I'm not scared, just annoyed.

I'm tired of people trying to manipulate behavior through fear. I'm tired of scaremongers and conspiracy theorists who don't understand statistics trying to "prove" their harebrained theories to me. I'm tired of the fact that Obama's birth certificate proves nothing to morons who espouse the birther movement (and yes, I call them morons with no apology, because if the one thing you demanded doesn't convince you, then you are a moron).
I'm tired of people telling me how to feed and raise my child based on their fears. Ultrasounds are not harmful. Vaccinations save lives. Non-organic food will not kill my child. A c-section birth does not mean I'm less of a woman. If I can't breast-feed, my child will survive.
People, let's use our brains. Try to comprehend statistical studies. Use some common sense. Look at the big picture. That's what I try to do.
So don't try to influence my behavior with your scare tactics. If you do, I'll just turn you off and any valuable insight you have will be lost in your barrage of fear mongering.

Seven Quick Takes on ___ Saturday

1. Does today have a name? We have Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. What is today?
2. I don't mind when people rub my belly. It makes me feel like a happy Buddha statue that they are rubbing for luck. teehee.
3. I'm becoming more and more annoyed by people who mistake homonyms. Faze v. phase is the most recent one, but there are several. Check out this great list!
4. I am stubbornly wearing a short sleeve t-shirt despite it being 60 and damp outside. It's practically May, darn it!
5. I have a feeling that this will be the coldest summer on record for Raleigh.
6. My thumb is covered in hangnails that must be tended to.
7. But I'm much more likely to lay down on this couch with the cats and nap for a while.

Nesting

No, this isn't about the bird's nest that I disturbed on Tuesday. It's about my pregnancy. I have reached the nesting stage.
It's funny, but I am obsessed (in a good way) about creating the space for baby Clementine. I have a strong desire to paint one wall in the nursery (I would paint it a darker shade of lavender, as an accent wall). There's no need to do this. I want to buy furniture. I want to get new carpet. I want, I want, I want. Worst of all: I do not want to do anything else. All other responsibilities have lost their interest for me.
I'm not beating myself up, I'm just observing and accepting. Of course, life goes on. I have obligations to fulfill. And I'm fulfilling them. But in my heart, I'm filling a nursery with butterflies and furniture and pillows.

Oh, the guilt!

Today I went into our "crawl space" under our deck. It's more like a stoop space, as it's about 4' high. Anyway, we store our wheelbarrow and a bag of vole repellent gravel down there. So I lugged the bag of gravel into the wheelbarrow and out to the maple, as I planted there today. As I enlarged the opening in the bag of gravel, I realized to my horror that there was a bird's nest in there, complete with small pink and white eggs! Oh the guilt! With much sorrow, I gently took out the nest and returned it to the same location.
When I was done, I loaded up the wheelbarrow and took it back, because, well, we have no where else to store it. And then, oh so sad, I saw the mama bird flying away from the nest! I hope she comes back!

In other news, here's an approximate sample of the fabric for my nursery chair:

Nursery!

I started buying stuff for the nursery. So exciting! So far I've bought a lovely glider armchair with matching ottoman, the crib, a chest of drawers, and some decorative elements. I'm posting pictures here. The chair is just an approximate match. The upholstery I ordered is a white and golden yellow brocade pattern, very elegant. The walls are lavender, and I plan to use lavender and purple with teal and yellow accents.