Good Times

Me = laziest blogger evah.

Still battling the sick, both me and LM. Did you know that sinus pain could cause you to have horrendous toothaches that made you want to pull said molars out? Me either. I learned this after showing up at my dentist begging for a root canal. Sadly, he did not oblige. Word to the wise - decongestant + tylenol + snorting salt water (yeah, you heard me) really helps. I thought about going to the doc but I found a NYT article that said that antibiotics don't abbreviate sinus infections, so I figured I'd avoid a morning off work, the cost of a prescription and the potential for cultivating drug-resistant bacteria.

In other exciting news, I got hired back. Happened a few days before more horrendous doom and gloom headlines about our economy, which was probably fortuitous. As you might recall my articles are up in a few months and then the firm has to make the decision to have me back. I confess, I was not losing sleep over it as I was feeling fairlye confident that they like me. But in these terrible times, it's anyone's guess. I don't know any lawyers who have been laid off personally, but I hear it is happening at places across the city. So it was very nice that the decision was made quickly, early and there didn't appear to be too much angst about it all. I think the hire still has to officially be okayed by head office, but I was told that was just a formality.

I'm going to be doing mainly litigation, but some corporate as they lost a corporate person and have some folks leaving on maternity leave. However, it was promised to me that I don't have to do any banking work since that makes me want to poke my eyes out. I think when I told them that, I phrased it a bit more diplomatically but I get absolutely no satisfaction from assisting people to move money around between various corporations, half of which don't even have real names. So much of it is motivated by tax reasons that I don't understand so it's all sort of random and abstract. Admittedly, some of the litigation files I work on are equally process-oriented and tedious, but at least I have a better sense of why we're doing it.

It's funny the guy who actually hired me into his "group" isn't someone I've done a massive amount of work for. But just before Christmas he asked me for help on a biggish project. It was one of the very few nights I stayed at the office ridiculously late (because I didn't want to come in over the weekend) and toiled away. I guess he liked what he saw. I'm sure that wasn't the only thing that got me hired back, but I bet it helped. So it just goes to show... well I'm not really sure what it goes to show. Maybe something like: You never know who's going to be the one to make the decision, so don't start coasting part-way through your articles. On the other hand, don't kill yourself either. I leave around 5 most days, and I still got hired back. My hours are respectable though nothing to write home about. I'll work late if it needs to be done for a deadline, but not just for the sake of being there. And if I can, I prefer to be home for a couple of hours with LM then get back on the computer once he's in bed.

In any case I'm quite pleased at how things are turning out. I'm really lucky to be at a "national" firm and yet because we're a small office, we still have the flexibility and informality of a much smaller firm.

This weekend my goal is to do very few errands - so when LM wakes up from his nap, I will not clean the house. Instead, the three of us will go out for a nice brunch. And tonight is a long-awaited date night - I haven't been to the movies since we saw Batman six months ago.

Sick LM

Picked up LM this afternoon and he was fussy and clingy... I brought him home and I was trying to cook and locate a stick of ginger I keep in the freezer (last forever in there and is easy to grate) when all of a sudden he looked at me and then wretched all down my sweater. I realised how hot he was and took his temperature to find it was 101... poor little thing. He just wanted to sit on my lap and cuddle, all warm and wriggly. The poor child is constantly battling some cough or cold. I'd blame daycare, except it was like this before he was in it. In the past three months he's had three separate mysterious rash diseases, one of which turned out to be "slapped cheek." Anyway I'm feeling very sorry for the hot little body all frog positioned in my bed right now and am wishing there was something I could do to make him feel better.

The Desert Far Away

Wow - sounds like D's company is getting bought out. We think this is good news - room to grow, more opportunities, a chance to be part of something bigger. But somewhere in the back of mind I'm still a little worried about what that could mean and in the current times of course layoffs are something to be scared about. I know we could afford for D to be in a lower-paying job, but right now we pretty much live off his salary, and the thought of all that added pressure on moi to keep performing and working is a little daunting. I really do not want to be working full-time when and if we have a second child. Anyway, that's exciting news, we think.

Second of all, how could I mention today without a little reference to Obama - from all the coverage you'd think we were the 51st state. Very exciting times, although I'm kind of saddened that I now live on the less progressive side of the border.

I spent part of the day looking at the Obama Playlist that CBC listeners have been voting and fussing over for the past week. It's a list of 49 songs that are supposed to define Canada and introduce it to Obama. I wonder if the CBC is sending over a comp iPod or just a print-off... Anyway, I'm a little disappointed in the final results. I mean, the Rankin Family? Barf. And no hiphop or anything very cutting edge. But at least Arcade Fire made it on there... and here's the song they were playing on my ride to work.

Well if one of my New Year's resolutions had been to be a better blogger, I'd clearly be failing on that one! But I have an excuse - I've been away in places like this one:

It was magical and absolutely amazing to have so much time to spend with LM... he is a born traveller! We're away again this weekend so my blogging will likely remain on hiatus another few days but hope you are all enjoying a wonderful New Year!

I Saw the Constellations Reveal Themselves One Star at a Time

2008 was a very happy year for us... we watched LM grow from a tiny baby to a full-fledged human being with a personality. He has brought us a ton of joy. I spent most of the year on maternity leave, which was wonderful, and then restarted work in the fall. That transition has gone pretty well too - still not sure I've found my true calling, but it pays the bills for now and I have a great group of colleagues. The days go quickly and before I know it I'm back with my little man for an evening. We've had some sadness too this year, as my aunt continues to decline and D's grandmother died yesterday.

What will '09 bring? I'm not sure... contemplation of another pregnancy perhaps. Potentially D going back to school. Hopefully being hired on at the firm I'm with... still not sure what department though. And some travel I hope - including a tropical vacation which I am leaving for very soon!

Resolutions? Nothing radical - to save more money, to eat more healthily. I also want to work out more for my overall fitness. Weight loss is not an issue - I realise this complaint doesn't garner much sympathy, but my main problem these days is keeping on the weight. Don't know if it's working too hard/lack of sleep/extended breastfeeding or just some weird hormone thing but I seem to be one of those women who gets thinner after baby. Other resolutions are, to try and be greener by buying less crap I don't need. Also I want to think more about what I want from my career and to make sure that I'm on a path that will eventually take me there - with the occasional course-correction as needed.

And since everyone is doing it, I thought I'd do a little recap of the last 12 months:

January - We do our first travel with baby; I leave LM with a non-family babysitter for the first time; we think about buying a house.

February - We bid on a house and lose it; the fog of the all-consumingness of LM clears a little and I become capable of thinking about a few other things (but rarely do!); his sleep regression and million and ten wake-ups through the night start to wear on me.

March - Lots more posts about sleep...

April - We buy a house! And then sell our condo (oh those wild heady days when you could do that!). LM goes to the beach.

May - We sell our condo again after our first buyer flakes out. LM and I do some travelling and I am reintroduced to the beauty of showering without a baby in the room the whole time...

June - I accost a cyclist and am bemused at my niece's comments about my breasts... oh and I run a half marathon (have barely worked out since then)

July - We move into our HOUSE and I start freaking about the fact that I have no childcare organised for LM. We go to the ER for the first time when LM spikes a 5-day fever of 103+; LM goes mobile and starts crawling.

August - With less than a month before going back to work, I organise daycare. We hire a sleep consultant and LM sleeps through the night for the first time EVAH!

September - I start back at work. My aunt finds out her breast cancer has metastasized to her brain.

October - My articles continue; LM gets various daycare illnesses.

November - A tiny bit of work drama, but nothing major.

December - We adopt a "family in need" for Christmas and buy them loads of presents. My aunt gets sicker; LM starts talking in earnest and says all sorts of English and Spanish words...

And January - I leave this post to go eat chocolate ice cream with D! See ya later...