HighlandAmy HighlandAmy personal diary. witty. amusing. clever. you'll like it. 
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Not Here Anymore
2007-09-10 14:50:00 Hey. I'm not here anymore. Come see me at my new cyber home HighlandAmy.net. Don't forget to update your bookmarks!?Amy More About: Site News
TGIF
2007-09-09 12:22:00 This weekend there is an air show at the Naval Air Station near my house. While I was at the beach the other day I saw some jets flying in formation over the ocean -- and some antique planes too -- diving and swooping and doing tricks and such. Practicing, I assume. Yesterday was the first day of the air show and one of the Blue Angels (the fancy jet fliers) crashed. And died. I heard it. Very sad.On a less depressing note: I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. Nothing particularly interesting happened at said appointment, but I did get to hear the baby's little heartbeat again! That's always fun. She moves around a lot more - or maybe she's just bigger and I can feel her more of her movements. When I got home from the appointment there was a package waiting for me at my door. Inside was the new adapter I'd ordered for my laptop. I'm pleased to report that it works, and I am actually typing this very blog on the laptop! Huzzah! There is still something wrong wi... More About: Pregnant
Amy Goes To The Beach
2007-09-07 12:05:00 Yesterday I finished everything I had on my 'to do' list before 10:00 so instead of starting on my list of things to do the next day... I decided to go to the beach. A wise decision in my opinion.The beach on a workday after labor day is a beautiful thing. A few folks who have the day off, maybe some moms and kids, retired folks - not too crowded. Plus yesterday the air was cooler than it had been and the water was warm from the air having previously been so hot. Perfect.It was just me, some snacks, my beach chair, an umbrella and a book.The waves were not as rough as they have recently been either, so in spite of there being no life guards on duty, I even got in the water. I could tell the baby wanted to come out and play in the water too by the way she kept jumping around. Next summer, baby. Next summer. For a while I watched some boys (well, I guess they were technically 'men' since they were old enough to have tattoos - but they looked young to me)... More About: Pictures , Beach , Goes
Sun Spots and Other Adventures
2007-09-04 22:02:00 Last week I got the movie Music and Lyrics (starring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore) from Netflix. Since Andy took his 360 with him, I was just going to do it the old fashioned way and use a DVD player. So... I began digging through boxes (yes, our stuff is still in boxes - and so it shall remain until... until Andy's out of the Navy I'm sure) and eventually came upon one, but not the cord to plug it into the TV. After several hours of searching for said cord I gave up and decided to watch the move on my laptop. Which would have worked-out well had the AC Adapter for my battery not been shot. That's right, I can't even turn the darn thing on. I've ordered another adapter from a seller on eBay (well, TWO now, but I won't get into that whole mess here) but it has yet to arrive, so that left me with only the option of using the desktop. I've watched DVDs on the desktop before... and I'm not retarded or anything (as far as I know) but for whatever reason I couldn't figure... More About: Pregnant , Spots , Adventures , Advent , Ventures
Labor Day Weekend
2007-09-02 20:13:00 This weekend I had planned to go to Virginia and Jess's house and to the Renaissance Festival with VA, Jess and Lindsay's family, but Friday I was not feeling particularly well and I was afraid of the Labor Day Weekend Traffic. Instead, I spent Friday looking for things to mail to Andy that are small enough to fit in the little space he has, but still cool. In my search I found lots of summer stuff that was on sale since the season is coming to a close. For myself, I got a beach umbrella for $4.00. Excited to test it out, I spent Saturday at the beach with Jean. The beach was a little more crowded than it had been, but still not as bad as I imagine the public beaches were. Next to us, there was a family with two small boys who begged their parents to bury them in the sand up to their necks. After several excruciating minutes of the pair whining, the parents finally acquiesced. Once under the sand, the boys seemed content until a flock of seagulls began checking them out --...
It's A Girl!
2007-08-31 14:01:00 So. Sometime between the last time I posted and now I had my ultrasound (which Andy was able to come to - yey!). If you've never had an OB ultrasound you should know that the ultrasound does not hurt. What hurts is that you are forced to drink lots and lots of water first and then not allowed to pee. Having a full bladder, on top of which your baby sits, and then having an ultrasound tech push lightly on your tummy with the transducer is not what one might call comfortable. Anyway, the baby was asleep for most of the ultrasound which didn't surprise me at all since the baby is part bat or something and usually only awake and kicking when I am trying to sleep. Unfortunately, the Wee One apparently likes to sleep with it's legs neatly crossed which made the determination of the baby's sex somewhat difficult. The ultrasound tech (and the ultrasound student who was there observing) had me try laying on my right, then my left, then stretch, then stand on my head all to try a... More About: Pregnant , Girl
Vox QoTd: Nightstand
2007-08-26 18:51:00 Show us what's on your nightstand. Submitted by Mike E. Starting from the upper left and proceeding clockwise we have... 1. A jewelry box 2. A photograph of Andy and me 3. My fetal heart monitor 4. My microwaveable hippie heating pad More About: Stand , Nights
Beach Pictures and Baby News
2007-08-26 18:00:00 Friday Megan, Shane and Megan's friend Krystal came to visit and Jean took us all to the beach. The waves were kind of strong that day and Megan ended-up getting knocked over and got a cut on her back, so I only got in up to my knees. Shane was scared of the ocean, but that didn't surprise me... it seems like most little kids are scared of the ocean first. While we were there I took some pictures...Megan, Krystal and ShaneLife GuardJean and Shane In other beach news -- I wore a two piece. Baby belly and all. I had formerly been opposed to the idea, but since I didn't want to wear the see-through bathing-suit, I was left with no other option. Luckily I was able to find an old bathing suit that I can still fit into and didn't look too gross on me... er - us.I attempted to photograph my exposed belly. It's kind of a weird picture, I know... I have an ultrasound scheduled for sometime next week (for real this time) and it's on the day after we thought Andy was leaving (boo... More About: News , Pictures , Beach , Pregnant
Maternity Pants
2007-08-21 18:08:00 I'm five and half months pregnant. For the past month I've had some trouble fitting into my regular pants, so I've just been wearing pants that are several sizes too big. For the most part this worked... they buttoned around my rapidly expanding midsection and such, so I really had no room to complain; although I'm not sure if the spherical shape of my belly is to blame or if it's another issue all together, but the too-big-pants were constantly slipping down. As a result, I've spent the better part of the past month with my butt, belly or both at least partially exposed.At this point you may be wondering why it was that when I out grew my regular non-pregnant pants, I did not go buy some maternity pants like a sane person might. Well - the reason is two-fold; first of all, when I think of maternity clothes I almost always have visions of miserable looking women in tent-like pastel miu-mius - which is a look I don't think would work for me... and second, I am insane.Anyw... More About: Pants , Maternity
The *expletive deleted* Dave Matthews Band!
2007-08-16 15:38:00 As far as I'm concerned The Dave Matthews Band may very well be the best band ever to have walked the Earth. Sadly, for many years now every time I've tried to see them live something has come-up and I haven't been able to go. Like I'd be out of town or just didn't want to pay the exorbitant TicketMaster fees. (Boo to you TicketMaster! You are right up there with Starbucks on my list of Evil Corporations. Eddie Vedder was right about you!) Many years ago my Mom got to see DMB -- for free and sans TicketMaster fees -- back when they were a little known band out of Virginia and I've been green with envy ever since. Anyway, for my birthday my Mom got me tickets to see DMB last night. And it was awesome. Andy and I arrived at the amphitheater early because I wanted to get a good parking space and hang out for a bit before the bands went on. As we pulled into our awesome space, we took note of some unwashed college kids sitting in the bed of a pick-up smoking out of ... More About: Pictures , Pregnant , Dave Matthews Band
I Shot An American Bald Eagle!
2007-08-15 13:12:00 Friday Keith arrived with a garbage bag full of clothes slung over his shoulder. Apparently he'd had some trouble finding a duffel bag. Also -- as it turns out he is staying for the WEEK... not the weekEND. Friday the temperature outside somewhere around what I imagine the temperature of the surface of the sun is like... so I spent the day indoors. Saturday Andy's parents, Keith, Shannon, Andy and I went to Busch Gardens where I was not permitted on a single ride. Apparently, they can shake the baby loose or something. As not to be a spoil sport, I waited patiently while Andy, Keith and Shannon rode 3 rides... the only one's with lines they deemed short enough in which to wait. Other things at the park which I WAS permitted to do included: *Watching a 4-D pirates movie. Apparently Busch Gardens has discovered the 4th dimension! To be honest, the 4th dimension is not actually as cool as it sounds. "4-D" just means when a bird pooped on the screen, they dumped water on ... More About: Pictures , Pregnant , American , Shot , Eagle
The Fancy Stuff
2007-08-15 13:09:00 The other night Andy and Keith had pizza. And ate it off my Grandmother's china. Why Keith chose to forgo the Ikea plates and the Pier One plates (which are both more like an 'everyday' sort of plate) and eat off the fancy plates I'm still not sure. There was a time when this would have upset me. When I would have taken their food and transfered it to another, more appropriate plate... or at the very least yelled at them... because -- come on! Those plates are SPECIAL plates! Plates we only eat off of on SPECIAL occasions! Like... like... Well... I can't think of a special enough occasion right now, but when I do! I will certainly let you know!The 'special' plates reminded me of all the mostly full bottles of perfume I used to keep around. The ones I liked the most were the ones I would wear the least as to ensure that I would still have some if and when an occasion arose that I needed to smell EXTRA lovely. The same goes... More About: Stuff , Fancy
Vox QoTd: First Boyfriend
2007-08-13 17:22:00 How old were you when you had your very first boyfriend/girlfriend? Do you still know them now? Ah, boyfriends. To tell you the truth, I haven't had very many. I guess that's what happens when you marry the same person you were dating when you were 17... but anyway, for the sake of answering the question... let's get into the Way Back Machine. I guess we should start with High School, because, if memory serves -- middle school boyfriends are only your boyfriend so that the two of you can see who can break-up with whom in the lunch room first... My first boyfriend of my 9th grade year was a boy named Matt. Matt and I first met at a party being thrown by a set of twins with whom I'd been friends since I was 10. We'll call them T and D. Matt and D dated briefly, but ultimately agreed that they would be better off as friends. So anyway Matt was invited to the party as was I. T and D had a pool table in their basement -- where the party was being held -- where upon Matt ... More About: Boyfriend
Bits
2007-08-10 14:57:00 Um... So... I looked at my blog here using Andy's laptop -- and Internet Explorer because for some reason he doesn't want to download Firfox.... and it looks all crazy-like! So, if this page looks crazy to you, it's your browser's fault. Download Firefox and all will be well. [/shameless plug] Keith is coming over this weekend, so yesterday we stocked-up on chips and Mountain Dew. This combination is what Andy and Keith call 'Man Fuel'. It helps them play Rainbow Six Vegas (do not be mislead by the name -- there are NO rainbows in this game... I looked!) better. It also seems to help ease their Halo withdrawal twitches. One more month until Halo 3 guys... hang in there.When we first moved-in I immediately got to work breaking stuff. The first thing I broke was the blinds in the bedroom. They are heavy wooden ones. They weigh about as much as me, and there fore require much force to raise or lower. So one day, I was trying to raise the blin... More About: Bits
Midfielder
2007-08-06 18:18:00 I have it on good authority that the twitches I was feeling at 14-weeks were indeed the Wee One moving about. Now the twitches are more like pokes. Strong pokes. So strong that I'm always surprised when I can't see the outside of my midsection moving. It's like having a little soccer player in my belly. I just wish I knew if it was a David Beckham or a Mia Hamm.In other baby news, I learned how to make baby booties the other day. They are super easy and quick to make. I wish I'd learned to make them years ago since I have so much trouble with baby blankets. Ah well... Anyway, I've been knitting them up in as many gender neutral colors as I have available. Although I don't know if the blue for boys and pink for girls rules really still apply... I don't think I would have a problem with putting my son in pink baby booties... I'd just make sure to also put him in a polo with a popped collar. And get him a mini keg. Frat Ba... More About: Field
Stupid People
2007-08-01 14:23:00 I had a doctor's appointment yesterday at which I was pretty sure there was going to be an ultrasound - but no dice. So I pretty much dragged poor Andy with me for no reason. Well, we did get to hear the heartbeat (eventually... the Wee One kept swimming away from the heart monitor). Anyway, we scheduled an ultrasound (for real this time) but the soonest they had is after Andy leaves (boo!).We had two weird experiences while we were at the doctor. First was the gate guard. I think maybe we got in the wrong lane to get onto the base, because the guard immediately asked us if we were waiting for a pass. Andy told him no and gestured to the stickers on the car. The guard then proceeded to tell us (in his low raspy voice) to "Never follow anybody!" at first we thought perhaps he thought we were with the car in front of us and that they should have followed us, not the other way around... but then continued, giving us examples of how following someone... More About: People , Pregnant , Stupid , Stupid people
A Wonderful Weekend -- In Spite of Being a Step Closer to Death
2007-07-29 17:43:00 Friday Virginia and Jane took me to see the new Harry Potter movie in 3D Imax at the Virginia Air and Space Center. Jealous? You should be. Not only was it as awesome as it sounds -- it was awesomer. A funny thing happened when we left the theater... while we were watching the movie, the previously sunny weather took a turn for the worse... it was thundering and lightening (lighteninging?) outside and pouring rain... both outside the Air and Space Center and in. I'm not talking about a leak or two in the roof either. It was RAINING. Indoors. You could hear it hitting the floor and see the rain falling all around you. Totally weird. I hope they use the profits from our H.P. tickets to repair the roof. Or not -- I guess it gives the building character. After the movie we headed over to pick Andy up and get a personal tour of his ship from top to bottom. He showed us all the important stuff -- where the helicopters land, the big giant guns, the bridge, the radars, the mess ... More About: Weekend , Death , Wonderful , Step , Closer
In a Nut Shell
2007-07-23 15:48:00 Friday night Andy and I ordered pizza and went to see Transformers. As I suspected, the movie included explosions, cool robots and sexy ladies; however I think it was WAY too long and was bored toward the end. Speaking of the end -- the last 5 min of the movie -- no sound. It was pretty weird. Several people complained to the management of the theater and were told that since it was close to the end they could not issue us refunds. We didn't want a refund! We wanted to know what happened! Saturday we went to the beach with Andy's friend Chris (who was one of the boys who was chased by sharks). When we arrived at the beach we usually go to, we were told by a life guard that we could not go into the water past our ankles because of the strong currents. Not being afraid of currents we decided to take off and go to a different beach several miles down the road. We set-up camp and then got in the water where it quickly became clear why t... More About: Shell
Baby Stuff
2007-07-18 17:10:00 Yesterday I was forced by my health insurance to attend a mandatory Being Pregnant class. The class entailed an hour long slide show about what goes on in a pregnancy (for example, did you know that when a woman is pregnant a baby human grows inside her belly?!?! Amazing!) and then a lot of information about delivering at the particular hospital where the class was held -- which really didn't apply to me so I didn't pay attention. After the informative slide show we (about 20 pregnant women and some of the folks who got them that way) were forced to sit in the 800 degree room where the slide show was held while 2 nurses came in and took people one at a time to schedule appointments and take labs. I was in there (sweating and uncomfortable) for about an hour. It sucked. Also there was a couple next to me who would not stop talking; I don't know if it was the heat or just my being cranky, but I wanted to kill them. With my bare hands.... More About: Baby , Stuff
Nude Beach
2007-07-16 18:47:00 As you may recall, several weeks ago I purchased a one-piece bathing-suit. The first one I've had in over 10 years. It's cute -- it's pink with white polka dots. I've worn the suit a total of three times. Once to the beach with VA, Jess and Jane, once to the beach with Jean and then yesterday to the beach with Jean and Jen. Anyway, I was quite pleased with the suit until yesterday when Jen noticed that once it got wet, my new pink bathing suit became COMPLETELY SEE THROUGH! Yes ladies and gentlemen, completely. see through. Jen was like "Hey! I can see your tattoos!" And I was like "OMG... I may as well be naked." So. That was embarrassing. Funny, but embarrassing none the less. I'll probably invest in a new one sometime in the near future. One that's opaque. Even when wet.[kvetching] In addition to being Amy Naked In Public Day, yesterday was also the second wedding anniversary in a row, that I spe... More About: Beach
Bits
2007-07-14 03:41:00 I'm beginning to have second thoughts about the double chocolate donut and super sugary Slurpee I had for lunch. Why is that I only give second thoughts to my food choices AFTER I've already eaten them?I miss Andy. A lot. I guess it wouldn't be as bad if I could call him and talk to him occasionally. I get e-mails from him every day, but it's not the same. Missing talking to him so much makes me wonder how I survived the 17 years before I met him. Maybe I'm just being dramatic. Or maybe I miss him twice as much now because the baby misses him too. That seems plausible.Earlier this week I went to the beach with Jean. It was hot and sunny for most of the time we were there until out of nowhere the heavens opened-up and it started pouring rain and thundering. A frantic looking lifeguard shouted at us to "Please leave the beach as quickly as possible!" Like we were planning on continuing to lay on the beach while a storm ... More About: Bits
Scenes From A Mall
2007-07-11 17:08:00 Yesterday, having grown tired of my limited wardrobe consisting mostly of Andy's tee-shirts*, I took a trip to a certain over-priced maternity store in the mall. While I was able to find plenty of cute pregnant lady things they all seemed rather costly for something a person is only able to wear for a few short months. I decided if I could find nothing better I would return and buy some of the cute over-priced things. My next stop was Express. I love that store because everything there is cut big. Every time I go in and try something on I'm surprised at how much weight I must have lost. Anyway, they were having a sale and I picked-up 3 $6 tee-shirts in cuts and colors that Andy will probably never wear.*While I can still get into most my own tee-shirts, they are getting a little tight around the middle... and chest. The shoulders fit just fine. Anyway, they don't look what one might call... cute.I returned home briefly to try-on my ... More About: Pregnant , Mall , Scenes
Happy Birthday Andy!
2007-07-06 22:23:00 Today is Andy 's birthday. He's not pleased. Says he's getting 'too old'. For what I'm not sure. And besides; yes, he is now 27, but he still looks about 19 so I don't really see what the big deal is. We are not doing anything to celebrate because poor Andy is underway... yet again. Before he left we had an impromptu two-person birthday celebration which included this tiny ice cream cake: Yes, those are black candles (because Andy is so old, I figured we could just save them and re-use them on his funeral cake). I added the decorations -- nice, huh? The box claimed that the little ice cream cake was sufficient to serve 8 people. Which I guess is possible... if those 8 people don't like ice cream cake very much.What's that you say? You don't think it's fair that Andy is underway and missed spending his birthday with me for the second year in a row, or that he will also miss spending our wedding anniversary with me for the second year in a row? I agree.I ... More About: Happy , Birthday , Happy Birthday
Movies
2007-07-03 17:23:00 Yesterday Andy and I went to see the movie 1408. I had originally read the short story the movie was based on several years ago and it scared the poop out of me. Seriously. I was afraid to be alone in hotel rooms for several years afterward. Since the story is only about 60 pages, Andy decided to read it before we left. He was unimpressed.Like I mentioned, the story was only 60 or so pages so I knew that to be made into a full length feature, the tale would have to be fleshed out quite a bit. And it was. Which brings to me to my next point: Stephen King has some really scary ideas. And he writes really scary stories, but more often than not, it seems, they are WAY longer than they have to be! I don't know if his publisher still pays him by the word or if he just gets going and can't think of how to end his scary stories... but really did The Stand have to be 8 bazillion pages long? No. It could have been just ... More About: Movies
Ailments
2007-06-30 21:51:00 Well -- I still have my sinus infection. I said that if by Monday I was not healed I would make a doctor's appointment, but I feel that I am making sufficient strides toward health, and I hate the doctor, so I think I will let the infection work itself out.Andy's arms have fallen into disrepair. First he got a 2nd degree sunburn on his right arm. It was disgusting. All red and bubbly. Against my advice he popped one of the arm bubbles (there was no prize inside) and now he has a little scar there. I guess it's for the best. Every time he looks at his arm he will be reminded of the importance of sunblock. Next he had a large watermelon dropped on his right hand. I think the watermelon may have broken his pinky but he opted not to go to the doctor because A. This was the day before our camping trip and he was afraid he would not be allowed to go, and B. He also hates the doctor. Anyway, the swelling has gone down and it's...
Toilet Water and Magic Bracelets
2007-06-28 18:58:00 The wish bracelets Virginia got us in Virginia Beach work like this: You make a wish on them. Tie them on. Then, when they fall off you are supposed to throw them into a body of water and your wish will come true. About a week after I'd wished and tied my bracelet around my ankle it fell off while I was in the shower. (This may or may not have had to do with my shaving around the general ankle area.) After my experience with my hot-dog vomit clogging the shower drain and my then having to stand in the shower ankle-deep in vomit-water, I've been very careful not to let things get too close to the shower drain. My wish bracelet was no exception. After it fell off, I grabbed it up and placed it on the edge of the tub with the intention of taking it to the ocean sometime and tossing it in to ensure that my wish would come true.Several days passed and I still had not had time to take the bracelet to the ocean. I'd been (and still ... More About: Magic , Water , Toilet , Bracelets
Things
2007-06-26 22:17:00 People keep asking me why I haven't uploaded any new photos in forever. It's because there is something wrong with my lap-top and it won't let me upload any photo files to the interweb or attach them to e-mails. Weird. If you know what's wrong with it and/or how to fix it, please let me know because it's driving me nuts!! Anyway - since I haven't been able to work with photos from my laptop, I figured now would be a good time to set-up my desktop. Which I did. Just now. All by myself without any tech support. Impressed? I thought you might be.In other news, I'm mad at my local library. I always go to the library in search of specific books and my library NEVER has the books I am looking for. I guess it might not be the library's fault. There could just be a lot of folks who live in my area who want to read all the same books I do at the exact same time... but I sort of doubt that as the books I've fruitlessl... More About: Things , Thing
Fish Stories
2007-06-25 18:35:00 Last week, when I came home from visiting Virginia's family, Andy was a little bit upset. At first I thought maybe it was because I stayed out all night without calling home (it's just that by the time I figured out that I was not going to go home it was so late that I was afraid I'd wake him,) but as it happened, that was not the case. He was upset because I got to do something fun without him. As I scrolled through the pictures I'd taken, this became more evident. I showed him the one of the fish the guys caught...ANDY: You got to go fishing!?!?AMY: No, we just went to the beach, David, Alex and Matt went fishing.ANDY: hmph. Well - you got to go camping!AMY: Not really, we slept in a cabin. With beds.ANDY: Yeah, but at least it was in the woods. I had to sleep here! In the boring old house.AMY: Do you want to go camping?ANDY: *perks up* And fishing?AMY: Yes.ANDY: This weekend?AMY: Yes?ANDY: YES!So I reserved a campsite (in ... More About: Stories , Fish , Tori
More Baby Stuff
2007-06-20 22:43:00 ::moans:: I am allergic to something... well, I'm allergic to many things, but whatever is aggravating my allergies THIS time seems to be all around me. There is no escaping -- whatever it is. It's in my house AND outside. Anyway, I feel completely awful. My throat is scratchy, my eyes itch (and I can't even really scratch them) and my nose WON'T STOP RUNNING!!! My doctor gave me a list of approved medications which included Benadryl, but I'm afraid to take it. I haven't even taken any Tylenol since I started growing my little friend and I'm scared that if I take medicine (or drink caffeine or stay out in the sun too long) my baby will explode or something. That's probably not the case, but I'm still not willing to risk it.I got a box from Maggie today. It was full of books about babies ('Safe Baby Handling Tips', 'Baby Owner's Manual', 'Baby's First Tattoo'); a prenatal yoga video and two giant chocolate bars --... More About: Pregnant , Stuff
Third Time's The Charm
More articles from this author:2007-06-19 21:10:00 I've tried to write this entry TWICE. Once I got almost to the end (and it's a long one!) and then accidentally closed my browser without saving. This caused a lot of words I would not normally say to come flying out of my mouth - and I was out on my balcony. So that drew some looks from my neighbors. Oopse. The second time around my battery died and I lost all my work. Boo! So. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the third time will be the charm.Saturday Virginia and Jess came over. Virginia's family rented a cabin near-by for fishing and beach-going, so VA and Jess decided to come visit since they were so close... and also because they love me. Andy had to work Saturday so the three of us decided to go to the oceanfront. We poked around in the souvenir shops on the boardwalk and looked at all the crap they were selling (and it IS crap! A hollowed-out coconut carved into the shape of a gorilla head with the words "Virginia Beach" pained on it?!&nb... More About: Pregnant , Harm , Charm , Char , Third 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
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