Still Here!

Hiya. In case you have been wondering, no, I haven't disappeared off the face of the earth and yes there is stuff going on. I'm just not exactly comfortable posting the news at this time. I am keeping a long and detailed entry that I will post when the time is right, but for now... Hiya.

I can't believe we're already at Memorial Day. Holy crap has this year flown. I mean honestly I have no idea what happened to the last three months. All I know is that I started work and, boom we're here at the unofficial start of the summer. Next thing you know, we'll blink and it'll be the 4th of July, then we'll give Halloween and Christmas miss and proceed directly to Groundhog Day. Huzzah!

Ooh, speaking of Huzzah! I'm really excited. I've already know which items I will be getting at this year's Ren Faire. It is almost the season es, This year I'll be getting the apron portion of the garb and a head cover of some sort. I haven't decided if I like the bonnet style or the floppy-style hats. Eh, I'll decide later. But yeah, I am so looking forward to all the Summery stuff .

Activities I've got planned for this summer:
Hiking
Kayaking
Camping (still have to determine where and get a new tent)
Ren Faire
Beach (Duh)
Vegas (Labor Day weekend)

The other thing I have decied on is finally getting a digital camera. I still use my old-school film camera which I adore and will NEVER give up on, but I think it's time to bite the bullet and get a point and shoot.

It All Started With the Peanuts

May 27, 2010




This post is obviously backdated. I have been keeping a running log of stuff but have resisted posting anything until I felt the time was right. If you haven’t guessed it and the picture hasn’t given it away, yep, Aaron and I are going to be parents!

Two days ago as I was leaving work, I noticed that my time of the month was feeling awfully late. I counted backwards and yep, I was, indeed late (I’m now 6 days late). I called ‘Chele to confer. I would have purchased tests then but I got sidetracked. Yesterday I picked up a pack of tests. Drank water. Waited. Ate some honey roasted peanuts, watched TV then peed.

As Aaron put it, the test (at the time), "appear inconclusive." I had a dark pink line and another line that was lighter. Now, the box says the second line may appear lighter in color but he wasn’t convinced. Mind you, the last time I took the test there wasn’t a single trace of that second line there. Still, I waited till the morning and redid the test. There it was again, another line. It wasn’t as dark as the first line, but very much there. I took it as a positive. I later found out the damn things are incredibly accurate after the missed period. Woohoo.

What’s funny is I should have known something was up. Last week while I was out food shopping, I got the craziest craving for honey roasted peanuts. It’s not like I don’t eat them, but it was almost like a cigarette craving when surrounded by chain smokers. I HAD to have them. I didn’t actually get on the road before I popped that bad boy open and polished the thing off. No I ‘m not that big a pig, it was the small, small container. I went back and got the glass jar of them to bring home. Aaron looked at me funny when I took them out. All I could say is, “I wanted them.”
So today, rather than do a good amount of work, I have been doing my homework, reading up on what to do, what not to do, etc and writing creating this post.
TheBump has been my go to site since we decided to try for kids and now I’m really happy I knew about it. Hell, I’ve only been a frequent visitor to its sister sites TheKnot, and TheNest since I used it to organize my wedding. Blech I wanna go home and read up on more baby stuff, but I don’t think I should just bolt. At least my boss is gone for the day and so is my supervisor. My ass is heading home at 4:00. I have been getting in the office at 8:00 am all week, damn it.


May 28, 2010

Holy crap. My tummy hurts and I have to pee like a racehorse. I actually feel like I’m having really bad cramps. Apparently the cramps I’m feeling are called round ligament pain. It’s basically caused by the ligaments that surround and support the uterus thickening and stretching. But wait, it gets better. Apparently this is supposed to hurt worse in the second trimester and usually worsens when you move quickly , laugh or cough. Woohoo!

Oh yeah. Aaron is finally convinced that the tests were accurate. All it took was for me to relay what the receptionist at my GYN said about the lighter pink lines and the timing. Yes, I told him the very same thing. Eh, wadda ya gonna do, right? But I digress… I called them yesterday to schedule an appointment. I’m going in on June 8th to have my first prenatal visit. Aaron’s going to be going with me in case they do a sonogram.

Last night we finally had some time to talk about the baby and when we’d like to tell people about it. I think we decided to tell the families during the July 4th Weekend. After that we’ll officially tell our friends. I know it’s a while but Aaron’s concerned about anything potentially going badly. I can’t really blame him. If anything bad happens it’s most likely to happen during the first few weeks. I just have to make sure I’m disciplined enough to keep my mouth shut till then. We shall see.


Monday, May 31, 2010

Let's Go Yankees!
Today I got to see, A-Rod hit a grand slam, a new angle of the stadium (I've sat in almost all of the different areas) and myself almost go cookoo for Cocopuffs over just about every food item I saw and/or smelled, except for one of the stands that was making something with curry. I normally love curry, but today, the smell was turning my tummy. THEN after Aaron who was wonderful enough to get me the biggest stadium steak sandwich I have ever seen, I turned into a friggin machine. I devoured that thing in no time, flat. Hell, I'm surprised I didnt eat the wrapping too.

Ah well, at least I'm still working out. I'm cutting back on the harder stuff or the stuff that can involve falling, like roller blading and perhaps biking, but I'm making it a point to continue walking, jogging and lifting light weights.

Ooh yeah, I've also noticed that my mood swings have been just charming over the last day or two. I learned that I can go from zero to psycho bitch on wheels and back again, in under three seconds! Woo! I can't help it or explain it. Like Dr. Banner, I try to keep it under control as best as I can, but when pushed too hard (or, not at all)... I have the strange feeling that you wouldn't like me when I'm angry.


Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Leaping lizards! I haven’t felt this sleepy in ages. I’m not sure if it’s the fact that my boss is out today or what, but all I want to do is put my head down on the comfy looking keyboard. The keys have some give to them. That should make it comfortable enough, shouldn’t it?

Ooh yeah, I’ve gotten a better idea of just how bloated I am. I tried on several different outfits that shouldn’t be fitting as snug as they were this morning. All I keep telling myself is that this is happy thing. It’s a good thing and that I’ll have a good reason to buy bigger comfier clothes. I did this of course as I tried not to burp my breakfast back up. I feel so lady-like.

I’ve also noticed the first signs of “morning sickness.” The symptoms aren’t bad. It’s mostly been heartburn and a touch of gas. I normally don’t get heartburn and/or burp like that after eating a bagel and fruit. Then again I also started feeling that after dinner the other day. All I had was rice, veggies and chicken. Go figure. ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…


Sunday, June 6, 2010

What have I learned today? I learned that I can’t clean the way I used to. Today was a low activity day. I went to church and went food shopping. We’ll have to reexamine the logic behind sending the pregnant one to buy food at a later time. After I got back I took a nap, and then woke up feeling the need to clean. I get that way some times. I just can’t sit still until things are cleaned to my nutty (Marthaesque) standards. I cleaned the bathroom swiffered (dry and wet) the floors and vacuumed the two area rugs in the living room and entryway. By the end of that, I felt like I was going to pass the hell out. Mind you, normally this is what I do when I have to clean in a hurry, like when company is coming over, or when I’m just beginning my cleaning day.

I mean I was actually out of breath and dizzy. I got a huge glass of water and sat my ass down. Aaron got a bit concerned when I told him but I think he was okay as long as I didn’t actually pass out. I told him he’d have to finish the chores tomorrow. I didn’t touch the laundry, I still have to dust and wipe down all the common surfaces like counters, handles, door knobs, light switches, etc. He happily agreed.


Monday, June 7, 2010

Buuuurrrrp!

So as far as “morning” sickness (or any time sickness, really) goes I’m getting lucky. All I’ve really been experiencing is heartburn, a bit of reflux and burping. No nausea, vomiting or anything like that. The problem with this is that there’s no rhyme or reason to what sets it off. It’s not like I can say, okay, I’ll avoid this kind of food or that kind of item. Nope. The other day, a simple smoothie set it off. What the frick?

Ah well, at least it’s not nearly as bad as the incessant need to pee. THAT has gotten old really fast; especially when it’s 2:00 and 3:00 A.M. and I have to make a mad dash for the bathroom. Coordination and I are not friends when I first wake up, particularly at that time of the morning. I’m just glad I’ve made it a point to keep the bathroom light on at night. Goodness knows there’s a good chance I’d end up peeing in the bedroom next to the bathroom is the light wasn’t there to guide my half comatose self. Imagine trying to explain that one in the morning.

Ooh, I have some other changes. Aaron decided to tell his sister, brother-in-law and his parents about our news. Once again, he’s the one who wanted to wait till July but he’s totally pinning it on me. His reasoning is that I’m the one who’s been dying to tell people. I’ve kept my mouth shut. The only people who know at work are my supervisor and the office assistant and I did this in case I have an emergency and have to take off early. He’s told his boss and just about all of his work buddies. But, you know, I’m the one who wants to tell everyone. Uh-huh… riiight.

His behavior is sweet though. Even though he insists he’s only 98 percent sure that we’re having a baby until we see the doctor (HA!), he’s sure acting like an excited man who’s trying to play it cool. But I think he’s slowly but surely getting used to the idea of being openly excited. He even rubbed my belly to say hello to the little one yesterday. Awwww…


Tuesday June 8, 2010
It’s Official We’re Having a Tadpole!

Yep we went to the doctor’s today. Poor Aaron hadn’t slept at all but was still pretty happy to see the little dot on the screen.

Aaron worked last night but rather than being able to get some sleep he had to take his brother to a doctor’s appointment in the morning and got home just in time to sit down for a bite to ear, before he had to get right back up and head out to my appointment. He was so tired he was actually shaking.

When we got there I actually thought we were going to go through the whole thing quickly. Well, the sonogram went quickly. I have no idea what the hell I was looking at, it was all kind of grey and then there was a black spot with a few white sections in it. It looked like an amorphous blob. Apparently that was the embryo. When she did a close-up, it looked like a tadpole. She then said, “Oooh look, you can see the heartbeat.” I stared and leaned in but really didn’t see a damn thing at first. Then she had to point it out. There was a wee little section in the tadpole that was blinking. Apparently that’s the forming heart. Cute! So yeah. The little guy is now the size of a pea or an M&M. HA!

After that whole thing, we then waited around some more and argued over how long I’ve been off the pill. Aaron seems to think it was one month. It was two. I know this because, well, I marked it down on my calendar. Duh! So yeah, then we got into the stuff about what I can, can’t, should and shouldn’t be doing. Basically it all comes down to, don’t be stupid and listen to your body. Sweet.

Now here’s the thing. This appointment just happened to coincide with my yearly exam. I’ve always been in that doctor’s office on my own. Having Aaron there, however, felt really odd. I mean, he has never gotten to see or have any inkling of what happens when I go to the GYN appointments. This time, however, he got to stay in the room for the whole thing. We didn’t really talk about it, but I’m just not sure who felt stranger about being in that room.


Friday, June 11, 2010
The Wee One Was Displeased


Yesterday was the first day I actually came close to booting. I called in sick yesterday because since finding out the big news, I haven’t used my prescription allergy medications. Then about an hour after eating breakfast, I experienced the first episode of “morning” sickness. I thought I was going to be safe with a bowl of cereal and a small bowl of fruit. Nope. The wee one was displeased.

What an unpleasant experience. I didn’t actually vomit, I just wish I had. Blech. For only God knows how long, I just sat on my bed waiting, still as a statue. I wasn’t sure whether I was waiting for it to go away or waiting for boot. All I knew is that if I moved I wouldn’t like it.

Since the day we found out the big news till yesterday, I’ve been pretty lucky. My cravings have been fairly mild. The biggest thing has been anything that has the salty/sweet combination, namely, honey roasted peanuts. The only other symptom I’ve noticed is an uptick in heartburn episodes (I hardly ever get heartburn). Ah well. I knew it would happen at some point or the other. Like I said, I’ve been pretty lucky so far. Here’s hoping the luck lasts.


Sunday, June 13, 2010
Got Plans? The Wee One Says 'No'

I don't mind being flexible, just be reasonable. I've already come to learn that when the wee one has plans of its own, he makes himself clear. By the way, I'm calling the wee one a him, but we still have no idea what the wee one is.

So yes, earlier this week I got to find out why the term "morning sickness" is laughable. This morning I got a repeat lesson. Blech. I once again didn't boot, I just had to stay still and wait. Blech.

But yeah, like I've said before, it's really not bad in general. But when the wee one acts up or wants me to pay attention, there's just no ignoring it.

Here's a funny story. This afternoon I got a smoothie thingy from starbucks. I told the dude at the counter to use no fat milk or soy. He said, "you got it." Needless to say, I think the bastard had no idea what I was talking about. So a little while ago, I began feeling terrible. I'll spare you the details but I came back into the livingroom rubbing my tummy, grumbling, "F***ing little bastard!" Aaron immediately responded with an offended, "HEY!" I then had to explain to him that I wasn't referring to the wee one but the idiot at Starbucks.

He laughed at the misunderstanding and said that he wasn't surprised that I wasn't feeling so great. Apparently dairy may not agree with my system at this stage. He started reading the book I got him! What a good soon=to-be daddy

V May Be Right

This weekend I went up to Mass for Munchkin #1's birthday so happily I also got to hang out with Munchkin #5.

While the little guys ran me ragged, I still had fun and as always walked away with lots of little funny moments that are now forever locked in my memory. One such memory is waking up nice and early and having both the little guys come over to lay with me for a little bit (till they ended up pushing me off the bed, really). But the winner for the weekend is watching the whole battle over pooping.

A little while ago, Munchkin #5 apparently had some tummy issues (backed up). That experience left him a little hesitant to go poop so now he tries to hold it in. As we were trying to get out of the house his Mom asked him if he has to go poop. Now, mind you he was doing the pee/poop dance. His response was, "nooooo." It took a whole half hour to get the little guy to finally sit and go poop. She tried everything including a threat to use the "screwdriver." And before you call child services,NO they aren't using a screwdriver. It's what Munchkin #5 decided to call the suppository.

In the end, Mom won by buying the little guy off with starbursts. Who knew?

But yeah, the back and forth was too funny. He tried everything to convince her that he didn't have to go. He even said he'd go after the t-ball game and that he wasn't doing a dance (while dancing back and forth, holding his pants). His Mommy even told him that if he held it in any longer, he'd end up full of poop and that it would end up coming out his ears. He didn't like that much and had a mini freak out. Meanwhile, I felt like an awful aunt. I hid in the other room to keep him from seeing me laugh. Poor little guy. At least he felt better afterwards and even told us that it didn't hurt at all. :)

Oh yeah and to secure my position as a bad aunt, I actually posted a reference to the incident as a wall post on FB. V said he may get really pissed at me for that one day. Luckily, I never use their names Online.

Pretty awesome seat for a cooking demo

(Holy crap this took a while. I sent this from my phone on Thursday. My carrier sucks.)

This was really cool. I was at work on Thursday when my supervisor asked me if I knew anything about this tent that was set up in White Plains. She said it said Chef something. I was delight it find out it was actually Top Chef. Apparently the Top Chef national tour had a stop in White Plains, about a block and a half down from where I work. I was unaware of this, but you bet your ass I was there the moment I went out for lunch.

After hoofing it down to the site I saw they had a cooking demo set up. The two chefs from the show were Ariane and Ashley. They weren't my favorites but they were cool enough that I wanted to stick around and see what they were making.

Apparently you needed to make a reservation to get into the tent. But then the woman at the entrance asked if any one waiting was alone and wanted to see the demo. I didn't waste a moment. My hand shot up and I let her know I was alone. I was the last one let in and I got to sit right up in the front. So during the demo, not only could I see what they were making, I could also smell it. Awesome!

So yesh the cheese souffle they were showing us how to make tasted quite yummy. I loved it. I asked a bunch of questions. I was one of the two vocal people there. Another woman there may have a had more questions and may have been a bigger fan, but I can't be sure.

Afterwards they signed autographs. I got two photos and an oven mitt signed. I would have asked for a photo with them but the line was pretty long and by then I had to get back to the office. Still not a bad way to spend a lunch break. :)

Drama, Drama, Drama

I suppose I shouldn't be surprise that drama will arise when you have negative people and alcohol mixed in with big personalities.

Today I got to witness some interesting drama at a birthday party. I wasn't in the mix but once again my role as Switzerland was kind of tested. First, the parties involved had quite a few drinks and then the negative feelings some people have toward others just came out in the form of a screaming match. Actually, it started a touch earlier. The negative person, we'll call her Nancy, kept saying "I hate that B." Based on how the night ended, I'm going with the assumption that she was seeking someone kind of validation or looking for a comrade. I don't have an issue with the target of her animosity so I chose to not got involved and ignored the comments.

When the fighting actually broke out the Birthday Girl got very upset and asked people to help tell the ones in the fight to leave. Since it was her house, I got up and went toward the fight to see if I was even going to be able to do anything. The fighting got worse so I helped escort some people outside. When that didn't work, I went to the bathroom, got some tissues and handed them out to those who needed them. I then tried to calm people down. That didn't work. So then I went back outside. The fighting broke up and the contenders were separated. Then, because who knows why, the people came back together to start shit up again. I then just turned to Aaron and asked him if he wanted to go out to the front of the house, away from everyone. By this time, Nancy's target was reduced to tears and the Birthday Girl was very upset and were headed right towards us. Since I was kind of right there, the proper thing to do was to try to comfort people. I did. It worked. When I went back to where Nancy was, I couldn't help but feel a wave of negativity coming from Nancy. I chose to ignore her.

Now here's my thing; I don't understand why some people feel the need to air out their shit when drinking and while among a large group of people , at a clearly inappropriate time. It was at the Birthday Girl's home for crying out loud. Why can't people just air out their issues between themselves? If you have an issue with someone and it gets to a point where you can' ignore it any longer, why not pull the person aside and get it out in private?

Am I crazy? The other thing that gets me is that Nancy seemed to have gotten pissy with me for actually trying to calm people down and respecting Birthday Girl's wishes. It's her fricking house!

The crazy thing is, Nancy isn't usually this bad. Sure she is negative. No one who knows her can deny this. I've had plenty of interactions with her and no, she's not my favorite person in the world but I can normally ignore her sour demeanor without a problem. Today, however, it really bugged me.

Eh. I don't know I suppose I'm just crazy like that. I actually behave and don't like seeing people reduced to tears and/or being rude in a person's home.

Need Nice Weather

All I can think about is kite flying. Yes dear reader, we've come to that time of year again when I start staring longingly at things getting blown around in the (lately, gale-force) winds begin the urge to take measurements to determine which kite and line I should use.

Last weekend would have been perfect for one of the stunt kites but alas, I didn't have time and didn't have one with me at the park. Ah well. At least I'm now prepared. I stashed a kite in my trunk so next time I happen to be at a park or feel like taking a detour on my way home and drive to a park with a clearing, and the wind is blowing just right, I can pull that bad boy out and fly.

I've said it before. I'm not exactly sure what it is about kite flying that makes me so happy. I think it reminds me of being a a kid. Eh. It just makes me happy.

Oh yeah, the other things driving this urge to fly is the fact that I have my eye on a new toy. I didn't get myself a birthday gift yet and I think this is a better choice than some of the other items I've been looking at, including a new Movado watch and a lovely new pair or diamond stud earrings.

I think I want to try my hand at flying a quad line kite. But rather than getting a frame quad kite, I think I'm going to try for a foil quad kite. This way if I have a spectacular crash while learning to fly the thing, I won't run the risk of shattering the frame.

"The Dance"

Every now and then, for whatever reason a song pops into my head and kind of lingers there for a few days. For the last few days I’ve had Garth Brooks’ “The Dance” (I know others have covered it, but his is the one I know the best). It’s kind of a bittersweet song that has made me ball my eyes out in the past. Actually there was a time that I couldn’t listen to it at all because of the emotions it used to bring up (right after a bad breakup during college). Since then I’ve made my peace with the song and aside from being able to appreciate the song, I now find it kind of comforting. So yeah, this is the song that, for whatever reason has been rattling around in my head...

The Dance

Looking back on the memory of
The dance we shared 'neath the stars above
For a moment all the world was right
How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye

And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end, the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance

Holding you, I held everything
For a moment wasn't I a king
But if I'd only known how the king would fall
Hey who's to say? you know I might have changed it all

And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance

Yes my life, it's better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance

Winnie the Pooh, The Wise

The other day I was reminded of a great quote from Winnie the Pooh. I used to love it and since rediscovering it, I remembered why.

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift. That is why we call it- the present."

Smart old bear.

“I’m Back in The Saddle Again”

After a week-long vacation to Bermuda, I’ve returned. The vacation was pretty wonderful (I’ll go into more detail in a different entry). We’re already unpacked and back to life as usual. Well, I am anyway. Aaron is still off for a few more days.

Getting back to work was quite a bit easier than I anticipated. Granted, it did take a little bit to get through the 178 e-mails I received over the week. But it’s all good. I moved quickly to patch up a few errors that occurred while I was out (some people didn’t follow the carefully outlined and detailed instructions I left) and now I’m back to bouncing ideas and thoughts around and working on my next writing assignments. Yes, this is part of my process too. I’m not just goofing off. The draft I came up with is waiting on another page. I’m not taking a few minutes away from it before I go back and start editing it (tearing it to shreds).

I got a very nice compliment from my big boss again while I was on the phone with him earlier. I think he missed me. He said that he was a little annoyed last week when he was looking for something, them my work, “miraculously” appeared (one of the goofs). Then, right inside the document I wrote were the words he was looking for. It‘s kinda nice hearing that. He also said I’m quickly becoming one of the most productive people on the whole team. Again, kind of nice hearing that. I just hope I can keep up to the steadily rising bar. Damn it, why did I have to set it so high?

Ah well, back to work I go. Here's hoping the meeting I'm about to head off to doesn't end with me ranting like a maniac.


...


YaerrrrrHJK:HJK:YGYURYighjrtfyfghui;yuihhhhhhprrrrtthhhhhh!!! (Ranting like a maniac)

Lord, please give me the patience to put up with all the nonsense. That's all I ask for... well, actually Lord, if it's not too much trouble, can you please grace me with a fully functioning crossbow with a hair trigger, to ward off people intending to send me their work to do. Thank you lord. Amen.