Umm, so I have some news...

I'm a thief. A copycat. A follower. I started this blog in imitation of my good friends Jeff and Jodi, who are expecting a bouncing baby boy. They seemed all cool with their regular posts and updates. I wanted to be like that. I'm failing miserably. No matter, I have my reasons, and you can't have them.

So, I'm back in the working world, kickin' it with the growed-ups. I finish my training this week and start the actual job next Monday. I'm slightly nervous only because I keep reverting to old adjuster habits. It'll be day by day, but thankfully I am surrounded by really great people who actually want to see me succeed. So that's pretty cool.

Other pretty cool things: My Katie loves her new "school". She has a best friend, Audrey, and a boyfriend, Colin. *shakes head* She's three. This is a sign of things to come, I know it. I must find a very large stick.

I'm back in school. I'm taking Survey of World Literature, which sounds high-falutin'. It's okay. So far, I like the selections we're reading. I do realize, however, how much I DON'T miss writing essays. Yargh.

It seems like all my friends are having baby boys. Jeff and Jodi, Troy and Mayra... I don't know about Trish yet, she's a few weeks behind me.

Yeah, y'all read that right. I'm pregnant. 15 1/2 weeks today, as a matter of fact. Jeremy and I wanted to wait until the second trimester to really tell the world. I know some of you have known for a little while. I can't keep my mouth entirely shut, you know. My next appointment is on 6/8 and is the triple-screen test for ucky stuff. After that, 4 weeks after that, to be anally precise, is the "Is it a boy or a girl?" ultrasound. I'll post as soon as I know.

I won't go into the drama that has already surrounded this pregnancy. Let's just say I've been to the hospital three times already, but the baby is doing fine.

(Here's the part where the blog comes full-circle.)
So, as soon as I can, I'll post the most recent "picture" of my Dimple-baby, so you all can see the amorphous blob I call child. And I'll keep blogging about the fun pregnant things noone gives a rat's ass about, like my current affinity for microwave burritos and pickles. (Not together; I'm not that far gone!) Oh, and I'll gripe about random aches, pains, fluids, and bizarre pregnancy dreams. Like the one where Spencer (my cat) told me, in a Barry White voice, to check the water heater. Good times.

I know I'm ripping off the wonder that is Jeff and Jodi's baby blog. Didn't someone once say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?

On a roll...

I just realized that I start my new job in 3 weeks and 1 day. I'm excited to be going back to the adult world. I love being home with Katie, but there are only so many potty-accidents, temper tantrums, and episodes of Dora that one mom can handle. It'll be nice to talk to people using words with more than 2 syllables about things other than Swiper the Fox and bubbles. I'll miss my time with Katie, no doubt. But I'll value the time I have with her even more. Plus, I'll have the opportunity to leave the house and Kates will get to make new friends.

So, yeah, 3 weeks until I become Laura The Adult again. Huzzah!

Derivation

So, here it is, my first blog. Woohoo. Okay, maybe I should be a little excited. WOOHOO!!!! Eew, too much. Anywho, I figured I'd start out with the origins of the Shooter McFinney name. Here goes:

I bowl. With my family, every Wednesday night. We are a team (Mom, Patti, John, James, and I) and we categorically and consistently stink. Sorry, Mom, but 10th out of 12 ain't stellar. We're getting better, really. This is where Shooter comes in.

Every Wednesday night, I bowl crappily and can't get a handle on how to improve. So, my teammates decided that I needed a new moniker to embody the me that erupts on the rare occasion that I make a spare or, gasp, a strike. They liken that enthusiastic burst of happiness (and its accompanying fist pump) to the character Shooter McGavin from Happy Gilmore. So one such Wednesday, they changed my screen name from Laura Finney to Shooter Finney. Almost immediately, I started bowling better. The name, and my score, has since evolved to Shooter McFinney, with a brief stint as Shooter McShoot Shoot. My last game as Shooter netted me a score of 190. So, yeah, it kinda works.

So there it is. I go all out to start my own blogspace-type-thing and open 'er up with a post about bowling.

I know where this is going from here, 'cause I'm tricksy like that.