NASW Conference

I got out of the office for three and a half days this week!  My employer graciously sent me to our state's NASW chapter conference, which was held at the Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs.  Camera stayed at home, so I have no pictures of anything from this trip.  But I can tell you that it was a pretty good trip.

It involved a long, winding, hilly drive through the Ouachita National Forest.  The weather was beautiful all three days in Hot Springs, so I got to spend all my break time walking around the park or up and down Central Ave.  Unfortunately, I did not have time to visit the aquarium, the Wax Museum, or the Gangster Museum, but I ate some pretty good food.  Oh, and the conference itself was productive and engaging. 

The End of 524

It's been 7 weeks since we moved.  March 12 was the move-out deadline for our apartment complex, and things have definitely started to happen since then. 

This is what the whole block used to look like:

Our building was the one at the bottom center of the shot above.  As far as we can tell, the people living in the three houses in the lower right haven't moved out yet, but everyone is out of the apartment buildings along the left/center.  The building at the top right hasn't been used at all during the time we've lived here, but the parking lot was used for commuters.  After the move-out date, things happened with our building almost immediately.  We've made a couple recent visits to see the progress.

March 19 (Ethan had been by a couple of days earlier when apparently there were just a few holes in the roof, but by the time we got there with a camera, this is what we found):

 Standing outside our bedroom window:

 Former laundry room:

And by March 23, this:

Gearing Up

We are lucky, particularly when it comes to baby prep, to live in an area that has tons of thrift stores, well-supplied ones, generally with some pretty good stuff.  This weekend we went a step further and attended a giant consignment event that carries all manner of baby stuff.  There are two of these events held in this area in both the spring and the fall.  Parents-to-be can get a pre-sale pass to shop on Saturday afternoon right before the week of the event.  So, we printed our pass, got there barely early enough to find a parking space, and then waited in line. 

There were a lot of people.  And once the doors were opened, it was pretty intense. 

Fortunately, we went with an agenda.  It was still pretty exhausting, but at least we weren't wandering aimlessly through small spaces filled with pregnant women and manic grandmas.  After a looong wait in the line to pay by credit card (note to self: bring cash next time), we made it out with a car seat, a tub, and a bouncy seat, for a total of about $45.  I guess that means success!

Then we brought the gear home, set it on our living room floor, and thought, "What is this stuff doing here?"  There won't be a baby in this house for another 3.5 months, so it's actually a little disorienting to have this stuff around at this stage. 

24 weeks

So Long

Until one week ago, we lived here - first floor apartment at the far end of the building on the right:

We'd been in that apartment for almost exactly two and a half years, longer than any place we've ever lived before.  Then, on January 28, we were told that we had 45 days to move out.  Turns out that the entire block (which includes these two buildings, two more brick apartment buildings, three homes, and another building that's been empty at least as long as we've been here) is being cleared out in order to build a five-story housing complex to target students. 

Since it was unavoidable, we opted for moving quickly.  Within three days, we signed a lease on a new apartment about a mile away, and on February 4, we made the move.  Not a bad time to get it done, as it turns out, since the new apartment has central heat (which the old did not), and this weekend is by far the coldest we've had so far this winter.  It looks like we'll even get some snow on Monday!

19 Weeks

Up Next

2011 was pretty satisfying and included several personal benchmarks: I passed my social work licensing exam, started running and completed two 5k races, got my first couple of white hairs, spent an incredible two weeks in Japan with E, and turned 30.

And now, for something completely different, I'm working on a little guy who will be joining us in June - just about five months from now!

It turns out that, clueless though we are, prepping for a baby is a great project - it engages particular habits and nerdistries in both of us.  For example, I get to gain knowledge and organize information, maybe even make a spreadsheet if I'm really lucky.  Ethan gets to browse Craigslist and move furniture around.  The highlight of his weekend, maybe of his month, was buying a like-new glider with ottoman ($25!) in anticipation of late-night baby rocking.