My new favorite line...

So, this post is for all the women out there.

As I have mentioned in several previous posts, I work for a great company. The president of the company stopped by my office on Thursday to see if I would be interested in going to the Jerry Seinfeld show on Friday night. (Which, of course, I was.) So, he gave Corbyn and I tickets. There were many funny jokes, but I noticed Corbyn laughed extra hard at one of them... because I think it is probably pretty true. Jerry was talking about "tone" and the difference between a man and a woman. The basic jist - a man walks into his buddy's house and says, "I am hungry. What is there to eat?" (said with a tone). The buddy says, "Eat whatever the hell you want." If a man walks into his own house and says, "I am hungry. What is there to eat?" (said with a tone), the woman says, "Why are you yelling at me?" For some reason, we women feel personally responsible for a man's hunger and his helpless inability to provide himself with sustenance. So, when I noticed Corbyn thinking that was sooooooooo funny (and realizing it was only funny because it was true), I adopted my new favorite line. From now on, whenever Corbyn asks what is for dinner or whines because I put beans in his Pork Barbacoa Salad, or use applesauce to make the cake a little healthier, I am just going to say, "Eat whatever the hell you want." (Sorry, mom.) I used that line three times over the weekend... you would be surprised at how liberating it is. And, I believe Corbyn will think twice before laughing quite so hard at a joke again.

By the way, I typed this whole thing without my contacts in, so if there are spelling or grammar errors, I blame my blindness.

It's a.......

GIRL!!!!

Wow - ultrasounds are amazing! Here are some pics, if you are good enough to make out what they are. (And if you care.) They said everything on the baby was normal, except that she has an extra large brain. OK, not really. They just said everything was normal and I am two days ahead of where they would expect me to be for a November 19th due date. (Which is awesome... I would rather have it sooner, so I am fully recovered for Thanksgiving dinner and (more importantly), combat shopping for the Black Friday sales!!!

So, it was the double whammy for Corbyn. We went in to the ultrasound and he found out it was a girl. He did pretty good, but it was obvious he was a little disappointed. Then, we went in for my monthly check-up, and because I have negative blood, he had to get his blood drawn, so they can check his blood type. He HATES needles (whimp). So, yes, it was a very, very hard day for Corbyn. :) And I couldn't even be the supportive wife for him through this traumatic ordeal, because Heather was calling for the 10th time to find out the gender. (Just kidding, Heather.)

Then, last night, he got to see the baby move for the first time. I have tried to help him feel it, but he pushes very hard on my stomach every time (typical man... not so gentle), so he just makes me need to pee instead of feeling the baby move. So he hasn't ever felt it. But I saw her moving last night, so I made him watch and he saw something stick out of my belly for a second. I think it kind of freaked him out. He kept saying, "You just have some weird gas or something."

8 days and no puke! It's gotta be a record!!!

The title says it all... I am just so excited about it, I have to share!

Other exciting news? My ultrasound is Friday, so we get to find out what we're having!!! Stay tuned...

The count:

Days without puking: 8
Weight gained: 11 lbs.
Slurpee's consumed: 4
Weirdest craving so far: Nothing... I think it comes from being sick so much... I dislike eating these days. :(

My tribute to Kevin, my mentor & friend

Sorry - this posting isn't even going to attempt to be funny. Feel free to skip right past it, but I feel the desire to write my feelings.

I lost someone last week who was very special to me. A very different kind of loss than any I have experienced before... I have lost family members and friends before, but last week, I lost my mentor.

He was my boss in title... the Chief Marketing Officer at 1-800 CONTACTS. When I have tried to talk to others about him, they seem almost dismayed that I would feel such a sense of personal loss about someone not related. Which makes me incredibly sad... it shows me how rare a true mentor is... anyone who has had a great mentor would understand my grief.

Kevin was an amazing person. He was so full of life that you learned about life just by watching him... He was an amazing marketer and business man... sitting in a meeting or a 1 on 1 with him was like drinking from the fire hose of knowledge... whatever capacity you had to drink, he had more than enough to provide. He was such a strong advocate for him employees - even on the huge and/or new projects or roles where you weren't sure if you could do it, he always knew and somehow made you believe that you could. He was a great coach - able to provide guidance and direction in a subtle and completely inoffensive way. He was lavish with his praise... which only made you want to do better. He was a tremendous leader... anyone in the company who's seen the executive team interact knew that Kevin WAS the executive team. He was a wonderful friend. The most amazing thing about Kevin was that he was not all these things just to me, but to all who knew him. You didn't have to work directly for Kevin, or even interact with him much, to recognize what an amazing person he was and to learn from him.

My favorite memory of Kevin, possibly because it was my last real interaction with him before he died, occurred the Friday before his death. We were on a conference call with Wal-Mart. They had been stalling and delaying on a project I was leading. I had communicated this delay to Kevin and, as the great boss he always was, he fully understood his role as facilitator... to remove obstacles for his people. We got on this conference call and he started yelling, calling out people who were failing to make timely decisions, demanding action from Wal-Mart executives, etc. If I were on the other end of the phone call, I would have thought he was incredibly demanding and frankly, a little scary. But they didn't have the perspective of sitting next to him... being able to see him. The whole time, he had a huge smile on his face and was giving me two thumbs up... letting me know it was all for show. It was so Kevin.

My feelings are so complicated... I feel so much gratitude- that I was able to know him for almost 4 years and work directly for him for 2 years. I feel so much regret- that my capacity to drink wasn't greater during the time his fountain of knowledge was available. I feel so robbed - 4 years was such a short time to learn all he had to offer. I feel so hopeless - I can't imagine I will ever find a mentor like him again. I feel so much desire... to be for someone else what he was for me. I feel so much pain - I will deeply miss my friend.

Words fall short - he was an amazing man.