Corporations are (amoral) people, my friend!

I used to have so much more to say. Goodness.

We get to find out next Thursday the 26th if we'll be having a boy or a girl. I know that everyone says "I don't care what it is," but that's really true. I DON'T have a preference, at all. Girl=great. Boy=great.

It will help to narrow down the shortlist of possible names. We've got about a dozen bouncing around, so it will be good to have some focus enter into the proceedings. Sticking a label on a human being for their entire lives seems like an important decision. Might as well just go with "Springsteen" and not worry about it.

(Springsteen is the pseudo-name given to our baby so far, used half-jokingly instead of saying "It." We use it, my Mom uses it, Kate and Nate have even used it. It is all part of my long-range plan to get everyone so used to that name that once our child is born, Springsteen will be the only possible name).

I was out at a nature site today with a corporate person and some interns, and afterwards we went to Baker's Square. This is a restaurant that's kind of like a lower-rent version of TGI Fridays, but with lots of pie. And on Wednesdays you get a free slice of pie with your meal. And today Mary Eileen bought me lunch since I was running an errand for her later. So I got a bacon cheeseburger, and a slice of chocolate cream pie.
THAT's what I call a good Wednesday.

See, Kristin and I are being very budget-conscious these days, to save up for Baby Springsteen and because we had a huge short-term mortgage payment bump. So we're not eating out lunches and not eating out dinner really either.

This has the benefit of conserving lots of cash but the downside of Colin not getting much meat in his diet, which is healthier but not much fun.

So on the occasions when I do get to eat at a restaurant, I'm sure as heck not wasting it on something light. I mean, I really really like chicken Caesar salad, but I'm not about to order that at a restaurant in these times of austere living.

Dad, Mom, and Abby came up this past weekend. Dad was hard at work the whole time, painting our 20-foot high foyer ceiling and walls, and then water-sealing the decks, front and back. He's a hard worker for no pay!
Kristin and Mom went shopping around, and got some baby stuff. Abby suffered from a horrid stomach ache, and was out of commission until the late afternoon.
But luckily the next day she was fine, and went to the farmer's market with us. We even got free popsicles from people at a nearby church, giving them out so we could "Stay cool for Jesus!" Good recruitment tactic, actually. When Kristin and I start properly vetting churches, this one will be in the running. I think they're Episcopalian, so they're already getting a head start.

I hope people realize that it's not hot just because it's summertime and goodness golly, that's when it gets hot. In all likelihood this will be the hottest US summer since records have been kept. I hope people realize the importance of that fact. It's not a good thing.

It also reminds me of two summers ago, when the typical day had a 78-degree high, and it was nice for four months. Kristin and Jay whined all summer: "It's not a real summer, no fair!"
I will take a slightly cooler summer, always, over scorching hot summer. Having to wear a long sleeved shirt after dark is far better than being miserable any time you step outside.

New music that is solid: The new Metric album, and the new Counting Crows album. Good stuff.

Ok, enough for now. Gender-of-baby update coming next week!