I am not a shy nurser. I never have been, really. At daycare? I just find a spot on the floor and attach NikkiZ to the boob and let her have at it. Sometimes a strange adult will wander in on tours or to see their kids and I don’t even consider whether they might be uncomfortable or not. I’m discreet, my boobs aren’t hanging out. You’d see more boob on a woman in a bathing suit than when I’m nursing, so I don’t worry about it.

BUT…

I’m not much of a public-place nurser. I nurse in the homes of family and friends, at daycare, and that’s about it. I just don’t want there to be an issue, so I try to avoid being in public at mealtimes. Not for ME, but for anyone happening by who may be freaked out at my child’s face buried under my shirt.

But this past week? I threw all of that to the wind and nursed wherever I could. The hotel lobby of the Hampton Inn on Bear Rd. in Columbus, GA? Check. (By the way - that was the BEST hotel I’ve ever stayed in…if you’re looking). On the beach at Alligator Point, FL? Check. On a boat tour of Wakulla Springs? Check. and Check again because she was really fussy and I was trying to quiet her down so the rest of the tour could hear the guide. In the car at every gas station we stopped at? Check. A McDonald’s somewhere between here and Florida? Check. Dude…I was a public nursing MACHINE.

Next on my list? Delta Airlines between Texas and California. And possibly the Hyatt in San Jose should NikkiZ get hungry at the right time. I’m determined now to nurse in public places across the country, embarrassing complete strangers one at a time. I’m ambitious like that.

Holy crap. I feel like double dipped donkey ass right now. (I totally just made that up, but I like the flow of it, don’t you?). What is up with this 5:30am shit? Who gets up this early? I mean, I seem to remember doing that many moons ago (like the week before the beach) but when the alarm went of today? All three of us started crying at once.

My boob issue seems to be improving. It still hurts when NikkiZ nurses from that side, but it’s not bringing me to tears anymore. I have no idea what that indicates in terms of my diagnosis, but it does allow me to skip going to the doctor about it this week. Of course, watch it go and get a million times worse on Thursday, right before I leave for California. That would be awesome.

Well, off to get ready for work. Which means wearing something other than sweatshorts and tank tops over a bathing suit. Which SUCKS. Of course, it’s not like the office manual strictly forbids that or anything…maybe I should give it a whirl…

Rockstar Mommy tagged me to do a meme that Dad Gone Mad had tagged her to do and because I’m a lemming, and because I’m in dire need of mindless blog material while I prep for Blogher, I’m all over it. I’m also stealing RSM’s format because it makes this meme ten time easier.

Things I’ve Been Obsessed With Throughout My Life

Toddlerhood (up to age 5)

• Grover from Sesame Street. I do a killer impersonation of Grover which I only show those priveledged enough to be around me when I’m drunk and overly stimulated by primary colors.
• The Muppets. I vaguely recall my brother being afraid of the giant monsters from the Muppet Show. I like to remember that when I’m feeling inadequate compared to him. So he ran an IronMan, at least I wasn’t afraid of giant puppets.

Childhood (age 5-9)

• A-Team
• Michael Jackson. I saw him on the Thriller tour with a charity group my Mom worked for. I wore cheap parachute pants from Hills and they melted on me at the concert.
• Goonies
• The Neverending Story - I still sometimes fantasize about having a luck dragon.

Pre-Teen (ages 9 to 12)

• My Ewok (Wicket) that I got for my 10th birthday. I still sometimes use it as a pillow when I’m having trouble sleeping.
• Giant Hairbows
• Whitney Houston. (shut it).
• V.C. Andrews Books

Early Teens (age 13 to 16)

• Boys. Boys. and more Boys.
• The Lost Boys - Vampires. Yum.
• M.C. Escher - I had t-shirts, posters and anything else I could get my hands on.
• Silver Jewelery
• Pearl Jam
• Boys

Late Teens (age 16-20)

• Grateful Dead
• Pink Floyd
• Hacky Sack. Dude, I was/am so rockin’ with a Hacky Sack.
• Tie-Dyes and Doc Martens. I liked to create my own mix of hippy meets grunge. I’m cool like that.
• Dean Koontz

Early 20s to Present Day

• Harry Potter
• Blogging
• James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell and many other popular fiction authors.
• Top 40 radio.
• Justin Timberlake (don’t laugh!)

I may add more to this list as I think of other things - but for now, this is embarassing enough.

My laptop is working! I (heart) Geeksquad and CompUSA. Now, as soon as I go through and edit the nine million photos we all took this week, I’ll upload more to Flickr and maybe I’ll even write a little bit about the trip - like about all of the fun places I nursed this week! Boobies, boobies everywhere! (And not a drop to drink? Huh?) Maybe nursing in unsanitary environments like a BOAT in a SWAMP surrounded by tourists and ALLIGATORS could have caused my infection/pain/clogged duct issue I’m having right now.

In the chaos of yesterday, I forgot to acknowledge the anniversary of my mom’s aneurysm and miraculous recovery. I’m sorry, Mom - I usually try not to let that day go by unnoticed. Blame it on my laptop, that’s what I’m blaming everything else on today.

While I try to get my post-vacation and pre-Blogher life in order, just check back periodically because I’ll be uploading pictures off and on all day (hopefully - I do need to get groceries eventually) - be thinking about MrZ’s grandmother (his Mom’s mom). She and his grandfather had their home destroyed by Katrina, if you’ll remember. She’s a stroke victim and has had her share of severe health issues this year. This latest batch from this week has sent his Mom down to Slidell today to be with her and the family. This is a tough time because his Grandma is at a point now where treatment for what is hurting her (a clot in the leg) would essentially kill her. Keep his mom and the rest of their family in your thoughts today. It’s been a long year for them all.

We’re back and the following things have made me run away back to the beach forever:

1. I gained 10lbs in one week. Do you know how hard I’ve had to work to lose those 10lbs? It should NOT have been that easy to gain them back.
2. My laptop power supply is screwed, or something like that. I can not turn on my laptop to get to the hundreds of photos we took this week. Nor can I get to my materials I need for a certain workshop I’m instructing on Friday. Pray that my trip to Best Buy solves my problems or else I’ll be the girl jumping off the bridge on the 10pm news.
3. I have some sort of clogged milk duct or infection or something that makes nursing from my right boob cause me so much pain I cry and curse. And cry and curse some more.
4. Did I mention the 10lbs?
5. There is sand EVERYWHERE. There must not be any beach left in Alligator Point because I think it all came home with us.
6. I miss our dogs.
7. The eight hour drive took us ELEVEN hours. ELEVEN. Due to baby needs and traffic and rain and oh my god I am so glad to be out of that damn car.

Hopefully I’ll be back to post later with good news about the laptop. Wish me luck.