Christmas break

I feel extremely lucky to have a job that actually closes down the last week of the year so I can chill. I was in pajamas until 11 am today and I only left my house to drop of some returns at the Post Net store...it felt so utterly decadent! Aside from reading through the New York Times and watching daytime TV, I managed to finally order my summer cruise pictures from Kodak Gallery and I completed my Target Registry (it's public now). I think the Registry has more stuff than I absolutely need but not so much that my house will be overrun by stuff. My cousin has promised to come help me transform my beloved purple guest room into the room that I will let Zoe borrow while she is underage ;)

Christmas was great with lots of relatives from out of town and delicious of tamales and black cake. We also had a big breakfast for like 3 days straight but unfortunately the recession brunch did not take place this year due to a scheduling conflict. So for the rest of this week, my plans are to check references for daycares, figure out the July Costa Rica trip, work on my wedding album ( I totally plan on getting it done before valentine's day) and getting a pedicure to start of the new year on the right foot. I am also giving some thought to getting pictures taken...I really just want one good picture for Zoe to have. So I am not sure if it's worth the money or if we could have a DIY moment.


The year and decade is almost over and I am not sure if anything will happen to update you on before then. I have no doubt that 2010 is going to be just as action packed and filled with the unexpected so I am going to rest up and get ready!

Said bye to the dress and 22 week photo

My crazy time is almost over so I should have much better updates in weeks to come. Today I finally went to donate my wedding dress to charity so I was a little sad to see it go but it is going to a good cause and I won’t be using it again. In retrospect, while I loved the dress, I sure wish I would have stuck to my plans and been practical about how much I spent. It’s ok ; my confidence in my own gut instinct has grown a lot in the last 2 years, which is great because I totally need it now.

Here is a picture of me at 22 weeks…I know am posting it 3 weeks after the fact but a sister has been busy! I have gained 1.5 lbs since this picture so you aren’t missing much ;) I totally killed some KFC extra crispy last week…for the first time in the 10 years we are together I asked Todd for fried chicken, what a milestone!

Surviving the crunch time

So today I just had to order pork fried rice and chicken wings. Now lets keep in mind that I eat this stuff once per year in real life so it's highly unusual for me to even think about it. Earlier this week, I went through the trouble of making turkey casserole and green beans (which DH totally killed) only to decide that I didn't feel like eating it. Finally at 9pm, DH convinced me that Zoe might be hungry even though I was not hungry and luckily I had Masala chicken in my freezer which I was able to eat. So I think my theme for pregnancy week 23 is all things Asian! Perhaps on Friday I will go for some sushi to round out my Asian food week. This fickleness is making it very hard for me to grocery shop though because I have no idea what to eat from one week to the next.

As expected, my week has been crazy but I am staying just one step above the fray. Also, my presentation on Data Governance got a enthusiastic review thus far...let's see how it fares in my meeting tomorrow. While all the madness is going on at work, I also have a contractor at home painting the stairs and tiling the entryway; more contractors are coming in next week to put carpet in the bedrooms so I need to relocate all my clothes out the closet. This weekend I have 2 events + I need to decorate the Christmas tree. Did I mention that I haven't completed my Christmas shopping? My shopping has mostly consisted of randomly ordering stuff online...I am getting quite the pile of boxed in my living room. But it's all good, come January (God permitting) I will have my life back in order! Allegedly I am supposed to feel tired in the last 3 months, so I am proactively managing all my projects to lead a "normal" life by then. I can sorta see how this could happen because despite my best efforts, my cardio workout just keeps getting harder to complete every week at the gym...it feels like I smoked a whole pack of cigarettes before getting on the elliptical machine (who are these women who run up until their due date?); my goal is to make it 2x per week to the gym until my due date even if I can only workout at a level 1 by the end and to keep up with my yoga as exercise and drugs are my only plan for an easy delivery.

And to finish off this week's update, my favorite statement for this week was "oh you are almost in your 3rd trimester? you are going to double your size in the next few weeks!" I love, love all the awkward comments that I generate ;)

Mental Break

I am currently working on a data governance presentation but I am kinda tired so I decided to take a mental break by updating my blog ;) The thanksgiving break while fabulous is now but a distant memory as I make my 3 week push at work and at home to get ready for Christmas break. At work, that involves no less than a dozen meetings per week plus all the required prep and debriefing work. In my 11 am meeting yesterday, the AVP for our group got a worried look on his face when he saw how I fazed myself out of the project plan in the spring...it's great to be needed, I hope it results in a promotion because the baby needs a college fund!

The baby, aka Zoe unless DH comes up with a better name, has new shoes! Yes, a diva has come through with Jordans and crocodile driving shoes. In addition to that, she has an assortment of onesies courtesy of another diva, shirt "en Francais" and a tunic and mini skirt courtesy of my of my girlfriends extraordinaire. I am still buying her a week's worth of onesies and white sock. I just don't want to buy a whole bunch of stuff since she will double in size the first year and I don't like clutter in my house (in fact, I just got rid of a bunch of stuff this weekend, it's like therapy!).

I did go online to target and I created a registry with the things that I actually plan on buying ( i am going to check the thrift stores in the fancy neighborhoods too!); at some point I will make it public for anyone who actually wants to see whats on my list. The whole baby shower thing came up again at thanksgiving and I was really surprised that my mother would bring it up since she has a sweet 16 and a 50th b-day party to plan for next year; I thought it would be a big relief that I don't even like baby showers! Full disclosure: I attend baby shower for the 1st kid and I may even have to help plan one at some point because most couples do want one. What about DH? he doesn't like parties and indulges me by attending events but he did find the prospect of free stuff appealing, hehe! I spoke to my grandma and aunt in Costa Rica and they were totally in agreement with me, maybe I get my ways from them because I pretty much get an incredulous look even from men when I tell them that I am not having one ;) My plan is to finish paying my Amex by February (the bill is not as scary as it used to be thank God!) and then I will have a"baby shower" by myself in March by spending some QT at Bliss and going to dinner at my favorite french restaurant which I love and seldom get to visit ;-)

OK, I feel work calling me back. Tonight it will be fun times at the Jones' house as I drag DH through the seasonal decluttering of his office and tomorrow night my house will be all set to decorate for Christmas! On Friday I am going to my favorite German bar after work with my co-workers as we do the first Friday in December every year. On Saturday I plan to have a day by myself (yoga, followed by beautician and then HGTV!) and then on Sunday I have church, play date with former co-workers and then dinner in the city. So much to do but as my girl Maya Angelou would say: Life loves those who live it!

What day is it anyway?

Because I work in Academia, the assumption is always that every single thing in the world must be done before we leave for winter break in December. Due to this artificial deadline, it has been nonstop at work, all day, every day; in fact, I am eating my lunch and responding to e-mails simultaneously while typing this ;-) This weekend I get to go to NC to visit some friends and I am tres excited...it'll be like a 2 day vacation! Last weekend was tough because a very dear friend of the family went home to glory. She and my grandma have been friends for 55 years and I absolutely loved everything about her...I hope my grandchildren will feel the same way about my friends. She was hoping that I would have a girl...

So I am at the half point today, exactly 20 weeks (5 months) and things are looking good. Weekly Chiropractor and Yoga have done wonders for my hips so I am almost pain free. I have gained 2 lbs this month and I feel like my trip this weekend will give me 1 more lb before I see the doctor next week ;) I think I am going to need maternity shirts by Christmas because my belly is starting to push out. I went to the consignment store yesterday and I really hated how all the tops looked on my boobs, the minimizer bras that I bought 3 months ago are now holding on for dear life...I need a trip to Nordstroms to talk to the bra whisperer! My love affair with mayonnaise continues...last week DH brought home a blimpie's ham 12 inch sub for himself and I completely devoured half of it while he has playing NBA live; it's really embarrassing to eat what was in essence a sandwich the size of my daughter standing in the dark kitchen but i couldn't stop myself! DH had lots of jokes on me but he wasn't mad. I think this will pass in another week or so...last month I just had to have baked beans and now I am not in the least bit interested.

I can't wait until Christmas break in 4 more weeks! I think by then I will be ready to brave the kiddy section of Target and actually buy the stuff on my list.

The mystery is over!

Today I finally got to have the mid-term ultrasound. I made sure and had a good breakfast with eggs, toast, Orange Juice and Coffee so that the baby would be up and moving because I have no idea if I will get another ultrasound before its over and really, 20 more weeks is a long time to wait to finally learn the gender. To my delight, it worked like a charm and the baby was up and moving and we were able to get a good shot to confirm that it's a girl! She weighs 10 ounces and is coming along nicely.
She was all over the place and she attempted to put her foot in her mouth. She was also scratching her head so perhaps she even has hair! I don't actually feel any of this stuff so I am guessing that I can only feel when she does something crazy. This also proves once and for all that one cannot guess the sex :-/ I was prepared for a boy because I lost my love for sweets, there is overall a shortage of girl births and I just never got any girl "vibes" but alas it is a girl as DH has hoped for all along. To get my mind to transition into a girly frame of mind, I had to go to the mall and purchase the onesie above for my daugther to make her official in the house :o) I am looking forward to having lots of fun, taking her to Paris and teaching her everything I know... until she is a teenager, at which point she will call herself "dating" some guy that we will inevitably dislike. So here is what she is looking like from the outside (yes, I am at the gap getting some jeans on sale!)...not a real bump yet but we are getting there.

T minus 1 week

The wait is almost over, if all goes well, the Jones fetus will be "the boy/girl formerly known as it" next week! More good news, in my weekly chiropractor visit today it appears that my legs are now even again. My hip area still hurts but I am making progress in my stretching and I am going to be taking a weekly yoga class starting next Saturday. I was laying on the floor doing stretches while pretending to watch the world series with DH and I guess the baby got annoyed at me. So when I laid back down on the couch and rested my hand on my belly, I actually felt the baby push my hand! It was a distinct "get off me" push; I guess somebody got a little weight on them now and want to assert themselves...all 6 ounces of themselves ;)

DH was supposed to be going on a guy's trip to DR next week but alas the flights never came down in price. The cheapest flight that we could find was $745 3 weeks ago, right now they are $994. He was moping around the house and mentioned that he thought he was his last chance for a guy's trip and I had to ask "where did you ever get that idea?" He was under the impression that people with children don't go on trips. Of course I squashed that right there because I totally plan on going on my annual girl trip + my trip with DH + in 5 years I will institute a "family" trip. I wonder if he thought I was going to suddenly morph into a sanctimommy? Note to DH: I don't believe in being a martyr so I will continue to live my life and not put it on hold until I am 48. He seemed really relieved and he even smiled when I mentioned that I got him all covered for his 30th b-day trip next year with the guys...I can totally handle a 5-month-old all by myself + I have fabulous babysitter roster if needed ;)

Tonight I get to watch the Denver Nuggets beat the poor 0-4 Nets. I am very excited though because we actually got good seats (like row 1 good!) for cheap on stubhub...probably because the Nets are so bad right now. It should still be fun even if its just DH and I at the game ;)

The joys of commuting

As a rule, anytime it rains is just a bad day to commute. To magnify the drama that is my rainy day commute to work, first , I had to go to a doctor's appointment at 8:15 in the morning. As I am getting dress, I realize that the tank is almost on empty so now I have to come up with a gas station strategy. I get into the car and as I start driving my number of miles to 'E' starts to drop immediately from 27 to 24 (maybe the windshield wipers are to blame). By some miracle I manage to make it to the gas station that is 2 block away from the doctor with 17 miles to go...phew that was close!

I get to the doctor's office and fortunately the baby is oblivious to all that is going on in my world; heartbeat is 152 and the doctor congratulated me on gaining 3 lbs this month. Just when I thought I was of the hook, they needed yet more blood to look for yet another rare disease or defect that the baby could potentially have! It's a good think that I am not predisposed to worrying because the names of all the things that I have been tested for are just downright scary, the latest being "Spina Bifida"...like can 1 human being have this many potential issues? So I walk reluctantly to the back to have my blood drawn and I warn the lady that I am not a good bleeder. She is "confident" that she has found my vain and the needle goes in...and nothing happens, not enough blood! So she pulls it out and makes me chug 4 cups of water and announces that she will try the back of my hand! It worked but that really hurt :(

So now my hand hurts and is 9am and I decide that going home and parking and trekking to work is just annoying so why not drive to Jersey City and spend an extra $10 on a garage to make it to work faster? 1 hour later I figure out that it's a bad idea because everyone else has the same idea so it took 1 hour to drive 10 miles. By the time I get to parking garage, those 4 cups of water are really, really, really ready to come back out so I have to find a restroom. The attendant is nice enough to let me use their restroom but someone is in there and I have to wait. Finally the door opens and a middle aged Asian man come out and I already know before it hits me...this bathroom stinks, &$%k!! But I have to go so I run in and try to get out as quickly as possible (sidebar, somebody at my office blows up the bathroom every single morning and it ruins my morning everyday, looks like I can't get away from people who don't know to use their own bathroom for #2!!!).

I finally get on the train where I have the pleasure of standing packed-in and there is a girl in-front of me with her fur hoody in my face; why would she need a down jacket with a fur hood on a 60 degree day? Of course, it also stinks because the train has a permanent stench and its permanently packed with people. As I get off the train I have to wonder if I was particularly mean to someone and create bad karma for myself? But I decide that I just need to work harder and maybe just maybe I'll make enough money to live and work in the same zip code one day ;)

Tuesday check in

I discovered just this week that for the first time ever in my life I do not have love handles or any sort of fat on my back! of course, i now have a pot belly.... God just playing a jokie-joke on me. Anywho, here is a picture of me with my stomach not hidden in layers of clothes. Yup, no bump yet, but now we all get to see what I look like with 5 extra lbs on.


I attempted to do some shopping this weekend ;-) I went to Banana republic where I found 1 more flowy knit blouse to add to my waldrobe. I didn't like motherhood, it's way over-rated and they want too much money for such poor quality clothing. On sunday I trecked over to the big Gap on 34th st. to check out their maternity section and I was not entirely disapppointed! They had a few work pants that I liked, their jeans were a way better fit on me than old navy and they have sheath dresses (so excited to see a non-empire waist dress!). I know that over-the-belly pants are supposed to be the best but I just don't like them nor do I have a belly to hold it up as I am only 4 months. I tried on everything and then placed an order at home because I had a coupon for online...wuh-huh! So now I have 2 pants, 2 jeans, 1 legging and 2 workout pants; I think I am ok until at least January when I expect to need a few maternity tops and a dress. What I learned about maternity clothes is that the nice stuff is just as expensive or more expensive than regular clothes, which sucks because you can only wear it for a limited period of time (unless you are into that whole quickver movement and plan to spend your adult life pregnant). I have decided that I am going to get like 15 good items that I can wear over and over, cute accessories and knee boots and call it a day.

This will be an action-packed week and weekend, in fact I don't have a free weekend until the middle of November. I hope DH and I will make it out to go see Zombyville on Thrusday, tomorrow night I have community service. I have also made an appointment to go see a chiropractor tomorrow, which to me is like folk medicine but its worth the try since the real doctors have no suggestions for sciatic nerve pain. Then, on Friday night I have my trip to the salon which is so dull now...my Fun Friday crowd has move on so I have nobody to drink wine and eat cheese with. On Saturday I am going to Fright Fest at Great Adventure which I am not so excited about because I am not sure how many rides I can get on. But I promised my sister I would take her so no flaking out for me...unless we have another deluge this weekend :o)

Night at the rock and fancy daycare

Yesterday DH and I went to go see the Nets exhibition game at the Prudential center which was fun until the last 60 seconds where they couldn't keep it together and lost to the Boston Celtics. I must say, although the Prudential wasn't sold out, it was more filled than any Nets game that I have seen in Secaucus. However, I now realize why the Nets will probably never pick Newark over Brooklyn....it felt like Hot 97 Summer Jam in there and I don't think that is their target audience. There was a decent amount of diversity but many of the garden state's suburban families are uncomfortable stepping foot in Newark for fear of being shot upon arrival. Despite hundreds of cops and metal detector and the fact that the Rock really is a beautiful arena with comfy seats, I saw people looking around nervously like a riot was going to break out any minute ;) I wasn't even that type of vibe, people were just loud and having fun but if you haven't been exposed to such things...

I also got to spend part of my day yesterday visiting daycare centers (oh joy). I started off by going to the most expensive place in a 10 mile radius so I could understand what one gives up when you don't have that type of money. This place was $1250 per month and the yard was a veritable play land with all the best toys I have ever seen. Their infant "cottage" was completely separate and they had 1 caregiver to 2.5 children. The children looked happy and the staff was very friendly. Oh, and there was exactly 1 brown baby in there. But some of the stuff that they offer I can totally live without...I really don't care about "baby" sign language! They also give kids homework starting at 2 and they guarantee that by the time you child leaves to go to regular school, they can read and do math up to fractions. Maybe I am going to be the most simple-minded parent out there but I am ok if my kid is just happy and plays around until time for school. I don't think being able to do fractions at 5 will have any bearing on their success...wanting success bad enough to work for it as a grown up will be the deciding factor (of course my kid could just decide to take the easy way out and marry well or get their own reality tv show like Frankie and Neffie...hehe!).

Somebody stop me!

I am online at old navy and they actually have clothes that will not make me look frumpy and I am totally filling up my cart. So what if I only need jeans and everything else fits...well what if in 7 weeks when I actually have a belly all the good clothes are gone?

2 years and still growing

Tomorrow is our 2 year anniversary! We decided that we will keep it simple; so our next anniversary trip will be to Italy in 2012 to celebrate 5 years if God spares us. In the spirit of keeping it simple and within budget, we are going to go to Bahama Breeze which was my favorite chain in Memphis and it has just opened up in Wayne. I have a card and since the 2nd anniversary is cotton, I will be looking for a cute t-shirt to give dh as a gift.

In other news, my Jeans have just been added to the list of things that I no longer find comfortable. It's only week 14 tomorrow and that list already includes: stockings, size M leggins, all of my gym pants except 1 pair! My belly doesn't seem big to me but because my jeans are not low rise they just don't work. I need to go to old navy and get some more gym pants because I really like to keep 2 outfits in my locker so that I have no excuses (it really does not take much for me to excuse myself out of the Gym!). I also went to the consignment shop to look for jeans but I did not like any of the ones in a size 8...I was wondering who wears this stuff! I am talking wide-leg cargo jeans....really? All the cute jeans were a size 2 or 4 :(

I have not been eating sweets the way I used to because they just end up being too sweet; I have 2 boxes of molten chocolate cake in my Freezer for a month and I have not looked at them!! So does this mean that my sweet tooth is cured? Maybe this is the secret of skinny people who don't diet....they don't have a sweet tooth! I never fully bought that high metabolism thing, now this is something that makes sense to me.

Perhaps my lack of sweet tooth is why I have not gained any weight in the last 2 weeks but I am pretty confident that I will gain 15 to 20 lbs in the next 26 weeks. Even the most neurotic women who diet while pregnant still manage to gain 15 lbs! Thanksgiving and christmas are coming up...i gain 5 lbs during that 1 month every year, guaranteed. In addition, I have been getting plenty of carbs and protein: meals with triple carbs (corn on the cub, rice and beans!), beef like 2-3 per week, oatmeal, milk and yogurt everyday, whole eggs a few times per week and bread with cheese and butter or avocado everyday (fat is finally my friend!). DH says that I don't eat any junk food and that's why I don't gain weight...does he want a baby made out of doritos and twinkies?!?

Maybe I should say I have weight management issues...

I find it amusing how much people feel like the can interject in your life once they find out you are pregnant. I am pretty sure most of these people will not be concerned once the kid is here. Early this week, the "Office Manager" was appalled by my sushi consumption. I had to tell her that I read all the scientific research that was blown out of proportion to justify all the "forbidden foods" and I was comfortable with my decision...besides, I work in NYC, I have a better chance of being hit by a cab while walking on a sidewalk than catching listeria from my trusted sushi purveyor. Yesterday, I went to Kiehl's to get more of their body lotion, which sidebar works beautifully on my now extra-extra-dry skin, and my regular sales guy was asking me about how I was feeling. I was telling him that I felt great and the only thing that I hated was the train ride to work,out of nowhere, this lady jumps into the conversation and interjects that she wouldn't be working if she was pregnant and she quit her job as soon as she found out she was pregnant 15 years ago. I don't understand why would she get the impression that I care? Did she want a medal? So excused myself to go look for face cream. My new strategy to ward off "experts" as I get bigger is to say that I have a weight management issue :) The funny thing is that if this was 1979 instead of 2009, I could be smoking a cigarette and nobody would care!

Baby Jones at Week 12

Today I went to the hospital to get the first major scan, hence a good picture of baby Jones. He was very active moving his arms and he even flipped around completely and literally showed his @%s...mmm-hmm, he acting up already! I actually think I felt the baby twice in the last week but one can never tell because it's just a flutter...it could have been gas. Once was last week while I was on the train and then yesterday after eating a fabulous Cuban lunch of steak, eggs, tostones and corn. I was especially pleased with the food and maybe the baby was too and decide to do a one-hand somersault.

So the baby is pretty much set, now it's going to spend 6 more months growing and relaxing for him which translates into 1 lb per week and eventually new clothes for me. As we got on the elevator to leave the hospital, there was a newborn on his way out screaming his head off, DH turned to me and asked me if I was ready for that and I was like "that is not going to be our baby." Oh, we are going to have some serious heart-to-heart conversations before he is born as to my expectations about his behavior ;)

On my open projects front, I got two quotes back on all the stuff I want done and they were both scary but there was like $5k difference between the 2. See, this is why I don't like dealing with Mechanics or Contractors...Obama needs to address them once we get health care under control :-/ I will hopefully visit the last hospital on Sunday and then I can check that off my list. I also signed up for 2 project management classes in October so I can take the test to be a certified Project Manager by next summer. Now all I need to do is find a daycare and a 529 plan for baby Jones since I am currently motivated to check stuff off my to-do list. Tomorrow I get to go to Shake Shack with my French class friends, and yes, I will be drinking a chocolate milkshake outside in 60 degree weather...I am just hoping that it won't be too sweet!

Things that I have learned

After many years of thinking that my stomach was my worst feature I am now thinking that a) maybe it wasn't so bad and b) I am sure going to miss it; I will need to go to war with my body next spring to bring it back...you live and you learn. Speaking of learning, I have also learned that empire dresses are really not flattering on everyone (especially not me, fortunately my sheet dresses still fit) and that eating a burrito for lunch will not prevent me from being hungry again in 2-3 hours :-) It was worth the shot but I really did not get any extra mileage from a burrito than I do from my usual lean cuisine lunch. But aside from being hungry on a regular basis, I have no symptoms at all...I almost feel guilty to not have any horror stories because it sounds like like I am bragging when I say I am doing just fine.

In other news, my hospital hunt continues; I really don't like hospitals so I am trying to find the least traumatic option. We visited Mountainside Hospital on Sunday and it is not going to work so we are moving on to Overlook in Summit next week. My old doctor's office faxed my records over to my current doctor without any drama so I am going to send them a edible arrangement to thank them when I get paid. DH is away on a business trip so I get to go home and not cook and work on my other project: decorating part deux. I know, I know, I have been working on this forever...I am now meeting contractors to do the master bathroom, finish the stairs and tile the kitchen. After that is done, all I want is to get new appliances and maybe a new counter top but I am going to have to pay for those things all by my lonesome because DH sees no value in stainless steel or stone countertop :-/ Which leads to the other very important lesson that I have learned: don't ever, ever again commit to buying a house unless a) it is perfect and has everything I want or b) I actually have money in the bank to do everything I want. I have been watching HGTV since college and I blame them for making me do this!

New doctor

I really wish I would have put my foot down and insisted on living in NY 2 years ago, taking the Path train everyday is slowly driving me insane. No matter how great I smell in the morning when I get on the train, I can't help but to feel stale when I get off! I am sitting at my desk right now and I can still smell cigarettes and just general subway stench on me. ok, I am done with my complaining for now.

My appointment this week was uneventful, all my blood test came back normal and I learned that I was a B+ instead of A+ blood type and somewhat anemic; I could identify the baby's head and heartbeat but I couldn't hear the heartbeat because the machine at this office doesn't pick it up so I was disappointed. I did come to the realization that I need a new OB because apparently, you have to pick your doctor based on the hospital in which they deliver. We were totally against St. Vincent's in the city so I made a short list of hospitals in NJ by looking at the boards. Then I checked out their credential's and C-section rates on the BCBS website (apparently NJ has one of the highest rates in the country at 51% so I wanted hospitals with a rate of under 36%). Then I ran them by DH because he has been in most of the hospitals in NJ and he knows which ones are not that clean. So my shortlist of Hospitals is: Mountainside, Morristown, Holy Name and Summit. All have private maternity rooms which would cost me $700 per night at the NYC hospitals, wuh-huh!

I then called up everyone I know in Jersey to get their OB recommendations and I matched them up with my chosen hospitals. Finally, I called the OB office and asked the questions on my list. Full disclosure, my insurance company has a very helpful hot-line where they gave me a full list of questions to ask like: How soon will you come to the hospital once I am in labor? I would have never thought of this question! I have settled on Dr. Winsome Parchment in Maplewood for now because she came recommended by someone who was extremely picky and went to a number of OBGYNs. Also, when I called her office they were the most helpful and did not rush me and she is ranked in the list of top 100 doctors in NJ and has been a activist on natural birth. I am in favor of all painkilling drugs but I really don't want to be forced in a c-section because the doctor has other things to do :-/

So I get to meet my new doctor in 2 weeks and now I have to break up with my ex-doctor...hopefully they will be nice and send my medical records without any drama.

Apparently I am poor and I live under a rock :-/

Ok, I am only half kidding but this is how I felt today because I really don't know anyone whose kid goes to daycare. The women who I have spoken to at work seem to believe that in the event that your spouse cannot afford to keep you at home, the only reasonable alternative is to hire someone for $2k per month to provide in home care.

I also tried to look up daycare recommendations on Urbanbaby.com because I incorrectly thought that a good number of urban moms use daycare. That was a bad idea, any post asking about daycare inevitably got at least one person who said that "women who can't stay home shouldn't have children" or "daycare children are more agressive;" this was on the NYC board! Not Luisiana, not Kentucky...NYC! So apparently working mom's who can't afford nannies are responsible for all the sociopaths and vagrants :-/ They also have all sorts of posts about teaching babies sign language, not getting shots and how eating a can of tuna will kill the baby. Apparently there is an entire subculture built around judging what is the best path to make your child into a functioning member of society. Let me think...my mom rode a motorcycle while pregnant, I grew up in the 3rd world, had shots for more diseases than anyone you know and attended free nursery school...my dh actually attended *gasp* daycare and ate McDonald's every friday. How did we ever turn out to be a married people with a decent jobs, who go to church and pay taxes? Our family were strict, no nonsense, hispanic or downsouth USA people, that's how...a chancleta or a switch prevents a lifetime of issues.

I know that my lack of knowledge in this arena is really my fault because I spent more time planning my next trip than actually planning for baby (in fact, I already know where I want to go for the next 3 years!). But it's ok because I know that I can provide food and shelter and if necessary mental health benefits in the event that being my kid proves to be too stressful ;) Fortunately, DH and I are both very comfortable with daycare...maybe we just don't know any better. I am now on a mission to find just 1 more couple who is down for daycare ( maybe I should get a daycare mom t-shirt made...). A very good friend recommended that I call another young working class couple and bingo they actually know people who like their daycare and get this: they even have a daycare picked out for when they have a kid!

10 Weeks Today!

I am very happy to make the 10 week milestone today because 1st trimester is almost over and hopefully the easy part begins. I have gained additional 1/2 lb bringing my grand total up to 2 lbs for the 1st trimester. I broke the news to my boss today and she was extremely supportive and excited. I told her that I am invested in my career and I would absolutely be coming back. I also told her that I do not want to be put on a "mommy track." She reassured me that she worked full time and worked on her MBA during her pregnancies so she is well aware of a woman's ability to do as much as she wants. I felt so relieved to see that I have a boss who totally get's it! I think that from now on I will just consult with her and not read the message boards...99% of the women want to be SAHM even if they work; i don't knock this if that is your dream but I need to hear from those who are bold and courageous enough to want it all...wuh-huh!

Ok, time for my 2nd afternoon snack.

Starving!

I was reading a book and it says that you tend to eat more with little boys so I have more information to support my theory…today I had a papaya smoothie, a Tamal and Coffee for breakfast and I have already snacked on a banana and oatmeal and I am still hungry! I will be surprised if its not a boy. So far I am only up 1.5 lbs, hopefully I will be able to gain another 1.5 lbs in the next 3 weeks to close out the first trim on track. I love food but eating on demand is really a job!

Older but so not wiser

My 28th year of life begun this weekend on a rainy day courtesy of Hurricane Dan, who ruined my beach day. Rainy day aside, it was still a calm and relaxing day like I hoped...I even got to take a nap! My dearest Fuquita volunteered her digs as the site for my B-day diner where we feasted on Spaghetti and meat sauce with a side of KFC chicken. I surprisingly got a lot of cool presents (i have no expectations for my b-day at my age) and the embryo soon to be known as a fetus got a gift too! I got a fresh new perm, discovered my first gray hair and tried out the Chili's 2 for $20 promotion...it's only aait. Ok, back to paying the bills!

A funny thing happened on my way to Spain...

My summer vacation is over and I have already been back in the real world for week and boy it has been painful. But let me rewind to what happened on my way to Spain. I was totally expecting for my dear aunt Flo to show up by the 1st of August and be gone by the time I was ready to board my flight on the 5th. However, by the time I got off the cruise she was still nowhere to be found. I have been late 3 times in my entire life so this was not entirely strange but somehow curiousity got the best of me and I decided to take a test. I was totally expecting a negative as I read my Marie Claire and waited for 3 minutes to be up...lo and behold it was a positive. That was absolutely crazy to look at! Of course I went to Target to purchase a different brand. After taking a nap, I took the second test and it was still positive so I had to tell DH that something could be up. He thought I was playing but I told him I was serious and I will make a Doctor's appointment for when I return to see what's up. When I returned from Spain still no Aunt Flo so I took yet another test and we both concluded that this just might be real. We went to the Doctor on Monday and saw the smallest being in the world with a heartbeat!

Was it planned? well sort of, the plan was for December but I won't call it an accident. So now I am at 8 weeks and I suspect that this could get far more interesting before it's all over. So far I have had to wake up at 5am and get a slice of cheese or a banana on several different occasions because I was starving. I have also had to cut down all my meals into mini meals and apparently my sweet tooth has been temporarily cured...get this, I actually could not finish a cup of ice cream because it tasted to sweet! Also today my favorite linen workpants are feeling kinda snug. So I totally have a long list of projects at work, home and otherwise this fall and winter but I will add updates about what my belly is doing too.

Almost ready to go...

The last 2 weeks have been absolutely crazy at work but I have tried to be good about not wearing myself down. I am really trying to be somewhat balanced in my approach because work will not miss me when I am dead :-/ But vacation does not go unpunished so I am not up working on the last 8 things on my to-do list before I can call it quits. I will be so excited to go to Brooklyn and get on that ship tomorrow! Our first 2 days are at sea and then I will be in Turks and Caicos...total relaxation.

Baby Tomatoes and the longest week ever...

I have had very bad luck in the past with growing anything green in my house or at my desk. However, I recently journeyed to a nursery and I spoke to a very nice man who gave me a a good strategy...all I needed was a bigger container so that it could hold more water even if I forgot to water a day or two! And so my latest adventure in urban gardening begun. I now have one big pot where I am growing tomatoes, basil and Petunias. If all goes well, next summer I will add another pot and grow some more veggies...I am so excited! I was fertilizing my pot yesterday and lo and behold, I saw some baby tomatoes! I was so proud of myself and thankful to God that my pot made it this far. Here is a first look at my tomatoes:
Of course DH's reaction was "if you lived in the suburbs you could have a whole garden." To which I rolled my eyes and said "whatever." I am quite proud of my budding urban garden and I doubt I could ever handle more responsibility ;-)

This weekend I got to see a friend who has moved away and who I miss very much, it really made my week. That is probably one of the hardest things about my life in America, people just up and move at the drop of a dime so your community is constantly evolving. She is doing great though and living the life of her dreams which is such a hard thing to accomplish so I am very proud. This will be a particularly long week at work because its a "go-no-go" decision week for one of the 4 projects that I am working on. No matter how long I work on a project, this pivotal week is always the hardest but I am cautiously optimistic that everything will work great. Now back to the grind!

New Chair!

As you may already know, my boss is moving to Germany. He has given me his Crate and Barrel Petrie sofa and I was just too excited to add this modern gem to my living room. Now we have a compromise, 2 comfy chairs for DH and one stylish chair to appease my modern design sensibilities. My living room is almost complete, I just need to order the new sofa to match the arm chair and find 2 side tables to replace my $10 numbers from Ikea!

Top 10 reasons why I am not a suburbanite

Every so often my DH brings moving to Atlanta because in his mind it is the perfect place to live. He loves to go on about how we can get a bigger house for half of what we paid for our current house. I counter his argument with my refusal to move to the suburbs. While I appreciate visiting the suburbs, I currently do not see it as the place for me and I always give him my top 10 reasons why I am not moving to the suburbs:

10. I have never driven through any suburb and said to myself: “self, I can’t wait to live here!”
9. No homeless, hippies, bohemian, prostitutes, drag queens, winos, etc….just not enough diversity period!
8. It’s creepy quiet and dark at night.
7. This may be ATL specific but all the houses look the same…it’s like Stepford!
6. People are at the grocery store on a Saturday night
5. No cool Bars!
4. Too many women in track suits and clothing from Eileen Fisher or Chicos.
3. Trains stop running at 2am-I like knowing that I have a ride home no matter how much I party.
2. Career woman is spoken like a dirty word.
1. Too many people drive minivans-Nobody looks sexy in a minivan, nobody!

Slow Cooker Chili Recipe

This weekend I had a post cinco de Mayo get together and everyone seemed to like my slow cooker chili. I cannot take credit for the recipe because I got it from my friend and former neighbor who is a much better cook that I. I made a few modifications of my own, so here you go:

Ingredients

2 lb ground beef

2 cans of kidney beans

2 cans of diced tomatoes (1 with mild Chile peppers)

½ onion chopped

3 garlic cloves crushed

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons of pepper

2 teaspoons of salt

1 cup of pasta sauce (I use barillas marinara with roasted garlic)

Salsa Lizano

Spray oil

Mrs. Dash (any flavor will do)

Preparation:

Spray a large heavy skillet/pot with oil and heat on high heat. Sauté ground beef and onion stirring with a fork to break up clumps. Season beef with Mrs. Dash and salsa lizano (once across the pot will do). When all the pinkness and clumps are gone from the beef, turn off fire and set aside. Plug in slow cooker and set on low. Add beans, tomatoes, garlic, pasta sauce and ground beef. Season with chili powder, salt and pepper. Mix up ingredients really well and let it cook on low for 6 to 7 hours depending on your pot.

Is broke the new black?

It seems that lately spending money on anything or giving the semblance of being able to pay your bills is totally out of vogue. Every newspaper and magazine has articles on counting your pennies and how to discuss the b-word with your spouse, friends and family...and don't get me started on those articles about Freegans! I feel like I have died and went to the 18th century where "a pennie save is a penny earned" is all the rage. I like everyone in America know at least one person who has been affected by the latest downturn; however, I am not prepared to go around complaining about being broke cause its fashionable. All the constant chatter of brokeness makes me nostalgic for the days when everyone bragged about how rich they were on paper.

Furtunately my life hasn't changes much; that is, I pay all my bills at the beginning of the month, try to make a dent in my debt and spend what's left. In my case, by the middle of the month all what is left is gone...no different than in 2007. I am also one of the last people to buy a house before the bubble burst; i know, nobody owns up to that but I will. If we loose our jobs, my parents have assured me that we can have the basement and that is better than money in the bank. So no point booring anyone with my brokeness, in fact I prefer to talk about my highly anticipated 3 weeks of summer vacation which given the destinations (Spain, Turks & Caicos, bermuda, oh my!) will require its own post. Sure it isn't paid for yet, in fact I am financing a portion of it but hey somebody has to step up and pick up the slack for our sagging economy!

This is crazy!

So as I write this post I am sitting in my living room recovering from a hangover. Yesterday I planned on having a nice quiet night at home but a very good friend cajoled me into going out to the bar because it was nice out. Now y'all know I have no money because it is the end of the month plus I work to pay bill and travel, that's it. But I decided to take the hit and go out for 2 drinks. Long story short, at our 3rd bar we decided to order the Sangria because it was the "recession" special. After drinking the Sangria I ask the Bartender what is in it and he said Brandy....great! I had 2 white cocktails and 1 beer prior to this so I was doing just fine; as soon as I hear "Brandy" I knew that I was going to be in trouble. This morning I woke up at 5 am and I couldn't remember how I got home! I was relieved to be home in my bed with the proper husband. Now I see how people can totally get in trouble after drinking :-/

Costa Rica and a trip to the DMV

I just got back from my short trip to go and hang with the fam in CR. We rented a bus and went to the beach for the day to celebrate my grandmother's birthday with 45 of our closest family friends. It was really hot but we had a fabulous time and you could hear the noise from pretty far away. On my way down to CR I met a guy who is not from CR but actually bought property in Limon...that is so awesome, I really need to kick my game up!

I have been pretty sick this week but I still managed to stand on line at the DMV to finally get a license with my married name. I totally dragged my feet on this because I really hate the DMV but I was pleasantly surprised to see that they actually have a system in place and the women working in there did not have too much of a nasty attitude. The other truth of the matter is that changing my name had to be a gradual process because originally we weren't even on the same page. When we agreed on hyphenating one year after we got married was when I was ready to start taking steps to updating everything. I am very happy to be a member of his family but I am still a post-feminist woman so everything that I accomplished prior to being married under my birth name really does matter; I do not work for fun...I am in it to win!

Curtains!

I am very grateful to DH for getting the curtains up in less than a 2 weeks! I finall settled on tan velvet-like panels and htey have really made an impact on the look of the place. The purple is now a background color and the brown chairs do not look as dark anymore. The curtain hunt took more than a year because I could not figure out what color and then when I settled on a color, I had a hard time finding ones that I could afford. I needed 9 panels for my living room and while Pottery Barn and West Elm had beautiful options..at $50-$100 per panel it was just not conceivable. Finally, Target came through with $30 panels with grommets which I totally dig.

Mini-Rant about the animals in my life

So I was watching this documentary on HBO while in California about how pigs are raised in cages and they bang themselves up against cages because they want to roam free. You know I eat anything that is dead but I always assumed that my food was being treated good enough :-/ Now I had to put on my activist hat and send a message to trader Joe's asking them to confirm if I can rest assured that all my meat in humanely treated. You just can't trust anyone anymore these days...you assume that everyone is trying to do the decent thing but truth is...a lot of people will do anything to make an extra buck. So I already pay $4lb to ensure that my chicken has no hormones, now I have something else to worry about...Dios mio!

My new favorite thing

Ok, i am supposed to be asleep but I just had to post briefly about Shea Butter ultra rich cream by L'Occitaine. I just bought it for my night cream and it is awesome! If you have dry skin like me, this is a buy...your neck and forehead will thank you in years to come. http://usa.loccitane.com/FO/Catalog/Product.aspx?prod=01CV050KA

Update on sofa and my whereabouts

So we might be nearing a compromise on the sofa saga. I have found something modern that looks comfortable and at 89" long has a good size. Ladies, I present the Loring by Room and Board:

When I return from LA we will have to go and do the comfort test to see if I can order the sofa and get on with my life. Speaking of which, for the first in 7 years that I have been travelling for business DH has decided that he actually wants to come with me! I usually have somebody to come with me on my trips but usually not him so I am hoping he enjoys the one perk of my job. Ok, I gotta go because I promised to post my Columbia pictures on Facebook two months after the fact. I know, I am horrible at keeping up with my pics and my postings but I am trying to do better.

A change of scenary...rugs!

So if you haven't been to my home in a while...here is a picture of my living room when we first moved in:




Here is a more recent picture



since this picture was taken, i have painted the walls with the same color in flat to remove the gloss and moved the couch to the wall. I am now looking to replace all the furniture plus the accesorize...cause I want it to make me happy when I walk in :o)

Since I cannot bring myself to order a sofa yet...I have been looking at rugs. As you know, we are not the neatest people...we spill stuff so I need something safe ;-)

If you find other picks, please post the link by all means! On a side note, I finally got some 8x10 wedding pictures that I ordered to put somewhere in the house. Do you think its tacky to put wedding pictures in the living room? or should I reserve them for my bedroom and hallway upstairs?

The Sofa Situation

have been driven to start blogging again because I am trying to decorate and it promises to be an adventure. So I am trying to buy a new sofa and matching chairs to pull my living room together. I will post a picture of my living room in its current state tonight. So here is the dilema:

My version of a nice sofa

DH's Version

So as you can see we are worlds apart...I like contemporary/mid-century while he likes just comfortable...that's it, no particular style or era. So I am trying to find compromises such as:

Orson, by Room & Board

Kendall, by Room & Board

Cameron by Room & Board

Axis, by Crate and Barrel

Lounge, by Crate and Barrel

What do you think?