3 Days and Counting... Updated...

Today is a BEAUTIFUL day! I'm considering going outside to do some very light yard work. I'm giving myself until my laptop battery runs out to blog, and not a minute more. I'm not sure exactly what work I'll get into, but probably nothing too earth shatteringly useful. :)

The baby is definately doing some downward sliding... It feels so strange. I can't tell if baby has actually "assumed the position", but it seems to be much lower to me. It seems like I've stopped having any strong contractions as of yesterday, so I don't know that dropping means anything at this point. Maybe the proposed excercise will convince baby to come on already!

We have tentative plans for dinner with our best friends DD and Baloo tonight . I'm looking forward to it. They are supposed to join us at the hospital after baby is here, and I am really looking forward to that. I know I don't mention family and friends here too often, but let me tell you a tiny bit about DD and Baloo.

DD is like my sister in every way except blood. Neither of us has sisters in reality, so we have found this bond quite comforting. We seem to have a "special connection" and tend to think of each other when there is a crisis. I've often gotten a phone call from her just when life has swamped me - kinda spooky, but also kinda nice. I've also returned this favor a number of times. When it happens it is like an overwhelming urge to "just check in". Our mothers seem to understand our bond too, and even call their "other daughter" and send greetings and gifts for major events and holidays.

Baloo, DD's husband, is just about the sweetest teddy bear of a man on earth. He is a big guy (over 6 ft), broad shouldered, imposing looking, and yet is as gentle as a lamb. He loves me dearly, and he makes sure I know it. One Valentine's Day after I had experienced a horrible break-up with my then fiance (not my current hubby), Baloo did the most wonderful thing. He brought me roses and a custom-made chocolate box filled with chocolate. He told me that he would always be my Valentine, and I could always count on it. BTW - He thought of this on his own and ordered the custom gift! Rest assured he did get his wife's permission a few minutes before giving them, but he was pretty darned sure DD would understand. :) Thank goodness she did! LOL

DD and Baloo are always there for me, I love them dearly, and Bo and I can't wait to share their niece or nephew with them.

Subject change warning...

We did see "The Other Boleyn Girl" last night, it was really good. However, the book is much, much better in my opinion, mostly because it goes into the details of all the intrigue and backstabbing that went on. The whole sordid thing was better than any modern day soap opera, I assure you.

The movie totally leaves out Cardinal Wolsey and his part in the whole Church of England mess. That is like doing a movie on the Declaration of Independence and leaving out Thomas Jefferson! Actually, as I understand it, the Cardinal was directly responsible for Anne ever being available to marry the king. Her marriage to a noble, Lord Percy, is stopped by the Cardinal, not by her Uncle and Father, as the movie portrays. If she had been allowed to stay married to Percy she would have NEVER been able to be Queen, so Elizabeth the 1st would have never been born, the Church of England might have never existed because the king wouldn't have broken with Rome to get an annulment, and the whole of Europe would be a completely different place, most likely.

Oh, and the movie portrayed Henry VIII as being sort-of caught in the middle of things vs. asking his cronies to make his desires reality. Specifically his desires for one Anne Boleyn... We know from historical record that he demanded obedience, he was rarely at a loss for what he wanted. I'm not saying people didn't use the king's desires to get what they wanted, but Henry VIII certainly was not incapable of understanding what was being done under his nose.

Ah, I should say, I am not an English scholar, and I haven't looked into what records exist to support any of the books assertions. I'm OK with the surface stories, and am happy to know something about the time. It's OK with me if it isn't all exactly true, it is still a good story.

That's my take on it - you guys are more than welcome to form your own opinions and tell me what you think! :)

OK, my battery is dying... I'm going to go get myself some sun...

Update -
I got about 4 hours of sun and fun today! I raked an area of my backyard - very slowly, don't worry. See, the same thing happens every year. The leaves fall and we leave them alone beacuse we have no grass in our backyard - too shady. However, when it rains the leaves tend to migrate down to the fence and gate, thereby blocking the entrance to the backyard. We are talking a significant amount of leafage.

Well, every year I've been the one to undo the monsoon-created mess. This year, I didn't give it one thought. Wonder why. :)

So, today while the leaves were dry I went out and "shushed them" as my Grandmother would say. :) I gently moved them from in front of the gate to areas that were sans-leaves where they can act as a mulch against dandelions and weeds.

Then I washed out our recycling bins. They really needed it. I went out onto our deck with a bucket of suds and another of clean water. All of the bins are now squeaky-clean.

YAY! I've been productive!

Baby is in the doghouse at the moment. It is now nowhere near dropped. It is back curled up around my ribs! I can feel the difference everytime I take a breath. I am looking forward to the time when it no longer has control over my body and my comfort. Meh. I've told it, in no uncertain terms that it only has until Wednesday. So, it will just have to deal - hiding under my ribs is not an option. LOL