Oregon Vaughns

Just returned from my weekly 20 minute appointment.  My blood pressure is good and the baby’s heart rate is also good – according the the nurse.

When the doctor came in, she measured my belly and felt my stomach to locate the baby.  The baby is positioned head-down (which is good, and it will be very unlikely for her to turn now).  She is getting ready to come!  The doctor also told me not to expect a small baby!  She said, “Don’t expect a 7 pound baby to just come popping out!”  Looks like I will have a bigger baby to deal with.  Both my sister and I were big babbies, so this isn’t much of a surprise.

16 days until due date…  I am pretty ready for her to come.  Up until this last week, the house has been clean and prepared.  With a broken vacumm and lots of tutoringthis week (to make some extra $$$), I have fallen behind on my house chores!  Laundry, dishes, and a messy living room have taken over.  I need to get this taken care of before Lily shows up!

After realizing I had misplaced my lap top, I knew that only one of two things could have happened:

1)  It was stolen from my car.

2)  I left it in the Borders Coffee Shop.

Andy drove me to Borders at 9:30pm tonight (after watching me have an anxiety attack caused by a missing laptop) to pick up the laptop that was left behind.  In any other city, I doubt my macbook would’ve still been sitting right where I left it.

Also… I have become a day-trader.  Easy to do in this market when it is not your own money.  The market has been fascinating to watch (and depressing, obviously) the last few days.  The gambling gene in me is intrigued.  Apple is a fun stock to follow!

Andy and I got the move “Smart People” on Netflix.  Bad idea.  This movie had no beginning, middle, end, plot, charm, purpose, intrigue, yada, yada, yada.  I was terribly disappointed because I was looking forward to this movie.  Words cannot explain.  I would tell you to just watch it to see what I mean, but why would I want to put you through the same boredom?

Maybe someone reading this has seen the movie and absolutely loved it.  If so, please, tell me what there was about it that I apparently “didn’t get.”

Andy and I got a baby bassinet:

It has a little holder below for supplies and the bassinet can be removed from the top to reveal a changing table.  This bassinet is very portable and will be easy to carry along (the removable top part).  Also, since the crib is in the baby’s room, the bassinet is for while she is sleeping in our room.  I have a feeling that the baby and I will sleep in our bedroom and that Andy will be spending some nights in the guest room.  He has to work 8-5 every day, so a good nights sleep is very important for his survival!  We will see if this is even possible

Andy has arranged to take one full week off of work when Lily is born.  He will return to work after the week is up (part-time for a while? full-time?  I don’t know).  Whatever it is, I am sure it will work out just fine!

The Soup Shop in Corvallis used to be one of my favorite places to eat:  great soup, good salad, reasonably priced…  However, a few months ago, Andy and I had a bad experience with the staff, and the owner was not very “friendly” about the situation when we addressed him.  I used to eat at the Soup Shop almost 4 times a week while in school / working on campus.  I was definitely a regular customer and was saddened to not receive better treatment.

Anyway, after not eating at the Soup Shop for a few months, I decided to go back this past Friday.  I ordered my usual:  soup and salad lunch special.  I was enjoying my soup and went to take a bite of my salad.  I noticed that a “bean” of some sorts had accidentally got mixed into my salad.  I like beans.  I went to eat it…. until….. it moved.  This was no bean.  This was a SLUG!!!  There was a slug in my salad!

I was so thrown off (on top of being hungry and emotional) that I just took my salad to the counter, handed it to the girl and said, “There is a slug in here.”  She made a disgusted looking face and took it from me.  She reached over to grab another bowl, made a new salad, and handed it to me.  With the new salad in my hand, I realized she just made me a salad from THE SAME sluggy-salad mix that the first salad came from!  She didn’t even wash it or anything.  Sure, I want to eat this new salad to find its brother?!?

I had lost my appetite by this point and just took my salad back to me seat, finished my soup, and threw everything else away.  I know I could’ve complained to the owner (who was in the back room) and asked for my money back, etc… But I don’t think I should’ve had to!  Customers should not have to ASK for a refund when there is a slug in their food!  I feel as though a restaurant should educate its staff on how to properly treat customers.  And, a little common sense should tell a server not to re-serve sluggy-salad mix.  Am I expecting too much???

Soup Shop:  Strike two!

I have been looking for tutors to hire for this year.  I am very picky about whom I hire because I have limited contact with my tutors once they are out there and working.  I need to make sure not to make mistakes or it will cost me much.  Not that I have been perfect, but I must say that I have done fairly well in my hirings and have had a good staff.

Reviewing applications and resumes is an interesting process.  Here are some things that I see that, as an employer, are a major turn-off (even though most people who read this already have a job, I am just using this to vent my frustrations!):

*Don’t submit a resume over 2 pages.  I won’t read it (most likely any of it to be honest).

*Be careful when providing your SSN.  Many application come to me via email where people consistently include their SSN.  They have no idea who I am or anything about our company and they are very willing to give me so much personal information.  Even though on my application I ask for their SSN (just a standard app.), I am much more impressed when someone has the wisdom to put “available upon hire.”

*Don’t be creative in the way you chose to submit your app/resume.  If they want it by email, do that.  If they want it in person, do that.  Follow their rules – they are probably set up that way for a reason.

*DO follow-up.  It is true that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.  To be honest, my most valuable tutor (no longer with me due to graduation) would have never had a first interview if she had not followed up about her application.

*DO your research before applying.  When it explicitly says on our website that we charge our students $28/hour, how can you request a starting wage of $30/hour?

*Be honest at your interview about your expectations and what you are looking for.  An interviewer can sense this.

*Come to the interview with questions about the company that show you are informed, but want to learn more.  DO NOT ask questions that make you look ignorant or as if you did not even take the time to review their website, company, etc…

*Don’t leave any part of the application blank.  The questions on there for a reason… even if that reason is just to see if you can clearly communicate.

*Poor grammar and spelling will ensure that your application ends up in the trash.

*Engage yourself at your interview.

*Make sure to proofread (unlike the writings in this blog).  Also, DO NOT spell the name incorrectly of the person with whom you are communicating.  If they have signed their name 4 lines before, notice that and spell it right!

*What a Beaver Football game last night!  When the score was 21-0, my mom bet my dad a dollar that USC would come back for a victory…. She wasn’t too far wrong.  USC cranked it up the last quarter and gave OSU a little bit of a scare!  We just watched it on TV and avoided the mayhem that was taking place downtown and on campus last night.  Watching the football game did mean missing The Office.  Oh well, we will get to watch it online this weekend to get started with the new season.

*Fall Festival tomorrow!  The weather is kind of overcast and foggy today.  I hope it stays this way for tomorrow – I don’t want it to be too hot for me – as long as it isn’t raining.

*20 days left until Lily’s due date!  I am trying not to “count” too closely, because you never know when she will show up….  Especially since first babies tend to come late.  But, it is hard not to.  I think we have everything we need.  Our hospital/diaper bags are packed and the car seat is installed and ready.

*Thanks to Dad’s detective work yesterday, we now know both of the names of the Borders “affair couple” we follow (we prefer not to say “stalk” – such a strong word.)  Google has proven to be no good as we are trying to find out details.  Let this be a warning to all of you:  you never know what innocent pregnant woman and her father are bored and watching you (and potentially making up stories about you)…

*First Presidential Debate tonight too – maybe.  I have been looking forward to this for a while, so I hope it happens.

*Oh, and I thought I was bored/boring.  There was a college-aged guy and a girl at Borders yesterday (I don’t think they were a couple – maybe one in the making.)  Anyway, they spent 25 minutes talking about salad dressing.  25 minutes!  What types they liked or didn’t like… What goes well on what… Where they have had their favorite dressing…. 25 minutes!

*I realized that I am very inconsistent about where I put a period in regards to a parenthesis “.)” or “).” However, I just looked up the proper usage…

*My feet and lower legs have been VERY swollen and gross.  Hard to walk at times!  The doc said not to worry as long as my face doesn’t swell and I don’t get headaches or blurry vision.  I haven’t worn a regular pair of shoes for a long time!  My flip-flops are almost worn the bone.

So this little kid (4 years old) just dumped his milk all over the floor.  His mom just laughed and took care of it.  He also had a little sister with him (must’ve been almost 2.)  After spilling his milk, the little boy turned to his mom and said, “That’s why Suzanne and I hate this place.” Then he let out a big sigh.

When you go to a blog and there are lots of new post (like mine because I post 3-4 times a day), so you start reading from the top?  Or, do you scroll down to find the last post you read and then read from the bottom up?  I always read from the bottom up.  That way, in case a newer post references something I missed, I will be all caught up by the time I get there.

Andy and I have eaten at Block 15 (a relatively new pub/brewery in downtown Corvallis) a few times now – we went last night again.  Our friend, Ann, first got us to go there because of the french fries – and they were good!  We have ventured out and tried other menu items.  We love their nachos (you can add pulled-pork which makes it oh-so-good) and we very much like the Fish and Chips.  We have been happy with the food there.  Try it out!

Thanks to my dad, I have religiously been following certain stocks… I don’t even own any stock!  I have been following his favorite: Apple, as well as a few others that I like to keep tabs on.  This can be quite addictive since they update instantly!

Check-up went well yesterday: baby’s heart-rate looks good, my blood pressure is good, everything is on track. I have now met all four doctors in the group at Corvallis Clinic – one of the four will be delivering Lily. I must say that I like them all, but I really felt comfortable with 3 out of the 4… One doctor seemed a little to bubbly and peppy to seem like the right fit for me. I really hope it is my regular doctor – she is fantastic! Guess it just depends who is on call when Lily decides to come! 22 days left – next check-up is next Tuesday.

Today, I am having lunch with some friends (Brooke and Renee Peterschmidt.) It will be nice to see them. Brooke, who was also our wedding photographer, recently took some family pictures of Shauna, Colin, Terrie (Colin’s mom) and the rest of the family. Her website is www.lastingexpressions.us – you might be able to go check out some pictures there if interested.

After lunch I have 3-or-so hours of tutoring… Not a bad day.

For those of you that need to waste some time, here are some things to look up on youtube. You won’t be disappointed:
- Anything by Flight of the Conchords (I particularly like the “threesome” clip – check it out, might have bad language)
- Manoj (India’s telemarketer elite – very funny!)
- Christian the Lion (if you haven’t already seen it)
- Paul Potts Britain’s Got Talent audition (a favorite clip of all times)

I am sure I am missing some more hysterical favorites!

Slow day at Borders today. None of our usually people watching crowd has shown up – there are about 4-6 people who come regularly… We (my father and I) have been trying to figure out their life stories. Gives us something to do.

-I don’t proofread my blogs before I post them, so I apologize for any grammatical / spelling errors.
-Am I the only person who double spaces after each period? Most people have gone to a single space I think.
-I have a doctors appointment at 10:30am today. After today’s appointment, I will start seeing the doctor weekly. 23 more days!
-I really want to see Mamma Mia and Get Smart. Any good?
-Seattle’s Best Coffee (the coffee shop in Borders) makes the best (prettiest) looking drinks.
-Can’t wait to wear my ring again. My fingers have been too swollen for quite some time!
-I have been debating drugs/no drugs during pregnancy… I can’t seem to make up my mind…
-No new news on our Borders-Stalking-Couple.
-Anyone ever use the Kirkland brand diapers (bought at Costco)? How are they?
-Any movie suggestions to add to our Netflix queue?
-As I was falling asleep last night, my cat started attacking me… The reason? A big spider on my bare back! Good job Annie!
-Lily is almost considered to be “full term.”
-Lily could have been named Chloe or Avery (or a few others). We even have a boy name ready in case Lily is not a Lily! What a pain that would be – returning everything pink, etc…
-I am anxiously awaiting the Fall Festival this weekend! I know I have said this several times.