De lectura obligada para todos

Existe. El Manual del Pendejo es el último gol de la editorial Chirre y su "literatura de 1 sol". Cuenta también con folletines de título "Cuentos de una pulga" y sus clásicas preguntas capciosas. Pero lo que más me llama la atención es que cada librito de a sol se agota rápido e incluso se han reeditado. Es decir, esta literatura ya cuenta con un público que está atento a las últimas novedades y que lee.

Se llama a este tipo de folletos "literatura del suelo, del micro, de los ambulantes..." , pero hay que resaltar que detrás de todo esto se mueve una buena cantidad de dinero y se tiene la intención de hacer leer a la gente, al paso nomás, pero leer al fin y al cabo.

"La gente sí lee, el problema es el precio"

Además del precio, también entran en juego los temas que propone esta editorial. Por una parte tenemos el mítico "Manual del Pendejo", "Preguntas capciosas de Jaimito", es decir, cumple la función de entretener a la gente. Sin embargo, también estan "Las Maravillas del Mundo Moderno" o "Cultura General", que pretende también educar a las personas, hacer que se aprendan las frases célebres o los nombres de las maravillas aunque sea de memoria.

No puedo precisar si es que la gente compra este manual porque quiere reirse, pasar un buen rato o, efectivamente, ser pendejo o incrementar la pendejada natural. Hay que resaltar que el manual del Pendejo apareció hace 20 años, esto quiere decir que hay que darle una revisión y actualizarlo. En cuanto pueda me compro uno.

El manual del Pendejo... recontra pendejo... aspirante a pendejo...

Iwas actually thinking of downgrading back to FF2 just because of the theme, but thankfully its been updated, yay! Mad props to the developers, thank you very much and great work!

I do have time to say that labor wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be (drugs ROCK) and that I love nurses.  Here's a pic of our little blessing at the hospital still all poofy from being in my belly for 9 months...

(she's got my hair w00t!!)

It's incredible how much I love our baby and how in love I am with our little family. 

Sorry. Got the other ones up. I think I can find some other things to post.

Maybe.

I can post this video. > BRAWT 2 U BI DA QUINCY FUNDASHUN

What does this have to do with your class?
Nothing. It's enjoyable. It was 6:30 and I needed to get it filmed so I could go to the Tiger Army concert at 7:00. I think... we did I pretty terribly alright job. For just two people and a crappy little camera.
Um. Be a good rittre engrish teacher and don't thieve anything. great job.

#1 Dan doesn't lose bets. I am not sure how this works out in the grand scheme of things but so far the guy is batting like 1000. Not that I am complaining, I am just sayin'...

#2 It feels like I am getting a sinus infection or a spot of a sore throat. Not really sure where I would have picked up either, but I'm sure it'll be gone soon enough.

and finally #3 The price to play. To me it is sometimes too high and other times too low to make it valuable enough to get into the "game". I've often found that I remove myself from a lot of situations simply because I didn't like the "price to play". I really have been giving this a lot of thought here lately because I feel like the last few days have really pushed me into a place where I have to make a decision. I can do the safe thing and continue down the path that I have, or I could take a real gamble and change things up totally. I know that for the better part of the last few months I haven't been completely happy and a change can really improve the situation. But it does mean a change in my comfort zone. I am pretty sure that this all added up to me actually taking a gamble on things. Which is usually not my style to say the least. Risks are normal but I usually only do the calculated kind. Not the far reaching life changing kinds.  It's a fun feeling to feel like I am giving chase to something that I was at first unsure about.  It's also funny the things that have happened in the last year and how I am kind of back to where I was a year ago.  No complaints but I think that is a huge part of what really allowed me to start this push for change.

After a year I am in the same position, mostly, and I have the choice that I didn't take then.  How many times do you have to pass by the same chance before you stop thinking about how nice it would be and actually do it?  For me it took 2 times.  I am thankful that the chance has come back up again.  After all so many things in this life are a one and done opportunity.

Last thought for real this time.  What is "cutesy"?  Is it good?  Would someone help me out here, I am being bombarded with new words and no way of relating it to my usual "guy" language.  Laters

woo!! Talk about giving a mom some reassurance she's not giving her baby a shot!  Don't get me wrong I'm not going to be boozing it up the second bebe girl shoots out but it's nice to know that if I happen to want a beer or a glass of special anything I don't have to over pump n' dump for fear I'm giving my baby contaminated milk.  I'm the type of person that likes these types of confirmations and I'm willing to pay the (overpriced) $20 for 20 strips.  (the pic shown is only 3 strips...that one is $5.99 unless you get em off of Amazon then it's a ridiculous $9.99 for 3 strips)

This will definitely come in handy since I'm expecting alot of visitors the first weekend we're home and we're planning a surprise BBQ for my cousin Alex who is leaving for Iraq soon. He happens to be coming home for a few days from Germany and wants to stop by and see the baby.  I just so happens that his birthday is a few days after his visit so WALA! A semi-impromptu party is born! 

IT'S THE OFFENSIVELY EXPENSIVE PURSE I ALWAYS WANTED BUT NEVER BOUGHT BECAUSE I DIDN'T FEEL RIGHT BUYING A PURSE THAT COSTS AS MUCH AS MY RENT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah he dwarfed my gift to him but I'm totally ok with that.

Technically he did give me a paper gift because he filled my anniversary card with a bunch of little cut outs of the LV logo which, much like when he asked me to marry him, prompted me to shove him and tell him to shut up. :\  I simply can't react like a normal person...ever.  He gave me the card and told me to go pick up a purse at the nearest Louis Vuitton which I did the very next day. :D

wwwweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I was going to wait until this weekend to go to pick out a purse but seriously there was NO WAY I could wait.  I made it out to the LV store at around 2:30 yesterday which was a perfect time to go.  The sales lady was really sweet and as always my giant belly attracted many baby questions.  We had a fun conversation about how some girls just love purses (like me!) and how young girls these days are getting back problems from their giant over packed purses.  (seriously girls what's the deal with that?! A big purse is nice but you aren't supposed to fill it up! A big purse is just for show.)  I tried on a few different sizes (yes, I need to know which one would look best on me...this is very serious business) and then I made my selection.  I know it sounds nuts to want something like this but everyone has their indulgences, some are expensive in the monetary sense and others expensive in other ways.  Thank you MG for the wonderful gift and bravo for surprising me again and invoking the "shut up (push)" reaction.  Best Anniversary EVER!!!!

(I know it's the first one...shut up)

SO HOP TO IT!!

We spent the weekend celebrating (well at least I spent the weekend celebrating).  Friday night we went to see Iron Man, which I thought was really good.  (caution I also think Austin Powers, Space Balls and Big Trouble in Little China are great movies)  I was thoroughly entertained throughout the whole movie but I don’t know squat about the comic so if your like me you’ll enjoy the movie. J

Saturday MG did some yard work while Sonya and I sat outside with him and watched.  I tried to help him by raking up some of the trimmed shrubbery but my will to help is much stronger than my back and I ended up giving myself Braxton Hicks again.  Afterwards we stopped by the local Petco to drop off the bag of Costco raw hides with A Forever Home who is there every Saturday and to pick up a new ball & rope for Sonya.  Lil’puppy had a great time playing with some of the rescue dogs.  She played with a male puppy pit bull mix that I fell in LOVE with.  He’s just such a beautiful dog and played so well with Sonya.  I told MG if we weren’t having a baby in 4 weeks I’d sooo be pestering him for that dog.  I would love to see Sonya and him romping around the house knocking me over. J

After Petco we drove to Reston where they were having a Petfiesta.  Sonya was so well behaved she didn’t pull MGs arm out of it’s socket when she saw the Main Street filled with dogs, kids, toys and treats.  We were only there for the last hour of the festival but it was a perfect amount of time for me and my falsely contracting belly.  We ended the day with a bowl of Pho and a James Bond movie.  (we never did finish our James Bond marathon in January)

Sunday after church MG and I went to Cheesecake factory for some awesome Cuban Sandwiches and their fattening avocado eggrolls.  Bebe girl enjoyed them so much she had a sleep coma for a good 3 hours afterwards. On our way home from lunch MG decided to take me to Colonial Beach.  We packed the dog and our GPS system and headed out for a 2 ½ hour adventure.  I’m surprised how well I’m doing in our new car.  In my old car or in MGs car I would have probably ended up in Labor and Delivery because of the pain but our Torrent is so comfy it’s like sitting in a soft recliner.  In case you were wondering I LOVE THAT CAR!!

Beach day was fun although I don’t think I’d ever want to go back to Colonial Beach especially during tourist season.  The beach is a bit run down and you can’t bring your dog on the beach or on the boardwalk.  It was also nearly impossible to find the beach, it was pebbly and there were warnings posted suggesting that people wear aqua socks or shoes because of debris.  (which makes me wonder why then can’t we bring dogs onto their dangerous beach?  Dogs don’t poop glass) 

Monday I tried to finish organizing the nursery and making space in the kitchen for the baby bottles and sanitizing equipment.  (small babies take up a tone of space!)  I ran out of the house by 2 so I could get a much needed mani-pedi and to get our filthy (yet beautiful) car washed.  I got home in time to pull out our wedding cake (which we totally meant to start defrosting overnight but we forgot) and to get dressed.  I managed to squeeze myself into an empire waist dress but found that my sausage feet were so swollen I could only squeeze them into my Birkenstocks.  K  I didn’t know where we were going for dinner but I figured Birks probably weren’t the type of shoe I should wear so I made a quick stop by Payless shoes for some cheapo kicks.  I’m really glad I made the shoe run because I found out that my feet haven’t grown in size they’re just swollen so I have to wear wide shoes for now! Yay!! This means I can wear my wedding shoes again after the baby is born! (I can't find a pic of them but I will and when I do I will post!)

I had originally planned on wearing my wedding shoes on our anniversary but with all the swelling the only thing I was able to wear from our wedding day is my thumb ring that I’m wearing as a wedding ring. :\  I did threaten to wear my headpiece but MG didn’t react well to that idea so I decided against it.  (I’ll save that for when I’m old(er) and crazy(er))

MG took me to a very romantic dinner at Morton’s.  We had so much fun sitting side by side (Bekks/Ohio…I totally thought of you guys when they sat us in a U-booth and we had to sit side by side). Our dinner was spectacular!  MG ordered a very nice red wine (I smelled it… I’ve waited this long to drink I can wait another 4 weeks).  At this stage of the pregnancy I eat much less (in one sitting) than I normally do so by the time I started eating my steak I was feeling horribly full.  I took most of it home since I had to make room for my volcano chocolate cake :D

MG and I exchanged cards at the table.  I picked up MGs card a month BEFORE we actually got married.  It made me laugh so hard I had to have it and I’ve waited over a year to give it to him.  I reads:

It’s our anniversary and I’m so happy I’m not bored or tired of you.  I thought for sure by now I would be.

HA!!  No worries for all you sappy folk out there I had a bunch of sappy things to say to my sweet husband and even though my fingers kept locking up while writing and the card looks like I gave it to a first grader to write I think I got my point across.

MG dwarfed my gift to him by treating me to the one thing I’ve wanted for YEARS but I never indulged in.  I’ll post about that later because it deserves it’s own post.  Since it was our paper anniversary I decided to make something meaningful for MG which is my favorite picture of us at our wedding and one of the readings that MG picked out.  I had it framed and we’re hanging it up in our bedroom.  

I have to admit there have been many times this year that I’ve looked at my life and wondered “I don’t deserve all this, there must be something I can do to give back” and I’ve found small ways to do what I can to help others.  It’s not that I can’t appreciate happiness, it’s that I appreciate it so much I want to help bring happiness to others.  In my life I’ve had many hard times for many years but I can’t help but be grateful for all the wonderful I’ve had and it’s times like these that I’m so happy I tear up when I think of how blessed I am.   Here’s a little clip of the big day…

Martin & Michele

May 5, 2007

On the bright side the baby has shifted in a way where my feet are no longer swollen to elephant feet proportions!! w00t! I still can't feel anything but now that the swelling has gone down I can see that my right foot is bruised in a few places. Oops!  I can still wiggle my toes so I'm not worried...at least not yet.  I haven't gotten back to folding the tiny clothes yet because I'm secretly working on an anniversary present for MG.  We're celebrating our 1 year wedding anniversary this Monday.  I can't believe we've been married for a year and we're 5 weeks from meeting our baby!  It seems like only yesterday that I was living in my old apt in Caldwell, NJ with my 2 cats and Ikea furniture driving around in my lil'Cabrio spending my food money on purses and nights out in NYC barely making rent every month.  I didn't have much but I was proud of what I did have and the life I was able to give myself.  Being in my 20's and living on my own meeting all sorts of different people was an experience that I recommend to just about everyone.  Granted by the time I hit 30 the lifestyle got stale but soon after that I met MG so it all worked out nicely.  My only regret is that I didn't buy the offensively expensive purse I always wanted :\

I SCREAM I tell ya!  Sometimes my arms go up in the air as I'm screaming "She/He won!" and sometimes I clap. 

You might be wondering why I'm confessing this on my blog when really only the dog, cat and MG have witnessed my ridiculous behavior...I have no answer to that.

Gotta go Betsy is spinning the wheel!