Archive for January, 2008
Was Apple sending us subconscious signals about the upcoming “MacBook Air”:http://www.apple.com/macbookair/ release?
Around Christmastime at apple.com, the site featured a cartoon of the well-known “Get A Mac”:http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/ ads on their homepage. I got a screenshot of the ad from Cabel Sasser. He “described it this way”:http://www.cabel.name/2008/01/2007-cabel-yay-awards.html:
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Best Desktop Picture You Can’t Download: Mac & PC
Hooray to Laika (Portland represent!) for their awesome work on the Apple holiday commercial. But when super-talented character designer Shane Prigmore posted his illustration of “Mac & PC” to his blog, the long-time Apple-understander in me knew it might not last — and it didn’t. (The good news? Naturally, I saved it before it was pulled — and you can download it right here — for now.)
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Here’s the image.
Note what PC guy is holding in his right hand — a manila interoffice envelope. You know, like the kind they’re using to advertise a certain lithe sub-notebook computer announced at yesterday’s MacWorld.
Coincidence? Or a clever hint from our glorious leader Steve?
Since we named our daughter a less common name, Ken and I notice when we hear about another Dahlia. Ken actually googled “Dahlia Joy” last night and the first hit was a flower enthusiast. Aside from Dahlia Lithwick of Slate, the name seems to be pretty scarce in our area. Coincidentally, I accidentally stumbled across this article about another baby Dahlia in Slate today:
What a great idea! I have to admit candidate pictures with my Dahlia would have been cuter….
Ken and I have decided to take the month of January to eat only vegetarian foods. (Thanks to mom and dad for the cookbook World Vegetarian, and to Russ and Sarah for the Pyrex that make storing pre-measured and chopped ingredients easy-a crucial part to simultaneously making fresh food and dealing with a pre-toddler during the dinner hours. Thanks also to Ken for agreeing to forego meat for a month with me!)
This decision was a result of several things. There is little question that a (proper)vegetarian diet is more healthy, environmentally sound, and economically feasible. There is also a moral issue somewhere in there. While I am not a PETA member, by any means, I am concerned about how my food was treated when it was alive. I’ve often said that I am not a vegetarian, but a trip to a slaughterhouse would probably push me over the edge. Well, with the convenience of the internet, and a little filtering for inflammatory sources, I don’t really need to physically head to the slaughterhouse for the proof that our meat is mass-produced, ill-cared for, fed trash, and over-treated with steroids and antibiotics. So our family doesn’t normally eat a large amount of meat anyway. The meat that we do eat is usually organic-free-range-grass-fed-granola-type (AKA extremely expensive).
Don’t get me wrong here, I don’t think that eating meat in general is morally wrong or evil in any way. Biologically speaking, we are opportunistic omnivores- we can process and digest most any foods. So in some ways, we are meant to eat meat. However, phenotypically speaking, the structure of our teeth seems to imply that we are better equipped to handle plant food. Compare our teeth with that of a dog, who is also an opportunistic omnivore (that is one of the reasons that domestication and companionship happened so easily with this species). A close look at their teeth (and their penchant for chewing bones) shows that their bodies are more equipped to handle a meat based diet. You can learn a lot from an animal’s teeth. All that to say: how can it be wrong to eat meat if we are physically made to eat meat? What I find issue with is the WAY we currently eat meat. It comes in little, sterile, saran-wrapped containers that we buy in climate-controlled supermarkets. Again, there is nothing wrong with convenience, but it tends to remove us from the source of our meals. I want to be responsible for the animals that I consume. I want them to have the most healthy, safe and fulfilling life as possible before they are killed humanely. This picture is a far cry from the life that most of our meat endures before it ends up on the supermarket shelf. So no, I don’t have a moral issue with eating meat. I guess I have a moral issue with not taking responsibility for or caring about how our food animals are treated. In the best possible situation, my family would be able to consume “honest” meat that was raised by us in our own backyard before being humanely killed and prepared for our dinner. Some people can do that, but we cannot currently accomplish this ideal.
My biggest problem about how we personally eat meat is that it is mostly out of laziness. Instead of planning a meal for my family, I just buy what is familiar and easy for me: chopped meat, chicken breasts, steaks. I’m used to making quick meals with these things. It takes more effort to plan and buy fresh vegetables or to cook a new recipe I’m not familiar with. This month is meant to help me eat away at that barrier of familiarity. I want to be as comfortable whipping up some spicy lentils and a salad as I am with making pasta with meat sauce.
I have had a lot of fun making some new and ethnic recipes this past week. We’ve had lentils with gingery spinach and crispy onions, naan, and a curried indian vegetable stew with rice. I’ve learned that I can’t buy tamarind or fenugreek seeds at Whole Foods, I have to go to an Indian market for that. I’ve also learned that I should probably wear gloves the next time I chop jalapeno peppers. Seriously, I didn’t even think to wash my hands afterwards, and various parts of my hands and face were burning all night. And all the next day. 36 hours later, I can still feel some jalepeno juice burning my finger under my thumbnail.
Here’s to a tasty month!
Dahlia has had a cold (or an URI- for those of you who want to be technical) for the past 3 days. It feels like she just got over her fever, although that happened 3 weeks ago. She has had a minor cold before, but that was fairly low-key and passed quickly. This one is more aggressive. Dahlia has had trouble breathing through her nose because of the congestion, and she has a nice junky cough. (I guess you could also call it a productive cough).
Well, because of her congestion, I spent some quality time at 3AM this morning “hosing her nose” (lavaging, really. OK, sorry, I’m done being technical–can you tell I’ve treated too many sick puppy store puppies? But thats a whole ‘nother post…), as Dr. Sears likes to call it in his Baby Book. For those inquiring minds, this basically means squirting saline up her nose and then sucking out long strands of snot with a small turkey baster. Don’t forget the small detail that makes this process even more appealing: the screaming baby. Apparently, Dahlia doesn’t appreciate me suctioning the snot out of her nose. What can I say? At least at the end of the ordeal, she could breath enough to nurse back to sleep.
I have to say the snot is the best part of the cold. For now it is mostly clear and only slightly viscous, so it forms constant little rivers down her upper lip. Because of this, she is often licking at it or grabbing at it with her fingers and smearing it all over her face and hair. She manages to coat pretty much anything in the vicinity with snot. She accomplishes this directly, by pulling toys or various objects to her face to rub the snot on it, or by pulling herself up on legs, chairs and shelves to rub the snot on them. If this fails to coat the area satisfactorily enough, she simply employs the sneezing tactic. That pretty much covers it. She is also swallowing quite a bit, I’m sure, because this morning she puked after a good coughing fit. Poor little girl.
She is otherwise cheery and sociable, though, so for the moment I’m not concerned about taking her to the Doctor. I’m sure all of that will change the moment the weekend hits and the office closes.
*sigh*
Isn’t parenthood fun?
Dearest little Dahlia,
So you are now 9 months old. You are well on your way to being a year old, but I have to remind myself that there is still 1/4 of the year to go. You have proven that you can change in many, many ways in 3 month’s time. Not only are you another month older, but you have now seen a new year-2008! I am actually a bit sad to see 2007 go. Normally the New Year is more exciting than sad for me, but this past year was incredible, thanks to you! I will always look back on what a sweet time we had together, getting to know one another in 2007, the year of Dahlia.
As always, this past month was full of change for you. Your communication skills are getting much better. You now raise your arms when you want to be picked up out of the Excersaucer or high chair. You say “Dada” and “Ba-Bye” regularly. While you have been waving for a long time, I am now convinced you know that it means hello or goodbye. Your hair is longer than ever. Soon I will not be able to resist putting barrettes in it! Although you haven’t really gained more than a pound or two since you were 6 months old, you are gaining inches, and growing into all that baby chub. In fact, soon you won’t even be a baby, you will be a toddler! You are eating more and more new foods. Some notable new ones this month are: melba toast, cut up grapes, cauliflower, and freeze dried apple bits. Your first Christmas was fun. You collected quite a few new toys (which of course, you desperately needed…). I think you enjoyed the parties with all the excitement and other babies to play with. We did a lot of traveling to see Grandma and Poppy, Aunt Gail and Aunt Lisa. As always, you were a complete gem in the car–sleeping or playing quietly. You have also been very flexible about sleep times and napping. The funny thing is that parents seem to want it both ways: scheduled sleep when life is normal, and flexible sleep during Holidays or crazy times. Your sleep has been changing a lot this month with your fever, the Holidays, and your new skills that seem to keep you awake and excited at night. I’m just rolling with it and trying not to help you develop a night-waking habit. I think when things settle down this month, you will fall into a better schedule. I’m not too concerned about it at this point.
Not only are you crawling much better, but you are even “off-roading” now. Toys, barriers and bodies are no problem for you now. You simply go over, under, or across whatever you encounter. I am really grateful you have become interested in the larger scope of “things you can get into” since it helps take your focus off of eating carpet lint and crumbs. You have mastered pulling up on things, and your favorite things to pull up on are mommy and daddy’s legs. You also enjoy pulling up on the entertainment center (to get to the DVD player), chairs, the bookcase, the coffee table (so many fun things to pull off!), your crib railing, or anything about that height. Grandma and Poppy got you a walker toy for Christmas, and I told them that you would certainly be using it soon. You took my words to heart, and after Daddy put it together the next day, you were off and walking with it! I don’t doubt that you will be walking independently by next month’s letter. Even now, you are putting almost no weight on me when you use me for support to stand. You are “cruising” from one object to another while standing, and sometimes you even let go of your support and stand, momentarily, on your own! Of course, this is quickly followed by you falling on your little rear on your own. Good thing you have lots of padding and a diaper on 
Of course, all of this moving around has led to several instances of falls, bumps and bruises. You do bruise as easily as I do, unfortunately. Your skin is just as pale as mine. However, your bones and skull must be made of rubber. Either that, or you are a devout Stoic. I am amazed at how you take most bumps and blows in stride. A week ago, you were pulling up on my leg, lost your balance and fell backwards against the edge of the desk. Adrenaline immediately pumping, I scooped you up and braced for a difficult recovery. You cried for about 3 seconds, then squirmed in my arms to get down and play again. Later on in the week, you were pulling up on your Excersaucer, which is unstable, and it whirled you around and into the front of the oven door. You literally bounced off of it. Again, I swooped in and picked you up to comfort you and survey any damage. I don’t think you even cried that time. I am learning that your mood, the time of day, and my reaction to a fall factor greatly into how you will ultimately react to it. Who knew babies were so indestructible?
You did, however, have a moment, or rather a weekend, of weakness, this month. One Friday night, as I was putting you to sleep, I noticed you were unusually cranky and fussy. I was concerned that you weren’t feeling well. Sure enough, when I went to you at 3AM, you felt very warm to the touch. Hoping it was just the stuffy room, I nursed you back to sleep and left the door open for the rest of the night. However, in the morning, your temperature was 101.7. I went straight to the Sears Baby Book and read up on fevers. I also, of course, did some research online. I decided that, since you weren’t showing any other troubling symptoms, we should just let it follow its course, and try to help your body cope by giving you plenty of fluids and rest. I called your pediatrician, who was out of office. I contacted the back-up Doctor, and they referred me to the ER without any clarification. Apparently, a baby with a fever and any kind of lethargy = pawn it off the the ER. (in my opinion, it had more to do with insurance issues) I called the expert: Grandma. Finally, Daddy, Grandma and I decided that we would not go to the ER. It was a difficult decision and a nerve-wracking weekend as your fever spiked and dropped, at times reaching as high as 104.4! Even though I hate using too many medications, we went through almost an entire bottle of baby Tylenol. We were at the Doctor first thing Monday morning, and he told us we had done the right thing keeping you out of the ER. He said they would most likely have done several unnecessary, intrusive things like taking blood, placing an IV and urinary catheter “just in case” and then doing exactly what we had done at home: give Tylenol and keep an eye on it. He said you most likely had a virus, possibly Roseola, although we never saw the tell-tale rash that usually accompanies that one. It was a scary time, but you pulled through so well. You never lost your appetite, and you slept a lot, despite waking up frequently. We enjoyed having you cuddle so much, since that isn’t normally on your schedule of things to do. And so I learner another lesson in parenting: when dealing with a fever, treat the child, not the thermometer.
I am glad that trusting my instinct was the right thing to do with that virus. I know it was only the first of many illnesses we will deal with together. I hope and pray that I will continue to make good decisions for you while it is my responsibility to do so. Daddy and I love you so much, Dahlia. I hope that you grow up knowing that. I look forward to all the new and exciting adventures we will have together in this new year!
Love,
Mommy