me. While I could just make the site to suit my personal tastes, I would like to ensure I don’t chase away readers because they don’t like pinks or purples.

Please leave a comment and let me know!

Today, I read the final installment of Dooce’s birth story. I think that’s one of the best birth stories — if not the best — I’ve ever read. Her style is so vibrant, in-your-face (yay cliché phrases!), and humorous. I adore humorous people, and at times I try to emulate them in anyway I can. I don’t believe I do a very good job of it, but I suppose it’s the effort that counts. In any case, I must post this discretionary piece of advice for those of you who aren’t quite fond of “foul language.” I personally don’t mind it, especially seeing as how it brings me comfort — I did grow up in NYC, where rush hour traffic consisted of car horns honking and people cursing. I guess I also felt a little more inclined to enjoy her work after reading her “about” section, in which I learned she’s a fellow English degree holder. I also learned she’s living my dream — neither parent has to work thanks to the wonders of the Internet. Rock on.

It would seem I’m most certainly accumulating good reading. One of these days, it might be nice to become one of the read rather than just being the reader. To dream big is to live in my world.

I have had a passionate love affair with fresh fruits and vegetables lately. Because it’s summer, so many delicious fresh produce items are available. To me, nothing says “summer” like a sweet, juicy slice of watermelon. I’ve also been enjoying some fabulous nectarines, which I believe are superior to their fuzzy-skinned counterparts — who actually wants a mouth full of fuzz? I’m also delighted to be consuming so many tomatoes. They’re excellent sliced up for burgers and sandwiches, chopped up for salads, or just by themselves.

I absolutely wish I had a garden full of my own home-grown produce. For starters, I don’t have to pay the grocery store, the truckers who transported them, or the farmers who grew them. I answer to myself — okay, maybe my husband as I am the opposite of a green-thumb, and I would definitely require his green thumb skills. Moreover, I wouldn’t have to worry about where my food came from in the event of a recall. If I got sick? I’d have to chastize myself for improper food safety protocols. I could have fresh, delicious, organic produce that traveled from my backyard to my kitchen. Considering I’d like to live in southern New Hampshire, I think I also might like to try out hydroponics — because why should I have to resort to pricier options at the store just because we’ve got a few feet of snow on the ground?

I have decided to sign up for HostGator’s affiliate program (see my banner on the side bar) because they’ve treated me so well and provided such excellent webhosting since I switched to their services nearly a year ago. I admit, they had two particular deciding factors when I signed up — 1) I was able to pay month-to-month to test out their servers and service, and 2) I’m a *Florida* Gator, why shouldn’t I be hosted by a *Gator* company (even if they’re not affiliated with the University of Florida). Convenience and coolness aside, I have yet to experience downtime as a result of their services (please note I did have some downtime last November due to a lapse in memory to renew my domain name — oops!). I highly recommend them if you’re in need of webhosting.

I’ve also included a link to YouData in the side bar as well. They didn’t seem to have any handy little banners for me to use, so I decided a text link would do just fine for now. I’ll figure out the aesthetics of my link at a later date.