Memorial Pics

Us before the memorial. Do I look pregnant yet?

Art Impressions

There's only two 'true' art galleries in my town, besides the many gallery shops that are everywhere here. One is the Delaplaine, on the Carroll Creek Promenade. That place displays various nice-looking pieces as well as an area exhibiting art work of local children. I never see anything spectacular there, but I still enjoy seeing the work locals have produced.

The other place is called the Blue Elephant. This place tends to be on the 'controversial' side. In there, you'll find exhibits that display things like baby dolls with nails hammered into their faces, or pictures of small dogs drowning, or anything resembling the crucifix.

My first visit there was the first time I saw 'controversial' art. I left the place disappointed. I thought it was awful and creepy. It made me wonder what kind of 'sickos' make stuff like this. I imagine it was the intent of the artist to make me feel that way.

A long while later, a friend of mine asked me to go see his exhibit at a special show they were having there. I thought I'd give it another shot. I had forgotten how creepy the exhibits were the first time. It had not changed. There were still displays that linked children to suffering, and a bunch of sacrilegious things. This time, I walked out of the place thinking "Oh yeah, the creepy place." It no longer shocked me. Basically, you just have to take something people feel strongly about (like protecting children, or their religious beliefs) and do something disgusting or horrifying to it. Then, you would have something worthy of that display.

Now, if after two visits to a gallery like that, I'm no longer scandalized, what about 'contro' art buffs? I appreciate art, but am very unfamiliar with the whole industry. Regarding people who live for art: Do they get shocked everytime? Or is it just an appreciation that grows through exposure?

I guess I would understand if I acquired a taste for contro-art myself. I don't think that's going to happen, when there are so many more savory studies to pursue.

More mommy stories

Filip had 'bell jeans' (jelly beans) for the first time. Now he loves them. Whenever he asks for them, he says "Want bell jeans''
That causes me to confirm what he's saying: "Jellybeans?"
"Ok" he says, as if I'm offering them. I think that's a pretty slick move of his.

I also disappointed him today. My midwife was coming over for an appointment. I told him the 'baby lady' is coming. When she arrived, he was looking behind her at her truck. "Where babies?" I had to tell him we're looking at Mommy's baby. I didn't think that he would expect the lady to bring babies. That would be logical though if she's the 'baby lady'.

Exercise

I have to get back into an exercise routine. I really think the reason why Filip's delivery was so easy was because I was going to the gym 3x a week during most of my pregnancy.
I don't belong to a gym anymore, but there is some stuff I can do at home. I try to focus on my 'core' muscles, since I believe that's the best over-all exercise I can get.
Here's my list of exercises on my routine:

20 minute walk

Large Exercise ball:
Crunches, while leaning on top.
Lifting it with my feet to meet my hands.

8 lb medicine ball:
Crunches, while holding the ball in front of me and up.
Obliques, moving the ball from one side of me to the other while lying down

Weighted Bar:
Place on shoulders, bend over and straighten up
Hold it from side to side

Free Weights:
Bicep crunches

Perfect Pushup:
'Girly' pushups against the wall

Filip:
Upside-down squats. Lay on back, put him on my feet and lift up and down
Calf bounces. Lay him on chins and lift up and down

Myself:
Cycles
Various stretches

Zoo pics

These are in the 'Asian Trail' section of the Zoo. Pandas are so cute!

Washington DC

We took Filip to the Zoo and Natural History museum today. It poured rain this morning, so we had the idea to do the museum first. So did the rest of Washington DC. The place was packed.

We just did the dinosaur and primitive life section. The exhibits are pretty impressive, but the educational value is disappointing. All the speculations there assume that evolution is a proven fact, and not still a theory. The one variable this theory takes notable advantage of is the passage of time. Everything takes millions and millions of years to evolve into something else. It's possible that the earth is that old. However, I question how scientists date when which animals showed up on the scene. Is it all the study of fossils? Or are these dates influenced by the belief that it takes millions of years for an animal to change into another animal? The museum portrays everything there as a fact, so there is no way to know there.

So, on one hand, there was a mix of dinosaur skeletons and models, which were neat to see. But then they also had all these murals of made-up animals that just look like a bunch of hybrids, to show the supposed 'link between the species'.

The zoo was fun. We got to see a red panda, a giant panda, elephants, these little cute monkeys, a cheetah, leopards, hippos, and a bunch of things I never heard of.

We didn't pack a stroller, so Filip had to walk alot. He was so worn out, he kept saying "Sit, chair, sit chair" every time we passed a bench. So JR had to carry him for most of the walk out of the zoo to the metro. Poor little guy, he slept all the way back to Mom mom's.

Immortal Look

JR

Today, someone posted on their site an old picture of a friend who died about 15 years ago. Craig has been pretty much immortalized in the Frederick area. He was a great guy, lots of fun, and ever-stylish. He had tons of friends all over, back in the day. That's how I always remember him.

When I saw a pic of him today, I thought ''Whoa, he had a flat top. That's so 90's". I realized that in my head, I keep updating my memory of him to be in style today. In reality though, Craig died with a flat-top.

I know I digress, but I actually like flat-tops on black guys. The above pic is a flat-topped JR when he was in his 20's. I think it would be so cool if JR could grow one again. If everything else about his look was up-to-date, I think a FT would make such a cool statement. Like, "I have a flat top, because I know it looks good, not because I'm stuck in the 90's".