A Shout-Out to my Husband
I've had a rough, irrational, emotional day. The stress of end of semester is upon me and homework plus projects keep piling up. In this mode I've been crying off and on all day, disagreeing with everything, unmotivated and a general grumpy pain in the butt. And my husband still loves me.
This is only a short list of the ways in which he shows me that this is true:
He made us breakfast. Yummy fried mashed potato cakes with cheese and green onion. Heavenly.
He sanded the new dining room table.
He's working (right at this moment) on getting our finances straightened out on the Mac version of Quicken so that I can log in and check our balances, pay bills and just be involved in where our money is going.
He shares his plate with me when we go out to eat.
He never yells or loses patience with me when I get grumpy like this. Instead he gives me extra kisses and makes me smile in spite of myself.
He doesn't yell at me, period.
He downloads "Desperate Housewives" every Sunday night so that we can keep current on the season.
He cooked dinner tonight, Cuban chicken and coconut rice, so that I could finish some homework. (Without my even asking...he just did it 'cause he's that kind of guy.)
He doesn't complain when I don't get the housework done.
He vacuums. On a regular basis. Underneath the furniture, too.
He always has a smile for me.
He takes care of my car. He spent a Saturday replacing the brakes. He changes my oil. He only sometimes rolls his eyeballs at the mess I leave in there. (I'm getting better!)
He's going to cook dinner for me for my birthday.
He always kisses me goodnight and has a snuggle for me as well. He never lets me get cold at night and he doesn't mind if I sometimes snore.
His hugs when he comes home from work make my day.
He went to Whole Foods in his pj's, tonight, just to get me carrot cake. Because I wanted some. Even after I've been grumpy all day.
I only have to remember how blessed I am to have such a partner in my life when I feel blue. I know this stress will pass and I'll feel fine again soon...and I know that everything in my life is just easier because my husband is just perfect for me.
Thanks hon. *smooch*
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Friday, November 18, 2005
Where Did The Week Go?
Darling Husband was out of town on business for two days at the beginning of the week. I had all sorts of plans and goals to accomplish. Yeah right. I spent Monday night on the couch eating take out Indian food (so so yummy) and watching random recorded shows on the Myth Box. I was up until about 1am. Then about 3am I was awoken from my slumber by a gigantic wind storm rushing through the neighborhood. So very strong it rocked out the gate across the driveway and caused very loud, very scary noises to be made. About 3:15 I got up the courage to look outside and figured out what was going on. Around 3:30 I decided I couldn't "sleep through it" and had to take decisive action. This involved me running outside in my comfy robe and slippers and propping the gate open with a large and heavy rock. Problem solved. The wind still kept me up for the remainder of the night. Sigh.
Tuesday I babysat and chatted with a friend way to late. Nothing but goodwill and friendship accomplished. Oh, I did manage to get the dishes in to the dishwasher before the roommate came home. Whew. That was a lot.
The rest of the week remains a blur. I am now staring Thanksgiving in the face. I'm helping with 30 people in my mom's two bedroom home. Tomorrow I must shop...as I also have the pre-Thanksgiving happy fun time party in the City with friends on Sunday. I am so looking forward to it. It'll be nice to have a great relaxed dinner with friends before the huge production of Thanksgiving with the family happens.
I have come to the realization that Thanksgiving is the biggest production holiday my family does. It is the one holiday my mom hates to give up. She revels in cooking a large fancy meal for bunches of people. Thanksgiving was always a bigger dinner than Christmas or Easter. I too, revel in it now. The prospect of making huge quantities of food for a crowd pleases me. We've been planning this dinner since roughly, July. No joke.
After this, I have to get Christmas planned. It's happening here this year, and the construction on the street has left the house dusty. I'll be cleaning windows and curtains...and making new drapes for the living room...in preparation for Darling's family staying with us.
I have already started my gift shopping, though. When you order on-line, now is the time! OK, I know most of you out there have finished your shopping, but this is good for me. Trust me on this one.
--
...everybody eats when they come to my house!
Darling Husband was out of town on business for two days at the beginning of the week. I had all sorts of plans and goals to accomplish. Yeah right. I spent Monday night on the couch eating take out Indian food (so so yummy) and watching random recorded shows on the Myth Box. I was up until about 1am. Then about 3am I was awoken from my slumber by a gigantic wind storm rushing through the neighborhood. So very strong it rocked out the gate across the driveway and caused very loud, very scary noises to be made. About 3:15 I got up the courage to look outside and figured out what was going on. Around 3:30 I decided I couldn't "sleep through it" and had to take decisive action. This involved me running outside in my comfy robe and slippers and propping the gate open with a large and heavy rock. Problem solved. The wind still kept me up for the remainder of the night. Sigh.
Tuesday I babysat and chatted with a friend way to late. Nothing but goodwill and friendship accomplished. Oh, I did manage to get the dishes in to the dishwasher before the roommate came home. Whew. That was a lot.
The rest of the week remains a blur. I am now staring Thanksgiving in the face. I'm helping with 30 people in my mom's two bedroom home. Tomorrow I must shop...as I also have the pre-Thanksgiving happy fun time party in the City with friends on Sunday. I am so looking forward to it. It'll be nice to have a great relaxed dinner with friends before the huge production of Thanksgiving with the family happens.
I have come to the realization that Thanksgiving is the biggest production holiday my family does. It is the one holiday my mom hates to give up. She revels in cooking a large fancy meal for bunches of people. Thanksgiving was always a bigger dinner than Christmas or Easter. I too, revel in it now. The prospect of making huge quantities of food for a crowd pleases me. We've been planning this dinner since roughly, July. No joke.
After this, I have to get Christmas planned. It's happening here this year, and the construction on the street has left the house dusty. I'll be cleaning windows and curtains...and making new drapes for the living room...in preparation for Darling's family staying with us.
I have already started my gift shopping, though. When you order on-line, now is the time! OK, I know most of you out there have finished your shopping, but this is good for me. Trust me on this one.
--
...everybody eats when they come to my house!
Tuesday, November 8, 2005
A Little Salad Crazy
I went grocery shopping for the first time in, like, two weeks on Sunday. It was good. It's very nice to have a wide selection of healthy food options in the house. I did manage to go a touch crazy with one item. I bought four new bottles of salad dressing. Yes, four. This brings my salad dressing total to six in house. I could be a restaurant. Before you judge me a salad dressing loon....let me explain. We eat a lot of salad around here. I need a wide range of flavors to make sure my salad complements the overall tastes of the entire meal. Plus, I hate having to make a dressing every time I want to munch some lettuce. Oil and vinegar only go so far, you know. So...I had to replace the standards, Cilantro Lime and Newman's Own Cesar (the not creamy kind) and I added two new flavors to the line up: Lemon Chive and Goddess. Both are refreshing changes for the palette and plate. So I can salad on with the assurance of good taste. Yum.
I went grocery shopping for the first time in, like, two weeks on Sunday. It was good. It's very nice to have a wide selection of healthy food options in the house. I did manage to go a touch crazy with one item. I bought four new bottles of salad dressing. Yes, four. This brings my salad dressing total to six in house. I could be a restaurant. Before you judge me a salad dressing loon....let me explain. We eat a lot of salad around here. I need a wide range of flavors to make sure my salad complements the overall tastes of the entire meal. Plus, I hate having to make a dressing every time I want to munch some lettuce. Oil and vinegar only go so far, you know. So...I had to replace the standards, Cilantro Lime and Newman's Own Cesar (the not creamy kind) and I added two new flavors to the line up: Lemon Chive and Goddess. Both are refreshing changes for the palette and plate. So I can salad on with the assurance of good taste. Yum.
Thursday, November 3, 2005
*Shopping*
My pants are getting a little snug. Not so much when I put them on in the morning, but I notice it when I sit down or bend over or otherwise use the lower half of my body. Right now it's pretty limited to my jeans, but as cold weather approaches with the walk to school my Capri's aren't going to cut it any more.
Compounding this small problem is the fact that I really don't own a whole lot of pants. How can this be? I worked in a kitchen. I have four pairs of cheffing pants, which at one point in time I wore seven days a week between school and work. No joke. I own more chef clothes than jeans, cause that was the smart way to spend the clothing budget. Last year I splurged on honeymoon wear, but only bought light, packable pants. I think the last time I purchased a pair of regular old blue jeans was three years ago. And those were for work.
There is a reason behind this. I. hate. buying. pants. Especially jeans. It takes me weeks of hunting and shopping and malling...all things I could do without, thank you very much, to find one pair I really like. Then I stick with those until I can not wear them anymore. It has been suggested by some that I buy several pairs of said jeans when I find that right pair...but boys don't understand that girls can not own multiple pairs of the same jeans. Every pair must be slightly different. Every pair serves a slightly different purpose. If the same style came in different washes and you like them all, well, that might be alright, but how often does that happen?
So today I decided to go ahead and take the bull by the horns and go buy some pants. I have been holding out on buying new jeans, because I knew I would be getting pregnancy soon and did not want to have to go through the shopping process twice. I did some Internet looking, to get an idea of what was out there and what other women were wearing and hit the local mall. I was feeling kind of out of it and slightly head-achy...perfect for a shopping expedition. It keeps me focused, and I know if I find something I like when I'm feeling blah it's a real match and not a "feel good" purchase I'll regret later.
I began my journey at Target. Oh yeah. I didn't feel like plunking down the normal $45-$50 for jeans that have only a limited life span. Say, a year...maybe two with another kiddo, but not of constant wear. I'm saving the big spending for maternity/nursing bras. (Yeah...TMI for all my male friends, sorry.) I can usually find some cute things there and they at least have a maternity section (a problem I would encounter later with stores that don't carry any maternity in-house). Big disappointment. Everything that fit the waist dragged on the floor and for some unknown reason, 'boot cut' was huge. I'm not going to be wearing heeled boots and have a baby belly out to there. Plus, boot cut, unless done oh so subtly, leaves my hips and thighs looking enormous. Not pretty. I finally found one pair I could live with after I hem the bottoms. Yeah, the dressing room girl didn't like me very much.
Next stop...Old Navy. This used to be a haven for me and regular jeans, so I thought I'd give maternity a shot. I like the fact that they give you options like short or regular inseam (short please!) and have little tags that tell the expectant mother which trimesters the pants are good for. I was going for the whole package, 1-2-3 (also good for post birth!) as I'm just about out of my first trimester and wanting to get the most wear out of the pants. Back to not wanting to have to do this all over again. I found one pair I could live with. Actually, they are very cute and I really like them...but one pair. Out of the six I tried on. Out of the dozen I searched through. One pair. This is how picky I am and this is why I don't take anyone with me when I shop serious for clothes. At least I found a 'short' pair. No hemming required.
Now I was beginning to feel really frustrated. I had wanted to acquire at least three pairs of jeans...and I had exhausted the know shopping stops. I tried a big national store. Not one singe piece of maternity clothing. I was surprised, given the amount of children's clothes they carried.
I decided to wander the mall and see what jumped out at me. What I found was Motherhood Maternity. An entire store devoted to pregnant women. No $200 pants in sight (A Pea In The Pod really really charges $200 for a pair of maternity jeans). I was stoked. The staff was super friendly and helpful, plus the fitting rooms were outfitted with little strap-on tummy pillows to help you visualize the pants as the baby gets bigger. Cool. I just did the good old stretch them out test, worked just fine. I ended up with another pair of super comfy jeans and a bonus pair of green cargo pants. The cargo pants are rather large...I won't be wearing them for at least another month...but the jeans are going to go into immediate rotation. Much happiness. Of course, I am now on their mailing list and who knows what kind of scary baby related stuff is going to show up. I've been promised two issues of 'Parents' magazine and samples of Huggies. Great. But I really like the jeans. I might even break my rule and go get another pair. Just like the first. I'll just have to remember when I wore which where.
My pants are getting a little snug. Not so much when I put them on in the morning, but I notice it when I sit down or bend over or otherwise use the lower half of my body. Right now it's pretty limited to my jeans, but as cold weather approaches with the walk to school my Capri's aren't going to cut it any more.
Compounding this small problem is the fact that I really don't own a whole lot of pants. How can this be? I worked in a kitchen. I have four pairs of cheffing pants, which at one point in time I wore seven days a week between school and work. No joke. I own more chef clothes than jeans, cause that was the smart way to spend the clothing budget. Last year I splurged on honeymoon wear, but only bought light, packable pants. I think the last time I purchased a pair of regular old blue jeans was three years ago. And those were for work.
There is a reason behind this. I. hate. buying. pants. Especially jeans. It takes me weeks of hunting and shopping and malling...all things I could do without, thank you very much, to find one pair I really like. Then I stick with those until I can not wear them anymore. It has been suggested by some that I buy several pairs of said jeans when I find that right pair...but boys don't understand that girls can not own multiple pairs of the same jeans. Every pair must be slightly different. Every pair serves a slightly different purpose. If the same style came in different washes and you like them all, well, that might be alright, but how often does that happen?
So today I decided to go ahead and take the bull by the horns and go buy some pants. I have been holding out on buying new jeans, because I knew I would be getting pregnancy soon and did not want to have to go through the shopping process twice. I did some Internet looking, to get an idea of what was out there and what other women were wearing and hit the local mall. I was feeling kind of out of it and slightly head-achy...perfect for a shopping expedition. It keeps me focused, and I know if I find something I like when I'm feeling blah it's a real match and not a "feel good" purchase I'll regret later.
I began my journey at Target. Oh yeah. I didn't feel like plunking down the normal $45-$50 for jeans that have only a limited life span. Say, a year...maybe two with another kiddo, but not of constant wear. I'm saving the big spending for maternity/nursing bras. (Yeah...TMI for all my male friends, sorry.) I can usually find some cute things there and they at least have a maternity section (a problem I would encounter later with stores that don't carry any maternity in-house). Big disappointment. Everything that fit the waist dragged on the floor and for some unknown reason, 'boot cut' was huge. I'm not going to be wearing heeled boots and have a baby belly out to there. Plus, boot cut, unless done oh so subtly, leaves my hips and thighs looking enormous. Not pretty. I finally found one pair I could live with after I hem the bottoms. Yeah, the dressing room girl didn't like me very much.
Next stop...Old Navy. This used to be a haven for me and regular jeans, so I thought I'd give maternity a shot. I like the fact that they give you options like short or regular inseam (short please!) and have little tags that tell the expectant mother which trimesters the pants are good for. I was going for the whole package, 1-2-3 (also good for post birth!) as I'm just about out of my first trimester and wanting to get the most wear out of the pants. Back to not wanting to have to do this all over again. I found one pair I could live with. Actually, they are very cute and I really like them...but one pair. Out of the six I tried on. Out of the dozen I searched through. One pair. This is how picky I am and this is why I don't take anyone with me when I shop serious for clothes. At least I found a 'short' pair. No hemming required.
Now I was beginning to feel really frustrated. I had wanted to acquire at least three pairs of jeans...and I had exhausted the know shopping stops. I tried a big national store. Not one singe piece of maternity clothing. I was surprised, given the amount of children's clothes they carried.
I decided to wander the mall and see what jumped out at me. What I found was Motherhood Maternity. An entire store devoted to pregnant women. No $200 pants in sight (A Pea In The Pod really really charges $200 for a pair of maternity jeans). I was stoked. The staff was super friendly and helpful, plus the fitting rooms were outfitted with little strap-on tummy pillows to help you visualize the pants as the baby gets bigger. Cool. I just did the good old stretch them out test, worked just fine. I ended up with another pair of super comfy jeans and a bonus pair of green cargo pants. The cargo pants are rather large...I won't be wearing them for at least another month...but the jeans are going to go into immediate rotation. Much happiness. Of course, I am now on their mailing list and who knows what kind of scary baby related stuff is going to show up. I've been promised two issues of 'Parents' magazine and samples of Huggies. Great. But I really like the jeans. I might even break my rule and go get another pair. Just like the first. I'll just have to remember when I wore which where.
Wednesday, November 2, 2005
The Worst So Far...
I hate to complain, but I'm going to do just that for the next little bit. Small...but getting really annoying.
I have come to the conclusion that the worst part about this pregnancy, so far, is the heightened sense of smell. I smell everything. Most of it is bad. I've always had a fairly good sense of smell. That's why I have a pretty good sense of taste. I also have a really keen smell memory...did you know that smell is the strongest memory trigger?...but I digress. Now I have the nose of a bloodhound. At first, it was so cool to walk somewhere and smell things I never had before. It was fresh, exciting and fun. One memorable day was when I could smell the laundry detergent used to wash a young man's clothes standing across from me on light rail. Nice and clean. Food smelled the best, fresh herbs, cooking chicken, the grocery store was amazing!
Now it has all gone bad. Very very bad. It began with me. I began to smell bad to myself. Strong and different. I sat in class, worried that I smelled like a street person...but when I would ask hubby dear if I smelled bad (who else could I ask?) the answer was always "no". My clothes began to smell to me. Even clean ones had a lingering odor. Then the towels. Yuck! Freshly laundered, it's alright, but let them sit in the linen closest for a week...stink city. Now it's my entire house. I've gone through an entire bottle of Frebeeze in the past week trying to eradicate smell. I know it's clean. The carpets were steam-cleaned two weeks ago. I've washed all the couch covers. The kitchen has been scrubbed top to bottom, the cupboards cleaned out, the floor mopped. The bathroom was done the same way...the fixtures sparkle. There is just something wrong with my nose.
Food does not smell the same anymore. Things I used to love are now too strong. Rosemary, my dear herb friend, smells bitter. Garlic is sour. Sweets still smell good...and baked products and fruit...but everything else is slightly off. Taste is getting weird too. I thought the heightened sense of smell would make food taste so much better. At first it did, but now I have to be so careful with seasoning and saucing. I don't like saucy food anymore. I find the sauce to be overwhelming. Plain, clean, and simple, tastes are best to me right now.
The up side, good smells still smell really, really good. But the down side is killing me. There are bad smells everywhere...and bad smells trigger the slight quaking, queasy nausea that I dislike. I feel like an ocean voyager who has never quite gotten her sea legs. Not really sick...but not 100% either. If this is the worst of it, alright. I have a three more weeks before the food cravings start gearing up. We'll see what my nose decides to do then.
I hate to complain, but I'm going to do just that for the next little bit. Small...but getting really annoying.
I have come to the conclusion that the worst part about this pregnancy, so far, is the heightened sense of smell. I smell everything. Most of it is bad. I've always had a fairly good sense of smell. That's why I have a pretty good sense of taste. I also have a really keen smell memory...did you know that smell is the strongest memory trigger?...but I digress. Now I have the nose of a bloodhound. At first, it was so cool to walk somewhere and smell things I never had before. It was fresh, exciting and fun. One memorable day was when I could smell the laundry detergent used to wash a young man's clothes standing across from me on light rail. Nice and clean. Food smelled the best, fresh herbs, cooking chicken, the grocery store was amazing!
Now it has all gone bad. Very very bad. It began with me. I began to smell bad to myself. Strong and different. I sat in class, worried that I smelled like a street person...but when I would ask hubby dear if I smelled bad (who else could I ask?) the answer was always "no". My clothes began to smell to me. Even clean ones had a lingering odor. Then the towels. Yuck! Freshly laundered, it's alright, but let them sit in the linen closest for a week...stink city. Now it's my entire house. I've gone through an entire bottle of Frebeeze in the past week trying to eradicate smell. I know it's clean. The carpets were steam-cleaned two weeks ago. I've washed all the couch covers. The kitchen has been scrubbed top to bottom, the cupboards cleaned out, the floor mopped. The bathroom was done the same way...the fixtures sparkle. There is just something wrong with my nose.
Food does not smell the same anymore. Things I used to love are now too strong. Rosemary, my dear herb friend, smells bitter. Garlic is sour. Sweets still smell good...and baked products and fruit...but everything else is slightly off. Taste is getting weird too. I thought the heightened sense of smell would make food taste so much better. At first it did, but now I have to be so careful with seasoning and saucing. I don't like saucy food anymore. I find the sauce to be overwhelming. Plain, clean, and simple, tastes are best to me right now.
The up side, good smells still smell really, really good. But the down side is killing me. There are bad smells everywhere...and bad smells trigger the slight quaking, queasy nausea that I dislike. I feel like an ocean voyager who has never quite gotten her sea legs. Not really sick...but not 100% either. If this is the worst of it, alright. I have a three more weeks before the food cravings start gearing up. We'll see what my nose decides to do then.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
