Inhaaale. Exhaaaale. Ahhhhhh

At long last the day we head off to Bermuda is here. This has been in the works since some point late summer. Aaron and I went out to lunch with our friend Marie. Aaron threw the idea out there and she jumped at it. Then it snowballed, got kinda ugly, then uglier and eventually settled back to something reasonable.

But yes, here we are... Our bags have been packed, resorted closed and waiting patiently by the door. We're now waiting for my Dad to come pick us up. I am so damn excited. I wanna just do a tap dance to a impromptu Carnivale Samba down the long hallway of our apartment.

Off to Bermuda, But First...

Ah yes, both Aaron adn I have spent the whole day preparing for our long-awaited vacation. I've made stops at the salon, I've packed, repacked and then tidied up. What kills me is that with everything I've done, I still feel like I'm missing something.

Ah well, missing items or not, Bermuda here we come!

So in case you can't get away to an island but want something to help you escape for a little bit, here's some music that I will certainly be listening to. Enjoy.

My God I've Gotten Fat

I know, I know. I will get around to writing all about the cruse and posting photos. I promise I'll do that soon. First I have to bitch. I've gotten fat. I mean I'm far closer to the 200 mark than I ever wanted to be. On that oh-so-fun cruise to Bermuda I gain ten friggin' pounds. Ten pounds in a week! I didn't even know that was possible.

It was so bad that a light jacket I have for work was fitting really snug in the arms. Well, no, that's a lie. It wasn't snug. It was more like, I couldn't lift my arms in it. This was a jacket that a few weeks ago, when I took it out of winter storage, fit comfortably. F**k me!

So yesh, my increasingly chubby ass now has to actually get back to shrinking down again.

I'm Going Down to South Park!

Because I think it's complete Bullshit that the South Park guys are getting death threats from extremist Assholes with nothing else better to do than try to scare and intimidate everyone into their way of thinking, I put myself in South Park. Well, sort of. I really just made an avatar of myself on their site.

I couldn't get into their forum section to leave them my, "rah-rah. You go!" note. So I decided to do this as a show of support for the crazy bastards. I mean for cripe sake, this is the same episode that had Jesus watching porn and Buddha snorting coke! But you don't see conservative Christians trying to encourage people to kill Parker and Stone.

Avast Me Hardies... That be Bermuda Dead Ahead

I'm now getting excited. I feel better after the last few days of allergy (blech)attacks and I am NOW really looking forward to shoving off and making waves to Bermuda. All I know is that within an hour of getting on that big-ass boat on Sunday, I want a nice, strong rum drink damn it. And for this trip, like most of my other sea-faring trips, I will be accompanied by my buddy, Mr. Jimmy Buffett. Well, through my iPod, that is.

Boat Drinks
Boat drinks
Boys in the band ordered boat drinks
Visitors scored on the home rink
Everything seems to be wrong

Lately, newspaper mentioned cheap air fare
I gotta to fly to saint somewhere
Im close to bodily harm

Twenty degrees and the hockey games on
Nobody cares they are way too far gone
Screamin boat drinks, something to keep em all warm

This mornin, I shot six holes in my freezer
I think I got cabin fever
Somebody sound the alarm

Id like to go where the pace of lifes slow
Could you beam me somewhere mr. scott?
Any ol place here on earth or in space
You pick the century and I'll pick the spot

Oh I know, (I know)
I should be leaving this climate
I got a verse but can't rhyme it
I gotta go where it's warm

Boat drinks
Waitress I need two more boat drinks
Then Im headin south fore my dream shrinks

I gotta go where it's warm (I gotta go where it's warm)
I gotta go where it's warm (I gotta go where it's warm)
I gotta go where it's warm!

I gotta go where there aint any snow
Where there aint any blow
Cause my fin sinks so low
I gotta go where it's warm

Hear Me Roar!!!!

I rule!

I love days like this. Today was one of those days that friggin fed the dragon lady. Going in, I knew it was a tough-ass day. I had a few very big things due and boy did I ever perform well. I got glowing reviews on all the pieces I submitted. My boss was pretty damn happy. Not to mention, I found yet another media hit (a prominent one too) that I hadn't expected. It came about as a result of my NY Times placement. Awesome!

For the last few days I had been sort of anxious to see how this day was going to turn out. Everything that was due today was originally due two weeks from today but because I am going to be out the last week in April and the big boss isn't going to be in next week, all of my deadlines got moved up significantly. So last night I as up reading up on an insane amount of material (not to mention, watching Idol and Glee). So this morning I was beat. It took about seven 12 oz. cups of coffee to animate my carcass for the day but hell, I worked it out. As it turned out I was super focused and productive like you wouldn't believe but best of all, my writing was just on point. What more could I ask for? Oh yeah, impressing the reps from the Washington, D.C. lobbying firm. Boo-yah!

So yeah, I've had nothing but ballsy songs blaring through my iPod from the moment all the madness (deliveries, prsentations, meeting and phone conferences) ended. to quote one of my favorite movie characters ever (Ash from Evil Dead), "Groovy."

What's for Dinner?

I hate trying to figure out what I want to make for dinner every night. It really bothers the hell out of me, especially if I just can't think after getting home from work.

So what I started doing a while ago is making a weekly meal plan to help me out. The whole, not being able to think part wasn't much of an issue when I was unemployed, but it helped a lot when it came to budgeting. Now this tactic is helpful in many more ways. It'll just be interesting to see how Aaron handles helping me with these dishes. They're all pretty simple for me, I know they'll test his technical abilities in the kitchen. I know he's going to freak out if I don't explain and show him what I mean when I say, "chiffonade" or when I try to make him understand that sautee does not mean, frying something to hell. But like I keep telling myself, he IS trying and I love him all the more for it.

Oh yes (slightly off topic), that man has GOT to learn how to use his wrist when whipping or beating liquids. I asked him to beat eggs this weekend and he began stirring them. I had to show him what was wrong with his technique, then had to move him on to making the coffee. Sigh... lordie, don't get me started on that one either.

So yes, today, rather than starting my day with actual, honest-to-goodness work, I did my meal plan for the week. I should have been doing work since the next two weeks are going to be hellish, but the allergies have kicked in and I'm waiting for the meds to start working. Blech. I feel like I'm on another planet.

Obsessed?

The more I thin about this, the scarier it is; Aaron and I are not that different. That right there scares the beejeezus out of me.

I love him dearly, mind you, but he is a bit of a loony. He tends to find things to obsess over and once he gets on them, it's pretty much impossible to distract him for more than a millisecond. For example. His to-do lists: He will sit there for hours and hours shuffling things around and figuring out the order of things as he goes along, checking things off. House hunting: He knows every house on sale in the areas that we're interested in and knows when they drop in price or have new photos uploaded.

Where do the similarities come in? Ah-ha... For the last week I have been looking into anything and everything out there on the whole baby planning thing. I've even restarted putting entries on The Bump. I noticed I still have the blog that I started on The Knot. It's connected to The Nest as well. I'm apparently in the TTC segment. Yeah you'd think it'd figure out what TTC stands for sooner, right. Not so much. It took me till today to realize it means Trying To Conceive. Duh.

But, I digress. So yeah, I've been reading over dozens upon dozens of articles on WebMD (By the way, I'm now convinced I may have every ailment out there including an enlarged prostate and possibly rickets, thanks to all the damn scary-ass articles on there). I've also made my way through Fit Pregnancy, Pregnancy, Women's Health and yes, The Bump. And I've started expanding on my original to-do list. (Ta-dah) This was once a shortish list. No longer. The thing now runs into a third page. I've crossed things off already, mind you.

Ah well. I suppose it was bound to happen. I mean, you spend enough time with a person and some of their quirks are bound to rub off on you, right?

Lord, I still say that's a scary thought.

Oh yes, so here's where we stand on the whole house hunting thing; when we get home from Bermuda (we're taking off at the end of the month. Woo!), we're opening a new savings account and piling as much as possible in there. We've narrowed the search down to a handful of towns based on school systems and we've created a list of things we want and things we do not want in a house. Hopefully by the time summer rolls around, we'll be able to actually check out potential homes.

See, the obsession is contagious.

Jingle, Jingle. Hey Looky, Lots of Change!

Change, yes, it’s good; except of course if you have too much in your pockets and are trying to run, then it just gets in the way and threatens to pull your pants down. But of course, that’s not the kind of change I’m talking about.

Inhale and long exhale… Aaron and I have decided it’s time. Yep we’re finally ready to start trying for kids. And, oh yeah, you’re all the first to read this. I haven’t even told my parents yet. But then again, I also thought we were going to have another month.

Long story, short. My pill pack ran out BUT when I got that pack, the pharmacist didn’t tell me that was the last of the refills. I tried calling my doctor's office but missed them on Sunday (pill one) and yesterday I was in meetings all day long. By the time I had a moment to call, they were closed (pill two). So last night I realized that by time I got a hold of my doctor to let him know that I would needed another prescription called in, I would have already missed three pills and therefore, pretty much would have rendered the pills I would get, useless. Especially since I was going to be going off them at the end of the month. So when I told Aaron the situation yesterday he kind of laughed, particularly when I suggested he use protection till the month is up. Actually, if I’m being honest, that last bit stopped the laughter momentarily before he scoffed a “no!” and laughed harder.

It’s all good. He’s actually very happy about the turn of events. That, and he’s really happy because he’s ahead of where he wants to be on his “to do” list. Yeah, every month he creates and obsesses over his “to do” lists. He even gets pretty annoyed if he can’t cross something off. He’s about a month ahead on that too so for him; the whole pill thing is just going according to his plans. :)

It does feel odd though. I’ve been on the pill for ages so this morning was just off. I kept thinking I forgot something. Duh! Eh, it’ll take a bit to get used to this change. Of course, that’s nothing compared to the other changes coming our way.

So today after work I'm hitting the supermarket and Vitamin Shoppe to stock up on vitamins.

Since we're on the list topic, this is WebMD's checklist of things to do prior to getting pregnant. I'm screwed on the caffeine thing by the way, but does anyone out there have any other suggestions of things I should be doing?


• Take a folic acid supplement every day. This reduces the chance of certain birth defects. Do not wait until you are pregnant to do this.

• Make a doctor's appointment for a checkup/wellness visit.

• Make sure to get and begin taking prenatal vitamins.

• Check with your doctor about any over-the-counter and prescription medications you currently take.

• See your dentist for a cleaning or checkup if you have not done so in the last six months. Untreated gum disease is linked to preterm birth.

• Look into local prenatal exercise classes.

• Review maternity/paternity leave options at work and your health insurance's maternity coverage.

• Develop a maternity and baby budget.

• If you smoke, quit.

• Limit alcohol and caffeine intake.

• Stock your refrigerator with healthy foods and snacks.