Grin

Grin by Corinne S.

When I visited Claire last weekend, Amelia gave me big smiles. But she's a bit too fast-moving for my iPhone's camera. ;-)

Industry humor?

A co-worker sent me a link to this article and his introductory comment cracked me up: "In other news, Blockbuster is getting ready to offer downloadable movies, from the comfort and convenience of your couch a Blockbuster Store." Your Blockbuster movie download is just a drive away

Yummy baby

This week the baby is about the size of an avocado, according to BabyCenter.com's fruit-oriented size comparisons. This is an especially pleasing size to me since I'm a big avocado fan. Just remind me not to eat the baby.

My belly is starting to show a bit and my pants are getting tighter. Now that we're officially 4 months in, it might be coming up on time for me to start wearing maternity pants. But I'm still in that awkward transition phase where I mostly don't need them and they feel funny and tend to be a little big (or just fit really oddly) so I will probably continue to push the boundaries of my pants a little longer. ;)

To learn more about what little "Blueberry" is up to developmentally this week, check out Your pregnancy: 16 weeks on BabyCenter.

PS> I stole this picture from Becca's Baby Blog.

Sunday, lazy Sunday

Mabry, upright by Corinne S.

On Sunday, Benjamin and I went to brunch with Nathan, Miller, and Michael for a much-belated birthday celebration of Miller.

We went to the new South Lake Union neighborhood location of the Portage Bay Cafe. The food was as good as ever, but the atmosphere wasn't as warm and personal as the U District location.

Afterward we wandered over to Guitar Center, I got a latte at Uptown Espresso (too much vanilla syrup!), and we trilled through the merchandise at Antique Liquidators (there were several things I liked, but nothing I needed). It was a nice, warm, plan-free afternoon.

Bird adventure

I discovered this injured crow in my yard this morning as I got ready for work. I ended up missing my first meeting as I tried to figure out what to do with it (it could barely walk).

After a web search and several calls I found out that Seattle Animal Shelter will come pick the bird up. This is a huge relief since I didn't think I should be handling a wild bird while I'm pregnant (if ever).

I did find myself wondering about the wisdom of where we draw the line for creatures worth saving, but it looked so forlorn and I didn't feel right just waiting for it to die so I could throw it in the trash. Dismal. At least now it has a chance.

Backyard antics

Backyard antics by Corinne S.

My neighbor has a new temporary housemate who comes with a little brown shitzu-bichon frise mix dog. Our combined back yards are now even more of a small dog park.

Carol loved it on her last day here when the new dog moved in. Maple, on the other hand, mostly barks at Pepper and Kaia for playing. ;-)

Cute?

Cute? by Corinne S.

I didn't realize there's such a thing as cute graffiti.

Graphic design + Politics

Logoblink has an interesting collection of presidental logos from 1960 to the present. It's makes for a fun scroll. USA political election logos 2008 - 1960

Thanks Portland!

Benjamin and I thoroughly enjoyed our weekend in Portland even though it felt predictably too short. We didn't make it to Saturday Market or the Rose Garden. We did go to Powell's, though briefly.

We slept, ate, wandered, saw Iron Man at the theater, and read books in our King sized bed. We stayed in a new-to-us hotel (the Embassy Suites downtown in the historic Multanomah Hotel building) and it was good. We slept through our complimentary breakfast both days though. ;-)

We ate at mostly at new-to-us places too and we weren't disappointed. We tried Manzana Rotisserie Grill on more or less a whim when the hotel concierge's recommendations didn't appeal. Not a 10 for atmosphere, but good food (especially their unusual creamy-cheesy tortilla soup). We did return to the Portland Steak & Chophouse since it was right in our hotel lobby. We ate new dishes this time though--both were pretty good.

But the culinary hit of the weekend was a recommendation from a valet at the hotel for our lunch on our last day. Muu-Muu's World Grill was extremely tasty and the bartender/server was friendly, helpful, and cute. :-) The menu was so wide-ranging we were dubious it could all be good, but our 2 entrees and 2 appetizers were all fabulous. I wish I could go again tomorrow.

Pug love

Three ways to sleep in my bed.. by Puggy & Me

I sometimes post photos of Maple to one of the many pug groups on Flickr. There a Portuguese family with a pug puppy found me and added me as a contact. Looking at their photos is like walking down memory lane--their pug is super adorable and looks so much like Maple. Go back to page 1 to see the earliest photos from Puggy & Me.

Walking around the neighborhood

Benjamin and I just took a long, slow walk around the neighborhood with the dogs. We got coffee and eats, looked at houses, and I restocked on audio books from the library. Its a lovely day today (thank God).

Benjamin and "the girls"

Benjamin and "the girls" by Corinne S.

My mom's pug Carol (aka The Barkster) is staying with us this week while my mom and Rich are in Las Vegas. Here Benjamin is watching episodes of Star Trek with the "pigs" between dog baths (Carol freshly bathed and Maple soon to be).

New hobby?

New hobby? by Corinne S.

Perhaps taking pictures of ironically-labeled toilet seat covers is my new hobby.

Getaway

My 4-day weekend has officially begun. Wahoo!

Tomorrow is an at-home day to sleep in and then either get some home stuff done or do a whole lotta nothin. Then Saturday we're headed to Portland for a belated anniversary weekend escape.

I'm so glad to have a break!

Thoughtful reminder

Thoughtful reminder by Corinne S.

Apparently the first of the month came and went and I didn't think to renew my parking pass. The parking company chose this cute way to remind me (and presumably others) of the oversight. Much nicer than a ticket!

First birthday girl

First birthday girl by Corinne S.

Yesterday Benjamin and I went to a party to celebrate the first birthday of our friend Sylvia's daughter Sabrina. Sabrina generally shoes away from the adoration of strangers and groups. This was a rare moment of near-hamming from little S.

Sabrina's actual birthday was on May 1st, which is also my wedding anniversary. Sunday when we celebrated Sabrina it was the actual birthday of my stepdad Rich and my cute pug Maple (born 60 years apart).