As part of my whirlwind Atlanta tour, I (24 weeks preggo), Nicole (36 weeks preggo) and Allison (8 weeks post partum, Ellen in tow) did an excursion to Babies R Us today. We were quite a sight; three ladies in different but relatively close stages of motherhood or impending motherhood. We got a lot of looks from the people around us at our pre-shopping lunch at Applebees. At the store, one lady took one look at the three of us and said "Ya'll are like my girlfriends; there must be something in the water!"

And we were funny, too, because of the roles we fell into on our shopping trip. Allison and Ellen were the grande dames; they had the wealth of two months' experience and had lots of hints about what items were must haves and what items were overhyped. Nicole was in oh-my-God-this-baby-is-coming-any-day-now-and-I-don't-have-everything-I-need mode; she was picking up the last minute odds and ends off of her registry that she hadn't received as gifts. I was in I-have-plenty-of-time-I'll-just-register-for-it mode, and followed them both around with a scanner gun. Weeee! A good time was had by all (even Ellen, who was a relative angel -- slept through lunch, drank a whole bottle (!) of breast milk in the store, then slept the whole way home).

Yes, it's really been a year since the last time I asked you to wish Keri a happy birthday. Please do it again. For me.

And while you're at it, send good thoughts to my cousin Cate and her hubby Stan. Blessedly, little Elizabeth Marie had fully developed lungs when she was born yesterday, despite being more than a month premature and despite a sonogram just 4 days before saying that her lungs weren't quite ready for the outside world. Cate's first daughter, Brigid, spent well over a month in the NICU before she could come home. Thank God, it looks like Elizabeth won't have to go through the same thing.

I just cleaned out my work e-mail account. There are now precisely 9 e-mails in inbox, and 0 messages from last week in my Sent folder. All e-mails have been banished to the appropriate e-mail folder for later reference. It took me well over an hour (and I am generally pretty good about filing things as I go...).

Last week alone, I sent or received over 600 e-mails (not counting the more than 100 that I deleted, most of which are SPAM that I didn't even bother opening, the rest of which are office claptrap). When I started my little project today, there were more than 200 e-mails in my in box and well over 100 more in my sent folder.

In the case that has been keeping me busiest (and that I have been working on only for about 3 weeks) I have well over 800 e-mails filed (there were probably mroe that got deleted). This 800 is also not counting another 100 or so e-mails from Westlaw containing cases and other research materials that I found during various research projects. And yes, I've read every single case.

I know lots of folks get lots more e-mail than this, but sheesh -- is it a wonder that one feels overwhelmed by the electronic deluge sometimes???

I know he's one of L.'s former TeeVee boyfriends and all, but I have gone through two large containers of Dannon Fat Free Yogurt a week since the beginning of January, and I am really darn tired of seeing that darn cartoon Alton Brown on the side of the container. And if I have to peel a metal top off of the container with Mr. Brown's Olive Dip recipe on it one more time, I may just scream.

That is all.

I have had this blender for about two years now, and it is starting to die on me. It just can't seem to hack the ice in my daily smoothie breakfast anymore; no matter how long I keep it going, I end up with hunks of ice where only smooth coolness should remain. Also, the motor seems to be straining, and all speeds seem about the same.

I am willing to invest in a good blender to make my smoothies. It has to have a glass jar (plastic breaks too easily) and it has to have a removable bottom to make cleaning easier. I want it to crush ice, blend soups, perhaps someday soon make babyfood purees, and stand up to daily use. Please, bring on your suggestions for such a magical appliance.

I just got a postcard from my OB/GYN's office reminding me to be sure and schedule my annual check up. Duh. Do I just throw it out with a laugh, or should I bring it with me to my next appointment? It's not like I haven't been in that office every 4 weeks like clockwork since the first week of October!