eat it.

it all made sense today.

i've always wondered why the old adage chose cake as the thing that you can't have and eat.

more importantly, why would someone want to just have a cake? i mean, cake is for eating. simple as that. even a wedding cake isn't too pretty to gobble up.

then today, i glanced at the almost-gone carrot cake that i made last thursday for some company we had friday. there's probably enough left for three or four hefty slices. and this made me sad.

me, the same person who begged people to take some cake home with them friday night so we wouldn't have too much left over. me, who's only eaten one more slice since friday...and a couple random bites here and there.

now, it should be known (if you weren't here for the girly candle party friday night) that this is my step-mom's infamously decadent carrot cake, which has converted many a carrot-cake-hater into a carrot-cake-devourer. but still, why this sudden sadness when everyone had enjoyed a slice, and i had enjoyed two?

well, here's what i've decided. to have a cake means to know it will always be there whenever you want it. i have some cake right now, but there's not enough left to convince me that, should i have a craving for carrot cake three days from now, it will still be readily available.

so which should one choose, to have a cake or to eat it? the obvious choice is still to eat it--if you don't, it will go bad and you will neither have nor eat it (hopefully). but, knowing that you can't have it forever should impact the way you eat it: slowly, passionately, hedonistically relishing every bite.

of course, the same goes for everything a cake could stand for, that is, everything good in life. when things are going well, your bills are paid, your friends are true friends, work is bearable, the weather is nice, whatever it may be, eat it up. and don't feel one ounce of guilt about enjoying things that are meant to be enjoyed. just remember cake is always better when it's shared, and if it runs out, you've still got 2 things left:

great memories and the hope that someday, there will be more cake.

me and Big Brown

yep. he's back. warm, cuddly Big Brown and i have been spending lots of time together...drinking hot cider...reading (student papers)...cuddling up on the couch with the Feral Cat. this makes four years that we've spent autumn together, and it's better every year. especially since it's my favorite time of year. and don't worry, darren's not jealous--he's got The Boss and Maverick to keep him company.

in other news, we went to the doctor again and discovered that we have a magic scale at our house. seriously, i could sell it for big bucks. according to our scale, i haven't gained a pound in 14 1/2 weeks of pregnancy. according to the doctor, i have gained 6 pounds in 2 weeks. this is a relief for me, but imagine the ordinary, non-pregnant woman. who wouldn't want a scale that miraculously kept you from knowing you had gained weight?

now, if they're like me, they would still question why their clothes fit differently. but, many women obviously rely more on numbers than appearances, because they will flip out over gaining two pounds even when they look as fabulous as ever. so, surely they would believe my magic scale as well.

hmmmm. maybe i can make a little income on the side by marketing this thing. maybe even put little willmily through college....

in other news, i think i found an atrocity to rival the $3.75 small steamer at jittery joe's. $5.25 baked potato at the bulldog cafe.

yep.

$5.25.

for a potato.

with butter and sour cream.

it's appalling what people will charge when the majority of their clientel are not spending their own money.

our baby weighs as much as a slice of cheese

whether this means american processed cheese-based "food product" (yep, read the label), or a slightly denser, much more delicious deli cheese such as cheddar or meunster, who can tell? and how thick is the slice? how big? everyone knows that deli slices are about twice the size or regular singles.

the people who write these little "as your baby grows" factoids have no sensitivity to cultural bias.

high five

many of you know that we got our first ultrasound the other day, and many of you have already seen the picture on darren's blog. he always beats me to the punch, mainly because he works in front of the computer all day and needs to divert his attention from work every now and then. but, for those who haven't seen litte grem yet, here he/she is!



we were obviously thrilled to get such a clear picture of our little baby in there, giving us either a thumbs up or a #1 signal. or, as others have postulated, singing into an air mike.


top 5 things we know about the baby so far:

1) baby LOVES potatoes in all forms

2) baby likes for momma to get lots of sleep

3) baby has no desire to try boca burgers

4) baby loves shakespeare. i mean, he/she's already been in a shakespeare production!

5) baby will either love roller coasters, or have an awkward sense of balance, since momma definitely went on six flags' new "goliath" at a mere 3 weeks pregnant

top 5 things we've learned about being pregnant:

1) no matter how much or how vehemently you object, people will call you "prego" and "preggers". why this is, we have yet to find out. i mean, really, people. prego is a spaghetti sauce.

2) like baby, momma LOVES potatoes in all forms

3) being pregnant means no cooking raw meat or changing cat litter :(

4) even before you start showing, people will try to carry things for you, offer you their seat and do all kinds of little favors, just because they know you're pregnant. it's awful. really. ;)

5) and finally, pregancy makes you an airhead. for example, in the past few days, here are some words that have completely escaped me mid-conversation: reassure, distraught, the spanish word for scissors (tijeras)....also, i just had a student in my 1002 spanish class make up an in-class composition. rather than give her the right topic from the 1002 class, i mistakenly gave her the topic from the 2001 class. needless to say, she was surprised by the difficulty of the question, though very forgiving when she realized what had happened.

on a last note, thanks to everyone for all their congratulations. it's comforting to know that people aren't frightened at the thought of more little grem-mason children. and fear not, there will be plenty more to come!

blogs that is...we'll decide about more children once we get the first one out.