Single Ladies - John Barrowman

This is such a funny video. So cheesy, but I swear it will make you smile

Here I am at 26 weeks. I think I finally look pregnant and not just fatter than usual! I am just freaking out that Michelle Duggar had her baby because we were exactly the same gestational age with our babies and that means that I could have my baby right now and she would most likely live. So thankful that my pregnancy has been very healthy so far. I am still down 10 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight and have not gained anything.
I am so so lucky because a friend of my Mom's who has a four year old daughter, gave me A LOT of her old clothes. I basically don't have to buy much more baby clothes until she is like three. I hope someone else I know (Amber!) has a baby girl so I can pass these along someday. See the proof below of me with all my loot.


On the name front I think we are definitely leaning towards Kennedy... or Amelia... or.... It is a really hard thing to decide this.

January is going to start making this whole baby thing even more real because we will be touring the hospital and taking an infant care class and what not and also having our baby shower. So keep the last couple weekends in January open (the 24th or 31st?)

Our Baby Girl

We had our anatomy scan ultrasound this week and found out we are having a girl! And she looks healthy and measures on track. We are so excited and overjoyed. I swear, only now is it really starting to feel real. Here is a video of her moving around and even swallowing near the end.

I keep livin this day like the next will never come

18 weeks pregnant
Originally uploaded by flyabuv

So yeah, I haven't posted in a month. Sorry about that, I know my few readers have been very disappointed. I am still pregnant and actually considering the fact that I am actually going to have a baby! It still doesn't seem real. My mom is coming home today after being gone for about two months. It will be great to see her but I am expecting some tension because we have been living in her house while she was gone and I know she wants that control of being in charge of her own house back. I know living with her will work out it is just hard balancing that mother/daughter relationship with the landlord/tenant relationship. Especially when it comes to cleaning as I have been known to not do it.
I am 18 weeks pregnant and just had to buy some maternity pants this week. I still have not gained any weight and am actually down 10 lbs from my starting weight. I am eating pretty healthy when I eat, but I just don't think I am eating enough during the day. I think that starting tomorrow (because of my mom) I will be eating more and more healthy. I did start drinking caffeine a few weeks ago, I didn't drink it the first 13 weeks or so, but I just love soda so much! I only drink one every couple of days or so and that is my only source of caffeine and hfcs.
I am scared that I may get or already have gestational diabetes. If you have read this site before you know that I have insulin resistance and PCOS. So I already struggled with my blood sugar before getting pregnant, so now I may already have GD. That scares me mostly because I am seeing, and hope to be delivered by, a midwife. I don't want to become high risk and have to have a high intervention delivery.
I am planning on getting a couple books about GD from the library and changing my diet where necessary.
Now that life will be getting into a regular routine since we are done moving, cleaning my Mom's house, and my Mom will be back; I think I will be getting more prepared for having this baby. I want to read more parenting books (I already have a list) and start knitting and crocheting like crazy.
Here is a pic of me at 18 weeks. I was already fat, so mostly my baby is just pushing that fat forward, but I can tell that my stomach is shaped differently now. Brad commented that the lighting makes it look seedy, like the Fiona Apple video "Criminal"

Moving On

It is moving time again! Brad and I have moved every year since we have been together (this is our fourth time moving I think). I think this will start to change since we are having a baby, you know, stability and all. But since I am in school full time right now and don't have a job, we can't really afford much on only Brad's income. So.... we are moving in with my Mom!!!!!

We had actually decided to do this before we found out we were pregnant, but now it makes even more sense. My Mom needs the money and we need the discount in rent. We are getting two of her bedrooms and paying her $600 a month (including all utilities). So our only other bills are like food, cell phones, credit card payments, oh and the storage unit we have to get to store some of our stuff.

We are in the middle of moving and it is hell. We don't have to be out of our apartment until October 9th, so we have been taking car loads of stuff over to our new house almost daily. But the issue is, my Mom is out of town for a few weeks and she wants us to be completely moved in and the house clean by the time she gets back.

This is hard because my Mom has so much unorganized stuff! I am slowely sorting things and making room. I just went through her medicine cabinet and threw away SO MUCH expired medicine; what used to take up a whole cabinet in the kitchen, now takes up one shelf.

Also, it is hard because we have two cats; and so does my Mom. That's right, we are now a FOUR cat household. My Mom's two cats, Hailey and Jolie are inside/outside cats. They are tough, but friendly and go outside to use the bathroom and frolic and then come inside to sleep or relax. My cats, Beans and Rice, are inside cats; we are willing to make them inside/outside cats but they aren't yet. The cat introductions are not going superbly well. Beans and Rice are very trusting and interested in these new "friends"; Jolie and Hailey hiss and growl. Oh well, I'm sure it will get better

PREGNANCY RELATED:

I am now 11w4d pregant. I am nauteous all the time and have thrown up some. I am crying over tiny things and I'm sure freaking out Brad. Brad hates it when I gag, he says it too close to throwing up and I say there is a big difference!

I am really frustrated because I still don't have insurance. I am in the process of getting AHCCCS and it is hard. They need so much paperwork!

I will try to post some pictures of our new house some time next week after I clean it more.

Leviathan trailer

Wow, this book looks amazing. I love Scott Westerfeld

Yep, I'm knocked up

I haven't posted anything of substance in a while, because on July 17th I found out that I am PREGNANT!!!!!!! And that is all I have wanted to talk about but I wanted to hold off for a while. I am now 10 weeks 1 day and am very excited. My periods are so random and I don't ovulate on time because according to the ist day of my last menstrual period I should be about 12 weeks, but I went to the doctor and got a sonogram and according to the size of the baby I am only ten weeks. We got to see the heart beating any everything. Pretty effing awesome.

And I know this is cliched, but it happened like the week after I stopped thinking about it at all. We had been trying for about a year and even did a couple of rounds of clomid earlier this year. Then I started school on June 22nd and was so busy and having so much fun that I just stopped thinking about trying for a baby and then we conceived probably the second week of school. Crazy right!!!!!

I am due in March

Make a pregnancy ticker

John Hughes

This made me cry, but really what doesn't these days

John Hughes has probably affected every person out there. If it wasn't from The Breakfast Club, it was Home Alone, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Weird Science, or even Uncle Buck.

Are You F*cking Kidding Me? (Facebook Song) LIVE

Funny. Language is not safe for work. I just became friends with one of my first boyfriends on facebook today. He was my first kiss and I didn't even remember what he looked like. Crazy

Red, White, and Blue

Today in beauty school, we had an ice cream social and a fantasy hair contest, with a Fourth of July theme. I really don't know much about doing hair yet, but I do know how to crochet, so I thought I would combine the two. Here is a few pics of the hair style I "created". I didn't win though.




And here are some other hairstyles from the day.

How to Meet and Woo a Nerdy Girl

A great instructional list over at The Park Bench that I just had to share:

Tip #1: Know where to look.

The number one thing to know about nerdy girls -- they're probably not going to be doing body shots at the local sports bar on a Friday night. If they're out partying, it's over a micro-brewed pale ale in the quiet corner of their local hole-in-the-wall watering hole. Other good places to spot nerdy women: libraries, bookstores, used bookstores, any other place with books you can think of, comic book stores, knitting stores, craft stores, sitting in the park...reading a book, the local cat fanciers convention, at a midnight showing of "Alien" or in their living rooms, watching "Firefly" again.

Tip #2: It helps to look like this guy:



On the other hand, it helps to look like this guy too:


You're pretty much good either way.

Tip #3: Read lots of books.

Here’s the brutal truth: the nerd girl of your dreams is a brainiac. She’s going to know a lot of stuff about a lot of stuff. You’re going to need to study up -- none of that sitting at the coffee shop with an unread copy of “The Waste Land” in your hand, trying to impress the shallow ladies. Your nerd girl will check to make sure that the spine on the book is cracked and cracked good. She likely also will ask you to compare “The Waste Land” to “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” If you have to resort to Cliff's Notes, do it surreptitiously. It’s like getting a butt implant – the nerd girls will know you’re faking it.

Tip #4: Don’t slack off on your video game skills.

One of the prime perks of dating a nerdy woman is that she will not yell at you for playing video games rather than, say, going shoe shopping with her. In fact, she likely will sit down next to you and pick up a controller. Here’s the thing though: she’s probably good at whatever game you’re playing so you better be good at it too. Whether it’s Mario Kart or Tiger Woods Golf or the bloody carnage of Grand Theft Auto, she will show no mercy. Practice, practice, practice!

Tip #5: Listen to NPR.

Nerd girls like to stay up to date on their current events…and they like to do it with the dulcet, sometimes somnolent tones of NPR broadcasters. Beware, though, of the onset of NPR depression which stems from listening to so much news and sad stories about flooding in Nova Scotia or the inequities facing migrant workers that you become convinced the world is doomed and there’s no use leaving your house in the morning. This will put a damper on your dating. However, this prevalent disease also will give you an out if you've had to slack off on your NPR duties – just say, “I had to take an NPR break. Sometimes it makes me sad.” This serves two purposes: it gets you off the hook AND it makes you look sensitive. Bonus!

Tip #6: Be interesting.

Whereas a lot of ladies want you to be rich, nerdy women just want you to be interesting. Do you have a comic book collection that spans decades and rests in a vault somewhere untouched by human hands? That’s kinda cool. Are you learning how to do animation so you can one day post the adventures of a hobo cat online? That’s kinda cool too. Maybe you build houses for the poor on weekends or spend an afternoon teaching creative writing to high school kids? Awesome and more awesome. It doesn't matter what you do, just do it well.

Tip #7: Know your pop culture references.

Know the complete works of the Nerd Holy Trinity: Joss Whedon, J.J. Abrams and Peter Jackson. Know that Nathan Fillion will always be on your girl’s “freebie” list. When she goes to church and thanks God that Robert Downey Jr. survived the 1980s so he could play Iron Man, say “Amen” right alongside her. And for the love of all that is sacred and holy, do not EVER get “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” confused: one has Wookiees, one has Shatner, it’s not that hard.

Tip #8: Compliment her by saying, “You remind me so much of Liz Lemon.”

This is truly the highest form of flattery for just about any nerdy woman. Liz Lemon is our patron saint. Her inability to wear high heels, keep food off her face or refrain from making penis jokes while holding a tower made of Legos in her hands makes us reflect fondly on our own quirks. We love her…and you should too.

Tip #9: Embrace her collectibles.

That is not a euphemism for something pervy. It’s just a fact. When you walk into her apartment for the first time and notice a glass cabinet filled with a miniature TARDIS, a sombrero-wearing Giles, a 17-inch Han Solo and a two-foot long replica of the Enterprise NCC-1701-D, do not say, “What the hell is all this stuff?” Instead say, “What the hell? Why don’t you have MORE of this stuff? And may I mail order something for you?”

Tip #10: Be willing to go to conventions.

It’s just a thing we do. Relax and embrace it…and know that nine times out of ten, you’ll catch a glimpse of some nubile young woman dressed as a Princess Leia slave girl. It’s what the universe does to reward patience of our significant others.

Tip #11: Know what to do in a zombie attack.

We've been practicing for this one for a long time. We don't want to have to leave you behind.

Well, that about covers it. Congratulations on taking your first steps on the road to nerd girl nirvana. Know that you have selected the finest kind of woman possible. Way to go, champ!

Rpatz vs. Chick Norris

Oh god, this is so funny and stupid; but only if you like Twilight and/or have read those Chuck Norris sayings like, "Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer, too bad he has never cried." Yes those are very funny; but these are funnier. These great sayings were posted on Letters To Rob, which is a hilarious blog about all things Robert Pattinson.

So without further ado, the list:

1. Robert Pattinson does not follow fashion trends, they follow him. But then he turns around and kicks their ass. Nobody follows Robert Pattinson.

2. Robert Pattinson can dazzle you with his eyes closed.

3. Robert Pattinson can make trees bend to him by *sparkling*.

4. Robert Pattinson doesn’t own a house, he walks into random ones and the owners are happy to leave.

5. The original plan for the first GPS system was to track Robert Pattinson’s every movement.

6. In Robert Pattinson, you can always find a party.

7. Weapons of mass destruction weren’t found in Iraq, they were found in Robert Pattinson’s pants.

8. The leading twinkle lights claim they can dazzle 99.99 percent of people..

9. Robert Pattinson can dazzle 100 percent of whatever the f*ck he wants.

10. When Robert Pattinson falls in water, Robert Pattinson doesn’t get wet. Water gets Robert Pattinson.

11. Robert Pattinson destroyed the periodic table, because he only recognizes the element of ~dazzle~.

12. Einstein’s original Theory of Relativity was; if Robert Pattinson ~dazzles~ you, your relatives will feel it.

13. Robert Pattinson killed Cedric Diggory

14. Robert Pattinson can turn back time.

15. Maslow’s theory of higher needs does not apply to Robert Pattinson. He only has two needs: ~dazzling~ people and finding people to ~dazzle~.

16. Robert Pattinson isn’t just Pretty in Pink, he is Mindblowing in Pink.

17. Robert Pattinson plays racquetball with a waffle iron and a bowling ball.

18. Robert Pattinson got a perfect score on his SAT’s, simply by writing Robert Pattinson for every answer.

19. Love stops in the name of Robert Pattinson.

20. If at first you don’t succeed, you’re not Robert Pattinson.

21. Robert Pattinson asked for a love song. Sara Bareilles wrote it.

22. Robert Pattinson can divide by zero.

23. Robert Pattinson can have his cake and eat it too, except he doesn’t like cake. Cake died from embarrassment.

24. Robert Pattinson knows the solution to global warming. He just won’t tell because he enjoys the sun -it makes him sparkle.

25. Robert Pattinson can’t speak french...just kidding.

26. Robert Pattison can dazzle faster than the speed of light.

27. Robert Pattinson listens to bands that don’t even exist yet.

28. Robert Pattinson pissed in a bottle. This product is now known as “Vitamin Water”

29. If you ask Robert Pattinson what time it is, he always says, “Two seconds ’til.” After you ask, “Two seconds ’til what?” he ~dazzles~ you.

30. Robert Pattinson did not lose his virginity, he stalked and destroyed it with extreme prejudice.

31. Um... yeah.... instead of saying "sexy" we should just say "robert pattinson"
Robert Pattinson brought sexy back.

32. If you spell Robert Pattinson in Scrabble, you win. Forever.

33. Robert Pattinson is not hung like a horse… horses are hung like Robert Pattinson.

34. Robert Pattinson once ate three steaks in an hour. He spent the first forty-five minutes having sex with the waitress.

35. There is no night and day. Only Robert Pattinson saying “lumos”

36. Robert Pattinson doesn’t bowl strikes, he just knocks down one pin and the other nine faint.

37. The light at the end of the tunnel is actually Robert Pattinson.

38. Robert Pattinson is never gonna give you up, Never gonna let you down, Never gonna run around and desert you.

My life has changed..... and my blog

Okay, so I don't think I mentioned this, but I was looking into beauty school for a while and a few weeks ago I actually signed up, and this week I started! Monday night was orientation and we got our kits then. It was amazing, I got about $1000 worth of stuff all at once like a blow dryer, curling iron, flat iron, shears, clippers, clips, manicure set, and the list goes on. I am doing it full time so I go Tuesday through Saturday 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. I have been home without a job for so long that it is great to be around people again. Although beauty school is very drama filled. Imagine 10-20 girls in a room for seven hours a day. Yeah.

Tuesday (first day of class) we learned how to shampoo a client. Wednesday we did our first haircuts (on mannequin heads of course). Today we put perm rods on our mannequin heads. It is so fun.

On the diet front I am only down about 15 pounds. I really need to up the exercise, that is my main problem. I am doing fine on the diet front. My new drinks of choice are the Sobe water and Vitamin water; the ones that are sweetened with Stevia (a natural sweetener). Low carb, but still taste great. I think just being at school should help with the physical fitness part at least a little since I am on my feet most of the day.

If you haven't noticed I completely changed the look of my blog. I added a Twitter widget because I actually update that more than I have been updating my blog.

Whew, that was a lot of info to take in, huh? Well again I will try to update more, especially about beauty school and what I am learning.

Insulin-Resistance Diet

There have been a few changes in my diet and in my life!

1. I am still dieting, but not really doing the south beach thing anymore. I did the no carbs for two weeks and did lose ten pounds. I went to the library and got a few books on Insulin Resistance, which is what i have and what causes my PCOS. The book I am most following now is The Insulin-Resistance Diet. The main principle is to link and balance protein and carbs. I always eat protien with every meal and can only have 30 grams of carbs per meal. This will keep my insulin from spiking. If I have extra insulin in my body, it gets stored as fat. It has been very easy to do so far.

The IR diet doesn't restrict which carbs to eat, but I am taking some ideas from other books and my own knowledge and trying not to eat "bad" carbs. So yes, I could drink soda as long as I eat some protien with it, but I would rather not. The carbs I am mostly eating is whole grain bread, fruit, and I haven't yet, but probably lentils, quinoa, and brown rice. I have been drinking/eating a lot of dairy for my protein; about 2-3 glasses of milk per day with my meals, and string cheese with fruit for snacks.

I am still not doing so great on the exercise front. It is so hot here that I don't want to even go outside! I did blow up my exercise ball that I have and did about ten minutes of the DVD that goes with it. It is so hard!

2. We were trying to get pregnant this month (not sure why since our insurance just ran out and we have no money) and took clomid. I did ovulate but did not get pregnant. I know this because... I actually am on my period right now! I am very excited about that, that is the second best thing to being pregnant. Seems weird right, but that is because I rarely have a period normally and will go months without having one. That is a symptom of my PCOS. So I had a relatively "normal" cycle of 33 days. That is amazing, and is just a motivation to keep on this lower carb diet. If I can lose some weight and ovulate on my own, I should be able to get pregnant totally naturally!!!!!!!

3. But we will not be trying for a while now because... I just signed up for cosmetology school!!!! I start on June 23 and it is a ten month program. Unfortunately I found out that although I will get loans to pay for the schooling, they do not give any extra loans for living expenses, so I will most likely have to get a part time job. I am going to have to try hard to eat right while I am there for eight hours a day. I will probably have to bring a cooler with me will lots of good snacks like hard boiled eggs, string cheese, fruit, and veggies.

Well wish me luck, I will still try to update every week

South Beach Diet, end of week 1 of Phase 1

Well I have lost about 8 pounds! I am so psyched. I did cheat a tiny bit, Brad tells me I shouldn't beat myself up, but I want to do better. Every bite of something sweet or bready I'm about to take I should ask myself, "Do I want this bite of cheesecake, or a baby?" I never ate a bad meal or binged or anything; but when I was in Tucson for three days it was hard. There was cheesecake, and eating out, and donuts. Thankfully I only ever had a bite or two of anything bad.

I've consumes more aspartame this week than I probably have in the past year. I just never usually eat diet stuff. But I was craving sweets so bad that I have had a couple diet sodas and what not.

Over all this is working out great. I need to work out more, being out of town made it hard. Wish me luck on this coming week!

Long time no talk

Wow, it has been over two months since I updated this. Unfortunately, not much in my life has changed. I still don't have a job, although I have an interview on Monday (Yay!).

I am still having fertility issues. We cannot afford to go to a fertility specialist right now. I am going to start concentrating on what I can do to help in that area by changing my diet and exercise habits. Now, I have read a lot about fat acceptance and HAES (health at every size) and I totally believe that you don't need to be skinny to be healthy and beautiful. That being said, my insulin resistance causes me to crave carbs and sugars and if I keep eating that way, I WILL get diabetes. Also, I do not exercise much at all.

So I am starting the South Beach diet today. I really like their exercise and eating plan. I think it is the best course for me. The goal here is to eat more healthy and exercise in order to have more energy, build my core muscles (hopefully get rid of back pain), and hopefully start having a regular cycle and ovulating again. I will almost certainly lose weight while doing this, but that is not my main goal.

So wish me luck and I will try to update this more often!

Breaking up is hard to do

I have been working for a little over ten years (since I was 15), for more than half of that time (since 2003) I worked at DHL but last week, unfortunately I got laid off. I don't need to panic yet, because they gave me a pretty good severance package. Not that I am going to wait for that to run out before I look for a job, but it will be nice at least for this week just to relax and know that I am getting paid for it.

I sometimes complained about my job because I didn't have a lot of friends there. I was friendly to everyone, I just didn't hang out with anyone outside of work. But on Friday a lot of people from work got together for a little party and it was so fun. I would have loved my job even more if we had had these little get togethers while I was working there.

If you know of a job where I never have to leave my apartment and get to watch movies or read all day, please let me know!

Dimlight, a TWILIGHT parody

God, this girl is like me. I am like a teenage girl when it comes to Twilight. The other night I was reading a Nora Roberts book in bed and Brad was all,
"Is that a vampire book?"
and I was all, "No, just a romance novel."
"A vampire romance novel?"
"Nope, I do read some regular books." I then went on to read a vampire/werewolf book every other night this week. God, I love Laurell K. Hamilton books.



found via letters to twilight

Guilt Free Three

Dev Patel - I have a huge crush on this man/boy. Hey, he's 18, so its okay. I have liked him since seeing the show Skins and seem to have dreams about him once a month or so.

Joel McHale - He is so freaking funny on The Soup

David Tennant - The 10th Doctor. He may not be as beautiful by just looking at him, but on screen he is so charismatic and wonderful.

Sweet Tea

Seeing as it is 77°F outside right now. I made this wonderful yumminess:



Sweet tea with fresh mint leaves. I decided mint leaves crushed by my fingers is my new favorite smell of all time.

Updated to add: Okay, it was actually 86°F on Saturday and it is supposed to be 90 effing °F today. But then it will be back to the mid 70's by the end of the week.

TMI

If you are guy, you may want to stop reading now.

I actually started my period today! It has been 67 days since my last one (and no I was never pregnant). I have an appointment for a new ob/gyn in April (there was no openings before then). I am so happy that my body is showing at least this sign that it is working. In January I did a round of clomid 50 mg, but obviously it didn't work. I am annoyed because I don't even know if I ovulated at all because my previous gyno didn't monitor that. I will push for that this time.

This is a great tool for tracking your menstrual cycles. It looks pretty, and is very easy to use; then it predicts when you will ovulate.

I feel cheated

I got a few more books at the library the other day. I haven't read them all yet, but I wanted to mention these two books.

From This Day by Nora Roberts. Okay, I have read a lot of Nora Roberts but this was so crappy. I didn't realize until I started reading it that it is one of her earlier books, published the year I was born. The guy basically infers that he will force himself on this girl if she doesn't open up to him, but that is supposed to make him strong and attractive; but I just thought he was a douche. Then he tells her that they are getting married, not asks, tells. But there was no sex in the entire book! That is just crazy. I don't know when she changed her mind to thinking sex before marriage is okay, but I'm sure glad she did, or I would never read another of her romance novels.

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen. I LOVE this author. This is only the second book she has written, but I will read anything she comes out with for the rest of my life. Her books are magical. I absolutely adored her first book Garden Spells. Amber, you will love these books. Read them now! The Sugar Queen is about a girl, Josey, in her late twenties who is taking care of her mother (who treats her like shit). She hides junk food and romance novels in her closet and is in love with her mailman. Until one day a women she barely knows, Della Lee, show up in her closet and won't leave. Della Lee helps Josey come out of her shell and change her life. I know that kind of sounds like many other "chick lit" novels, but this is not like that; this story is very original. They mention that Josey is just this side of plump, but that is not a big part of the story, she doesn't hate herself and lose weight, and then get the guy (I hate that). She just discovers what was already there.

he can actually play a guitar!

Brad is playing a show tonight if you want to come. Hope to see you there!

in which I cry a lot

Brad was having problems with his asthma yesterday so he stayed home from work. His inhaler had just run out the night before. I told him to call Target to get it refilled and then I would pick it up after work. But he messaged me back that he couldn't talk enough to call Target. I called him right away because I didn't understand what he meant; he was having such a hard time breathing that he could barely talk in full sentences. I freaked out. Remember in that Sex in the City episode where Big is going to have heart surgery and Carrie would just start crying when she tried to talk about it. That was me. I went to the bathroom and balled my eyes out. I left work (after barely being able to ask to leave without crying more) and picked up his inhaler and brought it to him and cried some more right after he used his inhaler and was almost instantly better. I was just so scared. Of course he wasn't scared and said it happens sometimes. I had to remind him that it has never been that bad since we've been together and that has been four+ years.

Of course later that night he felt well enough to have a cigarette. Don't get me started on that.

In which I limp all around San Francisco

My foot has been hurting for awhile, more specifically my heel. When I get out of bed I am limping for a while, if I walk for long distances I start limping. I finally figured out that I most likely have plantar fasciitis. You know what made me figure it out? This awesome ad that I saw in the Sky Mall catalog on the flight to San Francisco in October (I totally want this by the way!)

But what I just realized today (yes, I am stupid) is that wearing tennis shoes, or more supportive shoes helps. So as I have been walking around for the last few months in my flimsy converse shoes and flats with no arch support, that was probably making it worse. I was just being stubborn. Now I need to find some pretty shoes that actually have arch support. Any ideas?

Books

Things I have read in the last couple of weeks:

Amazing Grace by Megan Shull This book was so cute and made me want to move to Alaska. Is there a greater complement?

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin. This is by the same author as Elswhere, which was also such an original story. This was very good, but I didn't really feel that connected to the characters.

Empress of the World by Sara Ryan About a girl falling in love with another girl for the first time.

True Betrayals by Nora Roberts. Girl meets boy, there is some drama, they fall in love. Is there really a need for me to describe this?

Lovers and Dreamers by Nora Roberts. Or this?

Irish Born by Nora Roberts. Or this?

Gabriel's Angel by Nora Roberts. Or this?

First Impressions by Nora Roberts. Or this?

Blue Smoke by Nora Roberts. Or This?

As the World Burns: 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Stay in Denial by Derrick Jensen (Author), Stephanie McMillan (Illustrator) This graphic novel was depressing. One of the reasons I gave up soda.

The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer. I love this. This is a companion book to Life As We Knew It. It is about the same event (the moon getting hit with a metor and the aftermath) through the eyes of a teen in a totally different situation.

Wolf Tales by Kate Douglas. Yes this is werewolf erotica, yes it is as bad (and good) as it sounds.

Money

One of our goals this year is to save money; we need to buy a new car, and want to buy a laptop. I am not one of those people who always gets new cars; but if we have a kid at some point, I don't think they will want to be strapped in the bed of my truck. Hopefully after getting a new car I will not have to get another one for ten years.

Here are some of the things we are changing and how much it will save us:
Canceled Sirius radio :sob: $14/month
Changed Netflix from four at time to two at a time: $10/month
Canceled gym membership :joy: $20/month
Stop eating out as much. This will save at least $100/month

After one year, that should save us around $1728. Also I have stopped drinking soda, that is not really for saving money, more my health and the environment; but it can't hurt. If I get water every time we go out instead of soda, that should save some money. $1700 is not that much, but it will feel so good to have actual money in our savings account.

Habby Birthday To Me!

Yesterday I took the day off of work for my birthday. I tried to sleep in but the landscapers were doing their thing (with chainsaws!) and woke me up at like 9:30. Yes, that may seem like sleeping in, but sleeping in for me is like noon. So since I was up, Brad and I took the light rail downtown and had lunch with my Mom and then went to the main Phoenix Public Library. It is five stories tall! It was pretty impressive, but I still like the Tempe one better. But the Phoenix Library does have a way better CD selection. I checked out the following cds from the library:
Rosie Thomas - If Songs Could Be Held
the thermals - the body the blood the machine
Damien Jurado - On My Way to Absence
Emiliana Torrini - Fisherman's Woman
The String Cheese Incident - Outside Inside
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Living with the Living
the Elected - Sun Sun Sun
Patty Griffin - Living with Ghosts
Erin Mckeown - Grand
Ben Weaver - Paper Sky

Some of these groups, I have never listened to, only heard of; so I don't actually know if I will like them all.

Later that night we got sushi with a few friends and then for desert went next door to a Mexican restaurant and got fried ice cream. All of it was super yummy.

Imagination or Symptoms?

I can never tell if I am having real symptoms or just convincing myself I have symptoms after reading what symptoms I "should have". Case in point, when I read side effects for medicines I'm taking, I start to have those symptoms. Really? Or am I just imagining them? The same thing is happening now with pregnancy symptoms. Not that I am not having those symptoms, but some of them can mean that my period is coming as well. Oh well, I will just keep waiting and taking a hpt every couple of days (still negative as of Monday). I really want to save up some money and go to a Reproductive Endocrinologist (my insurance doesn't cover it) because I feel I will get better care there. My regular OB/GYN is just not cutting it. Anyone want to give me the name of their awesome Phoenix based OB/GYN with me?

The T-Mobile Dance

I guess this is an advertisement, but I just love it and it will make you smile! Enjoy.

found via kttke.org

A New Year

I can't believe that I am going to turn 26 in a couple of weeks. It's not so much that I feel old because I love getting older; but I just can't believe that ten years ago I was 16, that I have been working now for ten years, that I have some of the same friends from ten years ago. I changed friends often when I was younger so I never thought I would have long term friends, but it seems that I may now have some of the same friends for life (Amber, Christy, Laura). I remember when I was younger my Mom would talk to her friends that lived in different states. I thought it was odd and couldn't imaging doing that, but now I have friends like that. Friends that you are not making new memories with, mostly just re-hashing old memories when you speak. But that is also falling by the wayside because of Myspace and Facebook. I can just look on there to see what some old friends are doing. I don't really talk to anyone on those sites, I just check some old friends' sites to see what they are up to.

P.S. I started using Twitter. So follow me if you would like

Derby Girl/ Whip it!

I just read this book yesterday. I loved it so much (I say this about almost all books, except Inexcusable, grrr, I hated that book)! It is a bout a small town teenage misfit who often visits the closest biggest city Austin, Texas and ends up joining the Roller Derby team there. I identify with most teenage girls in books (what? I was a teenage only 6 years ago!), but this one actually was interested in things like music and activities that I am interested in. If I had even more confidence than I already have, I would love to join Roller Derby, or if I knew how to skate well. She falls for a guy in a band along the way. Which is bad news, except for all the guys I know in bands; who are great guys and wonderful boyfriends/husbands.

Just now while searching for stuff about this book, I found out that it is being made into a movie! Directed by Drew Barrymore! Starring Juno star Ellen Page! But the lead guy does not look like the guy described in the book (too hipster, not enough rock'n'roll), boo!

I hate Raymond

I remember not so long ago that every time I turned on the TV I could probably find a Friends or Scrubs episode; and it was awesome. I love those two shows. But that time has ended. As the powers that be have decided instead to show King of Queens, Everybody Loves Raymond, and Two and a Half Men on every channel. I dislike all of these shows, but I really hate Everybody Loves Raymond especially because it does make me laugh sometimes (which makes me hate myself). But Raymond is a freaking jerk to his wife, he is a mama's boy, and is so super annoying. I just really despise him and can't watch that show for more than five minutes at a time.

Juanita June Teach (Lidgard) 1920-2008

My Great Grandmother died yesterday at home, asleep, surrounded by her family. She hasn't been doing well for awhile and broke her hip a few weeks ago while in Hawaii and it has been downhill since then. This weekend all the family was called to come and visit her because she wasn't really waking up anymore and they were just keeping her comfortable. We didn't know how long she would last because of her pacemaker, but she died yesterday and my Dad told me he was by her side.

I am feeling very sad for my Great Aunt Sally right now. A year ago she was living with three people; her husband Lee, her mother (my g.grandmother) and her stepfather (my step-great grandfather and my ggma's fourth husband). My step-g.grandfather died earlier last year, my Great Uncle Lee died a couple of days after our wedding in October and now my grandmother. It has been a lot for her to handle and I'm not sure where she will go from here.

My g.grandma was 88 years old and only in the last six months or so has her memory even started going at all. She went to Hawaii only a few weeks ago to visit her son and always commented on how she needed to meet new men. She was funny and opinionated. I love that when I went to visit her in October, she told me that she really liked Obama. I wish I would have known more about her life; I don't even know much about my parents' lives when they were younger. My family is not big on sharing which is something I plan on changing with my own family. But she did tell me one story not too long ago.

I asked her how she got together with my g.grandfather; she told me the story of how when she was about 20 she was dating a Bohemian (her words, I didn't quite know what that meant) and her Mother did not like it one bit. Della forbid her from seeing the said Bohemian. So to spite her mother, Juanita married my great grandfather Ralph Irwin who was 20 years her senior. Well her mother was not happy about that either. Always the rebellious one!

Four years

New Years eve/day was Brad and mine's four year anniversary of the date we got together. My mother has already informed me that now I have to count my wedding date as my anniversary. No thanks! I like having our anniversary on a holiday, although we did get married on National Coming Out Day!

We were watching an episode of X-Files yesterday where Skinner and his wife almost got divorced and she said that they had become only roommates to each other. I told Brad that even if we ever fell out of love that I wanted to live with him forever because he is the best roommate ever! He is my best friend. I am so thankful that he puts up with my laziness. There is nothing that we love more than to spend the day in bed watching movies. He has a sweet tooth and he asks me to make ice cream at ten o'clock at night (although the frozen yogurt last night was my idea). He is such a talented artist and musician. I think his song lyrics are amazing and his comics are so witty. I hope that he finds a path to do what he loves and get paid for it

Brad, I love you so much!

I need more information!

I just finished this book. It was so so good. I loved it. But it had the same problem that I have with many books and movies; what happens next! I get so invested in these characters' lives and then I never get to know how they end up. At the end of a book/movie I don't want to have to imagine that the couple got married, or what their house looks like, or if they had kids, or if she reunited with her family, etc.... That is why I'm reading a book because I want you tell me a story with a beginning, middle, and an end. Just hinting at things won't do it for me. That is why I really liked the epilogue in the final Harry Potter book. It gave me closure. Yes, I like those paragraphs at the end of movies that tell me how the characters end up. I want a book that follows a character all the way to their death and then maybe keeps going with a sequal about that characters kids. I want a never ending series.

Name Change

I finally changed my name and got my new driver's license today. I originally went in and changed it in November, but that was a disaster. In my state, first you have to go to the SS office and change your name there. So my birth name is Bubba Shannon Magillicutty (some names have been changed!) I have always gone by my middle name Shannon since I was very little so I wanted to get rid of my first name, make my middle name my first name and my maiden name my middle name. So at the SS office I changed my name to Shannon Magillicutty Dwyer (Dwyer is Brad's last name). They had no problem doing this.

Then two days late I go to the DMV to get a new license and they say no go. I am not allowed to change my first name, the only thing I am allowed to do is drop my last name and add his last name. I can't do hyphenated or anything else. I only have one choice (or I might have been able to just add his last name, giving me four names). If I wanted to keep Shannon Magillicutty Dwyer I would have to apply for a legal name change which costs about $300 and I would have to go to court and everything. So now I have new social security card with one name and a driver's license with another. I was very upset.

So I dilly dallied for the last month trying to decide what to do. Finally a few days ago I went back to the SS office and just changed my last name to Dwyer. So now I am Bubba Shannon Dwyer. I had to take a new picture for the license at the DMV because my last picture was from when I was 16, ten years ago. Of course I haven't taken a shower today and I look like crap. Oh well, I have a new name and all is well in the world.

I am pretty pissed at the status quo and that there are not many options for people changing their names. I think as long as one keeps two out of your three birth names, one should be able to change their name to any combination they choose. Boo to the patriarchy!

Hallelujah Vacation Hours!

I have spent the last couple of months since the wedding with no vacation hours left. It really stinks. Thankfully since we are not busy they have been letting us take some days off without pay. It was great being able to take off the two days before Christmas, but it means that my paycheck today was crappy.

The last three years I got three weeks of vacation a year, but since this year marks my four year anniversary here, I now get four weeks of vacation. That is so amazing to me. I could take off a whole month of work and get paid for it!

Unfortunately our vacation doesn't accumulate so this time all has to be used this year. So I am going to try and save most of it but if I am not pregnant by April (if I am I will need to save the time for maternity leave) I will be taking a lot of vacations! I am not one to take really long vacations. I usually take a day off every few weeks just to sleep in and do nothing.