Krav Maga St. Louis. I can't recommend Sam highly enough.

Squee! Thanks, ita! Is it okay if I name-drop?

My stomach is feeling much better, but still iffy. The queasiness is still there, but not the pukiness, so yay! I have a feeling that I must have had a run-in with chicken juice when I was cooking yesterday.

Is it okay if I name-drop?

Hell yes! In fact, tell him I said hi.

Ugh, Anne. Feel better. Practical Homicide Investigation is now on its way to my house, thanks to my mom and a healthy dose of "Will you shut up about that damn book already?!" So I guess I have to finish the novel, now. On the plus side, Bayliss swore by it.

The Miracleborn home was just so pretty it made my hair hurt with envy, and I want to kidnap MM and make him build us a big-ass crazy cubbyhole-filled warren of bookshelves like the one in their living room, which rocked out loud.

Emeline was very serious and attentive, with a wise old face, and it was lovely when she faded into sleep; she was situated on my shoulder just right so I could nuzzle at her neck and smell the good baby smell of the top of her head. But, really, she was full of milky Aimee goodness and had missed her morning nap and was fully primed to doze off. The true wonder was Hec the dog whisperer, who hypnotized Ollie with ear-rubs and stern eye contact and got him to actually sit perfectly still for, like, minutes at a time (and all who have met this dog will understand what a miracle that is).

So very much not a long enough visit, and so very much not enough LAistas. The ones we did see, absolutely top-drawer; but, alas, too few.

JZ! Are you familiar with the Look at Me website, with all the found photos? There's one on there that reminds me so much of you, though the nose is completely wrong. But in terms of overall demeanor and general appearance: [link]

OMG, Tep, that's spooky.

eta: Also, we did indeed cart your stuff down to Lee's and then back up to San Francisco, because we are big loserheads. You will get the package eventually, I swear! You know, someday. Before 2008.

Also, we did indeed cart your stuff down to Lee's and then back up to San Francisco, because we are big loserheads.

You great big dorks! You'd think Hec had been preoccupied with being violently ill all weekend, or something silly like that....

No big -- it just made me laugh.

It's kind of sad, looking at Look at Me, to think of all the digital photos that aren't going to be preserved.

We took the classes, and I prepared for a natural delivery, but made an agreement with myself that I could change my mind.

This is my thinking. One of the reasons I picked the doula is did was because she was completely okay with encouraging me to go for a natural birth and then taking the epi or whatever if I felt I needed it.

Joe seems pretty freaked out about the whole birth process. I sent him a book thinking the information would make him feel more in control (that's what would work for me) but I think it had the opposite effect. So, I've told him all he needs to do is stand by my head and be supportive.

It's funny how it worked out - if he was here, I would have high expectations for him to be my "birth coach." It seems that his deployment has worked to his benefit, in this one area, because now I get the support I want and he can play the role he wants.

Joe may surprise you, Stephanie. DH was worried about how well he could handle seeing me in pain, but he was terrific through the whole thing, really hands on.