An Exciting Weekend

I just finished ordering new cell phones for Andrew and I. While this may seem like a common event, it is the reason behind these orders that make this story worth blogging about.

You see, I was sitting around Saturday morning in my big fluffy robe that Andrew bought me for our anniversary a few years ago, when I spilled something on it. So, I decided that I would wash it and Andrew's robe and the few dirty towels I had. I thought it would be nice for him to come home to a freshly cleaned robe! (He was in Atlanta all week and came home Saturday night.)

So, when it came time to put them from the washer to the dryer, I got all but Andrew's robe out and noticed something sitting in the bottom of the washer. You guessed it...my cell phone!

I had accidentally washed my cell phone which had been in my robe pocket all morning! While this proves to be an inconvenience for anyone, it was really a problem for me because we recently got rid of our land line and switched to using just our cell phones.

So, not only was I without a cell phone, I was with out a phone at all!

No way to reach the outside world!

And I'm pregnant!

And paranoid!

So I decided I would go over to my parent's house to use their phone to contact Andrew in Atlanta and figure out what I should do. I hopped in the shower to get ready. When I was done, I reached out for my towel and realized...I had forgotten to get a towel...because I had washed it with my phone!

So, I had to get out of the shower dripping wet and freezing to get a towel out of the closet.

Then, I reached for my robe...but it was not there either! That's right...in the dryer! I decided right then and there to throw a little temper tantrum!

I spent the entire afternoon getting a phone I could use (my smartchip still worked, so I put it in Nancy's old phone until I could get a new one). By the time I got home, I was worn out.

So, today I have ordered a new phone. I will have to re-enter all of my contacts because, of course, they were stored on my phone, not the smartchip. Oh, the joys of losing your mind to pregnancy hormones!

You Have Got To Be Kidding Me!

I absolutely could not believe it when I heard about this story on the radio today! A pregnant woman got a ticket on the way to the hospital when she was having contractions 3 minutes apart! Not only did she get a ticket, but the officer made her wait for it while he finished up on another ticket.

While the outcome ended up alright, this could have been a very dangerous situation. While I realize people may try to pull pranks on officers, you have to take this kind of thing seriously! I mean, something could have gone wrong or the baby could have gone into distress and it could have meant the lives of the mother, baby or both!

I also realize that maybe they could have made some better choices than they did throughout this story, but who knows how I would be if I were in labor like that and trying to get to the hospital. Pregnancy does pretty crazy things to you!

It kind of makes me nervous about getting to the hospital if I go into labor early. Thankfully, Columbia is nothing like the big cities out there. Rush hour really is not a big deal here. And, cops rarely pull anyone over for running a red light, much less for driving in the wrong lane.

To read more about this story, click the link below:
In rush-hour labor, ticket delivered - The Boston Globe

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Thirty Things

NaBloPoMo Day 29
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Today is my birthday and I am now 29 years old. It is kind of odd, because I really don't feel like I am 29. One year away from 30.

It has been a pretty relaxing day so far. I messed around on the internet this morning. We came over to Brook and Geoff's around midmorning to watch the Tigers play KU...not so pretty. I got to work on some digital scrapbooking for a while...I still have a lot to learn, but I think I am really going to like it!

This evening, we are going to my parent's house for my birthday dinner: Mom's lasagna and chocolate delight~yum! Don and Nancy and Brook and Geoff and the boys are coming, too.

I got a birthday email today that said, "Don't just count your years, make your years count!" As I thought about my birthday, I decided to pick 30 things that I want to do by the time I am 30. So, here it goes, in no particular order:

• Take at least one cooking class
• Start a scrapbook for Austin
  
• Keep up with Austin's scrapbook
  
• Get into a workout routine after I have Austin
• Get back to pre-pregnancy size/weight
  
• Start my pregnancy scrapbook
• Finish my pregnancy scrapbook
• Shave $50/mo off our grocery budget- right now $200/mo
• Establish an organized routine for cleaning at home
• Keep the house clean for a month straight
  
• Establish a routine for quiet time
• Take a photography class
• Get at least 4 massages
• Put pictures up in hallway
• Try a new dish every month
• Go on a weekend getaway with Andrew after the baby comes
  
• Stay at a bed and breakfast
• Start serious research about homeschooling
• Establish a date night with Andrew at least once a month- just the two of us
• Volunteer for a charitable event
  
• Keep my car cleaned out for a month straight
• Establish a family devotional time each week
• Organize my desk and keep it that way for a month
• Create a will
• Pay off at least one big bill
• Become proficient in using Gimp
• Memorize 25 Bible verses
• Read 25 books
• Organize and thin out the recipes I want to try
• Be better about sending out cards

I will keep you updated as I accomplish these things. It will be interesting to see how many I get accomplished!

Happy Thanksgiving!

NaBloPoMo Day 27
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Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I am completely stuffed after lunch this afternoon and snacking this evening. I totally cheated on my diet today and loved every minute of it.

My brother, Randy and his family came into town last night from Tennessee and will be staying until tomorrow. It has really been great seeing them! It has been too long.

We went out to Andrew's parent's house today for the day. It was really nice that both families (my parents, my brother and his family, us and Andrew's family) could all celebrate Thanksgiving together. It really eliminates the problems of "house hopping" for the holidays.

This afternoon, we went for a hike...I was not sure I was going to make it up the hill, but I did! I just took it very slowly. Of course, coming back down was much easier.

Tonight, we came back to the hotel room to watch the UT/A&M game because my nephew is a big UT fan. I will be amazed if I make it through the last quarter without falling asleep. We will see.

4 am

NaBloPoMo Day 25
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Why am I blogging at 4:36 in the morning? It is because I am awake. I have been for about an hour, even though I only got out of bed a few minutes ago.

I could not get comfortable.

I was tossing and turning.

I was listening to all of the sounds a house makes.

Thinking that I can't believe I skipped a day of blogging yesterday! Just completely forgot- Andrew got home, I was not feeling good, and it just slipped my mind. Oh well!

My stomach was contracting.

I could not sleep!

Oh, the joys of pregnancy.

A Fun-Filled Saturday

NaBloPoMo Day 22
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We were so blessed by all of the gifts we received from our showers! In fact, this morning, you could not even walk into the nursery for all of the presents...bags, stroller, boxes, toys...you name it, we had to step over it!

Mom came over today and helped me start to tackle the fun of putting all of our gifts away. After about 5 hours and three loads of laundry (and that was just towels and blankets), I still have a lot of work to do. But, it is coming together.

I only wish Andrew could be here for the fun, also! He is out of town for the weekend hunting at Uncle Eric and Aunt Judy's. After getting up at 4 this morning to head out, he told me that they got froze out around 9:30. Even though he did not hunt very long, he still had fun. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer, so he hopes to be able to hunt a little longer in the afternoon.

He should be coming home sometime Monday evening. It is amazing how attached you can become to a person. While I am glad he was able to go hunting, I really miss having him here. Sitting here tonight, I just miss hearing his voice.

I can't imagine what it will be like when Austin gets here and spends his first night away from home. Or when he goes to college. It is crazy...he is as close to me as he will ever be right now. Instead of rushing this time, I need to enjoy every minute of it...even the part where he is invading my ribs! :)

I think my hormones must be on overload tonight because I am awfully sentimental. Maybe it is just time for bed! I will post before and after photos of the room when it is done.

First Day Embarrassments!

NaBloPoMo Day 21
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I found this in my archives. Apparently, I wrote it about a year ago and never posted it. So, I thought I would go ahead and put it up now. It is pretty funny. Remember, this was written a year ago and I did not change any of it.
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First days can always be crazy. No matter what first they are--first day of school, first dates, first day on the job--there is always a learning curve. My actual first day at University Hospital was not that bad. My first day of seeing patients, on the other hand, was a different story altogether!

When I got my patient assignments, I only got two to start with, both of which I had evaluated with Jen (another PT) the day before. I double checked that the first one was on the 5th floor, only to be corrected that it was the 3rd floor. Ok...I can do that. So I set off for the surgical ICU on the third floor. About 30 minutes later, I ended up in the ER and had to ask how to get back to the main part of the hospital! I had never found the SICU, but had wasted 30 minutes looking for it! So, I bit back my pride (a little late, probably) and paged Jen to ask for help in finding it. When she called me, all I heard on the other side of the line was laughter. :) It is a good thing that I learned how to laugh at myself a long time ago! So, she came up and showed me where it is. Actually, the first door I had gone to was right, I had just mistakingly thought it was locked.

OK. So, I got my big "first day" blunder out of the way early. I was good to go. Right? Wrong. Later that morning, I had seen my two patients and was ready for more. So, I went back down to the rehab department to work on documentation. While there, I paged Jen to see who she wanted me to see next. Very soon, I got a return page telling me that I had paged her to the Emergency Code Activation line! Oops! When I looked at the phone next to the computer I was working on, I realized that from the angle I was looking, the words "Code Blue" were hidden and all I could see was the number- the one you use to report an emergency such as- you guessed it- a code blue. I felt so stupid!

Blunder number 2 out of the way. Smooth sailing the rest of the day...right? Wrong again! Around 3:30, I got a page from one of the other PTs asking for someone to help her walk a patient who had a lot of lines to worry about. Let me explain how the pages work. They are text pagers and you can page a person individually, or you can page either the entire department, OTs only, PTs only, or the techs. The pager I had used to belong to one of the techs, so it also gets the tech pages. I had forgotten this and thought she must have sent out an "all page." So, not having a lot left to do, I sent out an all page in reply stating that I could help her. I realized a little too late that it had probably been a tech page and none of the therapists who got my page knew anything about what I was talking about. They must all think that I am such an airhead!

Jen told me that she is going to keep track of all of the crazy things I do and then down the line, she can pull them back out to tease me. Something tells me that before all is said and done, she will be able to write a book! Thankfully, the last few days have been pretty embarrassment-free. I think I am starting to get the hang of things. The learning curve can be painful some times, can't it?

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I still have blunders, but thankfully no more like these!

30 Weeks and Counting!

NaBloPoMo Day 20
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OK, so it is not really that bad! But, seriously! This boy is stubborn!

I am 30 weeks now (as of yesterday) and I have noticed some big changes recently:

Austin has taken up permanent residence under my right ribs. It is a constant battle where I push him down and he kicks me and moves right back. We are definitely going to have to work on obedience!

Also, as I mentioned earlier, my back is really starting to hurt...specifically next to my right shoulder blade. Interestingly enough, that is also where I occasionally get a tingling/pins-and-needles or numb feeling. He must be stepping on a nerve when he is lodging himself under those ribs! It is like he is seeking shelter or something! Anyway, I digress.

I have also started to get bigger in the stomach. Still, I get so many people saying how tiny I look. While I know they mean this as a compliment, I feel like I am huge...and I love it! When I say huge, I know I am still not as big as a lot of women get, but I have been a lot bigger than I ever got with Sydney for the past couple of months. Also, I lost 10 pounds when they put me on the low carb diet, so that slowed things down a lot. Add to that that Austin is up in my ribs and does not leave me much room for much food, and I really have not gained that much weight. So, that is all baby. And believe me, he is taking every bit of that room for himself and then some. (In case you have not noticed, I am quite obsessed with the fact that Austin is taking over more of my body than I had anticipated!)

He is really starting to get big. They will measure him again Monday, but the last time, he had gained about a pound in three weeks. I know he is getting big because in the past week, I have started feeling actual body parts. I have not been able to completely identify them, but there are definite contours there that were not there before! You can really see my belly move a lot more now, too. So, something is definitely changing there.

Anyway, I am still planning on posting about my showers soon. It will probably be after this weekend. I am planning on working on the nursery and putting everything away this weekend. I should be more organized and prepared to blog about it then. Until then, you will have to use your imagination! :)

Cartoon found in a BabyCenter newsletter I got. You can see more by this artist at Everyday People by Cathy Thorne

Oh My Aching Back!

NaBloPoMo Day 18
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It has happened.

The thing I feared.

My back hurts! It has been hurting for about the past week. It started out alternating between my low back and right between my shoulder blades, but has finally settled in at the latter. That is why I was so excited when I got a call asking me to volunteer to get a massage for free. That's right...a one hour massage, absolutely free!

Well, if you twist my arm...of course!

Here is the deal. There was a course going on for getting certified for prenatal massages and they needed pregnant women for them to practice on. So, I showed up today and graciously volunteered to endure a one hour massage. I was pretty pumped!

While it was pretty relaxing, I don't feel like it really did me any good. My calf (which cramped up really bad on me last night) is still sore and my back is still killing me! Apparently they told them not to get too deep. Well, what can I say...it was free!

I am also struggling with a stuffy nose. I have taken Benadryl, but I still can't breath.

And, I have been coughing for about a week now. Now my ribs are getting sore when I cough where Austin kicks.

I am pretty much miserable right now and just wanted to complain for a bit. I am sorry you had to endure it. Thanks for reading, anyway!

Blogging Help! And Other Random Things

NaBloPoMo Day 14
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Well, I am almost halfway through the month and I almost forgot to post today! I was sitting here and just realized that my blog was still lifeless today! I am so glad I remembered in time. I would have been pretty upset!

I am waiting for Andrew to get home tonight. He should be in around midnight and I am going to go in and pick him up. He thinks I left a car for him, but I decided to surprise him and just go pick him up. It will only let me see him about 30 minutes earlier, but it is worth it! I have missed him!

I am looking forward to my second baby shower tomorrow! A lot of Andrew's family will be here for it and I get to see several friends that I don't get to see too much, so it should be great! I will share what I got at both showers soon.

On to my blogging help question: I recently tried to install CommentLuv on my site. Unfortunately, I keep getting an error message. I submitted a help post, but have not heard anything back. Does anyone use blogger and CommentLuv? Any suggestions? Anyone?

A Special Date

NaBloPoMo Day 11
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I am sitting here in a coffee shop getting ready to go over to my friend Kristi's house to learn how to do digital scrapbooking. As I look around the room, I see the most precious site! There is a little girl about 5 or 6 years old sitting with her dad and he is teaching her about chess. It looks like they are just out to get him a bit of coffee, but he took the time to sit and spend a little time with her. How sweet!

I can't wait to see Andrew doing things like that with Austin! Only 70 days left! There are so many things to look forward to!

I Just Don't Get It!

Yesterday, we went to a sushi bar for lunch with some friends. I have never had sushi before, and I was not too excited about trying it. So, I ordered some shrimp and ate some edamame and agreed to try someone else's sushi...cooked, of course. While gearing myself up for it, I began to wonder at my sanity. I even searched out the bathroom in case I had to make a hasty escape...seriously!

But, alas, I tried it. And really did not like it. I swear it just started expanding in my mouth! I thought I would never get it all chewed up and swallowed!

But here is the thing, I really don't like fish, anyway. So, the crab meat that was in the sushi really did not appeal to me. So, maybe I could try one without any fish...a California roll?...and I might like that. But, I think it will be a long time before I get up the nerve to even try that again.

So, while I know there is a big craze over sushi right now...I just don't get it!

Blessings in Simple Places

I have been thinking the past week or so about how blessed Andrew and I are by our families. I guess what I mean to say is how we get along with each other's families.

From the time we started dating, both of our families took the other person in...no questions...just acceptance and love. While each of us and both of our families have their fair share of quirks, we are able to take them in stride and adjust or deal with them.

I get along great with Andrew's family. I think they are awesome--especially since so many of them read my blog! :) We have a lot of fun together, whether it be making dinner, laughing at Andrew, or playing our new Nintendo Wii. They have been there for me a lot this past year and I am so thankful!

Likewise, Andrew gets a long great with my family. He has been great with my nieces and nephews from the start. It is so cool that when my brother comes into town, Andrew often stays up visiting with him long after I go to bed.

On top of all of that, our families get along great with each other! We don't have to worry about special occasions, because they all can just come together for them.

I have seen too many examples of people who do not get along with their in-laws. I have seen the kind of stress such relationships can place on a person individually and a marriage as a whole. I am reminded that it is important to take time to be thankful for this blessing of family that has been given to us.

Aloha Friday #3

It is Friday again, which means...

Aloha Friday is a time to kick back, relax, and avoid thinking too hard! I like it!

I am staying home today because I hurt my shoulder yesterday. I would like to say it was doing something dramatic...like saving a child from a rabid dog...or even saving my cat from the other neighborhood cats.

But no- I hurt it by reaching out and picking up a gallon jug of vinegar while I was making my marinade for dinner. A gallon jug! Here I am, a Physical Therapist who teaches people about proper body mechanics, hurt because I did not use proper body mechanics. Now, I can't raise my arm without my shoulder hurting really bad. So, obviously, there will be no lifting today, which means no work.

So, my question today is...

What is your most embarrassing or silliest injury?

Check out An Island Life for more Aloha Friday!

Advertizements on a Blog- What do you think?

I have stayed away from running ads on my blog, because I have been afraid that it would turn people off. I am just curious, what do you think?

• When you see advertisements on a blog sidebar, do you get annoyed?
  
• Do you ever click on them?
  
• Do you have them on your site?
  
• Are they successful?

What about paid posts? Do you feel taken advantage of? Do they seem imposing?

I have been thinking a lot about doing something to make some money using my blog, but I am afraid that it will take away from the feel of it. I don't want this to turn strictly into a "business." I mean, I seriously doubt I would make much money from it, but every little bit helps, right?

So, what are your thoughts on making money on a blog?

Time Off from Planning and Some Venting

I am taking a week off from Monday Madness and Menu Plan Monday. Last week was really crazy: my work schedule was off, I did not stick to my menu, and Andrew ended up getting sick. He was in bed all weekend, downing the cold medicine and trying to fight off the fever that would not leave. We ate out more than we should have and have a ton of left-overs. So, this week, I am just going to play it by ear.

However, I did try a couple of great recipes that were not in my plan and I wanted to share them with you. Both are from a new site I found: What's for Dinner? She has great recipes. You should check them out. Here are the two new recipes that we liked:

Chicken Pockets- This was easy to make, but we ended up needing to use two packages of crescent rolls. The next time we make these, we want to try putting shredded cheese into the mix and maybe topping them with some asiago cheese that will end up crusty on top.

Bourbon Chicken- The recipe does not call for a particular side dish, but the next time we make this, we want to try it with fried rice. It was very tasty!

Now, on to the venting part of this post. Why do people go to work sick? Andrew is sick this week because one of his co-workers came to work sick for an entire week without going to a doctor or taking a day off to try to recover. If she had just taken a couple of days to stay home, take care of herself, maybe see a doctor and get some medicine if that was applicable, she probably would have gotten better faster and no one else would have caught it. As it is, Andrew is home sick today, another girl is home sick today, and a third person is starting to feel sick. And, the original sick person?... you guessed it- still at work!

I mean, I realize that some people can't afford to miss a day of work. I appreciate that! I really do. But, if you have to go, take all of the necessary precautions to keep from spreading it to others.

Being in the healthcare profession, I understand the pressure that can be put on a person to be at work. However, I feel that in my profession, I am doing my patients' a disservice if I show up sick. They are already more susseptable to getting sick and the last person they need around them is another sick person.

That is my two cents. What do you think? Am I overreacting? Does this bother anyone else? Do you go to work when you are sick? I promise, I won't think any worse of you if you do. I just want to get someone else's perspective.