Controversy

Oooohhh.. controversy on my blog! WOW!

I'll say now that I hope everyone knows that a lot of my posts come from my own weird sense of humor. A sense of humor that I admit is not always easy to recognize - mainly because its odd and usually I am the only amused by it. I will also add that I am very aware of how blessed and freakin' lucky Jeff and I are that we were able to get pregnant. I am certainly not *truly* mad at my baby!

And since its the New Year I'll share some of my New Year Resolutions with you!

• 1. To declutter our tiny house and make room for our baby. (Sounds easy, right? Well our house is only 950 square feet and we have only one spare room that needs to be cleaned out, painted, insulated, and carpeted. Oofah!)
• 2. Work out - I just ordered a workout DVD specifically for pregnancy and I'd like to start doing it as soon as it arrives. I've read that this makes pregnancy easier, so I'll let you know how it goes!
• 3. Pay off one of my credit cards before the arrival of above mentioned baby.
• 4. Learn to cook - and I mean cook. Not bake, not boil water.... cook. Okay.. let's make this more reasonable, I'd like to learn to cook two meals before the baby comes!!

I can keep adding more and more, but I'll leave it at that for now! Happy New Year's to everyone and may your 2009 be a good one!

Baby

Dear Baby,
It's been 14 weeks and I feel I must tell you I'm having a problem with our relationship. It seems to me that all the compromise and self sacrifice has been on *my* part. Now, I understand that you're no bigger than a lemon right now, but since we've been together 24 hours a day for the past 14 weeks, I would imagine you could start to make some concessions of your own.

For example. I had to leave work at noon today to come home and lie on the sofa like a lump. I don't think I need to tell you how bad my cold is, runny nose. stuffed up sinuses, sore throat, and the inability to sleep without getting up to either blow my nose or to pee. This, baby, is not acceptable. See, previously I would dose myself up with whatever over the counter medicine I could find (Dayquil, Tylenol Flu and Sinus, Theraflu) it didn't really matter. I'd take it all, and take it repeatedly until I had numbed my body into compliance and completely masked all the symptoms that were making me miserable. But now, now I cannot do that because there is concern about you. So no medicine. No cherry flavored cough syrup or blue liquid Nyquil to get me through this misery, it's just me and my tissues and my achy head. Oh, and do I need to add that my poor nose is almost bright red from all the tissues I've been using???

I can't live like this baby. I don't think I need to remind you that I *need* my job and going home sick is not good in showing just what a fabulous employee I am and how they need to keep around forever. Baby, my paycheck is what helps keep a roof over my head and I think having a place to sleep is fairly important in life. You might want to think about that as you're floating around in my belly. Because I hate to bring it up, but currently you are not contributing financially at all to this situation and well, nobody likes a freeloader baby!

I am hoping that you will think about what I've said today and that tomorrow we can start fresh. Oh, and perhaps let me get some sleep tonight baby? See, if I can't sleep - your father can't sleep.. and if your father goes one more night without rest I think he may leave us. And baby, not to be cold, we need his paycheck.

Now I hope I wasn't too hard on you baby, seeing as how you are still so new and tiny, but I thought it would be good to get this all out in the open. You know, clear the air! It's the sign of a healthy relationship when you can talk about these issues!

Love you baby!

Love, your exhausted, sick, mucousy and sore mother

Pregnancy

Well I'm at 14 weeks and I've already learned some very interesting tidbits about pregnancy... and I thought I'd share.

1. The pregnancy glow? A lie. A big fat lie.. there is no pregnancy glow when you're exhausted and nauseous. All my pregnancy glow comes from the make-up brush thank you very much.
2. I can't even begin to describe the hunger that comes when you are pregnant. It's a hunger ALL THE TIME. From the time you wake up until the time you go to bed. And God forbid you not give in to the hunger and eat something - your body *will* get even by sending you running to the bathroom with a nausea that has you retching.
3. That pre-natal vitamins will give you fabulous skin and hair. Another lie. My skin is completely broken out and my hair is AWFUL. I am NOT looking good if you get my drift.
4. Do NOT mention you are pregnant if you can help it. If you do, be prepared for everyone to tell you complete and utter horror stories about pregnancy, labor and delivery, and raising children. EVERYONE wants to tell you some graphically detailed nightmare that will leave you ready to yank your hair and run screaming down the street.
5. Grape juice first thing in the morning is bad. Just trust me on this one.
6. Say goodbye to your favorite foods - apparently they are all lethal and should be avoided at all costs. Sushi, caffeine, deli meat, rare meat, raspberry tea (who KNEW??) are all bye bye. I don't need to mention booze, do I???


I'm sure I'll have more tidbits to share, but I just wanted to set the record straight for all of you in case you're curious! Happy New Year and see you all in 2009!

Baked Ziti Part Two

So this is the recipe I followed for the baked ziti.. I was completely lured in by the "quick" part in it:
Quick Baked Ziti
8 ounces ziti1 cup ricotta chesse (go for the part-skim to shave off some fat and calories)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
divided into 1/2 cup portions1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg beaten
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 24 ounce jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook ziti according to package directions. Drain.While ziti is cooking, combine ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan, 1/2 cup mozzarella, egg, and seasoning. Stir ziti into the mixure.Using a 2-quart casserole dish, pour in 1/2 of the tomato sauce. Add the ziti mixture, then top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup or parmesan and 1/2 cup mozzarella on top and bake for about 25 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

And I followed it pretty exactly. I don't know what the problem was, I used a red sauce with cheese and pretty much did everything else I was told. The end result though was underwhelming. Maybe I didn't have enough sauce.. maybe it needed more spices.. I have no idea but it was really not good. On the plus side, I DID make my famous Sweet Potato Casserole with brown sugar and pecan topping for Christmas Day at Jeff's relatives and it came out really, really well.. So apparently I can cook SOME things... just not good things like say.. meals. You want something baked and really fattening.. I can do that. You want a MEAL.. or something that could be served for dinner... apparently I'm not equipped for that challenge of life.

Any suggestions?? I really have no idea what I could be doing wrong.. then recipe is so simple and so easy.. I thought for sure I couldn't mess this one up.

my renewed appreciation for people

I sobbed like a baby after seeing this, kind of renewed my faith in people.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Baked Ziti

So we all know I am not exactly a chef. Cooking is not something I do well and I am trying to get better at it. Tonight I tried baked ziti for the second time in my life. The first time being a few years ago where I managed to serve a baked ziti that was uncooked in the middle and burned on the outside. This time was not as bad, but still not good. I don't know if it was the recipe I used or what, but it really didn't taste all that great. Which is a shame since I really like baked ziti and I'm wondering how I can manage to mess up such a deceptively easy recipe. Any thoughts or suggestions people?? I'm willing to try again, but I'm getting just a wee bit frustrated.

maternity wardrobe

I'm starting to outgrow some clothes and while I realize that I am going to need to change my style to be more 'mommy friendly", I draw the line at certain things. This for example:

http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/view.2/app.detail/params.CM_SCID.coll.item.A75264.desc.Quacker-Factory-Embroidered-Critters-Knit-Top-Denim-Skirt

Once again, I can't get the picture, but it's called the "Quaker Factor Embroidered Critters Knit Top and Skirt". The day I show up wearing an animal tee shirt and matching, shapeless denim skirt - is the day I want you to say something. Please people, I'm begging you.. don't let me walk around in this. Okay?? It would be mean, really mean. And you're not mean people, are you??? No, good. I'm so glad!!!!

Snow Day

As much as I hate snow, I love how it looks. I love seeing how pretty it is outside, I love how it blankets the world and makes everything look like a winter wonderland. I HATE shoveling snow and icy roads and the fact that we live on an enormous HILL that we need to salt and sand continuously otherwise I don't make it up.. but it's still fun to get that first real snow of the season. Even Monty thinks snow! We took him outside in his custom made dog jacket and snood and he LOVED it.. went all crazy dog on us. Jeff even took pictures are proof!

And here's Jeff and Monty back inside after their romp in the snow!

Mortgage

As people with a mortgage Jeff and I have been following the whole mortgage crisis with rapt attention. Now we didn't get as screwed as some people did because we didn't do any of the following:

1. Buy a McMansion

2. Take out a home equity loan and completely upgrade our house (though my God I would love to do this)

3. Roll credit card debt into our mortgage

Some people did these things for various reasons and it looks like the market is tanking. Ugh.. now what we DO have is an adjustable rate mortgage. And while we have two more years on our mortgage before we deal with the ramifications of this, we have been trying to figure out ways to change that. Re-finance if you will. Well, apparently you CANNOT refinance if you have been paying your mortgage. Who knew?? Apparently to get any good deals or any sort of help we need about $10,000 more in credit card debt and to stop making mortgage payments for like 6 months... than we will get help. How insane is this??? We're doing our best to be fiscally financial, and need I remind everyone that we're still living with a shower like this:

Not because I LOVE it... and I think that electrical tape is fabulous, but because we're trying to prioritize. Sigh... I hate being an adult some days!

Love for Cheesy Holiday Movies

I love, love, love all the old Christmas movies. You know, with the bad animation and everthing. Happy the Baby New Year, Rudolph, the Bumble and the Island of Misfit Toys. Love them. Well two of my very favorite characters were the Miser Brothers. You know, Heat Miser and Snow Miser and they fought ALL the time and sang the best song ever. And now... there's a sequel. Yes people, our dreams have been fulfilled, and my favorite song from the hour long special is as follows:




I'm getting emotional watching it right now...excuse me for a moment....

Trip to Wrentham

I went to the Wrentham Premium Village Outlets with my friend Jen and we had quite a nice time. I ventured into a maternity store and Jen actually found me a super cute black maternity dress that I plan on wearing tonight and I could also wear to work. I also got a pair of very comfortable black flats from Easy Spirit and two gifts. Something for my father and something for Jeff. I did have a couple of interesting experiences. At the maternity store I went up to pay for my dress and the woman asked for my phone number and zip code, fairly standard at some stores. Next she had my verify my address, which I thought was odd, but whatever. Next thing I know she is telling me I was APPROVED for some sort of maternity credit card. WHAT??? I didn't ASK to have her run a credit check on me, and I thought that I needed to agree to that? Not just wander into a store and have them running a pre-approval system without my knowledge. Is this legal??? I was PISSED. Is it me??? Is this normal and it's just been so long since I've been shopping that I have no idea anymore??

Second thing was Jen and I went into Zales to look around. Why not? We're girls, we love sparkly things... So in we went. And I saw this GORGEOUS, I mean seriously drop dead gorgeuos ring made with diamonds and BLUE DIAMONDS!! I didn't even know blue diamonds existed and the ring was to die for. Just to die for. Of COURSE I ask to see it because I enjoy taunting myself with expensive items that I can't afford... and the ring won't even fit on my baby bloated fingers, so Jen tries it on and OMG it was so beautiful. I scoured the Zales site looking for it and no dice. Here's something kind of similar:

Except instead of the gold band and diamond, it was encrusted with a row of sparkly and beautiful blue diamonds! It was seriously stunning and I was practically drooling with lust! Price? Well the *original* price was something like $2200. But of course the sales lady came over with her little calculator and chunka, chunka, chunka, it was now half off for $1100 and change. She next suggested we open a Zales credit card that is no interest for 12 months and then that gorgeous piece of bling would be all MINE!!!! <> Except... well.... no. I did think about it for like.. a second. I wanted that ring BADLY. But common sense prevailed and I left it behind. Sure I may have shed a tear when I left it behind in the glass case, but I did it. Sigh.... the price of being an adult I suppose.

Anyway, if anyone would perhaps like to know the perfect gift for me for Christmas I just so HAPPEN to have the item number and the sales lady business card. You know... JUST IN CASE! :-)

thoughts on parenthood

I don't really comment on parenthood or child rearing ideas because.. I'm not a parent. It's hard for me to judge because I haven't been in that situation. But since I'm pregnant now, I thought I could throw my two cents into the ring.

I just read this on MSNBC:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28112285/

A 70 year old woman in India gave birth to a baby girl thanks to IVF. Does anyone else think this is crazy?? At 34 I am worried about having the energy to deal with a newborn, I can't imaging being 70 and trying it. It just seems insanity to try something like this. Am I alone in this view? Should I just get over the whole age thing and just be happy that she and her husband have the baby they wanted?? I just can't get over the age thing though... odds are not good they will live long enough to see their child grow up and I'm wondering if they have a plan in place for that.. I don't know. Maybe I'm just over thinking the whole thing.

Three Jobs

Jeff and I were talking about finances and budgets - thoughts that have been consuming us what with the whole baby coming thing and I am trying to figure out how much longer I can keep working 6 days a week without snapping. The goal is to keep it up through January for the extra moolah, but everytime I mention I have three jobs there are questions. So here they are:

Monday - Thursday
Working at a Pediatric dental office in Lexington from about 7:15am until 5pm. It's my full time job and I gotta tell you, it's a soap opera every day. I had no idea that dental offices had so much drama. Insane.

Friday
Work at HomeInstead Senior Care (this is my favorite job right now) as the Recruiting Assistant. It's from 9:00am to 2:30pm.

Saturday is my day off.

Sunday I work at Elements at Woburn as a massage therapist from 10:00am until 3pm.

Those are the jobs. They're not TOO bad, and I have to say that one of the reasons I'm staying at Homeinstead is that I love it so much. The office is tiny, but the people are so nice and very encouraging and understanding and willing to work with you. ALSO.. it would be right next door to the Melrose YMCA which is one of the places we are looking into for daycare.

I'm thinking though that massage I'll only realistically be able to do for a few months longer, but I hate the idea of giving it up. I love getting the extra money and giving that up will stink. Though I confess having a full weekend to myself will be a wonderful thing!

Meanwhile this weekend I'm going to the Wrentham Outlets and there are actually baby shops that I'm going to go into and look for me. Me!!! I know, freaky!!! If I do buy something I'll be sure to share it!

QVC order

At night now I sit in bed around 9pm and watch QVC. It helps make me sleepy and I find it really soothing. Plus they have some REALLY cool stuff. And guess what I want??

http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx?view=2&app=detail&params=item^K20139,frames^y,from^se,cm_scid^isrc,cm_ssi^Item:%20K20139&cm_re=PAGE-_-SEARCH-_-K20139

It's the Technique 10 piece Silicone Collapsible Bake and Carry Bakeware set. It's SOOOO cool! And everything collapses into one tidy littly carry piece so you can keep it all neat and pretty. Love it! LOVE IT! See.. we don't have a lot of storage in our house and the idea of keeping all my bakeware in one place is really nice. You have NO idea how hard it was not to order it IMMEDIATELY because I wanted it badly. Normally while I am watching QVC I just watch and have no real impulse to buy.. but this really called out to me. If they offerred it on their "easy pay" option I would totally get it.

So score me for not getting it and sticking to our budget but oh boy do I want it!

Jeep

Are you ready? Because God only knows Jeff and I weren't ready.
$687.39

I wanted to DIE!!!!! They kept my Jeep until this evening and they replaced the following:
car battery
Power steering hose
Pressure Hose
replacing the steering fluid
and a whole lot of other stuff I just don't understand,

And?? AND... they are suggesting we get the coolant replaced and spark plugs replaced at some point. Sigh.... I love my car and I am determined to pay it off so we won't have a car payment but still.. this is the problem with used cars. They need MAINTENANCE!

I think I'm going through my bookcase to see if there are some other books to sell!!