Saturday, November 27, 2010

Trend

So in keeping with the Thanksgiving spirit (yes I realize it was two days ago), here's what I'm thankful for:
  • my husband and our growing family (including Kaya)
  • good friends and new friends
  • delicious cookies
  • that I still have enough freedom in this country to make choices regarding my health and well-being
  • that I have a friend in Australia, just in case things in the US go to shit
  • my thirst for knowledge which constantly keeps me amused and entertained
  • my job which keeps me entertained and makes me think
  • my extended family
  • my ability to crochet, draw, paint, knit, etc; or really the general ability to make "something out of nothing"
  • my ability to laugh at almost anything

Mommy Vitamins

So I have a question.  Why is it that when a woman is pregnant, one of the first questions is:

Are you taking prenatal vitamins?

Research has shown that taking enough of certain vitamins has helped to ward off conditions such as spina bifida.  And as a mommy-to-be (or mommy in training), making sure that our bundle of joy gets everything s/he needs while they are growing is uber important to me. 

After watching Food Matters, however, I'm starting to wonder why for pretty much everyone involved or affected by a pregnancy (be it a sister of the expectant mother or the doctor in charge of her care) this vitamin intake is so important during this time but not as much so at every other point in a person's life?

For instance, we know that Vitamin C boosts the immune system but how many people do you know that actually make the effort to get CLOSE to what they "should" take in one day?  And why is it that when someone gets sick, rather than ask about their diet and environment, many doctors just try to determine which category of illness do they fall into?  And for the doctors that may stumble across this and read it (although I doubt there are any) and feel that their toes are being stepped on, might I ask that you please forgive me for not being your patient and having your wonderful care? After having mishaps and misdiagnoses with doctors (and having family and friends undergo the same type of trauma), you have to understand why I may have a bit of cynicism. 

Moving on...

After watching the continuous climb of cancer, diabetes, and a slew of other diseases and conditions, doesn't it make you wonder where the change will come from?  There are numerous miracle drugs on the market already.  Personally, I wonder how much the medical industry has really been affected by capitalism.  I could get on a rant about pharmaceutical companies but I'm certain that you have all heard it before somewhere else.  But the capitalism effect is one worth thinking about. 

And of course, with the thought that I'm bringing a child into the world, my instant reaction is to protect this child from any form of harm, whether it's some kind of accident (God forbid) or diabetes or cancer.  I am doubtful of medications most of the time when I have found in my personal experience and others' experiences that eating lots of vitamins and nutrients can actually change the situation.  For instance, there are plenty of women who have been diagnosed with PCOS who have found that by just adjusting their diet, eating more fruits and vegetables in their natural form and doing some exercise their symptoms dissipate.  Or how about diabetes?

I feel like I'm getting side tracked though (stupid pregnancy mind scramble).

I'm not certain what the whole point of this ramble is.  But I know that for me, I think a change is coming very soon.  I'm proud to say that my diet is very good right now (except when I get cravings for french fries) but I feel as though there is definite room for improvement.  The change isn't just for me though; the change is for my baby, and for the future of our family. 

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Gobble Day!

For Thanksgiving, we were invited over to Ms. M, J, and S's beautiful home for Thanksgiving lunch.
For those of you that wonder why I don't use real names, it's because I respect the fact that I haven't asked these people if I can mention them on my blog and so I give them nicknames/aliases/abbreviations in order to keep track of characters.
Of course we watched the Saints game.
What the hell happened in the third quarter?!?
And had DELICIOUS foods:
turkey
green bean casserole (SO good)
sweet potato casserole
butternut squash mash 
that was one of my dishes and for some reason I kept saying "banana nut"
vegetable medley casserole
I don't know the actual name of it but all you need to know was it had feta and mozzarella on top.
mashed potatoes
WITH THE SKINS!!!!
And then for dessert:
pecan pie
pumpkin cheesecake
root beer floats
With A&W which is the only way they should be made

The best part was the new faces and the TONS of laughs.  I haven't laughed that hard in a while.
I was worried that I would be really homesick today but after video chatting with the family (yes, all of the aunts, uncles and cousins gathered round to look at me and tell me that I look pregnant) and being with such an entertaining group of people, I didn't even think about it once.
Today was just a great Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone had a lovely Gobble Day!           

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Thanksgiving is a-coming!

Sorry for the delay in posting.
There's no excuse.
Just sorry.
Here's a quick rundown of what's new:
  • I've started prenatal yoga classes.  The ladies in the class are great and I'm hoping to establish some good friendships through our meetings.
  • We bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee for Eric.  Unfortunately, it's spent more time in the dealer's shop than in our parking lot (don't get me started).
  • We had our first ultrasound (yay!) on Friday and found out that the baby is only 8 weeks along and not 12 like originally thought.  The corrected due date is July 2.
  • Work is going well and I'm enjoying it.  I kind of have a groove set up but still going through a lot of training because there's still a ton to learn.
  • Started reading "The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy" and have found it to be so funny that I have to put it down every couple of pages to wipe the tears out of my eyes.
  • I've decided that I'm going to be singing to this baby a lot.  I spend the majority of my commute to and from work belting out showtunes or whatever happens to be playing.  The baby will probably be born performing dance sequences from "A Chorus Line" or singing "He Plays the Violin" from 1776.  And then on Sundays in the fall, Eric will hold the baby and attempt to teach it quarterback strategies before the baby can even say "dada".  This will be a very well rounded child.  
I'm anxious for our trip home to Louisiana.  It's going to be so great to see family and friends and do some catching up.
Now, I'm off to work on my independent study class (finally) and possibly a sewing project.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Victoria Victoria

I love Victoria's Secret.
 
That being said, if you are already uncomfortable with this topic, just skip this post.  It's not an update of sorts nor does it contain vital information about my well-being or mi marido or bebe.
Moving on...
 
So I love Victoria's Secret.  Most teenage girls end up buying something from them by the time they are 20.
Note that I said MOST, not all, because I realize that there are some women who don't want to spend that much on a bra.
 
Anyways...
So why do I love VS and all she has to offer?
I like color.  Lots of it.  I like good quality and I've always been satisfied by the quality of VS products.  
It's the clothes that really do it for me though.
 
OH THE CLOTHES!
I love that the pants come in a variety of lengths so I don't have to worry about hemming every single pair of pants that I own or worry about ruining the ends of my pants by walking all over them.  I love the way the fabric feels and that the majority of the styles come in a variety of colors.  I love that there is free return shipping.  Their sales are FANTASTIC!  And as a card bearing VIP member (yes I have a black card and no, I'm not proud of how much debt I got into to get that stupid card...NOTE I AM DEBT FREE NOW AND LESSON IS LEARNED THOUGH...stupid college aged thought that building credit with a VS store card was a good idea...who knew it could add up so FAST?!), I love the rewards program.  No I can't trade it in for miles but as a lady, I'm happy to use it to buy more clothes, shoes, makeup, body products, etc.  I love their festive clothing lines that go with the holidays.  I love their dresses (the dress from the night of my wedding is from VS) and their tops are so flattering on me!  I have a weird body type so sometimes, it's difficult for me to find things that aren't too short on top or too long on the bottom.
 
So...umm...long story short, I love VS.
 
My main gripe right now:
they don't have a maternity line.

Queenie says it's probably because they don't think pregnancy is sexy.

Bastards.

And that would be the end of my thoughts.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Tsk tsk Amazon (hot topic and you may want to skip if you are under 18)

Have you read about this?

I just read about this on one of the pregnancy forum's that I follow.
I'm disappointed that the owners of Amazon didn't think this through.
Although I understand that some say it would be considered censorship for Amazon to not sell the book, their guidelines state that they will not sell a book if it breaks guidelines for digital publication, including titles that lead to illegal activity.
...

If that is the case, doesn't it seem that encouraging a pedophile to not "penetrate" a child but stick to fondling and kissing is encouraging illegal activity?
I'm fairly certain that it is still considered carnal knowledge of a minor if a pedophile fondles a child.
Tsk Tsk Amazon.
Tsk tsk.
*Author's note: Amazon has removed the title from sale at this point.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Dim Sum

I had my first book club meeting today.  It went pretty well.  The group seems nice enough although in a packed dim sum restaurant, it's hard to always hear everything that's said.  The book we read was "The Drink and Dream Teahouse" which was...okay.  I don't know if I would actually recommend it.  It moves in a jagged way and there are a lot of unanswered questions left at the end of the novel.  But it was nice to sit and share food and conversation with some new people.  We meet again in a couple of weeks when we will discuss "The Room".  

Other than that, tomorrow is my first day at work.  I'm excited and nervous at the same time.  It will be nice if it makes the days go by faster.  

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Yum Tum

In an attempt to keep track of what I'm eating, and to make sure that I'm eating as I should for me and the baby, I made these handy dandy checklists.

 For a bit of a closeup...
EXTREME CLOSEUP!!!
If you, or someone you know, would like the pdf of the document above, just leave a comment and let me know!


 

Introducing

For the very detail oriented or very aware reader, you may have noticed a new tab above.

/\
l
l
l
l

(that's my sad attempt at an arrow)
"Books Galore!" is my list of books that I've read.
Please realize that it's not a comprehensive list because I can't remember how I feel about all 76 Babysitter Club Books that I've read and I also don't have roughly 250 books here for me to glance at to jog my memory of reading them.
(although, let's face it, with my memory, looking at them probably won't help remind me of what I thought.  I'd probably have to read half of it again to realize I'd already read it.)

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

And then there were three...

I laughed.

Seriously.
That was my natural reaction to the situation.

I stood in the bathroom staring at the little stick on the counter and just laughed.
Something between a giggle and a belly laugh.

When I glanced in the mirror, I looked like a six year old who heard their first real joke and got it.  My hands were covering my mouth and my eyes and cheeks were already hurting from laughing so much.
And I couldn't stop.

I didn't stop for a long time.
Even after I came out of the bathroom and told Eric that no, I wasn't sick but pregnant, I still couldn't stop laughing.

And even when I talk about it now, I tend to laugh.
A big belly-with-a-baby laugh.

It's been an amazing week.
Here's the rundown: 
  • I'm pregnant!
  • I got hired today for a full time administrative assistant position!
  • I got asked if my tips on handling travel arrangements could be posted in a newsletter for an Admin Assistant newsletter (obviously with credit given)
  • I was chosen to be a baking blogger for an online blog community (it's a paid freelance gig)!
  • Eric picked up some work through a legal temp agency (yay!!!)
  • I'm pregnant!...oh I mentioned that already...

So I don't know if it's the baby or from all of the excitement of this week, but I'm exhausted.  It's 7:23 and I have to go pick Eric up from his job in a few minutes and I'm exhausted.

Life is sweet.
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