Random thoughts on something I overheard

I recently overheard a mom say to her kid(s), "OMG." My first thought is, do people -- people that aren't just trying to seem cool -- really actually say, "OMG"? And if they do, why? I sort of understand the use of OMG as textspeak to save time and a few characters, but in an actual conversation, you don't save anything. OMG = three syllables. Oh my god = three syllables.

Maybe she just doesn't like to use the word "god." I can respect that, but the G definitely implies "god." Besides that, she could have just as easily (and quickly) said, "Oh my gosh." That's still three syllables. (All of which makes me wonder if implied swear words are really that much better than actual swear words when it comes to what we're teaching kids. Is saying "fudge" or "effing" really a better alternative to dropping the F-bomb?)

I've never heard people use other textspeak in real conversations. I've never heard someone say, "WTF" or "LOL." (Although, the S.O. and I have taken to sometimes saying, "Why the face." We picked it up from an episode of "Modern Family." The dad is explaining textspeak: LOL is laugh out loud. OMG is oh my god, WTF is why the face.) So why would someone say OMG? I just didn't get it. I have to wonder if I'm that out of touch or if that mom is.

Then again, I didn't hear the entire conversation. Maybe she said it because someone asked her how to say oh my god in textspeak. IDK*

*That's "I don't know" for us non-textspeakers.

We're free! ... of cable

In an attempt to save some money and try to be more productive, the S.O. and I canceled cable TV and returned the DVR yesterday. Of course, we still have our Netflix account and the Internet (we actually have to have Internet access because we both work from home most of the time) so there's still plenty of "television" for us to watch. But we're hoping that when we sit down to watch, we watch something worth watching and don't just spend two hours flipping channels through mindless drivel.

That's not to say we won't end up watching some mindless drivel. Netflix has plenty of (really bad) reality shows available -- many to watch instantly. I'm going to fight to keep the worst of them off my queue, though.

Considering the good track record Netflix has suggesting movies for me, I expect to be watching a lot of British television programs, foreign films (especially foreign horror films), claymation and anime.

Foxy!

Holy crap, you guys! A fox just jumped our 6-foot fence and strolled through the back yard. Right in the middle of the day. I didn't get a picture because I was too busy grabbing the dog and falling on the floor, trying to keep her from running out and picking a fight. I don't think she'd come out on top of that battle.

It looked just like this. Cute, right? But foxes "feed on rodents, rabbits, birds, and other small game." I'm pretty sure Ripley would look like a rodent to a hungry fox.

She can tear up a sunbeam though.

In case I didn't mention it

I'm trying the Mommy blogger thing over at 40-Something First Timer. I'm going to try to post periodically on both. But if you're interested in following my ups and downs in regards to being pregnant (sometimes I still don't believe it myself), you can head over there.

Check out my new blog

Now that I'm a mommy-to-be, I've started a new blog of that nature. I plan to still post here about random crap -- like always -- but will talk about my adventure to mommyhood over at 40-Something First Timer.

The Joke's On Me or The Long Con

Hello Internet! Remember back in April when I said I thought the universe might be trying to pull a long con on me? Well, for those of you not already in on the joke, I was right. Just a few days after the S.O. and I had a conversation about how it's probably all for the best for us to not have a baby, I find out that I just might be after all.

That's right Internet, I am pregnant, in the family way, knocked up, preggers, expecting, have a bun in the oven. And no, we didn't plan it to happen this way. It just did. In fact, the so-called fertility specialists told us we had about a 1 percent chance of getting pregnant "the natural way." (Those specialists can kiss my ass, by the way).

It's all quite scary and exciting at the same time, like a really good zombie movie or a roller coaster. In fact, it's almost exactly like those things, I'm scared, but having a good time and completely nauseous most of the time.

Don't try to tell me all the things that can go wrong. And I don't want to hear anyone's horror stories. I've heard enough of them anyway -- from the scary one-in-a-million birth defects they feature on TLC to the former co-worker who told my pregnant friend that the air in Colorado could cause a miscarriage (sorry, I have to breathe!) to all the things that can happen to my body during and after pregnancy. At this point, I kind of figure the universe will have it's joke and I will have a baby at 43. Hey, if the celebrities can do it, I can do it.

With all that said, I promise to try to not talk about it all the time. But once the baby is born, expect plenty of photos and stories about the adorable (and maddening) things that happen around our house.

Here's the first of the photos. Although I'm pretty sure that's a panda.

What I watched: "American Zombie"

In case I haven't said this a hundred times already, I love the Netflix watch instantly feature. I have watched many movies and TV shows -- good and bad -- that I would have never rented or put on my queue. Case in point is the movie I watched last night. It's a "mockumentary" called "American Zombie."

From the film's media Web site:

Filmmakers Grace Lee (“The Grace Lee Project”) and John Solomon (“Nonsense Man”) team up to shoot a documentary about high-functioning zombies living in Los Angeles and their struggles to gain acceptance in human society.

Now, anyone who has read even a little of this blog is well aware of my love for all things zombie. And I know I'm not alone in my love. Vampires may be the hot new thing and sexy as hell, but zombies will always be the top monster in my book. The scariest thing about zombies is their complete lack of humanity. They have no regard for family or friends. They kill and eat indiscriminately.

In "American Zombie," those particular zombies are known as "feral zombies." They have lost all humanity. But there are two other types: zombies who have retained enough humanity to do manual labor and "high-functioning zombies" who seem to be just like any other human -- except for their decaying flesh, of course. And none of them seem to have a taste for human flesh -- or do they? (Cue ominous music.)

The film follows four high-functioning zombies through their day-t0-day lives. We see them at their jobs, interacting with girlfriends and co-workers and preparing to attend Live Dead (a kind of Burning Man festival for zombies only). The film makers finally get permission to attend -- despite being living humans -- and film Live Dead, resulting in dire consequences.

It's an interesting take on the zombie genre. Though it wasn't as funny as I'd hoped it would be, I still enjoyed watching the film. For a die-hard zombie fan, like myself, it was a good movie. For everyone else, I'd probably say give it a pass. It starts out slow and has a pretty predictable ending.

All in all, I'd give it a better rating than the 4.9 stars out of 10 IMDb users give it. But, as I said, I have a love for all things zombie, from the super cheesy to the classic.