Here is what I know about Arkansas:
1. It's the Natural State!
2. Razorbacks
3. It's about a 13 hour drive from South Carolina. Don't ask me how long a flight it is, because until Southwest comes there is no direct flight from here to there.
4. A tiny little university whose school of business you're all going to wish you could attend because the smartest, hottest, funniest professor of all times now works there.
What do you know about Arkansas?
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
Underwhelming You Monthly, Edition May
You know how sometimes you can feel someone staring at you, but you pretend you don't notice because you don't want them to be staring at you and you don't want to talk to them? That is what I'm doing when you come see if I've written anything new in the last four weeks. So. I've been very busy.
This week is the halfway point in my pregnancy! No real news-worthy updates I don't think. I felt the baby move for the first time a couple of weeks ago after an employee appreciation lunch, and since then it's been pretty quiet. A few pokey movements that could be a baby or could just be my insides trying to digest all the nonsense I send down there. I've got an appointment on Thursday, but at my practice they make you wait until 22 weeks to do the big ultrasound, so this week's is just a regular check-up and I'll go back in 2 weeks for the important one (therefore we have not yet registered for anything). I'm starting to show, but in a way that sometimes looks like baby (I find dresses to be most flattering) and sometimes looks like a girl who refuses to buy clothes in a size up because she's in denial about how well everything is fitting (t-shirts and shorts, you are dead to me). My mama and I went to Target this weekend and I bought three of the same cotton skirt because they're extremely soft and comfortable, so if you actually see me in person or pictures for the next few months, you should expect to see a lot of outfit recycling. I have taken exactly 1 belly picture, back at 17 weeks, which in truth looks the same as if I'd taken it 18 weeks before that, but I will begin regular photographing this week since I feel like I have something to show. Don't let me forget!
Also this weekend my mama and I painted a room in her house. Initially the plan was for Mike to help (a lot), but he got sick and spent the weekend developing an addiction to nasal spray, so we did it without him. All weekend. We had planned to go to a baby thing at a convention center this weekend but couldn't fit it in with all the painting. So every time I look upon those walls, it'll be a sweet reminder of all the things I still don't know about babies. Really though, I feel decently equipped because I'm not that different from a baby in a lot of ways. Mostly I want to eat, sleep, and play, and I've been known to pitch a righteous fit when something doesn't go my way. The hard part is just that now Mike will have to deal with two of us. Boy is he in for it.
Lastly, I bought some Crocs. In my opinion, Crocs are rather ugly. Particularly the traditional ones with the big fat blob with holes all punched in it. To my eye, they look silly on anybody's feet. So I tried to fight it, but when Emily told me how much better her legs and feet feel after a day in Crocs than in regular shoes, I couldn't resist. I don't know if I have a dreadfully low pain threshold or an unusually vigorous walk/stance, but if I spend more than about fifteen minutes on my feet at a time, it hurts. After a day at the mall or any kind of event that requires a lot of standing or walking, or being on my feet in the kitchen cooking, it's like I'm walking on raw, bare bones. Really unpleasant. So I bit the bullet and ordered some Crocs. I've worn them once when I had to stand up for about 30 minutes and several times to cook, and I can't be sure if it's all the shoe or partly the shoe and partly my brain thinking I'm supposed to feel different, but I can tell a difference. So I am currently debating whether or not to get another pair. And that's about all I've got going on.
This week is the halfway point in my pregnancy! No real news-worthy updates I don't think. I felt the baby move for the first time a couple of weeks ago after an employee appreciation lunch, and since then it's been pretty quiet. A few pokey movements that could be a baby or could just be my insides trying to digest all the nonsense I send down there. I've got an appointment on Thursday, but at my practice they make you wait until 22 weeks to do the big ultrasound, so this week's is just a regular check-up and I'll go back in 2 weeks for the important one (therefore we have not yet registered for anything). I'm starting to show, but in a way that sometimes looks like baby (I find dresses to be most flattering) and sometimes looks like a girl who refuses to buy clothes in a size up because she's in denial about how well everything is fitting (t-shirts and shorts, you are dead to me). My mama and I went to Target this weekend and I bought three of the same cotton skirt because they're extremely soft and comfortable, so if you actually see me in person or pictures for the next few months, you should expect to see a lot of outfit recycling. I have taken exactly 1 belly picture, back at 17 weeks, which in truth looks the same as if I'd taken it 18 weeks before that, but I will begin regular photographing this week since I feel like I have something to show. Don't let me forget!
Also this weekend my mama and I painted a room in her house. Initially the plan was for Mike to help (a lot), but he got sick and spent the weekend developing an addiction to nasal spray, so we did it without him. All weekend. We had planned to go to a baby thing at a convention center this weekend but couldn't fit it in with all the painting. So every time I look upon those walls, it'll be a sweet reminder of all the things I still don't know about babies. Really though, I feel decently equipped because I'm not that different from a baby in a lot of ways. Mostly I want to eat, sleep, and play, and I've been known to pitch a righteous fit when something doesn't go my way. The hard part is just that now Mike will have to deal with two of us. Boy is he in for it.
Lastly, I bought some Crocs. In my opinion, Crocs are rather ugly. Particularly the traditional ones with the big fat blob with holes all punched in it. To my eye, they look silly on anybody's feet. So I tried to fight it, but when Emily told me how much better her legs and feet feel after a day in Crocs than in regular shoes, I couldn't resist. I don't know if I have a dreadfully low pain threshold or an unusually vigorous walk/stance, but if I spend more than about fifteen minutes on my feet at a time, it hurts. After a day at the mall or any kind of event that requires a lot of standing or walking, or being on my feet in the kitchen cooking, it's like I'm walking on raw, bare bones. Really unpleasant. So I bit the bullet and ordered some Crocs. I've worn them once when I had to stand up for about 30 minutes and several times to cook, and I can't be sure if it's all the shoe or partly the shoe and partly my brain thinking I'm supposed to feel different, but I can tell a difference. So I am currently debating whether or not to get another pair. And that's about all I've got going on.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
I'm 0.12% baby! And 30% peanut oil.
This morning I had my 16-week doctor's appointment. Everything looked good, so it went very quickly. Just a little specimen and blood pressure check, then a fast and tiny heartbeat, and we were out of there. Oh yeah, and I've put on about 5 pounds in 4 weeks. I'm sure some of it is water, and although my pants are getting tight, my rings aren't fitting any more snugly, so I don't know how much to trust the scale. But it's still disheartening, and a little embarrassing, because based on what I reported as my pre-pregnancy weight, my chart shows a 9 pound gain so far, and sources say that at 16 weeks the average fetus weighs about 2.5 ounces. OUNCES. I can't even bring myself to do the conversion to know how many of those I've gained. And there's only one fetus in there, so I have no choice but to assign the other 4.9 pounds to french fries, chicken fingers, and cheese.
Basically, unless I want to give birth to a salt-encrusted deep-fried baby, I've got to take it down a few nothches in terms of sodium and instead have an apple or a salad or some air. That should be a cinch, particularly since we're having a cookout this weekend for Mike's birthday with steaks and twice baked potatoes and onion rings. I guess I ought to install some counter space across the arms of my treadmill so I can make dinner while I preemptively burn off all of those calories. Although maintaining a brisk clip and wielding a sharp knife sounds like a recipe for birthday disaster. But if I do end up in the hospital, at least I can request the no-sodium meals they give to heart patients.
I don't really think my diet is that bad overall. I've noticed my appetite has increased over the past few weeks and I'm eating more at every meal, so I know that's not helping. I could certainly stand to add in some daily exercise, and I need to lessen the frequency with which I go places that have fried food. As it turns out, I'm too weak to resist when it's there, so the best solution is to do more of my own cooking, which will be easier now that Mike isn't gone half the week. I hate buying groceries when we're rarely there to eat them, but now there's no excuse. Plus the longer I can make it in my regular wardrobe, the better, because I can think of a million ways I'd rather spend my money than on maternity clothes. Lucky for me, my mom and Mike's mom have given me several maternity shirts and a fantastic pair of maternity dress pants, and a lot of my shirts and dresses will work for most of my pregnancy. Erin asked if I was going to post belly pictures, and I'd be happy to, except there really hasn't been any change yet, but I guess what's the point of the pictures if there's not a starting point, so I'll try to remember to have Mike take one when I get home and put that up later. For you, Erin.
So in 4 weeks I'll go back for another regular checkup, and 2 weeks after that will be the ultrasound that tells us whether we'll be getting my little ponies or hot wheels at the drive thru! Except at Chick-Fil-A when I plan to always ask for the ice cream instead of the toy. Did you know you can do that with their kids' meals? Just thank 3 of my pounds for that tip.
Basically, unless I want to give birth to a salt-encrusted deep-fried baby, I've got to take it down a few nothches in terms of sodium and instead have an apple or a salad or some air. That should be a cinch, particularly since we're having a cookout this weekend for Mike's birthday with steaks and twice baked potatoes and onion rings. I guess I ought to install some counter space across the arms of my treadmill so I can make dinner while I preemptively burn off all of those calories. Although maintaining a brisk clip and wielding a sharp knife sounds like a recipe for birthday disaster. But if I do end up in the hospital, at least I can request the no-sodium meals they give to heart patients.
I don't really think my diet is that bad overall. I've noticed my appetite has increased over the past few weeks and I'm eating more at every meal, so I know that's not helping. I could certainly stand to add in some daily exercise, and I need to lessen the frequency with which I go places that have fried food. As it turns out, I'm too weak to resist when it's there, so the best solution is to do more of my own cooking, which will be easier now that Mike isn't gone half the week. I hate buying groceries when we're rarely there to eat them, but now there's no excuse. Plus the longer I can make it in my regular wardrobe, the better, because I can think of a million ways I'd rather spend my money than on maternity clothes. Lucky for me, my mom and Mike's mom have given me several maternity shirts and a fantastic pair of maternity dress pants, and a lot of my shirts and dresses will work for most of my pregnancy. Erin asked if I was going to post belly pictures, and I'd be happy to, except there really hasn't been any change yet, but I guess what's the point of the pictures if there's not a starting point, so I'll try to remember to have Mike take one when I get home and put that up later. For you, Erin.
So in 4 weeks I'll go back for another regular checkup, and 2 weeks after that will be the ultrasound that tells us whether we'll be getting my little ponies or hot wheels at the drive thru! Except at Chick-Fil-A when I plan to always ask for the ice cream instead of the toy. Did you know you can do that with their kids' meals? Just thank 3 of my pounds for that tip.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
I'm going to need to work on throwing a ball and making noises
I think this baby is a boy. People say your instinct is usually right, but I wouldn't really say I KNOW it's a boy or that I have secret mom instincts about it. I suspect it may be my brain's way of trying to gear me up for the possibility of not a girl, because I know absolutely nothing about little boys (circumwhat?), and their clothes bum me out. Erin and I have talked about this before. I feel like I've been to enough stores to have a pretty good idea what kinds of things are out there for boys. Sweet pastel-colored smocked jon-jons, and then onesies and shirts with cars, balls, tools, stripes, farm and sea and jungle animals, dinosaurs, monsters, nautical things, and "mommy's lil so-and-so." And that's about it. No skirts, no dresses, no ruffles or frills or pink or even purple. I know that this is a tiny tiny complaint, not the end of the world, some people have REAL problems, and hey, I can spend more money on my own clothes this way! But there's just something about a little yellow bathing suit with a tiny tu-tu sewed on, and you can't put your son in that. Can you?
So tell me what you (would or do) like about having boys. Also I am taking name suggestions, because currently my list reads like a bunch of last names. That end in -n. Names that end in -r are discouraged since our last name ends in -r also. We won't have the boy/girl ultrasound until the very end of May, so I've got a while to go before we know for sure, but I'm still trying to focus on the boy names and clothes and nursery designs in the mean time so as not to get my heart set on pink ruffly things. I absolutely won't be disappointed or sad if my baby is a boy, just to clarify. I don't have a preference for the baby itself; it's just that everything about boys is so new and foreign.
This week marks 100 days of pregnancy! So far I really have not felt pregnant, save for having to pee a lot more often. I haven't been sick at all, and I don't think I've gained any weight yet (or Mike is monkeying with the scale, and that would be all right), but the weight does seem to be distributed differently. My clothes fit a little tighter around the middle and it's harder to suck in my fat, but also I feel like maybe my love handles are being pulled forward, so I look a little worse from the front but a little better from behind. I get full a lot sooner, and between meals I have absolutely no appetite, whereas before I could pretty much always eat, so that's been difficult to get used to, though I wonder if that is how regular people feel all the time between their meals.
The thought of tomatoes turns my stomach and I don't ever want to see lasagna again, but other than that there haven't been any food aversions or noxious smells. I always want salty or tart things like fried or cheesy things and fruit and lemonade, but that was the case even before the pregnancy. So my diet hasn't been stellar, but certainly no worse than before. I try to get in lots of fruits to counteract all the veggies I'm not eating, since I'm not interested in bitter or earthy-tasting things like bell peppers or carrots or mushrooms or beans (unless they're covered in butter or cheese or dressing), or things that have a peanutty taste (which sadly includes Chick-fil-A chicken, since it's fried in peanut oil, but it's so salty and good going down that I eat it anyway). I haven't had any freaky dreams, but they all seem so REAL. Really vivid and like actual life. My aunt Pam had two dreams, before she knew I was pregnant, that I was having a baby girl, and she says she's always heard that the baby is the opposite of whatever you dream, so there's that. Really I think God knew what it was before I even existed, and no amount of Chinese lunar calendar studying or salty cravings or baby girl dreams or ballerina swimsuits is going to change that, so my prayers are mostly of the "help me find the best boy stuff and don't let me mess up our baby" variety. And of course I'm praying for a healthy baby. What's more important than that? Not ruffles, that's for certain.
So tell me what you (would or do) like about having boys. Also I am taking name suggestions, because currently my list reads like a bunch of last names. That end in -n. Names that end in -r are discouraged since our last name ends in -r also. We won't have the boy/girl ultrasound until the very end of May, so I've got a while to go before we know for sure, but I'm still trying to focus on the boy names and clothes and nursery designs in the mean time so as not to get my heart set on pink ruffly things. I absolutely won't be disappointed or sad if my baby is a boy, just to clarify. I don't have a preference for the baby itself; it's just that everything about boys is so new and foreign.
This week marks 100 days of pregnancy! So far I really have not felt pregnant, save for having to pee a lot more often. I haven't been sick at all, and I don't think I've gained any weight yet (or Mike is monkeying with the scale, and that would be all right), but the weight does seem to be distributed differently. My clothes fit a little tighter around the middle and it's harder to suck in my fat, but also I feel like maybe my love handles are being pulled forward, so I look a little worse from the front but a little better from behind. I get full a lot sooner, and between meals I have absolutely no appetite, whereas before I could pretty much always eat, so that's been difficult to get used to, though I wonder if that is how regular people feel all the time between their meals.
The thought of tomatoes turns my stomach and I don't ever want to see lasagna again, but other than that there haven't been any food aversions or noxious smells. I always want salty or tart things like fried or cheesy things and fruit and lemonade, but that was the case even before the pregnancy. So my diet hasn't been stellar, but certainly no worse than before. I try to get in lots of fruits to counteract all the veggies I'm not eating, since I'm not interested in bitter or earthy-tasting things like bell peppers or carrots or mushrooms or beans (unless they're covered in butter or cheese or dressing), or things that have a peanutty taste (which sadly includes Chick-fil-A chicken, since it's fried in peanut oil, but it's so salty and good going down that I eat it anyway). I haven't had any freaky dreams, but they all seem so REAL. Really vivid and like actual life. My aunt Pam had two dreams, before she knew I was pregnant, that I was having a baby girl, and she says she's always heard that the baby is the opposite of whatever you dream, so there's that. Really I think God knew what it was before I even existed, and no amount of Chinese lunar calendar studying or salty cravings or baby girl dreams or ballerina swimsuits is going to change that, so my prayers are mostly of the "help me find the best boy stuff and don't let me mess up our baby" variety. And of course I'm praying for a healthy baby. What's more important than that? Not ruffles, that's for certain.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Think I can recycle the gift for Mike's sister?
I know how boring it's gotten around here lately, and I am going to do a lot better starting next week. For now, I'm just popping in to say that I hope you have a fantastic weekend, cause I won't be back for a few days. Tomorrow we're headed down to Charleston for the weekend to celebrate Emily's and my birthday. We'll be 24! I got her a present, but I sort of feel there's like nothing I could buy to say just how glad I am that she's my sister, so Mike and I decided to make her something too. An aunt!
Monday, March 22, 2010
So who'd you vote for on Dancing With The Stars?
The only things I've been up to lately are cooking, watching tv, and sleeping. I've started to think I might ought to cut back on how much tv I watch, because at the end of the day I generally find myself wondering where all the time went and how I accomplished so little. But then I wonder how much more I'd really get done, because gang, I am lazy. And tv is entertaining. I just get the feeling that other people are getting more enjoyment from life than I am. I don't know. I tend to be a little bit jealous of pretty much everyone, so it's probably just that the grass seems greener on the other side, but has there ever been a case of somebody saying "I regret the decision to watch less tv."? Or "I shouldn't have left the house on this beautiful day in search of fulfilling activities."?
On the food front, to prove that I don't ONLY watch tv, last week my mom and I made some amazing Philly cheese steaks, despite not really following a recipe and never having cooked meat that way before. The key is butter. And we also made some reeeally awesome funnel cakes. Oh gah they were good. Then on Sunday night I made velveeta and rotel dip, which is always delicious, and my aunt Julie and my cousin Jessie made burgers that were exponentially better than any I've ever made. Why do other people's hamburgers always taste so much better than any I make myself? What do you put in your burgers? Mine always end up dry and only taste like pepper. Somewhere I saw a guy put butter in the middle of his burger patties to keep them from drying slap out on the grill, so next time I will try that. With a side of bacon fat.
The spring weather we've had this week has been making me want to cook out and also have a picnic, so Sunday I got to cross off cooking out (even though technically it was inside and on the Foreman, it was still burgers on the grill), and tomorrow I get to cross off picnicking! Some friends and I are having a picnic at the park after work, and I am pretty pumped about it. It's going to be so pretty out and I could really use some sun, not to mention delightful picnic fare.
Spring has also made me want to chop off all my hair, something like Jessica's from What I Wore, but curly hair is a real drag because if you pick a hairstyle that's intended for straight hair, it usually looks positively heinous in curls. That haircut of Jessica's is short and blunt and so sassy, but if I got it and then wore my hair curly, everyone would feel like they were watching the season of Felicity where she chopped off all her hair. Minus the goth friend and love triangle. Ultimately I'm probably not going to wind up doing anything to my hair and it'll just keep growing until only a professional can put down the split end mutiny. Which is probably what happened to Keri Russell.
On the food front, to prove that I don't ONLY watch tv, last week my mom and I made some amazing Philly cheese steaks, despite not really following a recipe and never having cooked meat that way before. The key is butter. And we also made some reeeally awesome funnel cakes. Oh gah they were good. Then on Sunday night I made velveeta and rotel dip, which is always delicious, and my aunt Julie and my cousin Jessie made burgers that were exponentially better than any I've ever made. Why do other people's hamburgers always taste so much better than any I make myself? What do you put in your burgers? Mine always end up dry and only taste like pepper. Somewhere I saw a guy put butter in the middle of his burger patties to keep them from drying slap out on the grill, so next time I will try that. With a side of bacon fat.
The spring weather we've had this week has been making me want to cook out and also have a picnic, so Sunday I got to cross off cooking out (even though technically it was inside and on the Foreman, it was still burgers on the grill), and tomorrow I get to cross off picnicking! Some friends and I are having a picnic at the park after work, and I am pretty pumped about it. It's going to be so pretty out and I could really use some sun, not to mention delightful picnic fare.
Spring has also made me want to chop off all my hair, something like Jessica's from What I Wore, but curly hair is a real drag because if you pick a hairstyle that's intended for straight hair, it usually looks positively heinous in curls. That haircut of Jessica's is short and blunt and so sassy, but if I got it and then wore my hair curly, everyone would feel like they were watching the season of Felicity where she chopped off all her hair. Minus the goth friend and love triangle. Ultimately I'm probably not going to wind up doing anything to my hair and it'll just keep growing until only a professional can put down the split end mutiny. Which is probably what happened to Keri Russell.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Stellaaaaaaaa!!!!
This weekend Mike and I went to see a play with his parents, who have season tickets to a community theater. I've been going with them since we started dating, and there've been a few duds (Inherit the Wind? More like Inherit a Nap), but the plays are usually really fun and entertaining (Noises Off is my favorite so far). This month's, however, was a dud, in my opinion. A Streetcar Named Desire. I won't go into all the plot details, but it's about as far from a light-hearted night at the theater as you'd ever wish to get. Analytically speaking, I think the takeaway is not to marry someone with a different sexual orientation than your own, because if you do, when you realize it and blurt out in the middle of a polka that he disgusts you, the shame will cause him to kill himself, and that will send you into a boozy spiral of prostitution, foreclosure, and despair. And maybe don't name your kid Blanche, either. Both good suggestions, but Tennesee Williams took about 2 hours to get his points across, and here I've done it in 2 sentences. Let's move on.
Next month I'm responsible for creating a mix cd to send to 10 other people, and I am really starting to feel the pressure not to be the square who uses songs everybody's already tired of. These people are a special kind of hip (and possibly a little snobby, but don't tell them I said so) when it comes to their music. The 2 cd's I've gotten so far have had a combined 3 artists I recognized. So, I need some help. Do you have any suggestions? What are your favorite songs? My mix is probably going to be fairly odd, with some hip-hop and some light rock and some upbeat dancey songs and some mellow indie-rock stuff, so nothing is off limits, except country, and if I have to tell you why then you could probably benefit from a copy of my cd. Heh. See what I did there with the snobby music hipster condescension? Really, I will appreciate any and all contributions, whether they're obscure or everybody knows all the words. So help me!
Next month I'm responsible for creating a mix cd to send to 10 other people, and I am really starting to feel the pressure not to be the square who uses songs everybody's already tired of. These people are a special kind of hip (and possibly a little snobby, but don't tell them I said so) when it comes to their music. The 2 cd's I've gotten so far have had a combined 3 artists I recognized. So, I need some help. Do you have any suggestions? What are your favorite songs? My mix is probably going to be fairly odd, with some hip-hop and some light rock and some upbeat dancey songs and some mellow indie-rock stuff, so nothing is off limits, except country, and if I have to tell you why then you could probably benefit from a copy of my cd. Heh. See what I did there with the snobby music hipster condescension? Really, I will appreciate any and all contributions, whether they're obscure or everybody knows all the words. So help me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
