The baby rolled over today — tummy to back. His sitter had left him on his mat just for a second to get a burp cloth, and when she returned, he was on his back. She raced to my office to tell me the news and I raced to the baby to nuzzle him. He didn't really understand what all the fuss was about. Ah, babies. So naive.

So another Thanksgiving has come and gone. This one was a little more exciting than most because 1) my mom was here with us and 2) I got my boss an interview with the New York Times, and it ran on Thanksgiving day. See for yourself here. So that was pretty stellar.

My birthday was good, too. We had the sitter until 11:30 but came home at 10 because neither of us was feeling that great. Someone in this house has been sick for the past 8 weeks. We just keep passing it around between us, with Lex bringing home new strains of illness from his thrice-weekly preschool. Swell. But, my darling Monstro gave me a birthday gift that surpasses all gifts I've received pretty much ever. Now I just need to read the manual. 🙂

Went out of town Saturday night and visited the capitol city of Concord, NH. Had a great time. People there are very friendly, and strangers started up conversations with us. Quite a difference from the chilly Happy Valley of MA.

Oh, and Postsecret jumped the shark two weeks ago with that larvae breast postcard, not only the stupidest entry I've ever seen but also creepy to the point that it affected my breastfeeding of the baby. Sickening. Boo, postsecret.

Other than that, work is busy and the baby is thriving and Lex is hilarious and Monstro got two big to-dos off his plate yesterday, so here's hoping December lacks the drama so inherent in November. Crossing fingers.

Three more days. Thank God. I am ready for some unfettered party excitement that *doesn't* involve three-year-olds tearing apart my house, which is the kind of unfettered party excitement we had going on yesterday.

I've got a funny story that makes me look like a total chump but ya know, I don't think I need to go there right now.

In other news, it's 1:21 p.m. and I'm eating my first food of the day. Lasagne. Not dirt. 🙂

What are some things that you're not certain whether they're cool or not? The top two in my mind are Matt Roloff and Twitter. How about yours?

I'm writing a glossary today. It's *really* fun. I'm like Ambrose Bierce without the bitter.

It's been a Saturn return kind of week. Yeah, I'm not kidding; it started balls-out at 11:00 Monday morning and didn't ever stop. Lex's ear infection(s) and baby's stuffy nose and, uh huh, teething. The thing is, though, the kids were the least of it. And this week we have a three-year-old's birthday party, which will be featuring salt dough, food coloring, and, uh huh, acrylic paint, because that's fun, and Saturday night is the night before my birthday, and dammit we're going to have a party if it kills us because I've earned it. And then Sunday I'm the lay reader (puns about my first trip to Chico can be left to your own devices, thanks) at church, plus we're providing the flowers *and* the coffee-hour goodies. And I'm pretty sure I'm leading the Bible study that evening. I'll probably have the chance to make up a quick ukulele song about Fibonacci, too. And then it's Thanksgiving, let alone Christmas, neither of which have I begun to shop for. Yee.

So Monstro's been bugging me for suggestions of what I want for my Fibonacci birthday and Christmas, and after putting a Nikon D80 and corresponding SB-600 strobe, and some Jake Shimabukuro stuff on the list I kind of stalled out, so I went to gifts.com and did the “gift personality” quiz. Here's what I am, according to them:

Gifts for The Hipster hand-picked by our Gift Gurus

Morning Ritual: Decaf soy latte at a local independent coffee shop.

Uniform: Vintage, alternative, original — no head-to-toe trends for her.

On her iPod: Indie rock, downtempo electronica, local DJ mixes, YouTube videos.

Reading List: Art, film, music and fashion pieces.

Ride: If the sun is shining: her Vespa. If not: her Mellow Yellow Mini Cooper.

Mantra: Friends don't let friends drink Starbucks.

Famous Examples: Sofia Coppola, Maggie Gyllenhall, Chloë Sevigny.

I have way better eyebrows than Sofia, but other than that, it's pretty close.

Other than that, this week has been wretched. On the plus side, though, I no longer wish to eat dirt.

I post something in support of (President-elect) Obama and you give me no end of s**t, but I tell you that I want to eat dirt and it's nothing but crickets, and once — in the distance — a dog barks.

Is unagi umami?

On Election Night, NBC's ice rink map of the United States was better than CNN's holograms.