Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Seriously, tomorrow is the first of August

And about 80% of the people whom I internet-stalk/keep up with (K. laughs at me for referring to my "friend" in France, who has no idea I exist) have not updated. That gives me the freedom to talk about whatever I please.

1st. The Trip
The beach was as expected, with the exception of the bloody pawprints on the door; my mother's dog did not take kindly to being left in a bedroom on our one evening in town when there was a thunderstorm, and he tried his damnedest to get out of the room, ergo costing mom a whole lot of moolah. But the bloody pawprints tickled me, they really did.

On our way back, K. and I began Our New Method of Traveling.

K. hates spending money, and isn't so good at enjoying the trip; he always wants to get straight to the destination. This means that when we travel across America, we stay in budget motels conveniently located off the interstate, eat in gas stations, or a cracker barrel if I throw an absolute fit.

But this is changing, a wee bit.

Saturday night, we reached our goal of Conyers, Georgia, desirable as a location only because it's about 30 miles outside Atlanta, and we were planning to hit the Atlanta Trader Joe's in the morning and didn't want to pay Atlanta hotel rates. So we stopped, got a room in a chain hotel off the interstate, and then, while K. showered, I took advantage of the free wireless to google the town's history.

Turns out even Conyers has a past, and after I'd told K/ about it, we got directions to the old town of Conyers, which turned out to be about a half-mile from all the interstate sludge. We parked behind some beautiful old brick buildings and promptly ran into...an Elvis impersonator. "Good evening," he said, and we good-eveninged him back. He drove a white SUV, which matched the jump suit.

After walking down an alley and following our ears, we came upon a darling little street that was blocked off for a block party; locals stood talking, eighties music played, and it was all very cute, especially in front of buildings like these (this pic was taken the following am, on Sunday, when all good Southerners are in church):



We ate at a supremely good (and cheap!) Thai restaurant, right there, very happy that we'd passed by the Cracker Barrel. It was a truly nice time, and we could have so easily not had it.

2nd. The Baby

I ain't posting tomorrow, so here's your update: the kid's alive! I went to the doctor this afternoon and heard its heartbeat; it kept moving, so she was sliding the cold listening-thingie all over my stomach, trying to keep up with it. I can't feel the baby move yet, but the doctor said that she'd be surprised if I could; my official freak-out date about that is 23 weeks, so not for another whole month.

We find out the baby's gender at the next appt, and I cannot wait. That appt was to be August 21st, but K. and I just realized he has yet another business trip planned, so we're hoping we can bump it up a day. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, here's a picture of my not-so-svelte self:



I'm kind of nekkid-pregnant now, meaning my belly is sticking way out, but it still kinda fits under normal clothes, so you can't tell unless I'm...you know.

Still, happy 19 weeks to the bebe. We're still trucking.

Monday, July 30, 2007

We're back!




K. with Eliza and their "castle"; me.

Long post to follow.

Friday, July 20, 2007

We'll be back July 30th

We are going to the beach; we leave today, arrive tomorrow, and I haven't packed a thing. The hosue was beautiful when K. gone home, and now it's like a damn tornado....but I digress.

Me, the two beasties that K. loves, and K. himself are going to the beach-- along with 3 other dogs, both my aunts and their hubbies, my mom, my sister, my cousin, and perhaps my very grumpy grandfather and step-grandma, if they ever make up their DARN minds. We're all staying in the same house. We may not make it back alive. Yesterday, mom said "I'm bringing bourbon." Me: "And what am I supposed to do? I'm not ALLOWED to drink."

On the upside, I can always pull the I'm-pregnant card.

Wish us luck!

Thursday, July 19, 2007

I woke up to the door opening at 6.45 am...

And sweetie was home!

Poor man killed eight hours in Las Vegas before leaving on a red-eye flight that put him into Memphis at 5 in the morning. He's sleeping, and I am so.so.so glad he's home.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Baby Day

Alas, the baby is not a sweet potato; at 17 weeks, it's more like a large onion. 5 ounces/5 inches with cartilage hardening to bone. Not much else news this week.

It has officially been confirmed to me that I do not look pregnant; "just kind of poochy," said my social engagement of last night, who is sporting a near-full-grown baby-in-the-belly herself.

I figure it's because of my remarkable ab muscles.

I have also not felt the baby move to my knoweldge. Why to my knowledge? Well, apparently the first movements (felt between 16-20 weeks) can feel like bubbles, butterflies, or...gas.

Still not sick; still not thinking labour will be the worst experience of my life; still feeling like me, ergo frustrating the woman who came up to me and told me about her co-worker's 50-hour-labour.

We'll reach the beach by Saturday. Aloha!

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

I have had a killer day (novel quota, an interview, 2 articles, proofs to the Fed-Ex, and now a social engagement), but:


Look at the ducks! The baby ducks!

Interviewed an organic gardener this morning and she had baby ducks!

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Pregnancy update

From now on, Wednesday will be Baby day, since it's the day that I turn from one week to the next week, which means I get to tune into my pregnancy web caldendar and see what the baby's doing now (you wouldn't believe this kid! 2 weeks ago its intestines moved into its stomach!).

Today, I am 16 weeks preggers. The baby is now the size of an avocado; considering that we were in the kidney bean stage for a while, it's nice to be moving through the fruit ranks. I think sweet potato is next, but I might be jumping the gun.

My belly's pooching out, but I *still* don't look very pregnant. Which is kind of a bummer, because we're going to the beach with my family for a week next Friday and I wanted my tummy to be all huge in between my bikini. Man, I love me some bikinis. They make me feel like I'm four and running around nekkid.

I've been having intense dreams, which everone talks about, but they don't seem especially mystical. And I've always slept like I was thrown into the bottom of a well, so really, I don't think I feel much different, other than the fact I now feel guilty whenever I sleep on my back and waves of hunger that make me nearly nauseous descend with no warning every few hours.

K. is now forbidden sugar. I told him that I was having a hard time avoiding sweets, and I'd been fantasizing about chocolate ice cream. We went to Sonic THE NEXT DAY and he blithely ordered a large choclate milkshake. He is now *sweet*less (and you really don't want to know the reason I'm avoiding sugar, but let me just assure you that if I could, I would eat as much sugar as I could stuff into my body like most pregnant women, so perhaps the fact that my body has stopped handling it is really a good thing. Other than my bloated belly, I think the rest of me is actually thinner since the doc laid down the kibosh.).

In the beginning, I thought we were having a boy, but now-- no idea. I call it The Baby in my head, and it is genderless, which-- as someone told me that mothers "know" about the child's gender, means that I now worry that it is a hermaphrodite. This does not worry me as much as it might, because being preggers means that I am so INUNDATED with entirely legitimate things to worry about that the hermaphrodite thing is about #44, right after # 43: the baby's room is carpeted and therefore its lungs could be damaged because hardwoods are better and #45: how long should we wait until baby #2, considering I want my last child to be out of the house by the time I turn 50 but 18 months between means I only get 9 months off before getting pregant again but 24 months means that Baby #1 will hate Baby #2...

I think I have to go eat something.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Because I'm Better than You

Now that I'm nearly blind from writing a tricky article about a hurricane katrina refugee/speech therapist/art promoter, I thought I'd post in the hopes that pretty much everyone I know would get off their bloggers' duff and tell me how they are.

That being said, I'm cheating with pictures.

Me, my sister, and my newest obsession (handrolling avocado rolls since sushi in this place is so darn expensive):



And a shot of my proud and sunburnt husband when he arrived home, fish in hand:



Happy Tuesday chickies!

Monday, July 09, 2007

Yesterday, I won at Scrabble

And yet, it was not the highlight of my Sunday. Such a nice day: church, cherries, Scrubs, Scrabble, a long nap after the vegetable soup made me nearly comatose (something about eating these days makes me so tired), TWO baths, a dog walk, and grilled chicken and corn on the barbeque I finally convinced K. to drop $20 on.

A great day, and much-needed, considering my sweetheart will be living it up yet again in Vegas next Saturday to next Thursday.

We finished it off in the dark bedroom, lying side by side under soft cotton on plumped pillows, talking-- YES, talking-- intently about The State of America.

Being involved with this small town has made me wonder about the future of small towns in America. I hate to see so many gentrifying themselves with coffee bars and over-priced antiques, hoping to become the latest get-away destination for urban people with money, but that seems to be the only viable alternative other than 1. being a University town or 2. dying. Because the people who used to support small towns were farmers and then industry/factory workers, and we now eat food from other coutries and agricultural giants and use things made in other nations.

K. said, well our town is still alive, and I agree. It has a hardware store, a local newspaper, a video rental, a lumberyard, a drugstore, and a grocery store-- all locally owned and operated, although all have their competitors (mostly in Oxford).

But there's also still one plant here, a place that makes carburators, and if it closed-- how many of those businesses would survive?

K. thinks-- and I agree-- that we have always chosen technology over what's actually good for people. There is more stuff in the world than ever before, but somehow, bluecollar America isn't making it. Which is why our colleges are filled to bursting, and the competition for liberal arts majors is so intense.

I wonder what will happen.

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Why don't I get any of the GOOD celebrities?

First, Britney Spears and Kevin Federline were married on the same day (albeit a year earlier) than K. and I. That's right, we share an anniverary-- or did, since they've since divorced.

And now? Now that I'm expecting our first baby and wander around in jersey dresses with a slight bump showing, guess who is doing the same?

Not Heidi Klum.

Not Cate Blanchette, or Mandy Moore, but...

Nicole Ritchie.

It's very sad.