It's a girl

So everyone, Chikin is definitely a girl! Those of you who guessed right can now lord it over all of those who guessed wrong :)

The amniotic fluid issue is improving, and Chikin/Kira is doing just fine. My AFI was 9 which is just on the edge of acceptable, as opposed to 7, which was most definitely not. It's likely I still will not be able to do anything but sit around the house and drink insane amounts of water until it improves, which sucks.

In other news, it's my birthday! I share my birthday with many interesting people, like Anne, Kevin Kline, Scot Peterson, and Levi Leipheimer. It's also Pear day in France, and the first snow day of the year up here in AK.

Crazy!

Here's an optical illusion that has been making its' rounds, and if you read the solution it's pretty insane our eyes work in that way.

In "Pregnant" news, the doctor says I can't go to pre-natal yoga today or any day until I get an ultrasound to see if my ogliohydromnios thing has been alleviated or not. I know I should not be self-centered and should be patient, but man, am I disappointed. Not doing anything strenuous for a week is turning me into a jigglypuff.

Contest Extension!

So everyone --

I've got great news and not so good news.

The good news is twofold:
-- Chikin is totally fine, has all of the parts that a fetus should have, including a bladder, kidneys, brain and heart. Chikin moves, waves hands, jaws, feet, etc.
The bad news is also twofold:
-- I'm sick so the amount of fluid in the womb was "abnormal".
-- Chikin was sitting on his/her feet with his/her hand over his/her parts. So, we couldn't tell if Chikin is a he or a she.
Back to the good news:
The contest below for chikin gender determination has been extended! Feel free to up the ante by putting your choice in the comments -- the reward will be the ability to say "I told you so" to all of my friends and family :)

Chicken Gender throwdown

Hi Everyone --

On Tuesday, we will find out chicken's gender to 85% accuracy. While we are waiting, we might as well run a poll, so here it is:

Reality Bites: Meerkat Manor

Frank and I watch Meerkat Manor on the Discovery Channel. It's a show that follows the lives of meerkats in the Kalahari desert. Despite your stance on anthropomorphism, strangely the meerkats provide one of the most compelling hours of television around, if you can get around Discovery channel's signature "post-commercial recap" tendencies.

So, one of the most beloved meerkats, Flower, died in the Sept 28 show. For meerkat fans, this was very traumatic. Some people have questioned why the scientists did not "save" Flower when it was clear she was dying. Personally, unlike most reality TV, I'm thrilled that the filmmakers actually felt an obligation to not intervene, in order to let nature take it's course. To see this on a show geared for kids is a brave move -- maybe the "grown up" shows will take a hint?

ETA: Of course, I'm not suggesting that, for example, Survivor let contestants die! However, we all know that producers are influencing results to make for good television.

Things I won't be wearing for Halloween

Umm, No.

Here are some other Suggestions.

Sunsets and Snow

As Fall finally draws to a close, Anchorage starts to get spectacular sunrises, like this one:
Once the skies turn pink, it's only a matter of time before the inevitable happens:

October 7, 2007 -- first snowing morning on Anchorage Hillside.