I hate making resolutions for the new year, because people (including myself) always make these promises that they’re going to do better and then as soon as they slip once, they say “forget it – I’m already screwed” and drop it altogether.
However, there are some things I would like to accomplish in 2007, all of which are long-term goals, not something I can really say “oops! Well, that didn’t work out!” and give up on.
1. Lose weight: everyone says this. But for me, it’s going to go along with some other things as well, which may or may not make it more possible.
2. Eat better: I know, this is another common one. But I’m trying to better prepared my body for…
3. Get pregnant: We’re planning to actively start trying in early 2007 and I need to be at my best, health-wise. I want to give my baby an extra help I can to make him or her a very healthy child.
4. Learn to be less picky about food. I eat vegetables, but they are often the same 3 or 4 each night. I like broccoli and green beans and nice salad of romaine, tomatoes, etc. I also like peppers if they’re cooked in things (Thai food, spaghetti sauce) and Mr Moose occasionally convinces me to eat asparagus. We also like to feast on spinach artichoke dip, which I have to insist has at least SOME nutritional value. I love potatoes and carbs, so I really need to learn to watch that.
5. Another cliché: Get more organized/be less messy. I actually think that one causes the other. So I’m vowing to improve my organization skills and be less messy in my car, around the house and at my desk at work.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Friday, December 29, 2006
Random Thoughts for Today
I work in an office with several women under the age of 40 - childbearing years. I realize that they aren't married, but it sort of surprises me that neither of them seem to be even remotely thinking about marriage and babies. It’s on my mind all the time.
My sister in law is trying to get pregnant. I’d love to talk to her about it, but I always feel like she thinks I’m an idiot. There is no way she’d take advice from me, even if I’ve put in the research hours. She doesn’t even want to start reading any of the books because she thinks she’ll start obsessing over it. Mr Moose says she doesn’t think I’m an idiot, but every time she talks to me about an experience (planning the wedding, the wedding night, etc.) she talks down to me as if she knows better than I do. (She’s older). I helped behind the scenes of 7 weddings before I was old enough to drink. I did a lot of work on my BF’s wedding, too and had been planning my wedding since my sister got married when I was 15. I’m the type of person who when a project or event comes up, I do all the research. I’m scouring websites and books, etc. When I had gynecological surgery this past summer, I did research for weeks on best and worst possible outcomes, what it would feel like, etc. I’ve already read one pregnancy book (I highly recommend to anyone thinking about, TTC or already pregnant The Girlfriend’s Guide To Pregnancy – even if you already know what you’re doing, it’s worth it just for the laughs.)
I have the most wonderful husband in the world. It’s his last day off and he went to Bath and Body Works to buy me a wallflower so that our sunroom (that we put the dogs in while we’re gone) won’t smell so bad. B&BW is having its semi-annual sale this week. He even called to see if I wanted anything else. Isn’t he sweet?
SIL and BIL leave tomorrow. I’m so exhausted from trying to keep up with the family (they are all night people, I am certainly not) that I’m almost relieved.
Saw the Night at the Museum movie last night – I thought it would be really dumb and cheesy (“it’s like searching for meaning in a Pauly Shore movie”), but it was actually really quite funny and amusing, etc. It also put history in a positive light and might hopefully encourage some kids to do a little more reading in history, etc. so that was good. Mr Moose is a major history buff (I like history, too, but not like he does), so he really enjoyed those aspects of the movie.
My sister in law is trying to get pregnant. I’d love to talk to her about it, but I always feel like she thinks I’m an idiot. There is no way she’d take advice from me, even if I’ve put in the research hours. She doesn’t even want to start reading any of the books because she thinks she’ll start obsessing over it. Mr Moose says she doesn’t think I’m an idiot, but every time she talks to me about an experience (planning the wedding, the wedding night, etc.) she talks down to me as if she knows better than I do. (She’s older). I helped behind the scenes of 7 weddings before I was old enough to drink. I did a lot of work on my BF’s wedding, too and had been planning my wedding since my sister got married when I was 15. I’m the type of person who when a project or event comes up, I do all the research. I’m scouring websites and books, etc. When I had gynecological surgery this past summer, I did research for weeks on best and worst possible outcomes, what it would feel like, etc. I’ve already read one pregnancy book (I highly recommend to anyone thinking about, TTC or already pregnant The Girlfriend’s Guide To Pregnancy – even if you already know what you’re doing, it’s worth it just for the laughs.)
I have the most wonderful husband in the world. It’s his last day off and he went to Bath and Body Works to buy me a wallflower so that our sunroom (that we put the dogs in while we’re gone) won’t smell so bad. B&BW is having its semi-annual sale this week. He even called to see if I wanted anything else. Isn’t he sweet?
SIL and BIL leave tomorrow. I’m so exhausted from trying to keep up with the family (they are all night people, I am certainly not) that I’m almost relieved.
Saw the Night at the Museum movie last night – I thought it would be really dumb and cheesy (“it’s like searching for meaning in a Pauly Shore movie”), but it was actually really quite funny and amusing, etc. It also put history in a positive light and might hopefully encourage some kids to do a little more reading in history, etc. so that was good. Mr Moose is a major history buff (I like history, too, but not like he does), so he really enjoyed those aspects of the movie.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
$$, Family and a messy kitchen
We really hit the jackpot for Christmas this year. With company holiday bonuses and family gifts, we got several hundred dollars to Home Depot (new floors!), Wal-mart cash, Target, Lowes, Publix (our local grocery store), and enough to buy me a basic sewing machine and Mr Moose a grill (I guess we’ll both get benefits from both of those, but I’ll do the majority of sewing, he’ll do the grilling, etc.). We’re trying to get the most out of each of these things and plan and be practical while also enjoying our small fortune.
Mr Moose picked up the grill yesterday while I was at work because the family were all coming by for burgers last night. I felt like I was being swarmed. They take forever to get there and then they just TAKE OVER. When I arrived home at 6-ish, my kitchen was clean. Mr Moose's Aunt and Uncle are staying with us, and his Aunt finished the few dishes that were left over from Christmas and she and Mr Moose cleared the counters, etc. Mr Moose had been very busy and the great room was more or less back in order, our new picture was in place on the wall over the couch, the grill was ready to go in the back and all was right with the world. By 8:00 this was not the case. By 8:00 there was no visible counter space in my kitchen, various bowls, mixers, knives and spoons were being employed to hold the veggie tray, multiple dips, etc. His family is obsessed with dips. Fruit dip, veggie dip, chip dip. I'm all for dips, but I'm more of the "buy the premade ones because they come with their very own nifty container" sort of girl. No bowls to scrape clean, no mixer wands to scrub. But they don't do it that way.
I went to bed at 10 after a mediocre burger and some high-in-onions (ewwwwww!) homemade potato salad. Too much chaos around me and I just wanted some peace. I dreamed about waking up to the chaotic kitchen and begging Mr Moose to get it cleaned up while I was at work. When he woke up this morning, I asked him how awful the kitchen looked. He said "spotless. They all pitched in and got it cleaned up last night." I was amazed. And relieved. I'm not a perfect housekeeper by any means, and we do sometimes for for a couple of days without cleaning the dishes, but that's 2 people, and a half dozen dishes, not my entire counter space and bowls of rejected dip, etc. I was thrilled to see a clean kitchen when I came out this morning.
Mr Moose picked up the grill yesterday while I was at work because the family were all coming by for burgers last night. I felt like I was being swarmed. They take forever to get there and then they just TAKE OVER. When I arrived home at 6-ish, my kitchen was clean. Mr Moose's Aunt and Uncle are staying with us, and his Aunt finished the few dishes that were left over from Christmas and she and Mr Moose cleared the counters, etc. Mr Moose had been very busy and the great room was more or less back in order, our new picture was in place on the wall over the couch, the grill was ready to go in the back and all was right with the world. By 8:00 this was not the case. By 8:00 there was no visible counter space in my kitchen, various bowls, mixers, knives and spoons were being employed to hold the veggie tray, multiple dips, etc. His family is obsessed with dips. Fruit dip, veggie dip, chip dip. I'm all for dips, but I'm more of the "buy the premade ones because they come with their very own nifty container" sort of girl. No bowls to scrape clean, no mixer wands to scrub. But they don't do it that way.
I went to bed at 10 after a mediocre burger and some high-in-onions (ewwwwww!) homemade potato salad. Too much chaos around me and I just wanted some peace. I dreamed about waking up to the chaotic kitchen and begging Mr Moose to get it cleaned up while I was at work. When he woke up this morning, I asked him how awful the kitchen looked. He said "spotless. They all pitched in and got it cleaned up last night." I was amazed. And relieved. I'm not a perfect housekeeper by any means, and we do sometimes for for a couple of days without cleaning the dishes, but that's 2 people, and a half dozen dishes, not my entire counter space and bowls of rejected dip, etc. I was thrilled to see a clean kitchen when I came out this morning.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Post-Christmas Post
Saturday and Sunday were spent getting ready for Christmas, with the brief interruption and disappointment from my negative test on Sunday morning.
Christmas Eve day we met Mr Moose’s sisters, BIL, and mom at Joto’s – our local pizza place (they have the best garlic breadsticks EVER) for lunch since we had minimal things left to do around the house. Mr Moose conned the waitress into letting him switch the TV to the Jaguars game instead of the Bucs game, and we enjoyed our greasy pizza. That evening, we shared our first Christmas Eve without projectile vomiting (last year, he contracted a 12-hour food bug and spent all of Christmas Eve night vomiting in the bathroom). We each opened a present (his was a book, mine was the previously alluded to VS lingerie) and we had a beautiful “adult” Christmas Eve celebration. Later, we drank egg nog and watched Miracle on 34th Street (Mr Moose’s first time). What was odd, however, was that we turned it on half way through the black and white version, so I had to catch him up during the commercials. But when that ended, the same station showed it in color, so we watched the first half in color until Mr Moose had seen the whole thing, albeit, in a strange manner.
Christmas morning, we woke up to our usual 6:25am alarm because we had forgotten to turn off the weekday alarm function on our alarm clock. That’s okay, I was ready to get up anyway. Sometimes I’m just like a little kid on Christmas morning. We opened our gifts to each other – I gave him a couple of books including The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie, one of his favorite actors. His main present was the DVD, director’s cut of 1776 – an amusing musical version of the events surrounding the Declaration of Independence. Incidentally, John Adams in the movie later became the second president of the United States, a talking car, a 6th grade history teacher turned high school principal, etc. (You can find out what I’m talking about here). He gave me a beautiful pair of sapphire earrings (he went to Jared’s), a bottle of Burberry Brit perfume and a couple of books I’ve been wanting.
We stuffed the turkey (named Gilbert the Gobbler) and started that and continued our day-of prep. We ended up having more down time in the AM than I had expected until people showed up. I’m going to try and post some pictures of the tables all set up later if I can get Mr Moose to unload them from the camera).
Once everyone showed up, it all went fairly well. There was some mild chaos surrounding the gravy my Gramma was making (she thought we wouldn’t have enough, there was WAY too much in the end), mashed potatoes (mom forgot the milk and we only had a bit of half’n’1/2 left), etc. But the turkey was good (our first one) and I think everyone had enough to eat and was happy and satisfied. My stomach even behaved itself for the day, which was amazing and I was a bit worried about for awhile, seeing as we have only one bathroom. I think my dad got a bit bored at the end, but he probably wanted to take a nap and there was no room for that at my house, so he left shortly after presents were handed out and opened. Mr Moose got a Cappucino and esspresso maker from my Gramma, so he’s thrilled. My mother bought me some great Gilmore Girl’s coffee mugs, including one that says “People are entirely too stupid today, I cannot talk to anymore of them,” one of my favorite Gilmore-isms from the very first episode. She also gave me some fantastic earrings which I love and a whole lot of other stuff as well. We thank you Mom and *Doc*, Gramma W, Grandma V, Daddy, Mom C, L&L, J and LP, and Norma for the fantastic Christmas and all the wonderful presents.
Christmas Eve day we met Mr Moose’s sisters, BIL, and mom at Joto’s – our local pizza place (they have the best garlic breadsticks EVER) for lunch since we had minimal things left to do around the house. Mr Moose conned the waitress into letting him switch the TV to the Jaguars game instead of the Bucs game, and we enjoyed our greasy pizza. That evening, we shared our first Christmas Eve without projectile vomiting (last year, he contracted a 12-hour food bug and spent all of Christmas Eve night vomiting in the bathroom). We each opened a present (his was a book, mine was the previously alluded to VS lingerie) and we had a beautiful “adult” Christmas Eve celebration. Later, we drank egg nog and watched Miracle on 34th Street (Mr Moose’s first time). What was odd, however, was that we turned it on half way through the black and white version, so I had to catch him up during the commercials. But when that ended, the same station showed it in color, so we watched the first half in color until Mr Moose had seen the whole thing, albeit, in a strange manner.
Christmas morning, we woke up to our usual 6:25am alarm because we had forgotten to turn off the weekday alarm function on our alarm clock. That’s okay, I was ready to get up anyway. Sometimes I’m just like a little kid on Christmas morning. We opened our gifts to each other – I gave him a couple of books including The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie, one of his favorite actors. His main present was the DVD, director’s cut of 1776 – an amusing musical version of the events surrounding the Declaration of Independence. Incidentally, John Adams in the movie later became the second president of the United States, a talking car, a 6th grade history teacher turned high school principal, etc. (You can find out what I’m talking about here). He gave me a beautiful pair of sapphire earrings (he went to Jared’s), a bottle of Burberry Brit perfume and a couple of books I’ve been wanting.
We stuffed the turkey (named Gilbert the Gobbler) and started that and continued our day-of prep. We ended up having more down time in the AM than I had expected until people showed up. I’m going to try and post some pictures of the tables all set up later if I can get Mr Moose to unload them from the camera).
Once everyone showed up, it all went fairly well. There was some mild chaos surrounding the gravy my Gramma was making (she thought we wouldn’t have enough, there was WAY too much in the end), mashed potatoes (mom forgot the milk and we only had a bit of half’n’1/2 left), etc. But the turkey was good (our first one) and I think everyone had enough to eat and was happy and satisfied. My stomach even behaved itself for the day, which was amazing and I was a bit worried about for awhile, seeing as we have only one bathroom. I think my dad got a bit bored at the end, but he probably wanted to take a nap and there was no room for that at my house, so he left shortly after presents were handed out and opened. Mr Moose got a Cappucino and esspresso maker from my Gramma, so he’s thrilled. My mother bought me some great Gilmore Girl’s coffee mugs, including one that says “People are entirely too stupid today, I cannot talk to anymore of them,” one of my favorite Gilmore-isms from the very first episode. She also gave me some fantastic earrings which I love and a whole lot of other stuff as well. We thank you Mom and *Doc*, Gramma W, Grandma V, Daddy, Mom C, L&L, J and LP, and Norma for the fantastic Christmas and all the wonderful presents.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Throwing out the bathwater
I retested today, 10 days after my period was due. It was funny, for the last 2 days I haven't felt "pregnant" but this morning I woke up at 5:30am praying, begging to be pregnant. I was totally fine either way up until that point. I took the test and then took my temp while I was waiting for the results. My temp came up at half a degree higher than usual, which I thought was weird, since I shouldn't have ovulated yet. It's possible that with all the moving around getting ready to test that I raised it a bit, I suppose. But with the higher temp and a new brand of test, for a split second, I thought I was pregnant. Then I looked at the instructions for the test and discovered it was a negative. It's even possible that I ovulated at that is the reason for the higher temp. Who knows at this point? Mr Moose was great and reminded me that weren't actually trying yet, it was just weird timing this month. I fell into a funk for awhile, but I'm better now.
My OB/GYN told me there was only a 20% chance each month of getting pregnant. That seems weird to me. I thought that if we timed it right, it would be more likely to happen sooner. I sort of feel like a failure, but since we weren't techinally trying, did I really fail?
I guess I'm just terrified of being infertile. My parents tried for 4 years to have me and then got pregnant a few years later and lost the baby (either miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy, I'm not sure which.)They never had another child. Mr Moose wants 3 or 4 (I'm hoping for 2 or 3, but will settle for one if necessary). What happens if I can't conceive?
We're getting the house ready for the invasion of the family tomorrow. We were up to 18, but lost 4 and gained 2. My in-laws are coming, my mom and step-dad and his 3 sons, my dad, my Gramma and her friend, etc. Lots of people. I'm already nervous.
I'm not back to work until Wednesday, so who knows if I'll get back on to post more info. If I don't and anyone is reading this - Merry Christmas!
My OB/GYN told me there was only a 20% chance each month of getting pregnant. That seems weird to me. I thought that if we timed it right, it would be more likely to happen sooner. I sort of feel like a failure, but since we weren't techinally trying, did I really fail?
I guess I'm just terrified of being infertile. My parents tried for 4 years to have me and then got pregnant a few years later and lost the baby (either miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy, I'm not sure which.)They never had another child. Mr Moose wants 3 or 4 (I'm hoping for 2 or 3, but will settle for one if necessary). What happens if I can't conceive?
We're getting the house ready for the invasion of the family tomorrow. We were up to 18, but lost 4 and gained 2. My in-laws are coming, my mom and step-dad and his 3 sons, my dad, my Gramma and her friend, etc. Lots of people. I'm already nervous.
I'm not back to work until Wednesday, so who knows if I'll get back on to post more info. If I don't and anyone is reading this - Merry Christmas!
Friday, December 22, 2006
A most boring day at work
We had to work a full day at the office today because we had a big proposal to get out that HAD to be done TODAY. Both bosses took the day off, so it was just us underlings. We worked and worked on finishing up the proposal, with almost no one getting any work done except those helping to package and stuff and collate, finally finishing around 4:00. What a boring and useless day. And I had to use $20 of the Agency¹s money to buy a BOX. A freaking cardboard box that cost TWENTY DOLLARS. UPS is a rip off in that department. Whatever. Mr Moose got to get off at 12 and is supposed to have spent the afternoon doing useful things like errands, cleaning, buying some surprise present for me, which I suspect is from Victoria¹s Secret and picking up the dogs from getting their holiday haircuts.
Have I mentioned my dogs yet?
We both came into the marriage with a dog. Mr Moose has Buck (short for Starbuck, the literary character, not the coffee company), a black mostly-cocker spaniel (with a little hound, we think. We refer to him as a Spound) who is rolly polly, always hungry and always in the mood for pets and snuggles and general attention. He¹s very good natured unless you come near his food. My dog, Murphy (called Murphy the Moo or just ³Moo²) is a tri-color Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He¹s a cutie. He¹s become
more sociable of late, which is good because he used to be shy and hate men.
Neither of them were meant to be apartment dogs because they love to run and bark, so the year we lived in the apartment was bad. They love the big backyard.
Ooh, we just talked the ranking member of the office into letting us out
early. Merry Christmas everyone!
Have I mentioned my dogs yet?
We both came into the marriage with a dog. Mr Moose has Buck (short for Starbuck, the literary character, not the coffee company), a black mostly-cocker spaniel (with a little hound, we think. We refer to him as a Spound) who is rolly polly, always hungry and always in the mood for pets and snuggles and general attention. He¹s very good natured unless you come near his food. My dog, Murphy (called Murphy the Moo or just ³Moo²) is a tri-color Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He¹s a cutie. He¹s become
more sociable of late, which is good because he used to be shy and hate men.
Neither of them were meant to be apartment dogs because they love to run and bark, so the year we lived in the apartment was bad. They love the big backyard.
Ooh, we just talked the ranking member of the office into letting us out
early. Merry Christmas everyone!
Thursday, December 21, 2006
"I've loved another with all my heart..."
My favorite book is The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. I’m totally addicted to it and I cry every time I read it. It is the most beautiful and poignant love story and I never tire of reading it. There is a quote in the first “chapter” that Mr Moose had engraved on a journal for me for our wedding.
“I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul and to me, this has always been enough.”
I haven’t written in that journal yet because I’m afraid to mess it up. I want to write our love story in it, the way the character in the book wrote theirs, but I don’t know how to begin it. I hope he doesn’t think I don’t love it, because I do.
Sometimes I feel like Mr Moose and I are the most special couple in the world. I look around at other couples (I won’t mention who here, but there are several) and I think “are we so different that we have something so incredibly special between us?” We are best friends. Have been for years. Even back when we were 16 and I gave him his first kiss (or did he take it? Don’t know) we were best friends before we were anything else. And now we are still best friends, though I use that title for my girlfriend, K. We are best friends, lovers, roommates and all of that together rolled into one is how I define “husband and wife.” But not everyone has that complete combo. I know several people who would not consider their husbands (or their wives) their best friends.
Still no word on whether or not we have a baby coming… Mr Moose was ready to test again last night, but my “What To Expect” book said that while most tests say they CAN detect the Hcg hormone level 4 days before your period, that it’s more accurate 1-2 weeks after. We’re going to do it Sunday morning, which is 10 days after my period was due. I looked up more on implantation bleeding and I’m still not convinced that what I had was or was not implantation bleeding. I truly have no idea. Of course, their description at Baby Center was pretty vague, but I guess it’s different for everyone. Depending on the outcome, I may still have to wait another 2 weeks or so to find out for sure. I’m due again January 11th.
“I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul and to me, this has always been enough.”
I haven’t written in that journal yet because I’m afraid to mess it up. I want to write our love story in it, the way the character in the book wrote theirs, but I don’t know how to begin it. I hope he doesn’t think I don’t love it, because I do.
Sometimes I feel like Mr Moose and I are the most special couple in the world. I look around at other couples (I won’t mention who here, but there are several) and I think “are we so different that we have something so incredibly special between us?” We are best friends. Have been for years. Even back when we were 16 and I gave him his first kiss (or did he take it? Don’t know) we were best friends before we were anything else. And now we are still best friends, though I use that title for my girlfriend, K. We are best friends, lovers, roommates and all of that together rolled into one is how I define “husband and wife.” But not everyone has that complete combo. I know several people who would not consider their husbands (or their wives) their best friends.
Still no word on whether or not we have a baby coming… Mr Moose was ready to test again last night, but my “What To Expect” book said that while most tests say they CAN detect the Hcg hormone level 4 days before your period, that it’s more accurate 1-2 weeks after. We’re going to do it Sunday morning, which is 10 days after my period was due. I looked up more on implantation bleeding and I’m still not convinced that what I had was or was not implantation bleeding. I truly have no idea. Of course, their description at Baby Center was pretty vague, but I guess it’s different for everyone. Depending on the outcome, I may still have to wait another 2 weeks or so to find out for sure. I’m due again January 11th.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Happy B-day, Mia!
Happy birthday to my niece M who turns one year old today before I've even met her. I look forward to knowing you for a long time in the future, little M!
I have the day after Christmas off next week. Originally, my husband had to work, so I was trying to figure out what I was going to do for the day to recover from having 18 people in my house for Christmas. The only person I knew of that wouldn’t be working was my BF. As we don’t get to see each other very often these days, I was looking forward to spending some time with her.
Then, it worked out that my husband was going to get most of the day off. This was, of course fine with me, because I love him and we could spend some time together relaxing and doing something fun.
And now, all my in-laws have the day off. I can guarantee that we’ll be spending the last half of the day with his family including taking family pictures and having dinner with his great-aunt and uncle. I’m over it. Really. So much for my day off.
On the pregnancy note:
I had almost convinced myself that I didn’t need to know if I was pregnant until my next period is due in about 3 weeks. But I just think that it would be SO perfect to tell everyone at the same time at Christmas that we were expecting, so if we are, I REALLY want to know before then. We’re going to test again over the weekend before Christmas. I’m still trying to eat well and I’m not drinking and I am taking the prescription strength prenatal vitamins, so all is well. I’m not obsessing as much as I was last time, so I can’t tell if that means my intuition is positive or negative. Who knows? Truly I bounce back and forth from moment to moment about whether or not I think I am. I’m okay if I am, I’m okay if I’m not. The last time even though it really wasn’t planned, I was really psyched about the idea and was really bummed that I wasn’t (of course, the fact that I had kidney stones at the time helped take my mind off of it).
I have the day after Christmas off next week. Originally, my husband had to work, so I was trying to figure out what I was going to do for the day to recover from having 18 people in my house for Christmas. The only person I knew of that wouldn’t be working was my BF. As we don’t get to see each other very often these days, I was looking forward to spending some time with her.
Then, it worked out that my husband was going to get most of the day off. This was, of course fine with me, because I love him and we could spend some time together relaxing and doing something fun.
And now, all my in-laws have the day off. I can guarantee that we’ll be spending the last half of the day with his family including taking family pictures and having dinner with his great-aunt and uncle. I’m over it. Really. So much for my day off.
On the pregnancy note:
I had almost convinced myself that I didn’t need to know if I was pregnant until my next period is due in about 3 weeks. But I just think that it would be SO perfect to tell everyone at the same time at Christmas that we were expecting, so if we are, I REALLY want to know before then. We’re going to test again over the weekend before Christmas. I’m still trying to eat well and I’m not drinking and I am taking the prescription strength prenatal vitamins, so all is well. I’m not obsessing as much as I was last time, so I can’t tell if that means my intuition is positive or negative. Who knows? Truly I bounce back and forth from moment to moment about whether or not I think I am. I’m okay if I am, I’m okay if I’m not. The last time even though it really wasn’t planned, I was really psyched about the idea and was really bummed that I wasn’t (of course, the fact that I had kidney stones at the time helped take my mind off of it).
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Advice my sister gave me
My sister recently gave me some advice:
Have in-law or family troubles? Move to Sweden! You never have to deal with them, and on the rare occasions that you do, you actually want o!
Have stress? Take a walk and SING. Somehow, music makes everything better.
To some, the above ideas are silly and random. However, my sister and her husband and their 3 children are missionaries in Sweden (the way to avoid her in-laws, tick them off and also do the world some good while giving their children an awesome experience). Also, in my family music seems to be therapeutic. I’m not much in to walking, but I do love to put on some music in the car and belt it out when I’m stressed. So I can totally see her point.
A note about my sister:
We are not at all biologically related; instead we chose each other and are sisters of the heart. (There was a great quote about that on Grey’s Anatomy the other week where Meredith talked about Cristina being her sister, but I accidentally dumped it from Tivo before writing it down, so now I have to wait for the rerun of that episode or try and find it on IMDb). However, I think of my sister as one of the world’s greatest people. She is sweet and kind, talented and funny, caring and compassionate and incredibly beautiful. People like to be around her, even after only briefly meeting her. She’s just a wonderful person overall. Not to say that she doesn’t have her faults, it’s just that they are few and far between most of the time and I really can’t think of any at the moment. (Obviously, we didn’t grow up n the same household). She has 3 children, ages 6.5, 4 and 1 (well, she’ll be 1 year old tomorrow). I adore them. Her oldest was the first baby I fell in love with. Made me KNOW without a doubt that I wanted children of my own. Everyone thinks they are mine when we are together because the boys have red hair, as do I and my sister is blonde and my BIL is brunette.
Today I started on some of the responsibilities that will come with my new promotion (if it ever appears). I'm supposed to be being promoted to Agency Coordinator after the first of the year. So, today at the pushing of the boss, I began helping out in the billing department which is one of 4 departments that I will be assisting in my new job. This is all well and good because I LOVE our bookkeeper, S who I am to assist in this regard. However, i am increasingly concerned that this new position is merely a carrot on a stick and my current responsibilities will remain and the new responsibilities will merely be added to the 6 job titles (yes, 6) I already have. I was hired to be a combination receptionist/assistant to the President (he dictates, i type, etc.). That grew into HR, Office manager (what it says on my business cards), Level 1 IT Support and Media Assistant. They like to keep me hopping.
Have in-law or family troubles? Move to Sweden! You never have to deal with them, and on the rare occasions that you do, you actually want o!
Have stress? Take a walk and SING. Somehow, music makes everything better.
To some, the above ideas are silly and random. However, my sister and her husband and their 3 children are missionaries in Sweden (the way to avoid her in-laws, tick them off and also do the world some good while giving their children an awesome experience). Also, in my family music seems to be therapeutic. I’m not much in to walking, but I do love to put on some music in the car and belt it out when I’m stressed. So I can totally see her point.
A note about my sister:
We are not at all biologically related; instead we chose each other and are sisters of the heart. (There was a great quote about that on Grey’s Anatomy the other week where Meredith talked about Cristina being her sister, but I accidentally dumped it from Tivo before writing it down, so now I have to wait for the rerun of that episode or try and find it on IMDb). However, I think of my sister as one of the world’s greatest people. She is sweet and kind, talented and funny, caring and compassionate and incredibly beautiful. People like to be around her, even after only briefly meeting her. She’s just a wonderful person overall. Not to say that she doesn’t have her faults, it’s just that they are few and far between most of the time and I really can’t think of any at the moment. (Obviously, we didn’t grow up n the same household). She has 3 children, ages 6.5, 4 and 1 (well, she’ll be 1 year old tomorrow). I adore them. Her oldest was the first baby I fell in love with. Made me KNOW without a doubt that I wanted children of my own. Everyone thinks they are mine when we are together because the boys have red hair, as do I and my sister is blonde and my BIL is brunette.
Today I started on some of the responsibilities that will come with my new promotion (if it ever appears). I'm supposed to be being promoted to Agency Coordinator after the first of the year. So, today at the pushing of the boss, I began helping out in the billing department which is one of 4 departments that I will be assisting in my new job. This is all well and good because I LOVE our bookkeeper, S who I am to assist in this regard. However, i am increasingly concerned that this new position is merely a carrot on a stick and my current responsibilities will remain and the new responsibilities will merely be added to the 6 job titles (yes, 6) I already have. I was hired to be a combination receptionist/assistant to the President (he dictates, i type, etc.). That grew into HR, Office manager (what it says on my business cards), Level 1 IT Support and Media Assistant. They like to keep me hopping.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Weekend Craziness
I haven’t blogged in a few days because I’ve been very busy.
Thursday – I don’t remember Thursday that well. I got my period and declared myself not pregnant. Beyond that, I don’t have a clue what I did.
Friday was my office Christmas party. After dealing with the stress of the morning trying to finish up the details while my boss slowly worked to drive me crazy, it was a good lunch event. I gave a shirt to our copywriter, my buddy S that says “Bad grammar makes me (sic)” and I got a great “New Home 2006” ornament from my friend S, our bookkeeper in our gift exchange. The Agency gift I scored was this really cool picnic kit. I had had my eye on it, so I was pretty excited when they pulled my name for it. They let us go home after lunch at about 2:00. S and I were both supremely glad to be out and escaped pretty much as soon as we could. I spent the rest of the afternoon doing some Christmas shopping (mom) and wrapping (mom and Mr Moose). However, my period stopped. I had no flow on Friday. Very strange.
Over the weekend, Mr Moose was planning to work on painting the roof with sealant and I was going to do round 2 of Christmas baking. I’ve really been slacking off since the 2 weekends I would have usually done my baking we were out of town (Thanksgiving and last weekend). However, we ended up running errands and finishing our Christmas shopping instead. Mom and Dad are both done, Mr Moose’s sock is full to over flowing, my Gramma (not a spelling error. That’s what I call her, so that’s how I spell it) is done, *Doc* (my stepdad) is done. His mom and sister are done and his BIL is done (we did a sibling gift exchange. He had to buy for one sister and I had to buy for BIL). I guess that’s it. We sent a Popcorn Factory basket to his old work and his friends there. I had the tiniest bit of spotting during the weekend, but almost not enough to count.
I’ve been nauseous on an almost daily basis. I’m starting to wonder if I might be pregnant. I took an HPT on Saturday and it was negative. But I have some of the possible pregnant symptoms, so who knows? I’m going to wait a little longer to test again, I think. We shall see. One of the other early pregnancy symptoms is heartburn and I’ve been having a lot of unexplained heartburn lately. Yuck. I hate heartburn. I was starting to think that really this mild nausea isn’t so bad and I could handle it if that was going to be my morning sickness, but then I started to whine inwardly “If I’m going to feel like this, I wish I would just throw up and get it over with.” Maybe daily nausea is just as bad as vomiting. WebMD seems to think there is a possibility that I am pregnant based on the check list of symptoms. The rest of the internet is useless. I search for “light period” and I get a bunch of women asking about light periods, but no answers.
Thursday – I don’t remember Thursday that well. I got my period and declared myself not pregnant. Beyond that, I don’t have a clue what I did.
Friday was my office Christmas party. After dealing with the stress of the morning trying to finish up the details while my boss slowly worked to drive me crazy, it was a good lunch event. I gave a shirt to our copywriter, my buddy S that says “Bad grammar makes me (sic)” and I got a great “New Home 2006” ornament from my friend S, our bookkeeper in our gift exchange. The Agency gift I scored was this really cool picnic kit. I had had my eye on it, so I was pretty excited when they pulled my name for it. They let us go home after lunch at about 2:00. S and I were both supremely glad to be out and escaped pretty much as soon as we could. I spent the rest of the afternoon doing some Christmas shopping (mom) and wrapping (mom and Mr Moose). However, my period stopped. I had no flow on Friday. Very strange.
Over the weekend, Mr Moose was planning to work on painting the roof with sealant and I was going to do round 2 of Christmas baking. I’ve really been slacking off since the 2 weekends I would have usually done my baking we were out of town (Thanksgiving and last weekend). However, we ended up running errands and finishing our Christmas shopping instead. Mom and Dad are both done, Mr Moose’s sock is full to over flowing, my Gramma (not a spelling error. That’s what I call her, so that’s how I spell it) is done, *Doc* (my stepdad) is done. His mom and sister are done and his BIL is done (we did a sibling gift exchange. He had to buy for one sister and I had to buy for BIL). I guess that’s it. We sent a Popcorn Factory basket to his old work and his friends there. I had the tiniest bit of spotting during the weekend, but almost not enough to count.
I’ve been nauseous on an almost daily basis. I’m starting to wonder if I might be pregnant. I took an HPT on Saturday and it was negative. But I have some of the possible pregnant symptoms, so who knows? I’m going to wait a little longer to test again, I think. We shall see. One of the other early pregnancy symptoms is heartburn and I’ve been having a lot of unexplained heartburn lately. Yuck. I hate heartburn. I was starting to think that really this mild nausea isn’t so bad and I could handle it if that was going to be my morning sickness, but then I started to whine inwardly “If I’m going to feel like this, I wish I would just throw up and get it over with.” Maybe daily nausea is just as bad as vomiting. WebMD seems to think there is a possibility that I am pregnant based on the check list of symptoms. The rest of the internet is useless. I search for “light period” and I get a bunch of women asking about light periods, but no answers.
Title
I’ve been meaning to explain about the title of my blog. “Take the Deviled Eggs” was the title of an episode of Gilmore Girls, my favorite TV show in its 3rd season. That episode had some great quotes, including my favorite opening sequence entitled “Squeegie Beckenheim”. It also includes “green is the new pink” and “someone deviled egged my car”. If you’ve seen Gilmore Girls, you’ll understand what I’m talking about. If you haven’t – you should. My mother and I get together every Tuesday night for pizza and margaritas and we watch Gilmore Girls. Before we were married, it was Girls Night. No boys allowed. The one exception was my nephew when my sister was still living in the states and would join us. C (at the time, age 10 mos to 2 years) was the only boy allowed. Now that both mom and I are married (in her case again) we have “Family Night” and our husbands are allowed to join or not, at their will. Now that I have a house, mom has been more willing to come over and let us host. She almost never came over to our apartment.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Desires of the heart
It's funny. There is really, truly, only one thing I want for Christmas - a baby. Not that other gifts wouldn't be nice. I'm hoping for some good books, a couple of movies that I've been looking for, possibly a sewing machine, a grill, etc., but all I really want is a baby. Or, more practically, to be pregnant.
There are problems with that, too of course. The fact that i had more drinks in the last couple of weeks than would be remotely safe for a pregnant woman comes to mind. The fact that if I were pregant right now, that would put me due at the end of August, the end of a very hot summer which I'm sure would be AWFUL. But still, I really want a baby.
Mr Moose isn't quite ready. I know this. We've talked about it and we're waiting a little longer. The only reason we agreed to go off BC right now is to help me lose some weight by giving up the hormones. And I understand that. But with all these people around us having babies... it really just makes it harder.
My best friend got pregnant the first time in her first month off BC. Her second time, she got pregnant while ON BC. Part of me is terrified that it will take us forever to get pregnant. i feel like because she did, I should, too. But her mom got pregnant at 16 without really trying. It took mine more than 4 years. Chances are, I won't get pregnant right away, even if there are no fertility problems. My friend M talks about wanting to get pregnant accidentally because then you don't have to deal with the trying months where you get your period and it's devastating. Getting my period in November was bad enough and we hadn't been trying, but I was taking antibiotics and then got really moody and hormonal, so for a couple of weeks we thought we were pregnant and we were getting moderately excited about it. I don't know how I'm going to react month after month when I get my period when we're actively trying.
I feel like I'm obsessing about this, and I am such a "project person" that it doesn't really surprise me. I do all this research (I'm reading 2 pregnancy books right now, reading blogs about pregnant and reading internet articles on nutrition and what not for preconception and pregnancy, etc. I like that I'm getting prepared, but it's frustrating that I can't actually do anything about it. I want to start working on the nursery and crib bedding, etc. But I don't really want to do that before i get pregnant for many reasons. And we're not telling anyone when we're trying because we don't want anyone's opinions but our own going into this. My SIL is trying and her sisters (my other SIL's) started harassing her about "are you pregnant yet?" before she even went off the pill. I couldn't stand to hear that the day after my period came, you know?
There are problems with that, too of course. The fact that i had more drinks in the last couple of weeks than would be remotely safe for a pregnant woman comes to mind. The fact that if I were pregant right now, that would put me due at the end of August, the end of a very hot summer which I'm sure would be AWFUL. But still, I really want a baby.
Mr Moose isn't quite ready. I know this. We've talked about it and we're waiting a little longer. The only reason we agreed to go off BC right now is to help me lose some weight by giving up the hormones. And I understand that. But with all these people around us having babies... it really just makes it harder.
My best friend got pregnant the first time in her first month off BC. Her second time, she got pregnant while ON BC. Part of me is terrified that it will take us forever to get pregnant. i feel like because she did, I should, too. But her mom got pregnant at 16 without really trying. It took mine more than 4 years. Chances are, I won't get pregnant right away, even if there are no fertility problems. My friend M talks about wanting to get pregnant accidentally because then you don't have to deal with the trying months where you get your period and it's devastating. Getting my period in November was bad enough and we hadn't been trying, but I was taking antibiotics and then got really moody and hormonal, so for a couple of weeks we thought we were pregnant and we were getting moderately excited about it. I don't know how I'm going to react month after month when I get my period when we're actively trying.
I feel like I'm obsessing about this, and I am such a "project person" that it doesn't really surprise me. I do all this research (I'm reading 2 pregnancy books right now, reading blogs about pregnant and reading internet articles on nutrition and what not for preconception and pregnancy, etc. I like that I'm getting prepared, but it's frustrating that I can't actually do anything about it. I want to start working on the nursery and crib bedding, etc. But I don't really want to do that before i get pregnant for many reasons. And we're not telling anyone when we're trying because we don't want anyone's opinions but our own going into this. My SIL is trying and her sisters (my other SIL's) started harassing her about "are you pregnant yet?" before she even went off the pill. I couldn't stand to hear that the day after my period came, you know?
Monday, December 11, 2006
Holiday shopping
I've been trying to do more online shopping this year after many articles on the personal finance blogs I read have talked about how hard it is to go shopping without buying something for yourself and thus, spending money you don't have and making it harder for those buying for you.
Anyway, I keep getting these catalogs. I get them at work and at home and in my email. I love catalogs. I love mail and I love shopping, so what's not to love about catalogs? We got a Popcorn Factory catalog with these great holiday gift baskets for all these yummy snacks. We're planning to order one for Mr Moose's former workplace since 2 of his best friends work there and they occasionally pass photo work his way. But I can't help it - I want one, too. I've always loved those things. Last year we got half a dozen of them at the office and I was SOOOO excited by this. I had never really gotten a professional edible treats basket before. I was shopping for my mother and found the most adorable jacket in Coldwater Creek... I was shopping for her online and fell in love with the Girlmore Girls themed t-shirts from Cafe Press, too. But. I. Can't. Buy. Stuff. For. Myself.
So what do I want to do about all these options?
I remember thinking that I was finally an adult the first year I was more excited about the gifts I was giving than the ones I was going to get. I think maybe I have regressed.
My grandmother and step-father are done and my gift for the in-law family gift exchange was ordered from Amazon last night. Now, what to do about my mother...
Anyway, I keep getting these catalogs. I get them at work and at home and in my email. I love catalogs. I love mail and I love shopping, so what's not to love about catalogs? We got a Popcorn Factory catalog with these great holiday gift baskets for all these yummy snacks. We're planning to order one for Mr Moose's former workplace since 2 of his best friends work there and they occasionally pass photo work his way. But I can't help it - I want one, too. I've always loved those things. Last year we got half a dozen of them at the office and I was SOOOO excited by this. I had never really gotten a professional edible treats basket before. I was shopping for my mother and found the most adorable jacket in Coldwater Creek... I was shopping for her online and fell in love with the Girlmore Girls themed t-shirts from Cafe Press, too. But. I. Can't. Buy. Stuff. For. Myself.
So what do I want to do about all these options?
I remember thinking that I was finally an adult the first year I was more excited about the gifts I was giving than the ones I was going to get. I think maybe I have regressed.
My grandmother and step-father are done and my gift for the in-law family gift exchange was ordered from Amazon last night. Now, what to do about my mother...
What I did this weekend
I scored some free tickets to the Nutcracker on Friday through the graciousness of one of my co-workers. A vendor gave them to him and he gave them away. Decent seats and I had never seen it live before, so it was great fun. My mother played th record of The Nutcracker Suite to me in the womb, so I love the music. Mr Moose went with me willingly, but was unimpressed by the end of the first act. He changed his mind when the serious dancing began in Act 2. Wow. So beautiful. I highly recommend it. We had to rush through dinner, but we got a Thai appetizer sampler and a sushi roll and that was good. I talked him into stopping at Chili's for dessert afterwards. It was SO cold. The coldest weekend, so far.
We actually spent Saturday at Disney - we had these passes from our anniversary weekend and I wanted to see Candlelight - for the first time in the audience instead of performing it. I had forgotten that you need to make the show and meal reservations to get a seat, but that was okay. So we spent Saturday "drinking around the world" (well, Mr Moose did. I had a margarita in Mexico and a shot of limoncello in Italy) in EPCOT. It was fun. We stayed at the Disney Pop Century Resort, one of the newer economy Disney hotels. I loved it. They offer buses to and from the parks all day, so you don't have to pay for parking or anything like that. It's great.
Sunday we used our Sea World fun pass for a few hours at Sea World. Mr Moose saw Shamu for the first time in his memory and I was amazed at the show... maybe as a kid you don't think about the magnitude of the fact that these are KILLER WHALES thay are playing with. When asked how they train them one of the trainers commented "we don't tell them to do things, we ASK them very politely." It was a great show. I loved it. Also, highly recommended.
Last week I had my pre-prenatal OB/GYN appointment. Liz (my Dr) told me to start taking prescription strength prenatal vitamins and gave me samples to try out. The first set made me queasy. I'm not even pregnant and they made me queasy, how is a pregnant woman supposed to take them? I'm trying new ones today. Hopefully, they will be better.
We've had 3 friends have baby boys in the last month. Mr Moose's cousin, an old co-worker, G and another former co-worker, P. Trying to buy baby gifts from multiple registries at Target... difficult. They have to do multiple transactions. Word to the wise if you're surrounded by baby-makers.
We actually spent Saturday at Disney - we had these passes from our anniversary weekend and I wanted to see Candlelight - for the first time in the audience instead of performing it. I had forgotten that you need to make the show and meal reservations to get a seat, but that was okay. So we spent Saturday "drinking around the world" (well, Mr Moose did. I had a margarita in Mexico and a shot of limoncello in Italy) in EPCOT. It was fun. We stayed at the Disney Pop Century Resort, one of the newer economy Disney hotels. I loved it. They offer buses to and from the parks all day, so you don't have to pay for parking or anything like that. It's great.
Sunday we used our Sea World fun pass for a few hours at Sea World. Mr Moose saw Shamu for the first time in his memory and I was amazed at the show... maybe as a kid you don't think about the magnitude of the fact that these are KILLER WHALES thay are playing with. When asked how they train them one of the trainers commented "we don't tell them to do things, we ASK them very politely." It was a great show. I loved it. Also, highly recommended.
Last week I had my pre-prenatal OB/GYN appointment. Liz (my Dr) told me to start taking prescription strength prenatal vitamins and gave me samples to try out. The first set made me queasy. I'm not even pregnant and they made me queasy, how is a pregnant woman supposed to take them? I'm trying new ones today. Hopefully, they will be better.
We've had 3 friends have baby boys in the last month. Mr Moose's cousin, an old co-worker, G and another former co-worker, P. Trying to buy baby gifts from multiple registries at Target... difficult. They have to do multiple transactions. Word to the wise if you're surrounded by baby-makers.
Friday, December 8, 2006
Beginning
How boring can I be? I want to do this blog because I've found myself fascinted by the few that I've discovered over the past months. I'm really into a couple of personal finance blogs (I know - me!), a baby naming blog/forum, a blog about a lady with 2 kids and an infertility blog. Random, huh? But what can I say. I have varied interests.
I'm a reader, I'm into movies and TV (I'm good at the 6 degrees games) and I love music.
I'm married. We just bought a house, which we're slowly trying to update and make pretty and we're soon going to start trying to start a family (but not yet).
I'm an only child with an adopted sister of the heart. She is older than me, married with 3 kids whom I adore. I would have stolen my oldest nephew from her if I could have figured out how. They live in Sweden as missionaries and I haven't even met my nearly one-year-old (December 20th) niece yet. They're coming in the spring and I can't wait. I haven't seen them since my wedding 18 months ago.
I'm a FLorida native, so when i talk about the weather, keep in mind that the coldest I can remember is about 30 degrees. And that was once, very briefly, years ago.
So, if anyone reads this, enjoy. Feel free to leave a comment or say hi or whatever.
I'm a reader, I'm into movies and TV (I'm good at the 6 degrees games) and I love music.
I'm married. We just bought a house, which we're slowly trying to update and make pretty and we're soon going to start trying to start a family (but not yet).
I'm an only child with an adopted sister of the heart. She is older than me, married with 3 kids whom I adore. I would have stolen my oldest nephew from her if I could have figured out how. They live in Sweden as missionaries and I haven't even met my nearly one-year-old (December 20th) niece yet. They're coming in the spring and I can't wait. I haven't seen them since my wedding 18 months ago.
I'm a FLorida native, so when i talk about the weather, keep in mind that the coldest I can remember is about 30 degrees. And that was once, very briefly, years ago.
So, if anyone reads this, enjoy. Feel free to leave a comment or say hi or whatever.
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