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The Crazy Girls Guide to....SQUIRREL! Ahem...The Crazy Girls Guide to Staying Sane. Yeah, that's it.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Abby is flummoxed by food.

Everyone has advice for pregnant women.  Some of it makes sense, some of it is just silly, and people love to share it all.  I've learned the polite thing to do is nod, say thank you, and then do what you find is best.  


I'm reading pregnancy books, looking at pregnancy websites, and have (of course) consulted by doctor about all sorts of things.  One thing that has me perplexed is the Pregnancy Diet (cue appropriate lightning and thunder crashing of doom).  
Two things you need to know about my situation before I go further.
1.  I greatly dislike cooking.  I consider it a waste of time which could be spent doing more productive things.  It's an especially good argument considering all the prepared food options out there.  Why take time to cook when I could just grab food and go?  
2.  My husband loves to cook.  He is not home until the end of July.

So, here I am trying to figure out what I can eat that is both quick and healthy.  I don't like looking for recipes or taking the time out to count my calories.  Much like cooking itself, those things are time wasters.

My doctor said 2000 calories a day, half from protein, the rest from veggies and complex carbs.  Stay away from empty calories.  No lunchmeat (listeria), no sushi (food poisoning), no alcohol, no smoking, no unpasteurized cheese (don't remember why), no bean sprouts (listeria again), no certain kinds of fish (mercury), and limit caffeine.  Don't forget my prenatal vitamins.

What to Expect When You're Expecting is a bit more specific about the food part.  That book recommends the following daily intake:
Four servings protein
Two servings vitamin C
Four servings calcium
Three servings green leafy and yellow veggies and fruits
Two servings other fruits and veggies
Six to eleven servings whole grains and legumes
Some iron rich foods
Four servings high fat foods
Moderation with the salt
Eight 8-ounce glasses of fluids
Prenatal vitamins

I thought that it'd be easy to make up a menu plan for one day and then just repeat it over and over, but apparently variety is essential to awesomeness. 

There are also a million websites about what to eat while expecting.  

So, anyone have any simple healthy recipes that I can try?  If it takes more than 30 minutes to make I won't.
I think I'm going grocery shopping on Friday.

P.S.  The garden is a bust this year.  With the pregnancy and my husband's treatment, we just didn't get the tilling and planting done.  This Fall we'll prepare the soil for next spring.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Seph's Lost Week

I've been too sick to post.  I've been basically useless all week.  Numbers?  Forget the numbers. 

House?  Too sick to clean.
Work?  Lost time.

Grr.  Arrg.

Back on Friday, with any luck.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Pregnancy Sucks

Today I asked my husband for blog ideas, and he had a really good one about how I'm actually shopping for my own food and *gasp* cooking it.  However, it's now after 1 AM.  I'm awake because I have heartburn so bad I can't lie down.  I have heartburn because I'm pregnant.

Things I dislike about pregnancy.
1.  Pregnancy brain.  According to What to Expect when You're Expecting, pregnancy brain is caused by the same thing every other pregnancy doom is caused by; metric crap tons of hormones.  For most women, it's a temporary case of ADHD.  For me it's epic derp.  I cannot believe some of the nonsense that spews from my mouth.  speaking of which...
2.  Whoever named it "morning sickness" should be shot.  For me, it was a constant case of motion sickness that never went away for 3 months.  Now it likes to surprise me from time to time, like the ex-roommate you didn't get along with who still occasionally calls to ask if you want to go to Mass with her and her mother. 
3.  Gas.  I burp, I fart, I work with the public.  This is not a good combination.
4.  I can smell EVERYTHING.  I work with the public.  Also, not a good combination.  In these cases, epic farts come in handy.  They'll clear my work area pretty quickly.
5.  I am so very very itchy on my tummy.  
6.  My tits hurt.  I'm slowly making my way through the cup size alphabet.  This not only means I had to buy new bras (which are not at all cheap in my size) but also that I have all the knots in my back.  Also, hugging hurts.  Epic sadface.
7.  People keep treating me like I'm going to fall apart at the seams.  "No, I'll pick that up for you, you're delicate, you know.  Like an egg."  Yeah, like a kung fu egg that will punch you in your neck!
8.  Other people blaming my words, thoughts, and feelings on being pregnant.  No, it's not my pregnancy talking.  My pregnancy does all sorts of things, but I do the speaking around here.  The only difference is I took off my filter because I don't give a fuck.  Not giving a fuck is because of the pregnancy.  My attitude is simply unfiltered me.  STFU.
9.  The weird numbness in my left thigh.  I know it's Zoidburg's fault, I'm just not sure why.  Yet.
10.  I pee all the time.  Discharge.  Constipation.  Nuff said.
11.  I am so tired but I can't sleep
12.  I cry at everything.  I hate crying.
13.  I'm only going to get bigger.

I asked my sister if there's any fun stuff about being pregnant.  She has two little boys.  With a perfectly straight face she said, "Your baby will be adorable."

Be forewarned, ladies.  Being pregnant is horrible!

With all this complaining I'm doing, I have to ask myself if I'd rather not be pregnant.  The answer, amazingly enough, is no.  I'm glad I'm pregnant.  Fucking hormones.








Monday, May 14, 2012

Abby makes progress!

My friend came over yesterday at 9am bearing a chai latte and way too much energy.  3 hours later, we had a giant bag of garbage, a box ready for donation to Goodwill, 6 empty boxes, 3 totes full of yarn (and there's more yarn, oh yes there is) and a bunch of stuff put away where it actually belongs!

Proof of progress:

Empty boxes!
I has a floor!


The craft room needs a better name.  Any suggestions?

Friday, May 11, 2012

Persephone Thinks Some Birthday Thoughts

Tomorrow I turn 33.  For some reason this is bugging me more than turning 30 did.

As I got dressed for work this morning (Friday is casual day) I put on a t-shirt, jeans, high top chuck taylors, and a hoodie.

I can't decide if that's a sign that I refuse to grow up or if it's a dead giveway that I'm actually old.

Even though I kind of have the birthday blues this year, my co-workers totally rock and made me feel super special today.

I'm planning to do most of the celebrating Memorial Day weekend, because I have a very awesome friend flying into town and we have some cool things planned for that visit.

Tomorrow is basically a normal day for me, though I do have dinner plans for sushi.

I haven't been so great about getting up on time this week, so this leaves me with a question.

Tomorrow - when my alarm goes off at 7am - will I "reward" myself with the false reward of sleeping in?  Or, will I actually reward myself by getting up on time and staying committed?

I guess we'll know tomorrow.

-Seph

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Abby Opens Doors

While my husband is gone, I'm going to be purging, sorting, and organizing our home.  I'm preparing for the baby, but I also want to give him a healthy home environment.  It'll help the both of us keep our sanity, serenity, and happiness.  Unfortunately, I can't do this by myself.  Being unmedicated and pregnant isn't conducive to cleaning or organizing.  

This is terribly embarrassing
So, one of my OCD librarian friends is coming on Sunday morning to terrorize my craft room.  As a step towards healing and to track progress, 
I'm going to take pictures of the process to share them with you all.



Much of this is yarn




I get overwhelmed just looking at pictures of it.  Most people don't ever see past the closed door, for obvious reasons.

I have a confession to make.  I haven't been able to get too excited about being pregnant.  I'm happy about it, definitely, but not giddy or bubbly or going crazy over baby things.  I have a tiny fearful voice in the darkest part of my mind that tells me everything good in my life will go wrong.  Now, it isn't some big debilitating belief that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.  It doesn't keep me from enjoying life or being a generally optimistic person.  Unfortunately, that little voice has been piping up every time I get excited about being pregnant.  I'm just superstitious enough to not type what it says.  Now that I'm past my first trimester, my risks have greatly decreased, but there are still so many things that could go wrong.  I have to comfort myself in knowing that I will do the best possible things for my baby, and that's all I can do.


Sunday, May 6, 2012

Seph - what a week

So this week I stepped up the physical activity by a bajillion.

Tues/Thurs I worked out with my new personal trainer.

Wednesday I bowled six games (after having been out for about 6 months).

Saturday was my most intense tennis class yet.

You know you've hit a new level when steering the car hurts.

Still?  I absolutely loved it all.

I've always wanted to be the work hard / play hard type of person.  Working hard has always been in my wheelhouse, but the playing hard I haven't always made a priority.

Also, despite the med mishap Thursday night, I call this week a raging success.

I passed my final, turned in my writing assignment, kept my house clean, tackled the laundry and bathed in obscene amounts of Tiger Balm.

I even learned a lot from my unmedicated day.

Now I have to get set up for another week. 

-Seph

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Abby

I watched the Avengers movie in IMAX 3D.  It was amazazing.  Best superhero movie ever.  Joss Whedon is my hero.

Husband would have loved to see it.  Friends all have people to go home to.  I have 2 cats who mewl at my bedroom door and want to cuddle.  I can't let them in because I can't take my allergy medicine while pregnant.

I have a sad.

Nothing to see here, no self improvement today.  Move along.

Friday, May 4, 2012

New posting schedule + Persephone is an idiot

PSA:  Abby will now be posting Weds / Sat and Seph will post Fri / Sun.

So - it's 5:15am in the morning, but it's technically Friday which makes it my posting day. 

I have been awake all night.  I gave up trying to sleep at about 3:45am, and actually got up and got dressed about 4:30am and now I am posting / studying since I have an assignment due to Long Ridge tomorrow (that I haven't started writing), and a final for WGU on Sunday.  (I'm slightly more prepared for that one.)

I originally thought maybe I couldn't sleep because I was wired from working out and then having company over, but then something told me to check my pill case.

Yeah.

I forgot to take my meds last night.

I have like all kinds of alarms and things to prevent this from happening, and it IS very rare.

What sucks is that I really thought my sleep progress was actually my own natural learning / doing - not because my medication is sedating.

Now I am awake and annoyed and kind of hungry, and I still have to go to work in 3 hours to put in a full day.

Ugh.

-Seph

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Abby flies solo

My husband is gone for a while.  So, it's just me and the cats and the horribly messy unorganized borderline hoarder house.  I don't qualify as a hoarder because I don't collect things, I merely have them (in boxes).  Also, my house isn't so crowded that the only way to reach the rooms is by path.  Enough with the excuses already, amirite?

It's surprisingly peaceful on my own, but lonely.  The cats are good for snuggling.  Not so much for conversation.

I had another epiphany over the weekend.  I realized that it's rather hypocritical of me to be frustrated at my husband for not using the help available to him when I'm doing precisely the same thing.  I'm going to accept help.  Tomorrow ;)