The Number Field

Jenny relaxes at the hotel.

Although the definition involves some ambiguity, Jenny and I decided to take a brief babymoon on Friday. Thanks to Priceline and a companion website, Better Bidding , I got a great rate at the Omni Hotel downtown. We were happy to leave our apartment and all the stuff it contains, for just one night. We left it behind physically, but more importantly this brief respite allowed us to remove it all from our thoughts. When we returned home, I felt refreshed and ready to finish our preparations for Sunflower.

We started with a rare (for now) restaurant dinner. Jenny's dietary concerns have made it hard for us to eat out, but I thought that an Italian restaurant would have at least some low-fat menu items. I made a call, and found that Romeo's had some good choices, and would be happy to customize the order to accomodate her needs. As Sunflower has sapped Jenny's energy to greater and greater degrees, I've taken on greater responsibilities about the house. When the server cleared our plates, at long last I comprehended what Jenny often says about dining out: she really enjoys the fact that she doesn't have to clean up afterwards.

We made our way to the hotel and decided to park on the street instead of the overpriced hotel garage. We found a spot only two blocks away, and given the location of the hotel near Austin's popular Sixth Street , I was pretty happy to be so close. Even better, Jenny thought that it wasn't too far to walk, especially after such a big dinner. I had checked in earlier and dropped off our things, so we climbed right on the elevator and ascended to our room on the eleventh floor.

Berries and cream make a great dessert.

A view from our room at night.

Although I previously mentioned the benefits of leaving behind the busy-ness of our apartment, I don't mean to neglect the luxurious amenities we appreciated in the hotel. Among them were the king-sized bed, numerous pillows, and cable TV, none of which we have at home * .

I had packed dessert for the hotel: strawberries, blueberries, and low-fat whipped cream. We had nothing on the schedule except enjoying dessert and relaxing. The cable lineup didn't include TLC, so we didn't get to watch What Not to Wear , but neither of us had seen Catch Me If You Can before, so it was an acceptable replacement.

In the morning, we employed a classic hotel trick: by running a pot of water through the complimentary coffee maker, we had everything we needed for instant oatmeal, without ever having to leave the room.

The same view during the day.

Taking a long, hot shower tired Jenny out, but we had until noon before we checked out, so she took a nap while I read a book. When checkout time approached, we collected our things and headed down to the lobby. The weather had turned, so I headed to the car alone, intending to pick up Jenny, valet style, at the hotel door. I had chosen not to fill up the nearly empty gas tank the night before, but I was still surprised when the car didn't want to start. In light of this, I chose to find a gas station before picking Jenny up. At each stoplight, I hoped that the car would continue to run, and it did, eventually delivering me to the nearest gas station I could find. If you know my history, you might remember that I've had problems with running out of gas in the past. This most recent scare increased my resolve to keep my tank at least half full for the next several weeks. The hospital is only a few miles away from our apartment, but I don't want to tempt fate. After our relaxing babymoon and the prenatal massage that Jenny got later in the day, we hope that we're doing everything we can to bring Sunflower into the world as soon as she's ready.

* We do have numerous pillows at home, but they just aren't the same.