Feeling Better Now. When I posted earlier, I was a wee bit tired and cranky, so I kept it short. But now, upon reflection, I've had a very good day today, despite having gone into the office.

Yes, I know, most people who go on leave actually stay away from work. I've been slipping back in after hours, walking through a difficult systems upgrade with our new Alpha Geek, who is having an extra challenge with our proprietary software. Fortunately, it only took us an hour to work out the glitches today. While he was taking care of that, I went through a few more stray in-box items. Going in on the weekends really stinks, but I'll tell you, I've gotten more done in the off-hours than I had in the entire previous week. It's amazing how much more productive I am without the constant parade of people past my desk.

Yesterday I had what's known in my family as a "Duck Day". The phenomenon gets its name from a vacation my father and stepmom took in Duck, North Carolina a while back. Both Dad and Stepmom are very hard-working professionals who frequently work hours that would probably kill me. But they both love what they do so one can hardly fault them. Anyway, they got to Duck that afternoon, set down their bags and said to themselves, a nap before dinner would be a nice thing. They woke up 18 hours later.

So I had a Duck Day yesterday. Today, I got up before both husband and toddler, had a luxurious warm shower (lather, rinse, and repeat, whoo hoo), nuked a frozen croissant, and sat on my balcony overlooking the ocean, drinking coffee and reading a book before everyone else got up. It doesn't matter that it was a cloudy day; the view was still very pleasant. And that set me up for a nice productive day getting ready for my mom's visit. Don't worry Mom, I still left you plenty to do. But now your bedroom looks like someplace to sleep, not a warehouse; and the rest of the house doesn't look like a dumpster/laundry hamper.

My sister-in-law keeps telling me that I should be relaxing and revelling in these last few pre-baby days. (And she is wise in the ways of the force: she also has two kids, about two years apart.) Yeah, yeah, I know - but I don't relax well when I'm up to my ribcage in laundry baskets.

And on that note, I'm off to bed. A bed with fresh linens. And one that I don't have to get out of at the crack of dawn tomorrow. Good night, all.