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.

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.

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.

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?

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