One. Singular Sensation.

Bad news: I am not having kittens.
Good news: On St. Patrick's Day, I found out that my dream of Irish twins can still come true, because I am not having actual twins (I was going to call biological twins "the old fashioned way" but I think we all know that Irish twins are the true old fashioned way.)
Bad news: my blood pressure is still very reactive, and my thyroid levels are low.
Good news: I already have a prescription to pump up my 'roid (which is great, because hopefully I won't be so freezing cold all of the time) and I've been instructed to use a cuff to take my blood pressure at home, and I'm pretty sure it'll be just fine (it's always normal at the endo's office. But seriously, you can't show me a picture of my baby and expect me to stay calm. I AM A LITTLE HIGH STRUNG.)

BEST NEWS: the baby is looking big and beautiful. AND I heard his heartbeat for the first time. Please view and cry along with me:





Here he is, in all of his nine week old glory. That giant thing is his head, and then his body and little flippers. Growing and changing all of the time! (this week, he's the size of a grape.)

I go back in two weeks to get my blood pressure checked, and I have an endocrinologist appointment coming up as well. They love me at the medical group parking garage.

Cross Your Fingers!

I'm going in for an ultrasound tomorrow to make sure there's only one (healthy, beautiful) little heartbeat in there. Please cross your fingers that it's not twins. I mean, I'm sure they're great, but I'm all for doing this parenting thing one baby at a time. Unless I am in fact, having a whole litter of kittens. Then it would be okay to have more than one. YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY KITTENS.

In other news, I bought the baby some books today. And then I started crying, because I am so excited. Also, hormonal.

Walking With My Baby Down By the San Francisco Bay.

So we're back from a fabulous mini-break in one of my favorite cities of all time, San Francisco! Tim went to attend the Game Developers Conference, and I went because, well, I could! Took a few days off work, booked a trip on Virgin America (super cheap and so convenient!) and weedled my way into Tim's room at the Westin St. Francis in Union Square. Overall, Tim was happy to have me along, as long as I didn't try to hang out with him - he had lots of nerd networking to do. And trust me, there is nothing I am more willing to pass on than an evening meal with a huge group of dorks (the smell alone is enough. I mean, Tim and his friends smell okay, but there is a definite nerd funk. Think of how you'd smell if you wore the same shirt for a few days without showering, and were sweating out fast food. It's like that.)

Mom and Dad both seemed a little worried about me. Mom, that I would freeze to death (I bought a jacket and closed toed shoes) and Dad that I would be bored (thankfully, I'm my own best company. And I have friends in the city.) For me, it was actually perfect. I would walk around, sightseeing and shopping until I felt like eating, then I'd stop and have lunch. Wolfie and I napped every day from three to five pm, and then I'd meet up with a friend for dinner, and then around nine-ish, figure out where my boyfriend was and go say hi to him (we did have dinner on Thursday night with our friends Bob and Nancy, and that was very nice.)

Wednesday I went out to the Mission District and the Castro, because I'd never been out there. Spent most of my time just popping in and out of stores, and walking around until my boots rubbed a blister an inch and a half big on my heel. Thursday I went out to Alcatraz, which I've always wanted to visit. I managed to get on an early boat, and had a nice time checking the place out, even all by myself. It's not as scary as I thought it would be - it's much smaller actually and has pretty gardens. I actually met one of the five remaining survivors of Alcatraz (he was in for theft, but he has found God and been rehabilitated) who was signing copies of his book about his life and his time on the Rock. I thought that was pretty cool. Then I walked back through Chinatown and went charm shopping. Friday it was rainy, so I stuck close to home, browsing through all of the high end stores in Union Square, and then met up with a girl I knew in middle school for lunch, which was a really fabulous flashback. This morning Tim and I unfortunately missed out on the St. Patrick's Day parade, but we had breakfast together and wandered around a little before our flights. And now we're home, and still have tomorrow to rest up before going back to the grindstone.

Tim had a good trip too - he saw all of his former EA boyfriends who are working at companies scattered throughout the land. Stayed up late having booze drinks and went to nerd talks during the day. Tonight we are hanging out with his friend Ed, who just had a birthday. Ed even brought over his own cake, with plenty of frosting. A man after my own heart!

Here are some pictures - now it's almost 10 and I definitely have to go to bed. Cooking Wolfie is a tiring job. I'm nine weeks today, and will get a chance to see him again on Wednesday morning (we're double checking to make sure the second flickering thing in my womb was just the umbilical cord, not a twin. I am really hoping it's not twins. I don't think I could pass two Ford skulls in the same day.)

San Francisco from the boat to Alcatraz

The ROCK.

Noted.

Three stories of 5x8 foot cells. I did get to walk into one of the "solitary" cells, and the guard shut the door behind a bunch of us. It was CREEPY.

The gardens.

Me on the boat ride back, after I pithily texted Tim "Alcatraz actually has a lot in common with the OC. You can see the city, but you don't get to live there." (Don't get all angry, suburban mice. I realize there will be things I'll appreciate more about the OC as my child becomes a viable human being and can attend better public schools than in LA, but I am still a city mouse at heart.)

The Transamerica building as seen from Chinatown.

A little San Francisco street art featuring my totem animal, the raccoon.

Outside an Irish pub. Oh Guinness, how I wish I could dance with you!

You Heard It Here First

(actually, you probably didn't. I probably already squealed to you. Or our parents did after obtaining our permission)

The two Bruins are expecting a cub.

He's pretty good looking, isn't he? This is our 8 week ultrasound picture, taken Friday. You can see that like his father, he has a giant head and a small body. The other little things are the paddles that will eventually grow into arms and legs. Right now, he's roughly he size of a blueberry.

Other than being tired all the time, I feel like a million bucks. We are both SO excited (as are the grandparents, and Auntie Sara.)

Gonna Set My Soul on Fire!

We are back safe and sound from Vegas. It's not really my town, considering I don't really drink and I don't really gamble. And while I definitely eat, I'd rather not spend $50+ on every meal. But we had a good time hanging out with some of my coworker friends, and Anja had a good birthday celebration.

We had fancy dinner as a group on Saturday, and then on Sunday Anja scored us free tickets to see Love, the Cirque de Soleil show set to the music of the Beatles (squee!) The rest of the time we filled with eating, wandering around the casino and checking out the strip. Tim and I, collectively, gambled away $16. I know. We're high rollers. And note: I played most of those on a dollar by dollar basis. At one point I was up 52 cents on one of my dollars, but then I lost it all! (we didn't have to wash dishes to pay our dinner bill, thankfully.)

Fun jewelry related items: in addition to all of the sparklers that I brought, Anja also let me wear this fabulous ruby and diamond necklace that she won in a casino tournament a few years ago. I wore it every day, including to breakfast. She teased me about it, but I pointed out that I couldn't very well leave the necklace alone in our room. What if it got lonely? In other thrilling news, on Sunday I was in the Dior store, drooling heavily over their Diorette rings. They're gemstones and enamel and a knuckle-ful of prettiness.

Too bad they are also $16,000. But getting to try one on was amazing enough (full disclosure: mom and I once got to try them on in Beverly Hills too. It's slightly less fun to try these beauties on without mom.)

So, here are some of the photos from our trip:

Catalina and the sunset on the flight over.

We stayed at the Bellagio. Paris, and the water show at night.

Tim getting crushed by art.

Just a little snack.

Tim, Minky Boodle and I at Love

Me, peeved about losing yet another dollar (good shot of Anja's necklace and my fake eyelashes, which I also wore all weekend long.)

The view from our hotel room yesterday morning

The lobby at the Bellagio

Tim is all out of money on Monday afternoon. Because he only brought about $25 with him for the trip.

Viva Las Vegas!

In a few short hours we are off for a weekend of debauchery. It's my boss's 40th birthday, and we are headed to the Bellagio to celebrate her. I know you are thinking, "a weekend with my boss, that sounds like a nightmare." Well, that's because your boss isn't Anja. Anja is in a word, AWESOME. My coworker Trena and I are both going (there goes the development department!) The other fun is that Anja is a fairly regular Vegas-goer, so we are taking advantage of her perks. Like being met by limos at the airport!

So, what have I packed for Vegas? I'm glad you asked.
*two pairs of false eyelashes
*two fur items (Doxie, and Minky Boodle)
*three bracelets
*one giant pair of earrings
*three necklaces (including two different sets of great fake pearls)
*three books and a magazine (for two hours worth of flight time, of course)
*two fancy dresses
*a new red bathing suit
*and then some boring jeans and tee shirts

I AM SO EXCITED!

We've already had a nice weekend thus far. With mom and dad in San Francisco (wearing flowers in their hair) we had Sara staying with us. Last night we got a giant delicious Greek pizza and then watched Mary Poppins, which Tim insists he has never seen before. I couldn't believe it (his parents don't look like wolves) but during the key scenes I'd turn to him and say "do you remember this?" and he had no idea. He enjoyed it though (how could you not?) Today Sara and I went shopping and ran some errands, and now she's off with her boyfriend, and I am considering a nap before our flight. Oh naps, I love you so.

Nap time.

Let's see... I wish I had some huge and exciting news for you all, but no dice. My sister has turned 27, which means she's old but not quite as old as me. I made a heart shaped caramel cake, and we hung out with Auntie Lisa.

Work has been good for both of us, nothing to report there. The biggest fun is the Winter Olympics. Cue Tim and I staying up way past our bedtimes for days on end trying to catch all of the action.

I dunno. We've cleaned the house a couple of times. We went and saw Carousel at the Freud Playhouse last weekend (at UCLA) and Tim bought himself a new fancy TV for our Superbowl Party.

So, no news, no new knowledge, except this:

Cat naps are always better with an actual cat.