"Childbirth classes neglect to teach one critical skill: How to breathe, count, and swear all at the same time." ~ Linda Filterman

First: the baby update. Saw the doctor yesterday, all seems well. We spotted the little bean with its itsy-bitsy heartbeat – even with the crappy office ultrasound machine - although since I am not sure about the dates, the doctor thinks I am actually due later in February than we originally thought. Since I have had three normal, uncomplicated pregnancies, they are not as concerned about my “advanced maternal age” (God, how I despise that phrase!) as they might be if it were, say, my first. Now H and I are trying to decide when to tell the boys. Preferably sometime before I file for Social Security benefits and my AARP membership comes due.

Second: the RSS feed update. David, did you get the whole post? Lemme know.

Now, the book update:

I finished Baker Towers last night, and I have to say, I LOVED this book. Thanks for the recc, Gina. I enjoy complicated family sagas, and this one was a goodie. It reminded me a bit of Rebecca Johns’ Icebergs although the actual plots and geography differ greatly. They are both books you can get lost in, if you like. While H took the kids to his mom’s for the fourth time in five days (I don't even want to see people I LIKE that often), to play baseball with their cousins, I stayed home, finished off my book, and ate cheese, pretzels, and chocolate for dinner. (What? Chocolate and cheese are dairy! Calcium and protein, my friends. Calcium and protein.)

I then started Ian Sansom’s The Case of the Missing Books, which is going to be an incredibly light read but most entertaining. Israel Armstrong completely cracks me up, and I can’t wait to see how he resolves the issues with which he is faced. The scene in which the locals give him directions to Balleymuck via Balleygullable made me howl. It might help him if he grew a backbone, but the story wouldn’t be nearly so amusing then.

Due to the general Internet disgust and confusion over the movie version of Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising, and Lazy Cow’s indignation more specifically, I am about to check this book out of the library and read it tonight.

So the project to read down my TBR shelves is coming along swimmingly: both Baker Towers and Missing Books hail from TBR Land; however, I can anticipate having to buy the next Ian Sansom, which will shoot my intentions straight to hell. And after all the light fiction, I may be in the mood for something like The Children’s Blizzard next, or maybe some nice Russians. I’ve never read The Brothers Karamazov, and it IS sitting on my shelves.