still here

I'm still pregnant (not a surprise) and although my body's actually doing something (I am effacing and my cervix is softening, though I'm only barely a centimeter dilated) it's still probably going to be a while before I actually go into labor. Still, I'm feeling pretty good, so it's not a huge deal to me that I'm still in a holding pattern, and I have hope that I'll actually go into labor on my own this time. Yeah!

Somewhere along the way I (or someone) introduced Sylvia to the Queen song, "We will rock you." All week Sylvia's been randomly humming the tune, or breaking into the song, or, proving she's very much related to my dad, changing the lyrics to accommodate whatever activity she's currently engaged in. Sadly, I can't think of any specifically at the moment. Definitely one of those things I should write down when it happens so I don't have to write blog posts with lame non-endings.\

This weekend was pretty busy. Derrick gave a talk at Caltech yesterday, and today we had a friend over for dinner. Derrick wanted me to go up to 'tech with him yesterday, promising it'd be fun. Given how much "fun" I've had in the last couple of months travelling with my kid (and her refusal to take naps and increasing crankiness and energy as the afternoon wears on combined with my decreasing energy and increasing crankiness) I was all for *not* going. At the last minute I emailed some friends who have a daughter just a few months younger than Sylvia who are post-docs at Caltech (though not for long, as I found out--They're moving to England at the end of the month!) and asked if they'd be able to watch Sylvia for about an hour so I could at least go to Derrick's talk and, since they agreed, I figured I'd go.

Derrick suggested Sylvia and I go to the Page museum while we waited and I had every intention of going. Somehow, between walking campus (Sylvia loved hanging around Throop and enjoyed running through the (currently waterless) Millikan library pool) and visiting with a few friends who are still around (Athena at the Y and Tim and Theresa and their daughter) we never made it. We did go to Trader Joe's for lunch, where Sylvia played on their weird non-playground equipment while I talked to a beautiful Iranian woman who works at the Macy's next door. I didn't actually make it to Derrick's talk--since Tim and Theresa are moving to England and it's rather unlikely I'll see them again any time in the near future, I hung out with them instead. They had to get back to packing or I probably would have asked them to dinner. Instead, I called Sarina and we went for a light dinner of sushi since she had plans with other friends.

Being around 'tech as a non-student is finally nice. Somewhere along the line I seem to have gotten over feeling insecure and inadequate simply by being on campus. I hope that's a permanent part of my personal maturation and not just a by-product of pregnancy.

Today we had a friend, who happens to be Indian, over for dinner. Probably having someone over for a relatively intricate meal the day after a big travel day wasn't the most brilliant idea (especially since I'm easily tired at the moment) but dinner went okay. Derrick dragged Anand out to the garage, where they worked on making a wooden bowl (and a very rustic one, as my mother in law would say). I fixed lentils, zucchini pancakes (which are essentially my zucchini koftas only made pancake/latke-style and served with the traditional tomato sauce), fancy rice (basmati with spices, onions, and raisins), and then made Derrick cook chicken tikka on the grill, which was easy enough. I froze a bunch of uncooked chicken tikka so all we'd have to do was pull it out and cook it after the baby (assuming it makes it 'till then). Next time we definitely need to thread the chicken pieces on skewers, though--the ones I found at the store seemed too long, so I didn't get them. The individual pieces are far too small to cook easily on the grill. Probably the most difficult (if one can call it difficult) part of preparing the meal was making chapatis. They're a must with Sylvia, though--she loves to eat Indian food with chapatis. Then again, so do I. There's just something enjoyably elemental about eating with my hands!