In light of the whole not having a job thing, and needing money for baby stuff, and since I'm seriously out of practice with Japanese... I've decided to sell items from my manga/artbooks/random stuff collection.

These are all in perfect, mint condition. Please note, all items were imported from Japan years ago, and are NOT in English.

Also, I will be updating this with more information on specific series, with pictures, etc. Later.

If you know of anybody who is interested in anime/manga, please feel free to direct them to this post. Thanks!

( Click Here for the List )

Yayyayayayayayay!

My sister in law JUST had her baby, a beautiful little girl. I can't wait to spoil her and take her shopping with Felicity!

=D

Life is goooooooood.

God is great, babies are such miracles from Heaven!

Boys are so stupid, sometimes.

It's late, and Felicity has randomly woken up, as she's been doing lately (I think it's a growth spurt, whee). I feed her, and am rocking her to sleep in my arms. Eric is playing video games.

My brother calls my cell phone. I don't answer, as I'm with baby. Eric doesn't answer, because he's lazy.

He then calls Eric's cell phone. Eric finally think to himself, "Hm, maybe I should answer it, could be important." He goes to find his phone, but doesn't get there in time. He thinks to himself, "Oh, well."

David THEN calls the house phone. Of course, at this point I'm nearly livid, because I'm trying to put my baby back to sleep, and if Eric would just ANSWER THE FREAKING PHONE she'd be asleep already and back in her crib, instead of jerking awake and looking for the source of the noise.

Eric sees that it's my brother, again, but instead of ANSWERING THE PHONE he ignores it, because now he's annoyed that my brother has called so late, and so many times.

HOW THE HELL DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE AT ALL?

Wouldn't the fact that somebody has called EVERY freaking phone in the house signify to any normal person that they REALLY need to talk? I was assuming an emergency or something. Eric was just "annoyed" and so didn't answer.

So I finally put baby back to sleep, and call my brother back... and he says sorry for calling so often, because it wasn't an emergency after all, HE JUST HAD A COMMENT ABOUT AN EMAIL CONVERSATION WE WERE HAVING.

WHAT. THE. HELL.

Why couldn't he just EMAIL ME THE DAMN COMMENT?

Why can't my husband just ANSWER THE DAMN PHONE?

Argh. Stupid. Boys. Argh.

Rough night.

She woke up screaming three times, big tears, etc. Nightmare? Gas? Teething?

Finally, sleeeeeeep!

She woke at 4:15am, hungry! What happened to 6:30am?

Had leaked through diaper - mama didn't put it on properly, oops. Daddy had to change the sheets and everything while mama fed baby.

Baby ate, baby was half-asleep. Mama burped baby, baby burped... and vomited up at least six ounces, all over Mama, chair, floor, Boppy pillow.

Baby is hungry again, but won't eat. Can't sleep, too much went on. Mama is dead exhausted.

Daddy is sleeping.


.....

Even with the occasional rough nights, I still love being a Mommy. Best thing, ever!

But there’s a story behind everything. How a picture got on a wall. How a scar got on your face. Sometimes the stories are simple, and sometimes they are hard and heartbreaking. But behind all your stories is always your mother’s story, because hers is where yours begins.


“Mom?”
It’s just a sound really, a hum interrupted by open lips. But there are a zillion words on this planet, and not one of them comes out of your mouth the way that one does.

- Mitch Albom, For One More Day

I am so blessed.

Eric got a job! Felicity can sit up on her own! We're not sick!

Also, I'm going to be creating a wedding business with my sister-in-law, Sarah, and one of my best friends, Martha. We'll do flowers, cakes, some desserts, websites, and planning/organizing. We're also going to offer diaper cakes and baby shower planning/hosting! It should be lots of fun.

Eric's mother is on her way to Pullman right now, for the annual FFA convention. I'm jealous. I really want to go there, I'd love to see some old friends that are still at WSU. That said, I also wish I could've gone because maybe then I wouldn't have the horrible, awful haircut I'm currently sporting. It's SHORT SHORT SHORT, as in, pixie cut. The front and top is cute, but the back needs to grow out because there is absolutely NO style to the way my "stylist" cut it - it's rounded like a boy's haircut, no cute edging or layering. SIGH. I miss Denise Lord, she works in downtown Pullman and I've NEVER had anybody cut and style my hair better. She's amazing.

My computer is finally set up in our bedroom, but I still have to move over my portable HD so I can start uploading some photos and finish some personal websites. Woo!

Okay, I'm done now.

That was a lie. My sister's almost due! I'm so excited for her! Her total weight gain is eight pounds - she was so sick and lost so much weight, but she's finally doing better and I couldn't be happier for her and her husband, Josh. They also confirmed recently that they're having a little girl... Yay!

My friend Martha is due (again) in December, which makes it twelve months between her baby Melanie and the new little one on its way. I'd be so scared, I definitely want to wait a couple of years before having another (God willing).

My friends Megan and Mykal are both due in the beginning of August, the same week as Sarah...

Megan's sister is due in a few weeks...

... and then I know at least three or four other couples who are expecting, trying, or just had babies.

Baby booms are definitely filled with cuteness, but I can't help but wonder how many people are having babies because they're "stylish" (this is aimed more toward celebrities, single women, and crazies like the octo-mom). And I don't even want to imagine the number of dirty diapers filling up our landfills.

Okay, on that note, I'm done.

(Almost - I wish you could hear Felicity. I should record her. Her babble is SO freaking cute.)

This is mainly for Sarah, since I know she'll find it just as amusing as I did...

A few minutes ago two very stylish city girls knocked a bit frantically on my door. They wanted to let me know that we had a huge brush fire on our property (!!!!!!).

It was actually a very small, very controlled burning pile of brush and other yard debris.

It was actually our obnoxious neighbors' property.

I'm still giggling a bit.

...

Oh, and life is okay - I got sick again, Felicity got sick again, Eric got really sick again, but we're better now. And the daffodils and tulips are blooming. And I have hot-pink geraniums to plant!

Oh, and my mom has a HUGE kidney stone, so there's an operation scheduled for in a week, but that's nothing compared to the huge operation she had to remove a tumour that THANK GOD was not cancerous. I've pretty much been taking care of various family members for the last month.

(So in case you were wondering why I still haven't been updating, now you know.)

My perfect little lovable orange and white tabby kitty is missing.

Eric let him outside yesterday before he left at 3:45pm, we both arrived home at 7pm. Normally Chewie and Oliver will both run up to the cars to say hello and walk with us down our walkway to the door so they can come inside and have a treat and get some snuggles.

Chewie wasn't there. I was worried, I told Eric that something was wrong. He said Chewie was okay, he's a cat and they like to wander.

I called him, and later called him some more. He always comes when I call, but he didn't come last night... Then it snowed, and hailed.

Chewie HATES hail. He always comes running frantically for the door when it's bad weather.

Yes, he's spoiled.

He didn't come, even though I called him all evening...

... and this morning.

I've walked our two acres twice, and along the highway, and the only options left are to ask our neighbors (we have two, one with a chocolate labrador who likes to chase Chewie up trees, the other with two huge Newfoundlands that run away from our cats), or assume that coyotes got him.

It seems odd that coyotes would get him, though, because he went missing between 3:45-7pm, and they're not usually out until dusk in this area.

Hopefully he's just been enjoying himself in a neighbor's kitchen, eating canned tuna and being spoiled with love.

I miss him.

ADDENDUM

Apparently he hopped into the back of Eric's best friend's pickup truck, and spent the night in the rafters of their garage. We got him back a couple of hours ago, and I kept my promise to Eric (that if we found him, Chewie would get an entire BIG can of tuna). He has yet to finish it, but that's only because he's too busy killing mice and chasing hummingbirds. =)

So it's pretty well known that most other nations endorsed Obama. I wonder how many of them did so knowing that with his liberal foreign policies, it would weaken the U.S. dominance, and how many people think of that when they speak of how proud they are to have a president that other nations support.

... Honestly, while I think it's important to be diplomatic with other nations, I'd rather have a president that other nations hate, so long as he/she's definitely working toward the good of our nation.

... Yeah, I'm selfish. I don't care.

By the way, for those who think I just hate Obama or something, that's not true. I just didn't want him as our president (though of course now that he's in office, I'll support him). And I wasn't so fond of McCain, either.

Want to know a secret?

(I voted for Nader.)

Felicity is grabbing her toys! Not all of the time, and it's a very awkward snatch, but she's working on her hand-eye coordination and today she grabbed her toys and learned that she causes her rattle to make noise! It makes her so happy - she hasn't done a huge giggle or laugh out loud yet (it's mainly huge smiles and coos and gurgles and happy shrieks), but I'm hoping soon she'll be actually laughing. Usually she smiles with her mouth completely open and makes this "HEEEEEEE" sound that's kind of deep, but I want giggles like she does when she's sleeping! Oh, and with her little Asian eyes, she's so darn adorable when she smiles that I sometimes have to grab a pillow to squeeze really hard (because I can't squeeze her hard yet).

Also, she's still rolling over from tummy to back (she's been doing that since she was about five days old). Oh, and she loves her mobile.

I love being a mommy. It's so rewarding.

Oh, and I will be posting a link to her website soon-ish. Promise. Really. For seriously.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
The flames will not set you ablaze.
Isaiah 43:2

I do love me some Jesus! God is so good!

Also, Felicity has the best auntie, ever. Auntie Sarah already got her a pony! Her name is Windy, and she's an adorable little pinto for an adorable little girl. Whee! =D

I can't wait for my beautiful sister in law to pop! She's around 12 weeks along, but I wish she were in her ninth month already so we could play with our babies together! I'm sure she wishes she were in ninth month as well, since her morning sickness is so bad she's on anti-nausea medications, wearing wrist bands, and still can barely eat (let alone keep anything down). If you're the praying sort, please add her to your prayer list (she's lost 12 pounds so far!). Ahh, but yes. Whether she has a boy or girl, I can't wait to see them both riding ponies (because of course her child will have a pony before he/she is born, I'm sure!) and chasing chickens and jumping with lambies together. Yayayayayay!

Also, I'm totally not ready for another baby, but sometimes when I look at Felicity my heart just fills with so much love that I kind of think I need another baby just so I can get some of this love out before I explode. But then I remind myself that adding another bundle of joy would not only make me much less lovely (can we say cranky, sleep deprived, and bankrupt from the cost of diapers?!), but of course I'd love the new baby just as much, and then I'd have twice the excess amount of love. I'd definitely explode.

Which reminds me, I'm not sure if I posted it here or not, but my brother David was talking about the new Blackberry Storm a month or so ago, and after he made a comment on how cool it sounded, Eric just replied, "Sounds messy."

I love my husband. He's so good at making me giggle. Incessantly. For hours on end.

And on that note, I'm off. I have to make his lunch for tomorrow, anyway. It's Friday, so he gets an extra cookie to celebrate! =D

I have the following songs stuck in my head, on repeat. It's an interesting mix.

( And So It Goes, Billy Joel )

( Both Sides of the Coin, from The Mystery of Edwin Drood, by Rupert Holmes (and Charles Dickens, I suppose) )

( Jesus Draw Me Ever Nearer, Music by Keith Getty, Words by Margaret Becker )

Oh, and I finally saw the Tim Burton version of Sweeney Todd. 'Twas good. I love me some Sondheim, and now I have such a hankering to see Assassins and Sunday in the Park with George.

I think it's hilarious that nearly all of the answers I've read to this one are for schools for people with special abilities. I guess everybody wants to be special. Ah, well, me too...

Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters
Sky High
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Oh,and for those Twilight fans who keep putting "Forks High School" down on their list... HAVE YOU EVER SEEN FORKS? Seriously?! There's a reason they didn't film the movie there, you know.

And I only mean to slightly offend my dear friends that live there. And no offense at all to Pasha, because he's so internationally metropolitan that he's miles above the average Forks resident (which, by the way, if you've ever been to Forks, you'd know is pretty darn fugly and probably not too bright).

Addendum
Oooh! And Star Fleet Academy, and Jedi Academy!

I finally made our baby announcement... It took a lot longer than it should've because I didn't have Photoshop installed on this computer. But it's finally done, in time to be sent out with Christmas cards!

God is Good! (All the Time!)

So, basically, this last weekend was the most difficult of my entire life. Felicity has officially entered the "painfully gassy baby" club. It's not quite colic, because it doesn't repeat at the same time every day, but she's having quite a few issues with straining and her upset tummy... To the point that she's crying in her sleep.

Let me tell you, there's nothing more damaging than hearing your baby cry in her sleep and not being able to do anything about it. Waking her up is WAY worse, because then she's fully aware of the pain and begins squawking (which of course results in more air swallowed, further compounding the whole gassy problem). So I sneak and rub her belly and work her legs, but it's just awful. (Oh, and yes, she's burping after meals and also taking Mylicon, and it's not anything I've been eating, both her pediatrician and I agree that her digestive system is just having issues with her larger intake of food.)

Yes. So, there was lots of crying. And I was stuck at home without a way to leave the house with her. And Eric was up in Renton learning to drive a motorcycle. It was rough.

Anyway, so the point is, the entire weekend, every time Felicity would begin crying again (which was pretty much whenever she wasn't nursing, because the sudden onset of gas was keeping her awake, so she was also overtired, which made her cranky) I would pray. I was praying to God for patience, because I obviously needed it. I also prayed for knowledge, so that I could help my baby girl with what was wrong (because at the time, I didn't really know, she was just crying a lot and I was trying to figure it out).

Yes. So. Then on Monday she was back to being the wonderful little only-squawks-when-there's-a-reason baby. She's still gassy and still whimpers when it gets bad, but she seems to be learning already how to deal with it, and I'm certainly better about it.

Anyway. So I had prayed, right? And then I remembered that asking God for patience isn't going to suddenly make me Job-like, and praying for knowledge won't make me a baby whisperer. God doesn't work that way. I've been praying for patience and knowledge since she was born, because obviously I want to be a good Mommy. Well, God doesn't just give out character traits, He gives us opportunities to develop them. This weekend, though trying, was excellent for me because it helped me to rely on God for help, and also made me realize, yet again, that God really is amazing. I can honestly say that I'm more patient with Felicity when she's fussing, and I (hopefully) won't freak out if she won't stop crying and I'm home alone and I haven't showered in two days and the house is a mess. It happens. And if she's crying and I can't figure out why, well, maybe she's just crying to unwind. Or for no reason. It's okay if I don't know, I don't need all of the answers. I just need to love her and take care of her as best I can.

Yes. So. I just realized the time. I'm exhausted, and going to bed.

Oh, and another thing - I'm also praying for a few friends, that they would be patient with their morning sickness. It's a whole other round of babies!