Podcasting Anyone?

I have found a new favorite thing in the last few weeks. Podcasting. I know that podcasting has been around for a while, but I didn't realize how awesome it was.

At work I usually listen to a mix of music from my Ipod and stream various talk radio shows. However, at work they cut us off from anything that sucks up bandwidth which means that I cannot access any type of streaming. This led me to a dilemma. I have a lot of music on my ipod, but 8 hours a day for a week can make anyone's playlist start to sound a little boring. Most of the talk radio shows I listen to have podcast so I decided to try it out. And I love it! Now i can listen to all my shows, without commercials. Which means that I can actually get in more actual listening time during the day.

The talk shows that I normally listen to are the Denis Prager Show, The Hugh Hewitt show, and some NPR, and some KFAN (A sports radio station we have here in Minnesota). Most of the talk radio I listen to is political and on the conservative side. But I have discovered a few other gems on this podcasting journey.

One podcast i subscribed to is a documentary about climbing Mount Everest (It's a video podcast). National Geographic has a bunch of cool podcasts. But, one of the coolest podcast is an NPR live concerts podcast. You can download a bunch of live concerts from artist such as Iron & Wine, Jose Gonzales, Low, Stars, Wilco, The Arcade Fire, and Nickel Creek. And they are all really awesome and the host usually interviews them. NPR has a bunch of other cool podcast from songs of the day to political commentary. I also subscribe to an advanced notes in Spanish podcast. It is basically 2 people speaking in Spanish for 15 minutes. Its just a nice way to be able to listen to real spanish to help me remember how to understand. Since I like basketball (NBA not college) there are other podcast from various analysts talking about basketball.

On a side note: I could be an NBA analyst. I watch just as much NBA as any of them do and the thing is you never have to be right. You can be wrong 90% of the time and it doesn't matter. I can do that. I could comment on any team in the NBA.

Anyway, I guess my point is that podcasting rules, and if you are stuck at work with nothing to listen to and you have an Ipod, you should try out some podcasting.

Podcast on my friends!

how did she do it?

i can admit that i am not really thin, but i'm also not that fat. granted, having a baby has put on some pounds. all of which i am hoping to and planning to shed after the delivery. however, i am so confused as to how some women get away with barely gaining anything but the actual baby.

today, this lady that works at my company stopped in to show everyone her new baby. she just had the baby 2 weeks ago, so i was thinking she would still have a little bit of the belly. did she, you ask? no! none at all. she looked like she never had a belly and got a massive boob job. she said she even put on her pre-pregnancy jeans on right after the baby was delivered. what?! how did she do it?

here i am, gorilla belly. hippo butt. elephant thighs. i know i am not going to be able to do what she did, and i guess i am fine with that (to an extent). let's just hope i can return to a semblance of my old self. or even a little bit better?

**i don't normally do this, but i hate her just a little bit.

it's an alien

besides the baby in my stomach, i think i am harboring an alien. i say this because i am sick again today, with stomach flu-like symptoms. i was too afraid to go to work and have to run to the bathroom all day. besides, i can't really run anymore. at least not now, with this belly.

this whole alien theory stems from the loud, but painful rumblings in my stomach that i have had since 2 a.m. this morning. i know the baby is annoyed, because she seems to be trying to get away from whatever it is. or...maybe she is fighting with it. like arnold and the predator. i think she'll win. mostly because she is part italian, which means she has the blood of a mobster. AND she is part asian, so she will use her ninja skills. plus, i will probably get some meds from the doc or from the store.

rebirth of yum

every easter, i look forward to these 2 num-nums.


these delicious treats are best served stale. there are few that enjoy this delectable treat, let alone stale. sarah and i knew we were destined to be friends when we realized this common palate. don't hate.


i wish this was sold year-round. alas, it is not. rumor has it that it is year round in england. lucky brits. i think i am going to have to stock up on a couple of bags before they take them away.

houston, we have no more room...

i apologize for my lack of belly photos in the last little while. i just get busy and tired, and most times i don't want to pose for the pictures. it's not a "pretty time" for me right now. or at least, i don't feel that way.

these shots were taken last week after church. i was at 33 weeks (am 34 weeks now). so...i guess that means i have 6 weeks left. but, i am hoping for my bun to be "fully baked" by 37 or 38. it's just super-hurty, and i can't imagine there being more room or skin to hold her up anymore.



camera one.



camera two. this pic really shows how far this baby is sticking out from my person. everyone that sees me now thinks i am about to pop any second. and then i tell them i have 6 weeks left, and i always get that sympathetic look which makes me want to cry.



i'm an orange on a stick. or better yet, a pumelo on a stick. those of you who don't know what a pumelo is, go to the grocery store. they are ginormous.

A Few Thoughts on American Idol

Ok. Yes I kind of like American Idol. There are only a few reality shows that I can watch--by the way, do cooking shows count as reality TV shows? I would say no except for maybe Take Home Chef on TLC which I really like--American Idol, Extreme Makeover Home Edition, and I guess America's Best Dance Crew. By the way. if any of these shows were canceled I wouldn't care at all. However, if I had it my way I would only watch these shows DVR'd.

**Quick Side Note** You know that question in Fight Club, if you could fight anyone in the world who would it be? For a long time my answer was Ty from Extreme Makeover Home Edition. I have since revised. Even though I think he's a dufus, I think the show is amazing because it actually helps people. I watch it even though they always tug on the old heart strings and make it super super emotional on purpose. But I am willing to let that slide because they are helping. It's not often that a Reality TV Show actually helps people. Now my answer to that question above: Oprah Winfrey or Tyra Banks. I'm not sure which one.

My favorite part of AI is the first few weeks during auditions. I love watching Simon break people down. I love it when people come in there and they think they are all that and a bag of chips and Simon just crushes their dreams. It is exquisitely delightful to watch Simon pull the rug from underneath them. It is even better when they yell at the camera's afterwards and say" You haven't heard the last of me. I am going to be a star and make them sorry." (Sigh) I mean, does it get any funnier than that? Does this make me a bad person? Maybe. But I haven't heard from any of those people yet.

Anyway, I have a really hard time watching live TV, but it is even worse with all of those reality TV shows listed above and especially AI. I mean at least if I am watching Lost and I have to watch the commercials, I know when the show comes back on I am going to be entertained for at least 8-10 minutes. No such luck with AI. If i record the 2 hour show, I can watch it in 30 minutes. That's right. There is at least 90 minutes of filler. Let me list all the advantages of being able to watch AI pre-recorded.

1. You don't have to watch the 10 minute intro when they recap last week, and then they all sing some super gay song together whether that super gay song be live or a music video (Those are the worst.)
2. You don't have to watch the commercials
3. You don't have to watch the stupid intro for each contestant before they sing
4. If they really suck - Like Amanda this season (more on this later) or that country chick, or some dude who was a stripper, for dudes - you don't have to watch it. You can skip on ahead.
5. You don't have to watch Randy or Paula say anything. I guess I don't mind Randy so much, but Paula is atrocious. Her bumbling, incoherent nonsense drives me crazy. I am with Simon when he is giving her those looks. His answer to who would you most want to fight in the world would have to be: "Paula Abdul".
6. You can fast forward to Simon's critique. His is the only critique that matters.
7. You can fast forward through commercials
8. You don't have to watch the stupid things Ryan says after the performance
9. You don't have to watch the recap
**10. The award show: You can watch it in 30 seconds. That's right. 1 hour in 30 seconds. Don't get me wrong. The producers at AI are really really smart. They get all of you suckers to watch 1 hour of TV for 30 seconds. Genius! I don't even really watch the award show any more. I just ask Amanda who got kicked off.

So I watch quite a bit of the show. Most seasons I get bored around the last 4-5 weeks. I honestly don't really care who wins. I will never by an album made by any of the winners. I think I get bored because once it gets to week 3-4, the best singers are usually left. The real intrigue is how someone like Amanda could be in the top 11 singers. She is horrible. I get that she has the whole Janis Joplin thing, but have any of you ever listened to a whole Janis Joplin album? Of course not. And if you have it is the greatest hits album. And I bet that you don't even like the whole thing. At least Janis played the guitar and brought a few other things to the table. I mean, I love music from that era. I probably have 15 grateful dead albums. But the only songs by Janis Joplin that I remember are Me and Bobby McGee and Take a Little Piece of My Heart. I wouldn't want Janis to sing any other songs. Even if she were in her prime today, I wouldn't pay any money to see her in concert. So I find it intriguing that Amanda is still on the show. I guess I really only like to watch to see how terrible the bottom feeders are each week and to watch the silliness of how American Votes each week. Once there are legitimate singers left who are all actually talented, i tend not to care as much.

I would love to hear other people's views on the show. Please post a note!

i can't help it

this week on abdc, they did a tribute to the 25th anniversary of michael jackson's thriller. being a fan of this era of michael, i was elated. of course, my boys killed it. for those of you who don't have this channel or cable, please enjoy.

really sick

so this past week, i got really sick. the worst kind of sick i've had in years. early monday morning, probably about 3 a.m., i woke up to do my routine bathroom visit because of pregnancy. but i was also feeling a little queasy. i shrugged it off, since i started getting nausea again. now, i never threw up in the first trimester at all. all i had was a little bit of stomach discomfort and mostly fatigue.

so on monday, i woke up feeling really haggard. again, still not concerned as i am not a morning person. so i was getting ready for work, and i was telling pete how much my stomach hurt. he empathized robotically, and he left the room. i was in the bathroom brushing my teeth, clutching my tummy, and that's where i lost it. i don't know how many times i threw up, but it was a lot. pete has a really low tolerance for puke and poop, so he didn't come in to check on me. he called from way down the hall, but i couldn't answer being that i was still out of it.

needless to say, i stayed home from work that day. and the next. pete did too the next day, because i gave him my bug. i later found out it was passed to us and was a contamination of our home by a baby i shall not name.

moral of the story: do not bring your child to someone's house if they have symptoms of stomach flu.