Wednesday, January 09, 2008

And that's how I knew.

Inspired by this post at Swistle.

We've been married since November of 1999, and together for a bit over four year before that. While we knew we'd like to have kids someday, we held off adding children to our family because, well, we were really young, poor, and nowhere near being done with school. I was on birth control pills for a looooong time.

When Levi finished with grad school and got the big grown up Ph.D job, we decided that we could finally start to try. We moved to New Jersey at the end of 2006, and I ran out of my stash of pills in January. It was official. We were "trying" to have a baby. For months after, I was hyper aware of when my period was supposed to arrive and trying not to read too much into any symptom I might be having. But, of course I did get my hopes up over and over. It was a difficult time for me. I'm not of "advanced maternal age," but I was 28 so I worried a little.

But, enough about that.

From November 2006 to December 2007, we only had one car. I drove Levi to work every morning, and then turned around to go home. I'd finish my morning routine and then go to my office. Most of the time, I drove because it was faster to boot him out and head home. In the evenings, I'd move to the passenger side. If the book I had with me was good, I'd read on the way home. I tend to get carsick, but not if I'm in the front seat or reading.

But, anyway, one weekday afternoon, I had him drive home. It was awful. I was totally nauseous the entire 40 minutes home. That day, I attributed it to Levi's driving. My boobs were *killing* me, too, but my period was due soon and that was normal.

A few days later, on Friday, I bought a pack of three stick tests. I took one and got a weird error. It was kind of, maybe, a little early to test. My last period was kind of funny, and I thought this one might be, too. I decided to wait a few more days before testing again, just in case.

On Sunday, I decided that I wanted to reread the last Harry Potter book before the new one came on on 7/21. I didn't finish on Sunday, and decided to ride and read while Levi drove to work Monday morning. Then, I'd drive myself home like normal. At the time, the drive to his office was about 20 minutes. By the time we got to his office, I felt awful. It was happening again! And I continued to feel sick all the way home.

I had planned to test again that morning, but Monday's are never easy for me, and I'd been too sleepy when I got up. Tuesday (7/18), I remembered to test and it came up pregnant almost immediately! I stared at it... hyperventilated for a minute and then yelled for Levi. Our bathroom was at the back of the house and he was asleep in the closed front bedroom -- shut in with a noisy window unit air conditioner and fan. He didn't hear me.

So, I took my shower and then put the test on the kitchen counter for him to see when he got up to make coffee. He finally stumbled into the kitchen. It took a minute for him to figure out what test was, but then he ran into the bathroom (I was still working on my washing my face and putting my contacts in) and hugged me. :)

Going by the first day of my last period, my due date is supposed to be around 3/15/08.

Monday, January 07, 2008

Goals for 2008

In no particular order:
  • Love the special time I have left with my husband before the baby is born. We've been together for over 12 years now and I am lucky to have found my love in my best friend. Our little super-duo is awesome.
  • Thank my husband for all of the sweet every day things he does for me.
  • Write here more about the good things we do and experience.
  • Get outside my head more often. I'm very much the introvert and live inside the bubble of my own little world most of the time. This has been really bad since moving to NJ and now PA. Not having my friends right there for me has let me shut down a lot.
  • Stay in better contact with my family. I'm awful about this, and I know it's part of the getting stuck in my own head problem.
  • Clean off my desk and keep it neat. Really, this shouldn't be so hard.
  • Clean the dust off of stuff regularly. I'm really allergic, so it's pretty stupid that I don't do this already. And it's gross.
  • Get my hair to grow out another 6 inches at least before deciding to cut it all off again.
  • Exercise every now and again. Dancing around the bathroom when I'm getting ready in the morning or for bed totally counts.
  • Enjoy my life. I really do have a good one.

So, let's review.

I really really suck at keeping up with my blog. Really. And most of it's a pretty boring blog to reread now that I'm playing with it tonight. So, why am I here? Specifically, I got on this evening to see what I wrote at the beginning of 2007 with regard to resolutions/life changes. Let's see what I wanted to accomplish...

******

It seems that mostly I wanted to read more-smarter-grown-up-stuff. Heh. Looking over the big 2007 book list, it seems that I did okay on classics (went on a bit of a Jane Austen and JA spin-off kick), but didn't manage to learn much of anything other than some travel do and don'ts, and that I really wouldn't have liked law school.

Since I'm planning on popping a kid out in 10 weeks or so, and I have a bunch of baby books on the way, I think I'll do okay on any new "learning" goal for 2008. I suspect that I won't finish 80 books again any year soon, though.

******

I didn't post many details about my weight loss, but I started the 6 Week Body Makeover on January 22nd. Over the next 10 weeks, I lost 27 pounds. I also lost 32 inches (in total) from my neck, shoulders, chest, biceps, forearms, waist, hips, thighs and calves. I think I went from a 1 or 2x on top down to a L or XL. And on bottom, I went from a 20/22 to a pretty comfy 16. Then, while I didn't go off the plan completely, I switched to more of a maintenance mode.

Most of my weightloss came from simply changing my diet. I found the eating plan for my type (B) really easy to follow once I got used to measuring everything out. After those 10 weeks, I still followed the eating plan for the most part, but didn't worry if I treated myself to desserts not on the plan, or if we felt like eating out. And I really did maintain the loss -- fluctuating up and then back down a few pounds, but I don't know anyone who doesn't do that.

I didn't do well on the exercise part of the plan. Let's just leave it at that.

Since July, when I found out that I was pregnant, all "diet" type plan went out the window. I haven't been weighing myself and my doctors never give me the number. I plan to start the makeover plan again after the baby comes and we (fingers crossed!) get into a more regular routine. Hopefully, there will be some exercise added to things, too. Maybe.

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Books read in 2007.

  1. Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
  2. Emma by Jane Austen
  3. Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood (Sisterhood of Traveling Pants) by Ann Brashares
  4. Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos
  5. Crazy for You by Jennifer Crusie
  6. The Snake, the Crocodile & the Dog by Elizabeth Peters
  7. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  8. Pretties (Uglies Trilogy, Book 2) by Scott Westerfeld
  9. The Hippopotamus Pool by Elizabeth Peters
  10. Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife: Pride and Prejudice Continues by Linda Berdoll
  11. Polymorph by Scott Westerfeld
  12. My Last Movie Star by Martha Sherrill
  13. Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
  14. If Andy Warhol Had a Girlfriend by Alison Pace
  15. Amanda Bright@home by Danielle Crittenden
  16. Sometimes I Dream in Italian by Rita Ciresi
  17. The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty
  18. Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik
  19. Wonder When You'll Miss Me by Amanda Davis
  20. March by Geraldine Brooks
  21. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien
  22. Sand in My Bra and Other Misadventures by Jennifer L. Leo
  23. The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall
  24. Ivy Briefs by Martha Kimes
  25. Shopaholic & Sister by Sophie Kinsella
  26. Pug Hill by Alison Pace
  27. Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
  28. The Woven Path by Robin Jarvis
  29. Seeing a Large Cat by Elizabeth Peters
  30. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
  31. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
  32. The Raven's Knot by Robin Jarvis
  33. The Myth of You and Me by Leah Stewart
  34. Outlander* by Diana Gabaldon
  35. The Ape Who Guards the Balance by Elizabeth Peters
  36. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
  37. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince* by J.K. Rowling
  38. And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander
  39. No Touch Monkey! by Ayun Halliday
  40. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
  41. The Falcon at the Portal by Elizabeth Peters
  42. The Water Mirror (Dark Reflections Book 1) by Kai Miller
  43. He Shall Thunder in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters
  44. Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
  45. The Girl in the Glass by Jeffrey Ford
  46. Undead and Unpopular by Mary Alice Davidson
  47. The Exploits & Adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy by Elizabeth Aston
  48. The Prophecy of the Stones by Flavia Bujor
  49. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
  50. Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
  51. Xenocide by Orson Scott Card
  52. Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card
  53. Behaving Like Adults by Anna Maxted
  54. The Fatal Strand by Robin Jarvis
  55. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
  56. But Enough About Me by Jancee Dunn
  57. Lord of the Silent by Elizabeth Peters
  58. The Golden One by Elizabeth Peters
  59. Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner
  60. Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes
  61. Shopaholic & Baby by Sophie Kinsella
  62. Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir
  63. An Idiot Girl's Christmas by Laurie Notaro
  64. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
  65. The Ghost at the Table by Suzanne Berne
  66. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
  67. Once Upon a Day by Lisa Tucker
  68. Children of the Storm by Elizabeth Peters
  69. Guardian of the Horizon by Elizabeth Peters
  70. Being Committed by Anna Maxted
  71. A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore
  72. Devil in the Details : Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood by Jennifer Traig
  73. The Golden Compass* by Philip Pullman
  74. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
  75. The Subtle Knife* by Philip Pullman
  76. The Speed of Dark** by Elizabeth Moon
  77. Confessions of a Shopaholic* ** by Sophie Kinsella
  78. The Amber Spyglass* by Philip Pullman
  79. Hogfather* by Terry Pratchett
  80. Lamb by Christopher Moore

*Re-read
**Audio book