Up the Road to SB

Dave and I picked the rainiest weekend of the year to take a road trip, but it was really good to get away.

We beat the LA traffic out of town, and up the 101 to Santa Barbara in time to check into our hotel, and get our bearings before venturing out for the evening. Turns out the Santa Barbara International Film Festival was starting that night, so we hoped we might see a celeb, or two, but no such luck. We planned to have dinner and go see a movie, but the paper had the times wrong, so I still haven't seen 27 dresses. :-( I will say, however, that dinner was OUTstanding! We went to a Japanese restaurant, and Dave had sushi while I had yakitoris. I did have one California roll, and left all the raw fish to him. Ew. So, since we missed the movie time, we went back to our stormfront beachfront hotel, which had a fireplace in it and played some Trivial Pursuit.

On Saturday, we drove up into the wine country. The clouds held off till about 2pm, so we had some beautiful views. This picture is of one of the Bridlewood Vineyard where Dave enjoyed himself a sip, or two (and I enjoyed a cracker, or two!).

Then Saturday afternoon Dave did some napping while I did some shopping in the overpriced Santa Barbara shopping lanes. I went into one jewelry store, and felt like I walked back in time 20 years! Take a peek at these earrings...did you have a pair (or 6) like me?

The weather turned really sour on Saturday night and through Sunday (as evidenced below). About 30 seconds after we took this shot on Stearns Wharf the heavens opened up and poured down crazy rain. We got into the car and headed home - not even waiting around for lunch!

All in all, I'm glad we went. Maybe we'll get to go back. On a sunny day.

This Body Ain't My Own (23 weeks)

Didja see the ticker? 23 weeks today! Gosh. 5 months along. Gosh.

While I feel very pregnant, I meet people all the time who say that I don't look pregnant. I am definitely into maternity bottoms, but can get away with regular tops if they are long enough. It's funny. If I'm wearing a regular (loose, blousy) top, I don't "look" pregnant, but if I'm wearing a maternity top, I look like I'm trying to look pregnant...if that makes sense. :o)

The Yipper has also been moving quite a bit. She has been since before Christmas, but since it didn't feel like other people had said it would, I kinda thought "Well, it's early, and it's probably just gas..." :o) But I asked my doc, and she said "Yup, that's the baby kicking." So, it's official. I'm going to birth a future Rockette. Or a synchronized swimmer. One of the two. Seriously. I think she's already choreographing her first routine in there! Roll, kick, kick. Turn, kick, kick. Wiggle butt, kick, kick. But can you blame her? I would be going CCCCCCCCRRRRAAAAZZZEEEEEE if I was cooped up inside a balloon for 9 months with nary a book or sudoku (or laptop!) and a very-off-key Mama singing to me all the time! So, dance away, BabyCakes!

We read the Bible to her every night, and she's usually pretty active when we're doing that. I don't know if it's just that she's awake that time of night, or if she's really responding to the sound of Dave's or my voice. And during the day I try to talk to her - when I remember! You know, I've always been one to carry on conversations with myself, but usually just in my own head...not usually out loud...so I have to make a conscious effort to talk out loud to her during the day. Even if it's just telling her what the ingredients are in dinner, or talking through Sudoku. ("Ooh, there's a 9. Dang, no more 4s. Huh. What next?")

Cravings? Still not so much. Still mostly anti-cravings. I can now eat chocolate, but only a bite or two (think one Tootsie Roll Midgie). I don't like pickles any more than I used to (I've always liked them), but I don't eat them with oatmeal for breakfast or anything! I guess I eat a lot of protein - beans, meat, nuts, cheese, eggs. I have to think to eat veggies or fruit (I know I need the fiber!). And I still don't really care for sweets. I mean, I can eat a cookie, sure, who can't? But I don't want a bag, or even a handful. Just one. And I'm still struggling to drink enough water. At least since the nausea/vomiting stopped, I can drink Gatorade and juices again. That helps me get my RDA of liquid. And I don't know about weight gain. I think my scale is broken because it doesn't show much weight gain, but when I go to the doctor's I have gained enough. (Maybe I just subconsciously wore heavy shoes that day?)

And, now, for GROWTH (cuz I know that's why you really came here today!). I really feel like I've popped. I know there's a whole lotta poppin' gonna be happening in the next 4 months, but this is all new to me! Lately, after I eat, I feel SO BIG! I feel like my stomach is SO stretched out and I think "How can it possibly stretch even further than it already is?!?!?" And I think about my poor little skin cells, doing everything they can to not split wide open! It seems that I've grown an inch at my belly button and an inch at my lower belly since I last posted pictures. But I swear I look bigger!

The Side

The Frontal

Belly button Measures (almost)34"

Lower belly measures 36"

That's me. That's my growth. There's not much else (I think?) to report. Have a great week!

You Know You Want One Too!

I didn't want to do it.

I didn't want to need one.

I didn't want to want one.

But then I saw It.

You'd want It, too.

See, in my Master Plan of Pregnancy, I planned to go from petite to grande during the warmer spring months. (Meaning that I wouldn't have to spend money on big clothing items like heavy sweaters and coats).

But I found out this weekend that, even though I live where it's sunny and warm most of the time, it still gets chilly enough at night for me to want to be wearing a jacket of some kind. And all my favorite jackets are shrinking. :-(

And then, like a sign, while shopping at Tarjai Boutique yesterday, I saw It. If I remember correctly, there was a faint sound of angels singing, and a gentle light shining down from above illuminating It. It is new, I've not seen It before in any of the Tarjai's I frequent. It is laaahvely.

I don't generally like spending "whole" money on clothes (or anything, really!) I much prefer to buy clothes on sale or clearance. It makes me feel jolly inside. (You know you feel jolly, too, when you score a bargain!) But, Tarjai Boutique has been stingy with their maternity clothes sales of late, and so I had to decide if I wanted to buy It at regular price now (sigh), or wait, hoping that they put It on sale soon, and that the one left in my size will still be available when It goes on sale. That, my friends, was a risk I was unwilling to take. But I still didn't want to spend whole money on It, lovely as It is.

Enter le gift card. I've been hoarding a gift card to Tarjai Boutique since Christmas...and I decided that NOW was the time to execute, carpe diem (or, rather, carpe tunica) and Buy Buy Buy!

la tunica

It's got teeny white polky-dots, and big buttons, and it should grow with me, and it's light-weight enough for California, and I felt all trendy and hip wearing it!

Thanks, Mom!

Throwback Thursday

Ah, good times, eh?

I was in 2nd grade, on the Youth Athletic League (YAL) soccer team, and this is my individual shot.

I look happy, no? Tra-lala-lala.

In the group shot, my hair was covering my face...and I had a smile. Somehow (Mom?) between the group shot and the individual shot, my hair went away from my face...along with my smile.

But I am diggin' the white shorts, and howzabout them white-with-purple-stripes tube socks? Man, I was a Matchy Mel even then.

Happy Thursday!

Other Throwback Thursday contributions can be found here...

Babies & Daddies

Oh my goodness, I hope this works! I've never posted from YouTube before. Get ready to laugh till it hurts!

I found this over on Queen of the Dirty Laundry.


(it's called Babies & Daddies if you want to find it)

My faves:
1. The Fart.
2. What the dads do with extra diapers.
3. The Waterhose.

TOO stinkin' funny! (literally, and figuratively!)

Enjoy!

I Got Lost On The Way To My Hot Dog

I'm sure I'm not the only one.

You other moms and moms-to-be out there must be able to commiserate. I admit that I've always been clumsy, and forgetful, and naïve, and scatter-brained (basically, A Blonde)...but never like this! Honestly. It's been a really long time since I've felt this stupid, in general. And by stupid, I mean completely lacking in brain cells. Not even two to rub together. And today isn't the first time.

It all started, well, okay...it all got worse about 4 months ago when the little stick turned blue. It was at that exact moment that all rational thought and comprehensible thinking went out the window. I used to consider myself a fairly intelligent human being with the capacity to learn just about anything. And remember lots of things.

Like that I was in the middle of making lunch.

When I decided to clean out my purse.

And update my calendar with appointments.

And file the coupons I clipped from yesterday's paper.

And take out the recycling.

And clean the kitchen....

....when I found a pot of boiling water on the stove...

and then I remembered that I was making lunch! (which is the story of how I got lost on the way to my hot dog).

Now that I'm pregnant I spend most of my time feeling so stupid!

I know you well-seasoned moms out there are saying "Pshaw. Get used to it, child. Once that stick turned blue, you not only lost all your brain cells, but you lost all your credibility, too! You will be 'stupid' until your child has a child...and then you will become the smartest person on Earth, an overnight guru on everything from crock-pot dinners to kool-aid stains. It is the cycle of life, dear."

Pickity Pickity Pick Pick Pick

I'm going to reveal something about my character to you. Open and honest with Bloggie World, here. Something that might surprise some of you. (most of you probably won't even care!)

Here goes: I am not a good eater. I never have been. I'm one that "eats to live" vs those that "live to eat."

Don't worry...I don't have any eating disorders, I don't have body image issues, I don't think I need to lose any weight. I yam whateye yam. And I've felt this way as long as I can remember.

I also have long-standing memories of being a seriously, award-winning picky eater. I'm sure my mom can attest to this. Like, I wasn't the kid who would only eat hot dogs and Jeno's Pizza Rolls - I like a variety (sorta) of food. And I prefer to eat healthy food to the alternative. In fact, before being pregnant, if I had to eat out more than 3 times in a row, I would actually get sick.

While pregnancy has changed a few of my eating habits, the pickiness is one thing that has not changed. I'm probably pickier now than ever before, if that's even possible!

I don't even especially like to cook. I know for some it is therapy, but for me, it is a means to an end. Poor Dave. He loves food. Thankfully for me, though, he's not a picky eater and will eat just about whatever I make for him - even if we had it just last week. :o) And I'm not especially brave in the kitchen. My brother got all the cooking genes when he was born, and there were just none left when I came along!

I'm telling you all this because I think I'm going to need some help. All the mommy books say that I need to have a stockpile of food in the freezer for when we bring the baby home. And while I'm hoping that between the neighbors and the church, we'll have enough food to last till 2009...I need to have some "sure-fire winners" on hand just in case.

SO...Bloggie World. Can you share with me good, easy, freezable recipes that are fairly idiot-proof and don't require many brain cells to prepare? You can either email them to me (my email address is in my profile), or you can post a link to it in the comments section.

I'm asking now because I'll need the time to try out the recipe and see if I like it. :o) (The baby is due in late May) It's also quite possible that I will be so tired-n-hungry-n-tired-n-overwhelmed-n-otherwise-occupied-n-tired when I come home from the hospital that I will be willing to eat cardboard covered with salsa! :o)

Anyways, thanks for the inputs! I'm looking forward to giving it the old college try!

Happy Delurker Day!

January 10th is (officially?) Delurker Day - for all the people who read other people's blogs and never comment...because comments are warm-fuzzies for us bloggers.

I know of about 5 people who read my blog regularly (thank you, by the way!), but I've had a bit of a rant in my brains for a while now about those who read blogs, and comment (or don't). It has to do with Lurking and Delurking.

I started this blog about a year ago, and would check the 3 blogs of people I knew. One day I realized that one of them had a "blogroll" (or a list of blogs s/he recommended), so I checked each of those blogs out, and found some really cool ones. And I checked those blogrolls, and found some more really cool blogs. What a great way to lose hours and hours, right? And I figured that since my blog was posted on the Internet, for all the world to see, everyone else realized that their blog was also posted on the Internet, for all the world to see...meaning that if the Blog Author did not make the blog private, s/he acknowledged that it was available for anyone with an Internet connection to view. Right? Right?? AND, not only that, but if the Blog Author decided not to moderate comments (meaning s/he has to approve each one before it is officially published), then s/he is making him/herself vulnerable to unsolicited comments left by unknown people.

So, one day, early on in my bloggy adventures, I was aimlessly wandering my way through one of the rabbit trails, and found a post that I wanted to comment to. Now, by this time, people (that I knew) had commented to my blog, and I had commented to their blogs, and other people's blogs, too. I thought commenting on blogs was, like, supposed to happen, right? Like, bloggers want people to comment to their blogs. Right? So, when I found the blog post I wanted to comment to, I went through the painless procedure of actually commenting on a blog authored by a person I did not know. It was innocuous, and encouraging, and simple, and related to the blog-at-hand, and I thought nothing more of it. I had even had conversations with other bloggers about lurkers that had posted comments to their sites...and they were equally impressed and surprised by the delurking.

Again, I didn't think anything of the fact that I had spontaneously delurked on an blog where I didn't know the author.

Until...

A couple of days later, I found a comment posted on my blog from that blogger. And it wasn't a very friendly one. It wasn't particularly nasty, it was just, basically, "Who are you and why the heck were you commenting on my blog?" I was hurt. I admit that I've always been a sensitive bird, but her snide comment really put me off commenting (and lurking) for quite a while. I feel like I missed out on a lot. :-(

What do you think?

I think I've matured in my blog exposure a bit in the last year, and while I know I've got more to learn, I think I understand lurking and delurking a lot better now, and I mostly think delurking is okay...as long as the comment is nice. But I have to admit that I'm still really really hesitant to delurk and post a comment on the blog of someone I don't know. But I L♥VE it when people I don't know leave me comments (as long as it's nice). Warm-fuzzies....mmmmmm.

So. That's my rant. My Delurking Day Rant. Maybe I'll have one for next year, too. You know, make it a tradition.

Anyone want to comment and tell me what you think about random comments from random people? Also, am I supposed to email back to everyone who comments on my blog?

Oh Mi GarschK!

Guesswhat.GuessWhat.GUESSWHAT!!!!

Yesterday (this is very exciting) (I realize that I live a pretty lame life).

So, yesterday, I was sitting in my doctor's office waiting for my appointment when the door opened, and a woman in a wheelchair came in. (that's not the exciting part, folks). She looked familiar to me, but I couldn't place her.

I thought - Have I seen her on TV? How?? Is she married to someone Dave works with? She looks familiar to me from when we lived in England, but how much of a co-inkidink would it be for me to see someone in my OB's office from England? No. I don't think I knew her well enough to recognize her from when we would go to the big base up north. Hmm...dunno. I'll go back to my magazine now.

Then a man (waiting for a different doctor) (duh), said "Oh, The House, right? That was SO COOL!" (I love being back in the US of A where people just randomly talk to you...or famous people).

So that made me remember that yes, not only did I remember her from TV, but I also remembered her from England...because that's where I saw her on TV! She's the one from this show. Which is totally cool because I love that show! Always have. Always will.

I mean, this is about as close to a semi-famous person I've ever been! (Well, that is, if you don't count the time in 1994 that my mom and I met Sammy Kershaw in the parking lot of our Motel 6 when his bus broke down or something.)

But she's WAY cooler, no? Like, she's a real person who got famous inadvertently. And she goes to MY doctor! How cool is that?

And the man came back out about 10 minutes later and started asking her a bunch of questions about what it was like to have them build you a new house in a week, and if they built it to her liking or if she had to just suffer with [snootchy] decorator stuff, and if she was really as surprised to see her house as they showed on TV, and about a thousand other questions. :o) Poor girl! But then the receptionist said "I bet you get that a lot, don't you?" And she said "Yeah, but it's okay because we've been so blessed by it all that it's worth it."

Aw. So sweet.

(by the way, the rest of my doctor's visit was wholeheartedly uneventful compared to this. I mean, yes, we've still got a whoosh-whoosh-whoosh heartbeat, and I've gained some weight...but kinda anti-climactic comparatively!)

What A Personality!

Today is my One Year Bloggiversary! Woo Hoo! And what a year, eh?

We had a trip to Italy, a trip to Greece, a few last-minute trips to the base 200 miles away, a few not-so-pleasant diagnoses in the family, an ominous ding-dong one day early, seeing the + symbol on the little blue stick, a transplanetary move, purchase of a new Prius, finding a new house, more nausea and exhaustion than I expected, more boxes than I expected, some really great visits with family over the holidays, and...just yesterday...a glimpse of The Yipper's personality.

Is it possible that I would have an opinionated child? Moi? A stubborn child? Eh? One who will be obstinate to get her way? Gosh, no! (Hah! Obstinate is defined as inflexible or unyielding. My yungun knows her vocabulary already!)

Thursday night I was dreaming the dream of a pre-pregnant woman...on my way through a precious "all-nighter" (in which one hopes to sleep all night long). I was sleeping on my back when I awoke sometime in the wee hours of the morn with the feeling that one of the cats was standing on my abdomen. It was a very acute feeling of pressure just to the right of my shrinking belly button. I moved my hand down to push said kitty away, only to find that there was no kitty pressing inward, but rather a big blob pressing her way outward! Based on the shape, and size, I think it was her head (my palm covered it completely)...I think a foot would have been a lot smaller? I didn't wake Dave to let him cop a feel - I know he appreciated it! But she was sure unyielding and inflexible. She wasn't gonna budge till I budged! I figured she didn't like me sleeping on my back, and wanted me to roll onto my side (maybe it gives her more room?).

Here's what I think she was thinking:
Hello out there. Hey! Yeah, you! Wake UP! Listen, I know you think you are more comfy sleeping on your back, but, uh, it's no longer about you and when you lay on your back, this little teacup I live in squashes downward and outward. Do you think you would like it if someone smooshed your bedroom and still expected you to be healthy and happy? Nope. Didn't think so. So howzabout you roll back over and unsquish mon petite boudoir. Thanks.

After a second on my side, the blob shifted, and refused to reappear. And hasn't made another appearance since...even while I slept on my back last night. :o) What a way to ruin Mama's all-nighter! Oh well, at least I know she's doing alright.

So, here's to another big year in bloggie world!

The Christmas Boots

I know it's a few days after Christmas, but as we're all putting away our decorations, and sending out the Thank You cards, I've been wondering if others have fun, special, different traditions than the norm. Dave and I have a special tradition for us, that doesn't make much sense to others, but it's ours, so who cares, right?! :o)

It all started 4 Christmases ago when we found ourselves transplanted to a different country with nary a Christmas decoration to be found amongst all the boxes. Dave didn't even start shopping until Christmas Eve, and sadly (for me?) learned that all the shops in England close on Christmas Eve at 3:00 pm. He'd started driving at about 12:00...so he was quite surprised, and his creativity was more severely challenged than normal. It was about that same time that I decided to start decorating for Christmas. And long about 1:00 that I discovered that all we had was one roll of wrapping paper, a gold-and-silver tree skirt, and one strand of (US plug) twinkle lights. Needless to say, my creativity was severely challenged as well! In a very strange decorating decision, the owners of the house we were renting had decided to paint the bricks on the fireplace wall metallic gold. Yes, your visual is correct. The entire wall, floor to ceiling was shiny gold. I had never really appreciated it until it became part of my Christmas decorations! I draped the tree skirt from the mantle, plugged the lights into a power-converting transformer, and draped them around the wall and mantle, and decorated the top of the mantle with the Christmas cards we had received. It isn't my proudest decorating moment, but sometimes you just gotta make do.

Dave finally made it home, and was pleasantly surprised by my decorating prowess. (hah!) I had already wrapped his gifts, and started a fire, so all that was left was for him to wrap his gifts for me. (with what was left of our one roll of paper!) I handed him the scissors and tape, and went into the kitchen to make dinner. After a while, he came in and asked about stockings.

Stockings! Right! Dang!

We discussed our options, and a pair of his gym socks were highest on the list. I didn't like that so much because, well, I knew they were clean, but gym socks are just not as voluminous as stockings are...and I was hoping for some good Stocking Stuffer Volume! :o) I suggested we just wrap the stocking stuffers up and put them on the floor with the other gifts. He didn't like that idea because he had so many, and doesn't like to wrap that much. Oh. Okay then. Well...what's left?

What's left? Well, a pair of Wellington boots, that's what! Some call them "swampers," or "wellies." They're just tall rain boots, but to us, they were The Answer! But I wasn't content to put them as-is under the fabulously decorated golden wall of Christmasness...so we each grabbed a boot, and wrapped each boot with wrapping paper! We went in later to fill the other's boot with the Boot Loot, as it were...and were both pleasantly surprised the next day.

Did I mention that Dave did all his shopping that year (ALL, I tell ya), at two different grocery stores? Yup. Sweet. Gotta love his forward planning! I think I got 3 umbrellas (it was England, after all), a toaster, and a George Foreman grill that I love-love-loved. Oh, and every kind of candy Tesco had left.

Needless to say, we both really liked the Christmas Boots idea, and it has been a fixture in our Christmases ever since. We had guests the next Christmas, and made them decorate their boots, too. Last year we spent Christmas in Stratford-Upon-Avon...and hauled our boots with us. This year, we were in Michigan, but didn't take our wellies along. We decided to use snow boots instead. :-( They are not nearly as voluminous as wellies, let me tell you! Both Dave and I were disappointed in the Boot Loot capacity of snow boots. Dave's dad offered his "swampers" (size 15...serious Boot Loot capacity, there!)...but that was late on Christmas morning after we had already attacked our Christmas boots for this year. Next year, we'll have to figure out a way to have the boots with us - wherever we are! And we'll have a boot for the baby, too. Something tells me we'll probably need a Size 15 boot for that all that Boot Loot! :o)

SO...now that you've read my long, and boring story about candy and toothbrushes in stinky boots...what's your homegrown Christmas tradition?

Our 2007 Boots:

Happy New Year!

Happy New View!

(somehow I've goobered up my other template. again. I'm obviously not the brightest lightbulb on the Christmas tree!)

Anywhoo...hope your 2008 is stupendous!