What not to wear...

Does anyone watch Survivor anymore?

I was watching this week, and it is amazing how clueless contestancts continue to be. In the first episode, apparently people were "suprised" by the fact that the game started without them getting a chance to change into something more suitable.

I don't know about you, but as soon as I was selected for a show that would require living on an island in mud and rain, I would not be wearing heels again. I would be wearing multiple layers of clothes with waterproof hikers and a necklace made of flint and bug dope. Perhaps a nice tarp cape over my goretex rainjacket, tied to my neck with running shoes. Maybe a hat that folds out to a tent. Edible jewelery would also be a plus.

Yep, the other contestants in their summer dresses and dress pants would laugh and mark me as the crazy Alaskan doomed for elimination, but hey, how long would that last as I slept comfortably in my little hat-tent wrapped warmly in a cozy tarp?

September pictures!

The unbearable lightness of being fluffy

Let me start off by saying that I don't think of myself as a vain person when considering body image. Save for a few months here and there of either teenage panic or general upsetness about not being able to fit in a pair of jeans, I am more interested in the functional aspects of what my body can do -- like running, biking, skiing, etc.

So it really hit me when I looked in the mirror the other day. It's not like I'm suprised, but it's really odd to see myself expanding like a pregnant gal should and not immediately think about fluffiness. I'm still not at the point where I look more pregnant than fluffy to anyone else. However, when you add that to the fact that I have been advised not to exercise hard due to a regularly high exercising heart rate...it's just hard to deal with it all at the same time.

So what does Lori do when she can't run and needs a body image boost? That's right, go shopping :) In my quest to find cheap, nice-looking maternitywear, so far I have been horrified by the pickins in town. It's like having a nightmare where you go to an outlet store. Finally, I've settled on buying online and having them shipped -- images look so nice on the internet and I figure if I can just get them in the house, I can grow used to weird stretchy jeans with strange bands of material above the belt line. Otherwise, I can return them to the store (thanks modern world!)

I'll tell you how it goes :)

When I grow up I want to be an Association Manager

...whatever that is.

Find out what your true calling is by going here and entering nycareers/landmark.

My top 20 were:
1) "Association Manager" -- A vague term for the one person who basically does it all for the operation of some "Association".
2) "Health Care Administrator": This one ALWAYS pops up for me.
3) "Project Manager": Ding!
4) "Computer Engineer": Ding!
5) "Operations Research Analyst": Ah, here's where my education went :)
6) "Management Consultant": See a pattern yet?
7) "Industrial Engineer": How about now?
8) "Electrical Engineering Tech": What's the difference between these two?
9) "Electronics Engineering Tech": ?
10) "Industrial Engineering Tech": This is where it gets weird
11) "Hotel Manager": Great!
12) "Cable Installer and Repairer": ...The cable gal!
13) "Optical Lab Technician": Kinda like the electrical engineering tech, but with eyes
14) "Massage Therapist": Huh?
15) "Logistics Specialist": Another one of those things I considered in school...
16) "Mathematician": My undergrad major only wound up being 16. I wonder if they have any majors for "Association Manager" yet?
17) "Ship's Crew": I'd much rather be the captain!
18) "Welder"
19) "Boilermaker": See, Mom, there's a reason I didn't go to Purdue!
20) "Computer Support Person": Obviously I like the computers but don't like to support them.

Anyways, have fun trying it yourself. Who knows, maybe you'll find a new career?

One..Two..Three..Four

Have you heard that catchy Feisttune in the iPod commercials yet? The entire album is great. Happy Wednesday!

Four things to share today:
It's gettin' cold here!
Not that I don't love summer, but I find up here I am impatient during the "hump seasons" of fall and spring. This year, winter seems late so I was excited to feel the weather turning this week. In fact, the local farmers are conceding that frost should come sometime this week. Maybe Termination dust will be following soon???
Shaken, not stirred
We also had a 4.3 earthquake last afternoon, about 60 miles from Anchorage. It was shaky enough to cockyswabble our wall hangings. Basically the movement seemed directly north to south and lasted, it seemed to me, for a very long time. Frank, at work at UAA which I assume has all the earthquake proof acoutrements, did not feel a thing :)
Pregnancy Report
Yes, I am still pregnant. Everything is fine -- although I am unbelievably hungry all the time! I blame Chicken, especially for the cravings. Today, Chicken is begging for some Nilla Wafer bananna pudding and nachos. Neither is on the "Good Granola mommy list of things to eat while pregnant to insure optimal nutrition and minimal exposure to fast food/simple sugar which lead to a lifetime of obesity and junk food addiction". I also think it is a good idea today to buy supplies to make a bunch of layette clothes with my own two hands out of t-shirts, fabric paint and dye. For me and Chicken's sake, I hope this goes away. I went to my first pre-natal yoga today, which was fun. It was nice to see other pregnant women maneuvering gracefully (and sometimes not). An overachiever, I had to be reminded to chill out multiple times, but all and all a successful experience.
3) I am happily touched to be "number one on Anne's top 8". I'm not sure exactly what that means but I assume it's good?

A "Delicate Situation"

I eat two breakfasts. And dessert. Every day.
I have hiccups all the time.
I am now dangerous in a supermarket due to my awkward body memory.
Sometimes I get pains in my kidneys I can't explain.
I crave grapefruit. Pink Grapefruit to be exact.
Oh, and I'm tired. Very tired.

Does this sound like a "delicate situation", as I heard someone describe it today? If you haven't guessed it or didn't know yet, I'm "officially" pregnant. Chicken (gender-neutral for the moment) is due to arrive during the ides of March 08 (for those of you who follow horoscopes, this makes Chicken a Pisces and a Rat).

We are very excited, and are quickly getting used to the idea of being parents, while I'm getting used to the great experiment that is now happening within me.

Anyways, I thought I'd let the Blog world know now that it's official, hopefully blogging will commence more now that we are all on the same page :)