Greetings from the great beyond...'emember me?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Howdy all. It’s been ages since I’ve posted here, and up to this point I’ve not been interested in paying for the privilege. But, considering my new circumstances, what the hell.

Those of you who have any clue who I am know I am married to “DeathLlama.” Well, we are proud to announce we are expecting our first RuffLlama. :slight_smile: And soon, at that…my due date’s in 4 weeks, so I’m a large-bellied 8mos preggo right now. I had to go on early maternity leave due to severe back pain–once baby got bigger, my bad back when haywire–so I’ve been stuck in the walls of this house for entirely too long. And I still have those 4 weeks to go (theoretically–my sisters and mom all delivered before 40 weeks, so it may only be 2-3 weeks).

I’ve been active on a pregnancy weekly message board, but the G-rated warm fuzzy antics aren’t all that I’m about. It’s great to be back home with my blue-tongued, dry-humored peers.

So how the hell are yuh?

2

Apparently I have already had a pregnant brain fart. This was SUPPOSED to go in MPSIMS. What the hell was I doing putting it in IMHO?

Sheesh…try to make a decent entrance and you fall on your face. Mods? A little move-thread-over love here? :smack:

3

Hey, Ruffian! Good to see you back.

Congratulations on the RuffLlama! :slight_smile:

4

Holy crap, Johnny, 19,000+ posts??? You’ve been a busy guy. Or maybe not. a busy guy, depending on how one looks at it.

Are you still stuck in LA drinking your pot of coffee every morning or have you managed your escape to Washington state?

5

That many? :eek: I haven’t looked!

I bought a house in Northern Washington a couple of years ago… just as my job was outsourced. Three bedrooms, and close to the beach. I still drink a pot of coffee every morning, and tea in the afternoon. The job situation up here is dismal, so I may have to go back to L.A. But I’m going to try to keep the house so that I can get away when L.A. starts to drive me nuts. Or I may find something up here.

How’s the teaching? How’s the horse? How’s DeathLlama?

6

Glad yer back, we missed ya, moving thread from IMHO to MPSIMS, and buh-bye. :smiley:

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Thanks Czarcasm. :slight_smile:

Well Johnny, all is well here. DeathLlama is still teaching middle school music and is very excited about meeting his son (yup, it’s a boy). He’s been a wonderfully supportive hubby and daddy-to-be and I’m excited about creating and cultivating a new life together.

Teaching is a political nightmare right now. My district is in near-panic mode as they didn’t reach the No Child Left Behind AYP scores for the second time in three years. Though we did the year before that, twice in three years is enough for Orange Alert. District is shoving all kinds of pressured requirements down our throats, and the administration is having to be their bitch and do all the fad teaching strategies that are thrown at them. I’m in the middle of a master’s in curriculum, and I can’t help but shakle my head at what my school is doing–nothing new to help the kids, just more and more and more of the same. They are throwing TONS of money (in the form of before-, after-, and Saturday-school tutoring) into it, but using the same approaches that haven’t been working for these kids in the classroom (sit, listen, be bored, take notes). Not to be pessimistic, but considering how large the gap is, I will be very surprised if we make AYP this year. My school has a very dedicated staff, and the principal is awesome, but this has been crappy. I’m really kind of glad to be removed from it all, though I fear what affect my absence will have on the kids’ test scores.

Horses are great! We now have two…the Arabian we bought 3 1/2 years ago and a mini (think equine chihuahua). I started an after-school club last year designed to have the kiddos (some of whom have never left the asphalt jungle, nonetheless seen a real horse or touched one) interact and learn all about horses. The mini has been a great ambassador for that.

I’m not even a mommy yet, but I have to share pictures. :slight_smile:

Ferrana and I at a horse show last year

Ferrana and I at a “big rated” show last year, riding against horses 1/3 her age and valued at 10-20x her purchase price…and we were 4th of 11. :slight_smile:

Cutest pic of Firefly (the mini horse) EVER

Our baby’s 3D ultrasound pic–you can really see facial details here! Kinda creepy and cool at the same time.

A pic of me at 28/6 1/2 months weeks pregnant. I’m 36 weeks/8 months now; this looks almost small compared to what I see in the mirror!

And finally…
DeathLlama at our baby shower 2 weeks ago, pointing out “Hey, we’re going to have one of those…!”

8

Dammit, I almost got all the coding right. Lemme try again.
DeathLlama at our baby shower 2 weeks ago, pointing out “Hey, we’re going to have one of those…!”

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Welcome back. (Not that I remember you, of course, but it never hurts to be polite.)

May I ask you a question: Is your handle in anyway related to the great racing filly of that name? If you don’t care to answer, just tell me to shut up. Won’t bother me.

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Welcome back!

Tripler
And congratulations (8 months belated)!

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Hey, Ruffian! ::waves::

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Yup yup, OtakuLoki. My screenname is partially in memory of the brilliant racing filly of 1975-1976, but also partially because I like the word “ruffian” in and of itself. And I can be a little bit of one. :wink: (Ruffian’s mother was Shenanigans…also a great name, I think!)

And howdy back atcha, Tripler and AHunter!

I don’t suppose anyone can give me a synopsis of how the rest of us “oldies” are, or if they’re still around. Am I correct in thinking Opal was banned? Are Shayna and Coldfire still around? I don’t need the huge history lesson (no need to dig up old dirt); I’m just curious.

13

Hey, Ruffian, how’s it hangin’?

::looks at preggo pic::

Ne’ermind, it appears to be hanging out. Congrats on the future ankle biter and welcome home.

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Shayna is still around. I seldom see Coldfire. Too preoccupied being married, I guess. :wink: Padeye died recently. Scout1222 is still here. I don’t remember what happened to Esprix. A lot of people disappeared when SDMB went pay-to-post.

15

Welcome back, Ruffian! And, of course, mucho congratulations to you and your main Llama.

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Uh…no? I just have been busy so I haven’t posted much lately. I actually only came back a couple of days ago after not having visited since December, and popped into this thread to say hi to another returning-oldie.

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OPAL! Hooray! Glad to see you are here. :slight_smile:

I remember a while back paying a visit and seeing you nowhere. I had some vague memory of their being a disagreement between you and the mods/administration, so I guess I got the impression you had to leave. But HOORAY that you weren’t!

I still have my “Don’t make me smite you” mug. It’s one of my favorites. How the hell are yuh? And your son and Undeaddude? (I think that’s your hubby’s s/n…) Link me to your websites; I’d love to peruse and catch up. Hell, I’ve got little more to do than sit on my ass for a few weeks; I could use the entertainment.

(And howdy SkipMagic! Aww, this is a nice little fuzzy reunion…)

18

Oh my God. I’m an “oldie”!!!

Congratulations to you on the upcoming son. I hope you have a…well, I was going to say easy, birth, but I’m not sure childbirth can ever be considered easy.

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Welcome back, Ruff.
:slight_smile:

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'emember me?

Yep, nice to see you back around and, of course, congrats.