30 Weeks, and a bit of silliness!

Disclaimer:  The following is sarcastic.  Tongue firmly in cheek, this is meant to be funny.  Go ahead and laugh.

"How are you feeling?"  This is a question often asked of a pregnant woman that I don't think has an honest answer.  How am I feeling?  I've been waiting to have this baby for years!  How am I feeling?  Positively ecstatic!  I am aware, however, that people are inquiring more about my physical state than my emotional one, and there's no real way to adequately respond to that without sounding like I'm complaining.  How am I feeling?  Pregnant.  Let me break that down a little.  I am 4' 11" tall.  At this stage in my pregnancy, the baby is approximately 16" long.  That is more than 1/3 of my actual height.  Let me assure you, there is no possible way for 16" of baby to fit comfortably in 9" of midsection.  And that is just the baby.  Furthermore, this babe likes my left side.  Entirely.  And apparently, my left kidney is quite amusing to play with.  Therefore, my entire left side from about the middle of my back all the way down is... How can I put this? ...  Uncomfortable.  Add to that the production of relaxin, causing my joints to be, well, relaxed, and you have a fun combination!  Perhaps now, you can see why pregnant women walk funny.  On top of that fact, I currently weigh about 1/8 more than I normally do.  Let me assure you that this is not the same as simply being overweight.  This is a goodly amount of weight gained in a very short period of time, concentrated in mostly one place.  My muscles and joints (which as I have previously mentioned are somewhat squishy) have not really had the time to adjust to carrying around this much.  My organs are not accustomed to supporting my current mass.  Not to mention the fact that my body is solely responsible for providing nourishment for a second human being.  Speaking of organs, what happened to all the organs which previously happily took up my entire belly?  After all, that space was home to such vital organs such as my bladder, intestines, the aforementioned kidneys, liver... you get the idea.  How does this mass which includes not only baby, but the placenta and amniotic bubble protecting the baby fit where all the other organs are supposed to go?  It shoves them out of the way, of course.  Imagine with me, if you will, taking the heaviest bowling ball provided at the alley and putting it not on top of your belly, but right smack in the middle of it.  Who needs space?  Speaking of the extra weight residing in my midsection, I have reached the point in my pregnancy where turning over to get to a (somewhat) comfortable position while sleeping can be a monumental task.  I wake up literally every time I turn over in bed.  And about half those times, I have to go pee due to all the pressure on my bladder.  Perhaps this is Mother Nature's way of preparing me for sleepless nights with a new baby.  One last point, and then I will be finished.  Let's talk, briefly, about the phrase "bun in the oven".  I have a bun in my oven.  I'm hot.  It's hot outside.  I believe the high temperature for today is supposed to be somewhere around 107.  Don't expect to see me taking a walk, or heading down to the pool.  The sun is not currently my friend.  I will see you outside again in October when it is cooler, and my little bun is finished baking.  For now, I am acting like a bear who has her seasons confused, and hibernating in the air conditioning.  I know my electric bill will not be pretty, and I will gladly pay whatever it costs to keep my hands and feet from swelling to the size of cantaloupes.
How am I feeling?  Tired.  Sore.  Ready for this to be done with.  But it's not time yet, so I'll sit here sipping my red raspberry leaf tea, and patting my belly while the baby incubates for a bit longer.  This isn't my first rodeo, so I knew what to expect.  Nobody ever said pregnancy would be easy, but it's oh-so worth it in the end.

Confessions of an overly ambitious mom

I do too much.  Ask my husband.  A few weeks ago I saw the most fabulous Christmas dress fabric.  I wasn't even looking for it, but it called my name.  It said "You NEED to make Christmas dresses for your girls out of me!"  So I took it home.  And it sat.  It sat while I wrote lesson plans.  It sat while I taught.  It sat while I worked.  Jonathan has been home for almost two weeks now, and there's no reason in the world I should not have been able to finish these dresses in that time.  EXCEPT, everything has gone wrong.  When I say everything, I mean it, too.  I hadn't had a pattern when I bought said perfect-Christmas-dress-fabric, so I guestimated at how much I would need.  It wasn't enough.  No problem.  I just made the skirts a little shorter, and added an underskirt and tulle ruffle.  I like tulle ruffles, anyway, what the heck?  I found the most prefect trim, but needed thread for it.  You'd think I would have bought that when I bought the trim, but not so much.  It's OK, I had other parts of the dress I could work on in the meantime, namely the tulle ruffle...  and sewing the bodice together, and pressing the seams of the skirt, and hemming it...  Plenty to do.  Not hard work (so I thought) so it shouldn't really take that long.
First I planned on finishing the skirt.  I pinned it together, and had both of them sewn in under an hour.  See?  Easy.  Now to press the seams, and hem.  Have I mentioned that my perfect-Christmas-dress-fabric was beaded?  Have any of you pressed beaded fabric lately?  The glue melted and stuck to the iron.  Lovely.  It's nothing you can actually see, but it DID necessitate a towel between the skirt and the iron.
On to hemming my skirts!  I broke four needles before running out.  Four.  And I'm pretty sure I'm looking at about an eighth of one skirt being hemmed.  Why, oh why is this fabric just now giving me problems on the hem?!  I THINK it may have something to do with the beads coming off and falling down into the machine.  That didn't happen when I was sewing the seams, because all the beads were on the inside.  Think I'm going to try using tissue paper and see if that helps.
Next for the tulle ruffles.  How about gathering tulle?  Tried that lately?  Fun stuff!
Amidst all this drama, my thread broke at least a half a dozen times for no apparent reason, I knocked over the iron, and realised that I'm going to need to cut twice as much tulle as I originally estimated.  Good thing I bought plenty of that!
My greatest annoyance is that I had planned on having these fabulous dresses finished by tomorrow, so we could take the girls to the Gaylord and make pictures to put in Christmas cards (which the girls wrote in for me this morning).  Now, unless I hit up Starbucks on my way home from work tonight, that's not going to happen.
*sigh*  When will I learn?

It sings!

I have never been a big Black Friday shopper.  True, in years past, I have gone shopping on Black Friday, but I am not one of those people who sets my alarm, getting up at gosh-awful hours just to hit a sale.  I don't scour the ads, trying to find the best deal, and if I get somewhere and find it too crowded, I usually just walk out.  I enjoy shopping, but in a whirlwind kinda way.  Stores employ marketing folks for shoppers like me.  If it doesn't jump off the shelf, screaming my name, it's probably not going home with me.

Last Wednesday, the latch mechanism on my washer broke for the second time in a year.  It's a simple little mechanism that consists of a peg and a button, and tells the washer when the lid is shut, but without it, the washer won't spin out.  Not good.  The last time we had it fixed, it cost us $200.  For a part that was probably all of $15.00.  Now, my washer has done its job faithfully for seven years, but it was a standard, no frills Kenmore model that (according to Sears website) costs around $400 new, NOW.  Not seven years ago.  I'm thankful for the good job it's done, but I wasn't about to pay another $200 to have it fixed again.  If you have been keeping up with us for a while, you may remember that we also had problems with the dryer over the summer.  It was simply time for a new set.  How convenient that it should finally give up the ghost just before Black Friday?

The first place I checked for Black Friday deals was Best Buy.  Though I prefer Frys any day of the week, (Talk about a geek's paradise!) their website is rubbish, and didn't actually have any spoilers.  I have had my eye on the beautiful red Samsung washer and dryer for a year now, alas, the price on those wasn't great.  What they DID have was a Samsung steam washer and the dryer to go with it for HALF OFF!  Normally, these would be $1200 each, but they were selling them for $599 each on Black Friday.  They also offered 18 months no interest financing, if you put in on the Best Buy credit card.  While I don't have a Best Buy card (and there's no way I would be accepted for one!), my mother does, and she agreed to put it on her card so we could afford the washer and dryer of my dreams.  I must be an adult now, if I'm excited about a new washer and dryer!  Woohoo!

Driving to my parents' house for Thanksgiving lunch, we saw the tents already set up outside two out of three Best Buys that we had to pass.  The one closest to my parents house was the ONLY ONE that didn't already have a pretty good group of people waiting.  At 1:00 in the afternoon.  Jonathan decided then, that we had better go ahead and stake our place in line as soon as possible, so once we were through eating, I drove him up to the store and dropped him off.  The time was 2:30 or so.  That's right, 2:30.  On Thanksgiving afternoon.  And we were a good fifteen people back in line.  I NEVER thought I would want something so badly that I would be willing to spend the night on a sidewalk outside a store to get it.  The need for new appliances, however, apparently trumps common sense!  ;)  The night was not actually so bad.  I brought a big comforter, pillows and coats.  We had books, video games, and Jonathan's laptop.  Another couple in line with us had board games, and they looked out for our spot in line, so we were actually even able to take a break together and go over to the Wal-Mart across the street for snacks and the restroom.  At around 2:00 AM, lying on Jonathan's chest resting, and listening to the buzz around me, I actually felt quite peaceful.  Jonathan has that affect on me.  :)

Once they opened, we were in and out of Best Buy in under twenty minutes, with directions to their warehouse so I could get my new washer and dryer that day instead of having to wait until Monday for it to be delivered.  Good thing, too because although I did manage a load or two of laundry in the bathtub, stomping around in it like Lucy, we were running short on clothes!  When we got to the warehouse, they brought out the washer and dryer in no time flat, and we were just ready to load it in the truck when they discovered that there was a problem: The sales person at the store (who was the only one in appliances, by the way.  Poor guy.) had set us up to pick up the washer, but not the dryer at the warehouse.  The dryer was, apparently, still at the store.  We couldn't have the one that was sitting right in front of us, because it had been sold to someone else!  Well that's frustrating.  The store manager was very gracious, admitting that it was their fault, and said he would try to find us an upgrade.  AN UPGRADE!  :)  Half an hour later, they loaded a washer that was .3 cubic feet larger than the one we paid for and the dryer to go with it!

Darling Jonathan installed my sparkling new washer and dryer while I was at work on Saturday, and left me a voicemail saying that it "sings and dances".  He wasn't kidding.  It playes a song when you turn it on, when you turn it off, and when the cycle is finished.  hehe!  I LOVE my new washer and dryer!  While I certainly never expected to spend the night at a Best Buy (or any store for that matter) the outcome was MORE than worth it!  We got something that we needed, and I'm certain that it will save us money in the long-run, as it is a newer, energy star model.  We'll be able to pay it off in manageable payments, with no interest (Thanks again, Mom!) and paid HALF what it's worth and then some because of the upgrade.

Has anyone else out there spent ridiculous amounts of time in line for something you really wanted or needed?  If so, what was it?

Daddy's car

Last weekend my family enjoyed a beautiful drive out to east Texas, and a day at a resort. We were supposed to have been back on the road by 2:30 at the latest, but we were waylaid, and stuck there until after 4:00! Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but I had a date with my dad at the opera that night, and HAD to be back in Dallas on time. Instead of going home, I ran into Ross, bought a new dress and shoes, and had Jonathan drop me off at my parents' house, with the intention of coming back to get me later.
Now, all the way downtown, I battled with my mother's minivan. I mean, I'm thinking "I haven't seen allignment like this since I was 18 and didn't take care of my car properly!" Upon calling Jonathan during an intermission to tell him what time we would be out, he says "your mother wants you to call her." So I did, and she offered to let me drive her van home, and bring it back on Monday, when we would be close anyway. Makes far more sense than Jonathan driving all the way back to Mom and Dad's, so of course I accepted!
While were were inside enjoying La Boheme, the temperature dropped tremendously, so I hastened out to the van and anticipated cranking up the heater to warm my cold toesies. As Daddy and I were sitting in the parking lot (for at least thirty minutes), staring at all the brake lights in front of us with COLD AIR blowing out of the vents, it hits me... The heater went out in my mother's van, and she hasn't gotten it fixed yet! Now, my mother lives in the middle of Dallas. She doesn't think about commuting. I have to drive through two towns to get to the nearest Wal-Mart, where her's is within conceivable walking distance. Really, the farthest she typically drives is the five miles or so to church. The van would hardly have time to warm up to even turn on the heater, much less get any use out of it. Quite frankly, I'm not sure if I would have it repaired, if I were her. There I sat, trying not to let Daddy see exactly how distraught I was at the prospect of wrestling with a van that is fighting me, with no working heater, all the way back to Anna, and my dear dad says "take my car." I almost burst into tears right then. You see, NO ONE drives Daddy's car but Daddy. Mom has never even driven that car. So, I thought about it for a moment or two, and replied "I'll be OK, Daddy, I'm sure Mom will let me borrow some socks." We finally managed to fight our way out of the parking lot, and make it back to their house. I got the socks and some gloves, and prepared to drive home, when I saw it... The right front tire on Mom's van was extremely low. No wonder it had been fighting me so terribly! Of course, that sealed it. I drove Daddy's car home.
My daddy drives a Mini Cooper. I have never, and I mean NEVER driven a sports car in my life. Jonathan and I have a 4-wheel-drive truck, so this was a completely new experience for me. All the way home, I clung to the steering wheel, thinking "Can't smash Daddy's car! Can't smash Daddy's car! CAN'T SMASH DADDY'S CAR!" I ventured a glance at the speedometer, and realised that I was going ninety miles an hour! YIKES! Is that what a sports car does when you're not looking? "Can't get a speeding ticket in Daddy's car!" I guess some things, you never outgrow! I love you, Daddy! :)

Let it snow!

As you may know, Jonathan is traveling these days. He has a great job, and loves not being stuck behind a desk all the time. This can, however, lead to some very interesting adventures for me at home. We had our only snowfall of the year in February, while Jonathan was in Long Beach, California. As he loves the snow, and was very sorry to miss it, I slipped on some shoes, and stepped outside at around 10:00 in the evening to take some pictures. I left the house with only my camera, and cell phone. Can you guess what happened next? That's right, I locked the door behind me! Celestia, and Tatiana were spending the night at my parents house, and it was really coming down! I called Jonathan, hysterical and cried "It's snowing outside, and I locked myself out of the house, and you're in California, and I want you to come home!!!!!" I mean really, what was he going to do in Long Beach? I trudged over to my nearest friend's house, with no coat, wearing highly inappropriate shoes, and arrived looking like a drowned rat! We proceeded to try to break into my house. I have discovered, that anyone who wants to get into my home will have to break some glass! I also discovered that very few locksmiths are willing to come to Anna, TX in the middle of a snowstorm, and our fabulous drivers here, park their vehicles in the middle of I75 during a snowstorm. Finally, at 1:00 AM, the very nice man arrived at my home to let me in, and I was able to sleep in my own nice, warm bed for a few hours! Needless to say, I have had several copies of keys made for the house, and given them to various people should this situation ever occur again!

Shivers!

MJ