Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!

Say hello to Ann Rose Bautista!!

On Thursday afternoon I got a call from Ashley that our friend Meredith had officially gone into labor! She was due on May 23rd and was going to be induced on the 30th if Annie didn't decide to come out on her own. Ashley and I threw Meredith's baby shower last month and I went on the "Stork Tour" at the hospital with her a few weeks ago, so I was so excited the day was finally here! Meredith had said she wanted company while she was in the hospital so I headed over around 6:30pm. Meredith was such a champ! She was 6 cm dilated and having contractions pretty close together without even breaking a sweat or uttering colorful expletives. Finally, after about 3 hours, she started feeling the burn and (politely) requested the drugs. Luckily for me, everyone had chosen that moment to get snacks so I got to be in the room with her while she got the epidural. Again, total superstar!! Didn't scream, cry, or move a muscle while they jabbed a giant needle in her spine. A few minutes later, girl was feeling gooooood!

At around 1am they informed us that since she still wasn't feeling any pressure to push, the baby probably wouldn't be born until around 3am. They had also said that only 3 people were allowed to be in the room for delivery and for the hour afterward when they let the mom bond with the baby. Taking into account that there were currently 7 people in the room (besides Meredith and the hospital staff) and guessing that Mer would probably choose her husband, mom, and mother-in-law to be the 3 chosen people, I decided to head home and get a precious 5 hours of sleep before work. The next morning I called to get the skinny on how the rest of the birth unfolded and found out that Annie was born at 3:45am... and everyone got to stay in the room and help/coach during the birth!! I was so bummed I had left! Who needs sleep when I could have helped a baby be born?!?

So, after my last day of work before summer vacation (woo-hoo!), I headed over to the hospital to greet the new arrival. She is so precious!! She weighs 7lbs 10oz and is 19in long. She has a round little face, brown hair, and really long feet!! She is determined to have her hands up by her face at all times. I can't believe that this amazing little person is finally here! I know she is going to be such a lucky little girl because she's already got so many people who love her.

Happy Birthday Annie!!

Tiana Who?

Ahhhh...who am I? One of the existential questions we all face at some point in our lives. I may never fully know the answer to this question, but I do know who I'm not. I feel I can say with 100% certainty that I am not Rose Marie Balandran and I did not attempt to obtain a credit card for people with lousy credit, although my recent bank statement might indicate otherwise.

On Tuesday I happened to be perusing my online bank statement when I noticed an unfamiliar charge in mine and hubby's joint account. Now, I am not a spending Nazi and Bryan is free to spend money without clearing it with me first, but I am the one who manages the finances and pays the bills so I like to have a general idea of what we are spending so I can budget accordingly. When I asked B about this charge, he did not recognize it so I called the bank to find out where it came from. It turns out that the charge was an online application fee for a credit card that neither of us applied for. When I called the credit card company, I discovered that someone had used our bank account number and routing number to pay for the application fee online. How did someone get this information you ask? It turns out that a check we had mailed to our handyman was stolen out of his mailbox a few weeks ago. The culprit did not try to cash the check but instead used the account numbers and routing numbers to charge purchases to our account online. Needless to say the account was compromised so I had to report the charges to our bank and close the account. Bryan and I then had to go into the bank together and open a new joint account... a process which took a good hour and a half :(. When I got home, I checked the now-closed account and saw that another purchase had posted before the account was closed and this time the person had used our account info to draft an electronic check WITH THEIR OWN NAME AND ADDRESS ON IT!! Luckily for me, my bank scans all checks and I was able to see the copy with the fraud's name and address, at which point I promptly called the police.

Life lesson: If you're going to get your identity/bank information stolen, it helps if the thief is also an idiot.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

Ok, so I have nothing exciting going on in my life right now but I feel like writing a blog, so I've decided to talk about something near and dear to my heart. That's right... reality shows!! It is no secret that I watch way too much T.V. and I definitely love me some reality shows! I'm not talking about seedy shows like Temptation Island and Paradise Hotel...I'm talking high-quality, original, reality programming (with a dash of guilty pleasure in the form of America's Next Top Model thrown in.) Some of my personal faves are:

- So You Think You Can Dance!
The new season starts this Thursday, which is most likely what got me thinking of writing this blog. I used to dance when I was a kid and in high school and I absolutely loved it! I never had the kind of natural talent that would allow me to transition from hobby to career, but being on the dance/drill team in high school was one of the most fun experiences of my life. I love this show because it's so fun to watch dancers with backgrounds in different styles learn how to dance in a totally new way. There's also enough variety (meaning not all ballroom) that even my husband will watch with me. For your viewing pleasure, I posted one of my favorite dances above this post. What's amazing to me is that the guy in it... is a hip hop dancer!

-The Amazing Race
I love this show because it incorporates travel, history, crazy-ass challenges, and deciphering clues all in one! Out of any reality show, this is probably the one I would most like to be on because of all the cool places they get to go. However, I am too much of a chicken to do some of the scarier challenges (like bungee jumping off the tallest building in the world in Kuala Lumpur) so I don't think I'll be sending in an audition tape anytime soon.

-Survivor
I would never try out for this show. Bugs, rats, sharks, hairy armpits, raw shellfish, and did I mention bugs? No thanks. But fun to watch!

-Top Chef
Mmmmmm. Some of the challenges are so creative and I love drooling over all the food porn.

-Project Runway
You're either in, or you're OUT! Fierce.

-America's Next Top Model
Yes, this one's my guilty pleasure. I actually can't stand Tyra on this show and usually fast forward the parts where she's talking, but I enjoy seeing how the photo shoots turn out. I really like the shows that have a process leading up to a finished product.

-American Idol
I used to LOVE this show, but this season has been incredibly frustrating to me. First of all, I CANNOT STAND RYAN SEACREST FOR ONE MORE SECOND!! He is such a tool. I will only watch this show on replay because I must fast forward through all the talking or else I will throw something at the T.V. Second, actual SINGERS like Carly Smithson got voted off while no-talent potheads like Jason Castro made it to the final four. I am also frustrated by some of the themes they've chosen this season. Neil Diamond week? Please.

I am also a fan of Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, Last Comic Standing, America's Best Dance Crew, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and The Biggest Loser.

What are your some of your favorites?

The City That Never Sleeps

(Pull up a chair, 'cause this is a long one!)


Last weekend, after only being home from Chicago for 2 1/2 days, I went to New York with my mom for a "Theater Weekend." I left at 7am on Friday morning and got back at 9:30pm on Monday night. Talk about a quick turnaround! Luckily, my mom and I know how to cram a ton of fun stuff into a short period of time.


Friday:
After arriving in New York, my mom and I raced to our hotel, threw our suitcases in our room, and dashed off to see an improv comedy show. Unfortunately, when we arrived we were informed that we were the only ticket holders for the show and they need at least 14 people or they cancel the performance. Since we arrived only 15 minutes before showtime and were the only people there, we were not feeling too confident that 12 more people were going to just wander in off the street in the next 15 minutes. So, being the ever resourceful people that we are, we whipped out my mom's internet-capable cell phone and found another show starting in 20 minutes just a few blocks away! We called and they still had tickets so we raced over and made it just in time! The show we ended up seeing was called The Made-Up Musical. The theater was very small with an audience of about 15 people. The actors came out and interviewed one of the audience members about where she grew up and then, without going backstage or discussing it with each other, proceeded to make up an entire hour-long musical on the spot! It was hilarious and really amazing to see how sharp and cohesive these actors had to be to be able to do something like that and have it make any sense. We had a great time and were really glad the evening worked out in the end.

Saturday:

I should probably say that my mom originally planned to go on this trip with my step-dad. The reason my mom planned to go to New York in the first place was because she is a HUGE (that word does not even begin to describe it) Clay Aiken fan. I personally like him as well and have gone to see several concerts with my mom in the past, but she takes it to a whole new level. For the past 5 months, Clay has been performing in the Broadway show Spamalot. This weekend was his last weekend in the show and Clay fans came out in droves to see the final shows, my mom being one of them. In originally planning the trip, my mom had purchased tickets to see Spamalot 4 TIMES, something my step-dad had no problem with. When it turned out he couldn't go on the trip after all, I stepped in to take his place. Now, I had no problem seeing Spamalot with my mom, but I haven't been to New York in 11 YEARS and didn't necessarily want to see the same show 4 times when there were so many other great shows to see. So, my mom found me a single ticket to see Legally Blonde: The Musical, while she sat in the second row for Spamalot. Legally Blonde was such a fun show and I'm SO glad I got a chance to see it. My seat was in the third row (thanks Mom!) and I had a great view of the stage. The show follows the same storyline as the movie, but they've added musical numbers and it's just a really catchy, infectious show.

On Saturday night my mom actually gave up one of her sets of Spamalot tickets to see another show with me. She had been searching the internet and found a pair of front row seats to see Curtains (another show she really wanted to see) and decided it was worth it to give up her other tickets. Curtains is a musical about a murder that takes place in a theater. David Hyde Pierce is the star as the detective on the case who secretly LOVES musical theater. The show is funny and suspenseful (neither my mom nor I could figure out who dunnit) with some really show-stopping musical song and dance numbers. We really enjoyed the show and my mom even said it was totally worth it to give up her other tickets! After the show we went out to the stage door since my mom had heard that the cast often comes out to sign autographs and take pictures. She was right! All of the main actors came out and signed my Playbill and I even got a picture with David Hyde Pierce! It was a really fun night and my mom and I had a great time.



Sunday:
Because I love my mom so much, I agreed to go see both Spamalot shows on Sunday. For the matinee we had 4th row Orchestra seats and for the evening show we had 4th row Mezzanine seats. It was really cool to be able to see the show from two different perspectives. I noticed things going on in the background the second time that I didn't notice during the first show. Luckily, Spamalot is a truly hilarious show and I didn't end up minding that I saw it twice. The actors even ad lib a few little parts so it was different in each show. Some of the facial expressions and body movements the actors do are so hilarious that the other actors on stage even had to take a few moments to compose themselves before they could get their next line out. I would definitely recommend this show if you want to see something really funny that will make you lose your voice from laughing so hard. One of the other highlights from the show was the actress who played The Lady of the Lake. Her name is Hannah Waddingham and she truly has one of the most AMAZING voices I've ever heard. She has an incredible vocal range, is gorgeous, and has fantastic comedic timing. I am so glad that I had a chance to see her perform and I hope I get to see her in something again someday.


Monday:
That's right, there's more! Monday was absolutely gorgeous...70 degrees, clear sky, sunny, perfect. Since our hotel was only a few blocks from Central Park, we decided to have lunch and a little cafe across the street from the park. As we ate we watched the people walking by and the horse-drawn carriages line up along the street. After we finished lunch I still had about an hour before I had to leave for the airport so my mom and I decided to take a horse-drawn carriage ride around Central Park! It was such a beautiful day and such a perfect way to see the park. It was a great end to a great trip. I really enjoyed spending that time with my mom and we made some really great memories.

So that's my whirlwind trip to the Big Apple! I wish I could have stayed longer but I don't think I could have kept up that pace! I really hope it's not another 11 years before I get to go back again.