You might wonder what those two things have in common. Heck, you might wonder what those two things even ARE. That's okay, because I'm about to tell you.

The RIAdventure cruise is the brainchild of Joshua Cyr over at Useful Concept. He decided that he wanted to take a cruise, and invite people in his industry, namely web development. So he did it...and the result was RIAdventure.

I can't go on the cruise because, as you may know, I'll have a 2 or 3 month old baby at that point, but I wish all of them well. The main reason I'm posting is because Joshua is having a contest to drum up support for RIAdventure. To enter, all you need do is answer these questions:

1) List your top reason someone should go to RIAdventure.
2) List your top reason you want to try out WOW (world of warcraft).

My answers are as follows:

1) A cruise would be a wonderful way to immerse yourself in learning about web development.
2) World of Warcraft is an immersive environment with great challenges, fun game play, and beautiful artwork and graphics.

Why not read more about the contest? Check the link

Thanks to Hurricane Ike and panicked Tennessee drivers, we're having a major gas shortage around here. Most stations only have premium fuel available, if any at all. I would guess this is happening in a lot of cities, but I've read a few articles that suggest it is more prevalent in Tennessee because of where we primarily get our fuel from. This is the area where the schools close down for a few snowflakes. Where you'd better leave for work extra early if it's drizzling, because traffic will be terrible. Where everyone hides out at home if there's a thunderstorm warning.

So it shouldn't surprise me that when these people get wind of a gas shortage, they decide to spend an hour or more in line (thereby wasting gas, right??) to fill up their tanks. Because once the stations run out, we'll NEVER GET GAS AGAIN!!! I am glad I got some last night while at Kroger, because today, every station I saw that didn't have bags over all their pumps had cars lined up 30 strong in either direction. Good grief!

As we were trying to make our way down Gallatin Road this afternoon, I said to Noelle "we just can't seem to get around this traffic!" She said "I know how to get us through - with my SUPER. SPECIAL. FINGER. POWER!!" as she held up her index finger like it had magic inside. Right at that moment there was a break in traffic and I started to move forward. She said, "See? It worked!" If only it were that simple! Soon after, I came to a stop again and she said, "Oh. It stopped working." Soon the stations will start getting their shipments of gas again, and we'll all be a-okay, and traffic will get back to normal. At least until it rains again.

Lately Noelle has been exhibiting every signs of turning 3.

- Temperamental and often moody? Check
- Endlessly uses the word no in a defiant manner? Check
- Wants to do her own thing? Check

So Jaime and I have been trying to come up with clever, and innovative ways to get Noelle to do what we want her to, without compromising her independence. I wanted Noelle to go to the store with me tonight, both because we needed a few things (plus I enjoy taking her with me), and to give Jaime a little time alone. Problem is that she didn't want to go.

So I told Noelle a story about Ellen the squirrel-o and how she went with her Daddy to the store to buy some groceries for dinner. Then I asked Noelle if she wanted to go to the store like Ellen and presto..."yes Daddy". I walked in to the kitchen to make a grocery list when Jaime added her two cents with a "why don't you print pictures of the things you need so that Noelle can help you?"

Well, we didn't have time for that, but since there were only a half dozen things on the list, I drew pictures of each of the things while Noelle was watching, then I told her what those things were while I drew them. She picked up on them right away, and after a minute or so was able to recite everything off the list, just by looking at the pictures. So off we went to the grocery store. You can tell she was excited about helping me shop by the picture.

Hey everyone...just wanted to share a recipe with you. It's called Southwestern Salad and it's an easy way to add some flavor and protein while keeping the calories and fat low.

Southwestern Salad
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

Serve on lettuce with shredded cheese, salsa, ranch dressing, and crumbled tortilla chips.

The mix also tastes good as a chip dip for whatever you have leftover after salads! I also added some leftover chicken this last time and it was excellent

[15:58] JaimelynB: noelle had some edamame for lunch and said "edamame is my favorite! and edadaddy"
[15:58] mydognacho: shut up...did she really say that???
[15:58] JaimelynB: yes
[15:59] JaimelynB: because she prononces it "edamommy"
[15:59] mydognacho: ba dum bum

Ours are all currently sopping wet. All of them. I woke up about 30 minutes ago to the sound of rushing water, immediately woke up Andy, and soon heard him use a word reserved for pretty bad stuff. All the lights were still off, so I was pretty confused. I ran out toward the kitchen, and soon realized he hadn't turned the light on because the water was pouring out from the light fixture. Kitchen - flooded. Office - getting there. Andy rushed outside to get our biggest bucket and threw it under the leak, and I rushed to get our towels. Andy called Robin upstairs to check out the situation, told her he'd be right up.

Meanwhile I'm down here pushing around all of our soaking wet towels trying to manage some of this water on our newly refinished floor and our newly installed cabinets. When Andy comes back down, he tells me it's some water filter under Robin's sink that has apparently cracked, but the water is turned off now so the leak should be slowing down. It does, fortunately, but now it's raining from the ceiling a bit in the office and the kitchen. Awesome. This will probably go on for a while longer, as all the water finds its way out through our ceiling. Hey, at least we hadn't repaired the drywall yet from the huge leak we had a few years ago! There's always an upside, right?

Andy thinks he can fix the plumbing issue himself, hopefully it doesn't turn into a big expense along with this big mess. We have it contained now, except for what is still dripping out of the ceiling, of course. The kitchen light doesn't work, so we'll have to figure out what the situation is there in the morning. All I can say is, thank God that Noelle has school tomorrow. And that she is somehow still asleep through all of the commotion. I'm going back to bed.

We are just 5 weeks away from "ReagEv's" due date, and at this moment I wish it were today. Well, maybe not today, because Andy is out of town at a conference and he definitely needs to be here. But when I think about another 5 weeks of this baby pushing me around from the inside, making it difficult for me to do the things I need to do, and causing me to sit down on a display of dog food at the store (as happened tonight) because I feel nauseated, it seems like a long time.

On the other hand, when I think we haven't yet pulled the car seat or any of the baby clothes out, we haven't bought any diapers, we haven't washed the bassinet cover, we haven't really done ANYTHING, I am glad we have at least a few more weeks to get ready! And it's not like it's going to be any easier on the other side. I'll just have different aches and pains, and I'll be sitting on the dog food because I'm so dang tired. And as for the things I need to do? My list will be trimmed down to one thing for a while - take care of my kiddos.

I've started thinking about how it will be to have two, and what impact it will have on my relationship with Noelle. We're struggling at times right now, going back and forth between "you're the best Mommy ever" and "I don't want to talk to you." I read an article that said moms and toddlers argue on average 20 times per hour, and as many as 55. No wonder I'm so exhausted! Noelle is already asking us to treat her like a baby in some ways, even as far as asking for the "other part" of her bed, meaning the part that makes it a crib. We were anticipating that possibility after the baby comes, but not before. She is full of surprises.

My hopes for the next 5 weeks are:
- Get our kitchen finished (should be Sept 15)
- Have a maid come out and do a pre-baby full house cleaning
- Obviously get all the baby stuff out and ready
- Get as much sleep as possible
- Make sure Andy packs his bag BEFORE I go into labor, unlike last time

I'm sure I'll think of a lot more, but right now I think I'll focus on that one about sleep...