I was tagged!!!

So Katrin has decided to tag me, which means I have to follow the rules.

The rules: each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to blog about their seven things and post the rules as well . At the end of your blog, you need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog!

1. When we were younger, probably to keep us quiet, my parents had a game that if we spotted our initials, in order, on a license plate we’d get a candy bar. I'm still playing that *&^# game into adulthood and ONLY ONCE did I see KLT but that was after I became KLE. UGH!

2. My favorite candy is anything gummi.

3. I'm addicted to post-it notes. They’re everywhere on my office desk. They’re too convenient not to use!!

4. I think I own too much black. Problem is the color’s so versatile that I can’t escape from it. I probably own about 4 black t-shirts and I replace about 2 a year from fading.

5. It bothers me that I sweat more than Jim. Girls are supposed to be fresh and well-scented all the time. I stand still in hot weather and I need to wipe my brow; he can play 3 hours of tennis full-force in the sun and not have a drop of perspiration on him. It’s not fair.

6. I have a current friend (Alissa) whom I’ve known since I was 4. I’ve been friends with Jessica since I was 6, and Lori since I was 8. I still see them all regularly. I think my newest friend is probably Katrin whom I’ve never met in person.

7. It’s taken me two weeks to get 13 items together for a Thursday Thirteen on my goals for the next year. Getting 7 general but diverse items here took about 15 minutes.

Who I'm tagging: Lindsay, Megan, Carol, Tom P, Tom S, Greg, Dave S, & Dale

Did they just sing what I think they sang?

I heard the song “Too Close” by Blue on the radio the other day and despite myself, couldn’t turn it off. It reminded me of college when they used to play it at frat parties!

Like I said 8 years ago, however, how do songs like this ever make it to radio? There so inappropriate!!

Here’s the refrain of this one:

Baby when we're grinding
I get so excited
Oh, how I like it
I try but I can't fight it
Oh you're dancing real close
Plus it's real, real slow
You're making it hard for me.

If you want to watch a video of this song hit up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWDf5NWsgYU.

Rick K. introduced me to another college song around ’98 that I was in disbelief that it existed until I heard it in real life. Again- how is this allowed on public airwaves?? Remember this one? How could you forget?

She had dumps like a truck truck truck
Thighs like what what what
Baby move your butt butt butt
Uh
I think to sing it again
She had dumps like a truck truck truck
Thighs like what what what
All night long
Let me see that thong

There’s another scandalous song that is escaping me now that also fits into this category. I'm sure there are a half dozen others as well!

Lion King

Last night was girls’ night out for mom, Lindsay, Linds’s mom and sister (Karrie and Holly), and me. We had 4th row, first balcony seats to the Lion King down at the Aronoff. Some notes for those who haven’t seen it before:

- Same plot as the movie and many, if not all, of the movie's songs were included.

- A few new songs (written by Tim Rice) are thrown in to keep it a full musical.

- The voices of the actors remarkably matched those from the movie, especially Mufasa’s.

- The costumes were incredibly creative (see pics). While it was obvious that they were humans in costumes rather than puppets, all the kids around us “got it” and seemed really into the show

- The dance was great, but sometimes too much was happening and you felt like you were missing out on something while you choose to watch something else.

- There was an elephant (full sized) and a baby elephant in the opening scene that were so cute! The little baby elephant danced to the music and made me smile.

- Nicole went nuts for the full three hours. I think it was all the loud music and the thumping from the ever-present drums. She was so active I did feel like I had an alien inside of me and felt really “pregnant”. She had a VERY restful sleep, as did I after so much excitement!

30 Weeks, 10 to go!

How your baby's growing: Your baby's a bit more than 15 1/2 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and fills out your uterus. Her eyes open and close, she's able to distinguish between light and dark, and she can even follow a light source back and forth. Once she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have a visual acuity of only 20/400 — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. ("Normal" vision in adults is 20/20.)

My Take: I'm tired. My schedule has been jam packed lately and combined with poor sleeping for the last month, I feel like I'm in slow motion today.

I don’t have (or want to share) a picture of my stomach, but I have the linea nigra (a darkened vertical line running the length of my stomach) full force now which threw Jim off when he noticed it recently and/or finally got up the courage to ask what the heck it was. More weird than this to me, are the changes my belly button has undergone- it used to be a deep “innie” and now is more shallow and flat. I do not look forward to it popping out!

And my husband's take??
This was an exchange over email this morning:

From: James
Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2007 10:41 AM
To: Karen
Subject: all kinds of changes

I will have to go into the company system w/in the week following Nicole's birth and fill out all kinds of forms for insurance, W-4's, dependency, etc.

I guess that makes us even... you get to go through the birth process and I get to fill out these forms :)


From: Karen
Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2007 10:45 AM
To: James

“even” - yeeeeeeaaaaahhhhh

Weekend of 4/20/07

Finally, some good, sunny, 70’s weather!!!!!

Friday: Jen and Josh O came down to have dinner and game night with us. They brought three different games down that we haven’t played before and though I never won, it was fun to try something new.

Saturday: We worked around the house some, taking advantage of the sunshine and I started to really swell up. This concerned me because it’s amajor symptom of pre-eclampsia which they’re watching me for BUT it’s also just a normal pregnancy side-effect. How’s a non-medical person like me supposed to know if I should get freaked out or not?! It got so bad after our 2 hour furniture shopping expedition that I couldn’t get my rings off and my shoes were tight.
Jamie had me sit down and relax when we got to their house for dinner. She’s an expert at this as she was bed-ridden for 6 months with Ryan. Taking it easy did the trick and I depuffed back down to normal size in about a half hour.

Dinner there was great! We were so chatty we didn’t even play cards like normal. Ryan was especially cute as he took to me more quickly than normal and spent a notable amount of time playing with me and sitting on my lap. Awwwwww!

Sunday: More yard work, grading lots of papers, and furniture shopping. We found a bedroom suite, dining room table, china hutch and office desk we (jim especially) really like as well as a potential kitchen table. We’re going to be some furniture salesperson’s best friend when this is all over.

At the bowling banquet I got $4 for the 2nd high handicap game (249) and $49/ea for our 5/15 place finish for the season. We dined with the Polleyes afterwards and watched Planet Earth and The Apprentice season finale where our friend Surya didn’t win.

I had some wacky dreams last night that made perfect sense when I dreamt them but now seem too odd for interpretation.

29 Weeks

What Nicole is Up to: Your baby is growing rapidly now. This week she weighs about half a pound more than she did last week (just over 2 1/2 pounds total) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is getting bigger to accommodate her growing brain — which is busy developing billions of neurons. Every day, about 200 milligrams of calcium is deposited in your baby's skeleton, which is now hardening. With this rapid growth, it's no surprise that your baby's nutritional needs reach their peak during this trimester.

My Take: Literally the day after I mentioned having cramps last week they went away. :) What’s starting to happen with more (but still limited) frequency is some acid reflux – maybe I’ll be getting my wish of a kid with hair! She’s also kicking more frequently and has affection for snuggling under my left rib.

In attempt to reduce the amount of weight I'm gaining I'm trying harder (admittedly not “really hard”) to not eat as many sweets. Yesterday was limited to 4 Andes mints (those little after dinner things). I have intentionally not even opened the candy cabinet at work because I know there are mini Take 5’s and 3 boxes of marshmallow peeps in there that I can’t (aka choose not to) resist.

Only other notable thing is that my bathroom breaks are becoming more frequent – like every other time I stand up.

Mexican with Jenny

I'm really full. Not so full that I'm cursing myself for eating so many chips and salsa because that salsa was so good. I'm the kind of full where you quickly become unmotivated to move any further than the nearest chair/couch. The kind of full where you think “I’d really like a good nap right now” but you’re at work and would get weird looks if you just reclined in your chair with your arms limp on the desk and your eyes glazed over.

When I'm retired and full like I am now I'm going to just sit and be glazed.

25 years to go…

6 mo. Check-Up

Had my 6 mo check-up today at the doctor and here’s the skinny:

• I’ve gained 6lbs. since last time that, while better than last time, isn’t ideal. I need to be at the 4lb./mo (1lb./week) mark
• Total weight gain: 21lbs. (normal = 19-24lbs. at this point)
• My initial blood pressure was 140/60. Because this is a bit high, the doc retook it about 20 min after the nurse's calculation and got 122/60. This prompted some questions about my family history of toxemia (which, according to my reading is pre-eclampsia- an issue Carol questioned if I had weeks ago when my vision was so spotty) and requested only a 3 week instead of 4 week delay for my next office visit
• I got measured for the first time and when asked what my birth-weight was (6lbs. 6oz) she said that I could expect an average sized baby too! Wa-hoo!

Last night I had a whining spell. I have a new, deep appreciation for my old figure. I pulled out the boxes of my summer clothes and held them up- when I put a tank top up to me now my body is clearly visible on each side of the shirt. UGH. I tried the dresses that I bought a few weeks ago on and I look awful in them. I seriously feel huge and the fit of them doesn’t help matters. They’re going back tomorrow. The thought that I have 11 more weeks to go and it’s only fatter/rounder from here is sinking in and freaking me out. Carole said I look like a "cute pregnant lady" (every woman's dream!!) on Sunday but after last night I think she was just being polite!

Weekend of 4/13/07

This weekend we went “back home” to Spencerville for Jim’s family’s Easter. Friday night and Saturday day were filled with visiting folks around town, nothing too out of the ordinary. I tried a Chuffers pizza sub which burned the roof of my mouth to the point of blistering and was still an irritation for me when I ate my Chex this morning. It’s amazing how burning my mouth made me realize how much favor that one side for chewing – geez! I just kept rescraping the healing that had taken place over and over.

The actual Easter part of the trip was nice. We were missing 2 of Jim’s cousins who were out for various medical reasons though some suspected that there were other causes that kept them away. Noah, the 9 week old of Rich (Jim’s cousin) has gotten much plumper since the last time we saw him – the kid has no neck! It also snowed a ridiculous amount while we were there (yes, we got snow on Easter but not Christmas)- about 3.5 inches in total. BLAH.

When we got home on Sunday afternoon we bowled out our last game of the season and won 3 of 4. That puts us in 5th place out of 15 teams. Jason, a guy in the league, congratulated Jim and I on the pregnancy. He said he thought I was pregnant 5 weeks ago but his wife wasn’t sure and therefore wouldn’t let him ask in case I wasn’t. ha!

No more complaining

Here's me, the former "grape" and the new haircut

Classes

Class last night went well – we had good discussions that went on longer than I had planned and therefore cut out a 20-minute period where I was planning on having discussion on another topic. Oh well! Those poor kids never get out early!

At one point we were doing role plays and I had set up two students to play the roles of farmer and zoo purchasing manager. The goal was for the farmer to sell his straw to the zoo guy as animal feed (you know, like for elephants!). The farmer was telling the zoo buyer all about the tons of straw he had available that was "going bad" and had to be sold cheap. At one point he stretched out his arms and gestured that a ton of straw was like “this whole room full of straw”. For some reason this struck me as hilarious as I pictured the whole room full of straw and the other 149,999 tons “back at the farm” that he had too. I ended up in this laughing fit that took me 2 minutes to calm down from. I have no idea why this was so funny to me, but once I got started there was no going back. Not professional, but I couldn't help it at all!

As predicted, my fall class is shaping up to be small and adult-oriented. I only have 10 students signed up when in the past I was wait-listed by now. Every student in the class is a weekend/part-timer. Karen C. thinks that this will help me be a more well-rounded teacher to be able to adapt to classes 1/3 the “normal” size and with a different audience base. I guess I shouldn’t be disappointed – it’ll be a heck of a lot less to grade.

28 Weeks

How your baby’s doing: By this week, your baby weighs nearly 2 ½ lbs. and measures about 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. Her fat layers are continuing to build up as she gets ready for life outside the womb. The big news this week is that your baby can open and close her eyes — which now sport full lashes. This movement is more of a reflexive blink than a deliberate opening and closing, but it won't be long before she's batting those beauties at you.

Side note: in the baby book I'm reading it called out the fantastic weight Nicole has put on – just 11 weeks ago she was only 3 and a half ounces; now she is almost 2.5lbs! GEEZ!

My Take: yeah, I'm getting more “symptoms” of pregnancy more often. I had a Charlie horse last night that still has me sore this morning when I walk; sleeping though the night is a distant memory; my abdominal cramps are more often and stronger (leading me sometimes to consider calling the doc to make sure this really is normal); and I'm getting more fluid loss than I had previously. On the up-side- my 3-hour glucose test came back normal, I think I'm still okay weight-wise, and Nicole’s moving more often and more firmly. I have a dr. appt. next Tuesday.

As of yesterday I'm officially in my third trimester!

You Like Me, You Really Like Me!

I have determined that a sure-fire way to tell how comfortable another person is with you is by how much and how unabashedly they sing to the radio when they’re in your company. Especially true if, like me, you’re not vocally blessed. I take it as a great compliment when people “serenade” me in the car.

BCW Food Review

Megan, Amanda and I went to Skyline for lunch today where I tried the new Buffalo Chicken Wrap they’re offering. For you Cincinnatians and Daytonians, here’s your official food review.

The wrap is large, definitely a 2-hander. It’s got a tomato flour tortilla shell that is soft but not wrapped near tight-enough around the filling, practically requiring you to re-wrap it if you don’t want it to be loose or items to fall out. There is a good balance of lettuce, cheese, tomato, chicken and BBQ sauce, but not enough ranch in my opinion (the bottom 1/8 where gravity pulled all the BBQ sauce too was a bit warm on the tongue in such disproportionate quantities). Like Chipotle they had the issue of all the X (ie lettuce) being on the left side and all the Y (ie chicken) being on the right which meant that your bites didn’t have an even blend of ingredients/flavors.

Overall, it was close enough worth the $5.69 it cost since it did fill me up. The BW3’s Buffalo Chicken Ranch Wraps are notably better for the same price but are 2/3 as big and come with chips & salsa. I’d get them again but definitely open it up, remix the ingredients, and re-wrap myself.

Weekend of 4/5/07

Friday: Hooray for a ½ day at work!! Jim and I took the open afternoon (thanks to Good Friday observance) to visit Jess/Sean’s babysitter. She was WONDERFUL and so convenient to 2 of the tech centers Jim may work at. It’s nice knowing we have a viable option we're both comfortable with experience, cost, and environment-wise there and waiting for us come September.

Normally known for our packed social schedules, I do try to keep a few nights open for just Jim and I. Sometimes though, like after an entire Friday afternoon when we’re together all day, we miss the company. So, we conned Jen and Tom into meeting us at Dave & Busters for some tabletop shuffleboard which proved MUCH harder than it looks. We grabbed some Graeters afterwards (it’s been MONTHS since I’ve had it!) and called it an early, but fun, night.

Saturday: I got up way too frickin’ early for a weekend morning and dragged myself, my pillow, and my new book, over to Mercy for my glucose test. I'm not sure how the other people there thought they’d be entertained, no one else brought anything else to do so they all sat there in these uncomfortable chairs reading year-old magazines while I enjoyed my thriller. Anyway, the test wasn’t near as bad as I thought, and with an engrossing book to return to as a reward for the blood sample, I didn't mind the 3 hours at all.

After the test Jim and I drove around looking for baby cribs and found one that we really like at Treehouse Kids. It’s pretty expensive but it’s one of those convertible cribs (that turns into a daybed and then a full-sized bed) so we figure 18 years of use will make it worth the investment. Jess and Sean met us for cards and bowling that night. I won ½ bowling games and 0/2 Shanghai games but enjoyed the company. :)

Sunday: we headed to church, went grocery shopping, had dinner at Grandma’s, got my butt kicked in the Euchre tournament. Ryann was adorable. Mike asked me if I was ready for “all this” indicating the baby and looking at how sweet she is and how she looked up at Mike while she ate, I did feel ready. That sentiment mostly continues today! ; )

HGKE

I am very excited about our new house. I went to the library on Wednesday to go through decorating books and get some ideas on colors, patterns, etc. for some of the main rooms. Primarily I'm trying to stay focused on the living room and dining room which I think will be my biggest challenges- they’re to the left and right of the entrance immediately when you walk in so therefore they need to coordinate with one another and the foyer. On top of that I have white, silver and navy china that I would ultimately like to display so the wall/window decor needs to go with that as well.

Anyway, the books weren’t much help (mostly because the pictures in them look nothing like our house- they’re always older with lots of windows and heavy crown molding), but one did inspire me to make a color chart of the house, which I did in powerpoint. I outlined each of the rooms and then filled in the boxes with a color I'm considering. It really helped me get an all-over feel of the flow of the rooms and how they coordinate – important because we have such an open floorplan.

I know I should wait until it’s closer until we move in to get paint strips because I'll not only lose them but change my mind about 8X between now and then... but I doubt I’ll be able to! : )

Fast Food Competition

As I ate my chili cheese burrito today I began to wonder...

There are a half-dozen competitors to McDonalds- Wendy's, Burger King, Hardees, Jack-in-the-Box, etc- why are there no major threats to Arby's or Taco Bell?

Not only do the burger chains compete but they seem to all come out with the same menu- cheeseburgers, fries, salads, milkshakes, chicken sandwiches, etc. Arby's is the only roast beef place I can think of and they serve wraps, pita sandwiches and chicken salad sandwich-type things. Why doesn't anyone else do this? Wendy's is closest with their new Frescatta sandwiches and even those aren't very close.

Week 27

How your baby's growing: Your baby is really starting to fill up your uterus. This week she weighs almost 2 pounds and is about 14.4 inches long with her legs extended. She can now open and close her eyes, and she sleeps and wakes at regular intervals. She may suck her fingers, and although her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with assistance — if she were to be born prematurely. Chalk up any rhythmic movement you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and isn't bothersome to him, so enjoy the tickle. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. Wonder what she's thinking?

My Take: I’ve been having some minor abdominal cramping lately but it goes away when I lay down and my books say it's my body's prep for labor (grrrrreatttt). I'm not looking forward to my second, 3-hour glucose test this Saturday but Sarah lent me a book so at least I’ll be prepared with things to do.

Suzanne, a friend of ours due 1.5 weeks ahead of me, is on full bed-rest now due to her blood pressure. I'm VERY glad I'm not in that position.

Still waiting for Jim (and others!) to get to feel Nicole move…. My first “stranger” felt me yesterday – a client that I went to visit in the morning patted me down. Honestly, it doesn’t bother me a bit though I know random touching by non-family members freaks a lot of people out.

I'm trying to talk to her as much as possible which I accomplish mostly while in the car. I find myself calling her cutesy names like “pretty baby” and “little girl”. I'm also making a point to call her Nicky every once in a while too in lieu of her full formal name (I suspect/expect that we and others will flip back and forth between the two once she arrives). It’s hard to talk to someone you can’t see and who doesn’t respond… I'm not sure what to say most of the time so I end up describing where I'm driving to or what I see (“oh, Nicky, there’s a big hawk flying around outside!”). I'm sure I sound like an idiot to anyone who could hear me.

The Purse Saga

When I was in college I had a navy leather UD wallet that held my student ID, drivers license, cash and 1 credit card. It was a simple case that folded in half with Velcro holding it together and a key ring dangling off the top. I swore I’d never need anything else in life as it held all the essentials and easily slipped into my back pocket with no bulge.

I kept that same style wallet for a year after I graduated. All winter it slipped into my coat pocket as easily as my jean pocket and life was great. Then spring hit, I didn’t have a coat anymore, and my sundresses had no pockets. I broke down and bought a purse, but just a little one as I obviously didn’t need much.

I chided Lisa for the “luggage” she carried around and claimed was a “purse”. I laughed at my aunt who’s bag carried enough random stuff for her to win the “What’s in Your Purse?” game at every baby shower we went to.

I carried my little 1lb. handbag with me and even changed it out for the seasons like I was “supposed to” though I never won the shower games because I only had the essentials with me. Life with a purse, I admitted, was okay.

When I went to TJ Maxx yesterday to buy a spring bag I roamed the aisles looking for the right one. I wanted a small, springy yet professional look, I prefer that it have a strap to go over my shoulder, and it needed a side pocket for easy access to my credit card. The Nine West one I found fit the bill and was less than $20. I even splurged on a new wallet to go in it.

When I got home I dumped my current purse’s contents all over the kitchen table. I transferred the library card, Kroger card, Skymiles card, etc. into the wallet and started putting the lotion, Tylenol, pens, nail file, hand sanitizer, Spree candy, Starbucks gift certificate, ... into the new bag. Then I tried to zip it.

Somewhere in the last 3 years my “essentials” list grew from 3 cards and a $5 bill to over 15 items, several of them bulky. The haunting voice of Sarah W drifted to mind “just wait until you have a diaper bag- the purse will be out the window and you’ll live and die by this huge carry-all.” I yelled at her to be quiet. Her spirit laughed back.

AUGHHHHHH!!!! I'm becoming a big bag woman!!!!! I was nearly ashamed to return the cute purse back to the Maxx. I looked both ways to see if anyone saw me evaluating the large Ralph Lauren pink logoed tote that looked a bit more chic than the standard diaper bag that maybe could be seen as some type of hybrid between purse and babybag. In the end, I couldn't do it. It was defeat just admitting I needed the next-size-up purse. I slinked up to the counter, exchanged the two handbags, and threw the contents of the old purse into the new when I got back to the car. I think I have it filled to within ¼” of the zipper.

Weekend of 3/30/07

Friday: After work Jim and I went to my parents for dinner with Mike, Lindsay, Ryann, and my grandparents (mom’s parents). What a shocker, Ryann stole the show. She’s such a good kid. We all took turns holding her, I got to feed her, and she showed her eyes to the family for the first time (that they’d seen, not ever). Probably the funniest moment was when Jim held her for about 4 minutes and got so hot from “body heat” that he had to take off his work shirt to cool down.

Saturday: I made the 4 hour trek up to bigger-than-I-thought-it-was Akron to see Ms. Sarah Ford. She’s got a cute house that she accurately compared to 1320 Brown and her roommate is funny. They yell at each other when they come home and they bicker at each other like old married people (“when I told you the dishwasher was clean that was supposed to be your clue to empty it.”). Too funny! Sarah has slimmed down more and looks fabulous! We went shopping, saw Ella at the Cleveland Playhouse, ate cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory, and went to sleep.

Sunday: Sarah made me pancakes for breakfast just like old times! After showers we headed up to the Outlet Malls to look for a dress for her and her brother’s wedding. We did find several cute ones and I think she’s going to get a brown and teal one this week. I was excited to buy a butter contraption for corn-on-the cob and proudly showed it to Jim when I got home only to have him pull out the one I bought last year from the outlet malls. Oh well. Miss Nicole must really find Akron peaceful – she slept the entire weekend and didn’t want to wiggle at all for Sarah. :(

Jim had a busy weekend while I was gone but I think he was happy to see me. He let me lay in his lap and he played with my hair while we watched Planet Earth Sunday evening. He’s great.