Sunday, October 24, 2004
First the bad news...
My last Thursday's TWO attempts to get a flu shot after I blogged FAILED. Upon being turned away the second time, it almost made me want to cry. Almost. It's just a frustration + hormones thing. I'm not a crier...never have been. But I really am getting seriously ANNOYED.
Anyway, the good news is that I combined a work trip with a fun weekend by bringing my family along. I had another one of those State doctor meetings where you stand around and look like a total chode for hours on end. Fortunately, there was another rep with my company from a different part of the state there to share in my misery. The thing took place in his town (on his side of the state), so I made the long trek to see that only ONE of the doctors I call on attended. Oh, and I just happened to be in his office last week. Now THERE is corporate money well spent. The highlight was when one of my friend's doctors asked how "far along" I was. When I responded "five months" she stared harder at my stomach and asked if I was having twins. See? Higher education cannot buy one tact. Thanks alot lady.
So with that fiasco behind me, I could enjoy family time. We did all sorts of fun stuff. We visited a children's museum, an outdoor park that had different types of animals on display, we had dinner with my co-worker and his family, we had dinner another night at a nice seafood restaurant. We ate bacon and eggs for breakfast THREE days in a row. How indulgent is that? I feel like we ate our way around town!
My daughter's favorite thing was at a local mall. They had this deal there they put you in a harness with bungee cords attached to both sides, while standing on a trampoline. This contraption then pulls the bungees to raise you up while adding tension, and you use your toes to bounce on the trampoline and you can shoot way high in the air and even do flips. I had my doubts, but it said "25 lbs. and up". So she REALLY wants to go and doesn't seem afraid at all, even though you go pretty high. Man, was I impressed! The minute she got some air, she starts doing flips left and right! Back flips, front flips, you name it! There were kids on there 3x or more her age that were too afraid to do anything but bounce up and down. Actually, I would have bet money she would be too anxious to try to flip over, but I would have lost big time! It was really cute. We did it again the next day just to get her to shut up about it! It did look like fun, but of course it is written in stone that pregnant ladies don't get to have any fun like that. Sigh.
Even though I paid for our last night of hotel myself, it was worth the money to get one last family trip in before winter & baby. Now my travels are REALLY over for the time being, unless you count a brief work trip next month. As always it's good to be home again. This coming week I have TWO super-fun things to look forward to: my boss coming into town & my continued search for a stinking flu shot. Of course, I'll keep you posted.
My last Thursday's TWO attempts to get a flu shot after I blogged FAILED. Upon being turned away the second time, it almost made me want to cry. Almost. It's just a frustration + hormones thing. I'm not a crier...never have been. But I really am getting seriously ANNOYED.
Anyway, the good news is that I combined a work trip with a fun weekend by bringing my family along. I had another one of those State doctor meetings where you stand around and look like a total chode for hours on end. Fortunately, there was another rep with my company from a different part of the state there to share in my misery. The thing took place in his town (on his side of the state), so I made the long trek to see that only ONE of the doctors I call on attended. Oh, and I just happened to be in his office last week. Now THERE is corporate money well spent. The highlight was when one of my friend's doctors asked how "far along" I was. When I responded "five months" she stared harder at my stomach and asked if I was having twins. See? Higher education cannot buy one tact. Thanks alot lady.
So with that fiasco behind me, I could enjoy family time. We did all sorts of fun stuff. We visited a children's museum, an outdoor park that had different types of animals on display, we had dinner with my co-worker and his family, we had dinner another night at a nice seafood restaurant. We ate bacon and eggs for breakfast THREE days in a row. How indulgent is that? I feel like we ate our way around town!
My daughter's favorite thing was at a local mall. They had this deal there they put you in a harness with bungee cords attached to both sides, while standing on a trampoline. This contraption then pulls the bungees to raise you up while adding tension, and you use your toes to bounce on the trampoline and you can shoot way high in the air and even do flips. I had my doubts, but it said "25 lbs. and up". So she REALLY wants to go and doesn't seem afraid at all, even though you go pretty high. Man, was I impressed! The minute she got some air, she starts doing flips left and right! Back flips, front flips, you name it! There were kids on there 3x or more her age that were too afraid to do anything but bounce up and down. Actually, I would have bet money she would be too anxious to try to flip over, but I would have lost big time! It was really cute. We did it again the next day just to get her to shut up about it! It did look like fun, but of course it is written in stone that pregnant ladies don't get to have any fun like that. Sigh.
Even though I paid for our last night of hotel myself, it was worth the money to get one last family trip in before winter & baby. Now my travels are REALLY over for the time being, unless you count a brief work trip next month. As always it's good to be home again. This coming week I have TWO super-fun things to look forward to: my boss coming into town & my continued search for a stinking flu shot. Of course, I'll keep you posted.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Selfish? Don't care...
I'm starting to get sour about this whole "flu shot" thing. I'm supposed to get one since I'm pregnant, but can it be easy? Oh, hell no. I've already been told by both of "my" doctors they don't have any. The lines at the grocery stores wrap around the block. I went to a local hospital the other day. They had a sign up advertising that they would be doing shots from 8a-2p that day. I arrived at 10:30. Too late. I asked one of the geritatrics in line where I could get the paperwork everyone was holding. She informed me I was too late and that "some people" got there at FIVE AM. Well excuse the hell out of me! The sign said 8 TO 2!!! I'm the a-hole for showing up SO LATE I guess.
After some failed attempts to get said flu shot, I decided to go online to see exactly why I should care so much about this damn shot while pregnant. I wanted specifics. Well, looks like I do need one and here's why: first of all, if you get the flu while pregnant, it can last up to 3x longer than in the non-gestating person. Secondly, if you develop viral pneumonia from the flu while pregnant, you have a very high risk of it KILLING YOU. And last but certainly not least, there was a big study done fairly recently that showed that children born to women who had the flu while pregnant have significantly higher odds of having schizophrenia later in life. Um, yeah.
OK, is it just me, or should the above reasons put pregnant women at the TOP of the priority list? Shouldn't I count for TWO at-risk people? So far it seems like the old folks would GLADLY elbow a pregnant woman out of line to get their turn! These places are swarming with them. Why doesn't anybody have a clinic specifically for pregnant women or other "minority" high-risk groups? These flu shot clinics have more old people than discount night at the Luby's cafeteria! So AM I being selfish? I dunno. Don't care, either. My level of patience has never been very high, and being crabby & pregnant certainly does not help matters. So I have another location lined up to try later this afternoon. It's from 2p-4p. I intend to arrive at 1:30 and not a moment sooner! Wish me luck.
I'm starting to get sour about this whole "flu shot" thing. I'm supposed to get one since I'm pregnant, but can it be easy? Oh, hell no. I've already been told by both of "my" doctors they don't have any. The lines at the grocery stores wrap around the block. I went to a local hospital the other day. They had a sign up advertising that they would be doing shots from 8a-2p that day. I arrived at 10:30. Too late. I asked one of the geritatrics in line where I could get the paperwork everyone was holding. She informed me I was too late and that "some people" got there at FIVE AM. Well excuse the hell out of me! The sign said 8 TO 2!!! I'm the a-hole for showing up SO LATE I guess.
After some failed attempts to get said flu shot, I decided to go online to see exactly why I should care so much about this damn shot while pregnant. I wanted specifics. Well, looks like I do need one and here's why: first of all, if you get the flu while pregnant, it can last up to 3x longer than in the non-gestating person. Secondly, if you develop viral pneumonia from the flu while pregnant, you have a very high risk of it KILLING YOU. And last but certainly not least, there was a big study done fairly recently that showed that children born to women who had the flu while pregnant have significantly higher odds of having schizophrenia later in life. Um, yeah.
OK, is it just me, or should the above reasons put pregnant women at the TOP of the priority list? Shouldn't I count for TWO at-risk people? So far it seems like the old folks would GLADLY elbow a pregnant woman out of line to get their turn! These places are swarming with them. Why doesn't anybody have a clinic specifically for pregnant women or other "minority" high-risk groups? These flu shot clinics have more old people than discount night at the Luby's cafeteria! So AM I being selfish? I dunno. Don't care, either. My level of patience has never been very high, and being crabby & pregnant certainly does not help matters. So I have another location lined up to try later this afternoon. It's from 2p-4p. I intend to arrive at 1:30 and not a moment sooner! Wish me luck.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
I got TIVO!
And I couldn't be happier! Now I know what my sister has been talking about all this time! We have satellite, so when I saw an ad for the new variety, that allows you to watch something & record something else at the same time, I knew it was time to sign on the dotted line. You can even record TWO things at once (but not watch a third). That means when the new season starts, I can record both Alias AND Sopranos and play with my daughter until bedtime! No more missing shows when I'm on vacation! No more trying to keep little eyes out of the room when someone is getting whacked.
So far the only things waiting for me on Tivo are Spongebob, Fairly Odd Parents and Unwrapped. My daughter is enthralled with those two cartoons, so imagine her surprise when I told her that we'd have LOTS of them to watch! It's ALWAYS on! Plus, I can skip those annoying commercials! Yes, I watch cartoons with her. Those are the only two she likes that actually appeal to adults too. Man, did I get lucky!
I've said it before & I'll say it again, but we're pretty cautious about what we let our daughter watch. I even hate all the commercials she's exposed to. I know some people that really don't give a second thought about what their kids see (including "R" rated movies) and it truly mystifies me. She'll see more than her fair share of bad things in the coming years. Why on earth would I intentionally expose her to those things? To toughen her up? To inform her? No, all of those reasons suck, so that can't be it. Who knows. Everyone has their own style of parenting I suppose. I'll be sticking to my own way, thank you very much.
Our next big household expenditure is a new washer & dryer. Exciting, huh? Our ancient dryer has taken to smoking after about 15 minutes of use, leaving a bizarre haze in the laundry room. Also, our clothes feel so hot coming out of the dryer, you can hardly touch them. Um, yeah. Gotta suck it up and get a new one. Our washer seems to be OK, but "OH NO!", says my husband, we might as well get a matching set. With four people in the house, we'll need it sooner or later anyway. I guess he's got a point. Now I just need to hang tight until the money fairy gets here. Any minute now...
And I couldn't be happier! Now I know what my sister has been talking about all this time! We have satellite, so when I saw an ad for the new variety, that allows you to watch something & record something else at the same time, I knew it was time to sign on the dotted line. You can even record TWO things at once (but not watch a third). That means when the new season starts, I can record both Alias AND Sopranos and play with my daughter until bedtime! No more missing shows when I'm on vacation! No more trying to keep little eyes out of the room when someone is getting whacked.
So far the only things waiting for me on Tivo are Spongebob, Fairly Odd Parents and Unwrapped. My daughter is enthralled with those two cartoons, so imagine her surprise when I told her that we'd have LOTS of them to watch! It's ALWAYS on! Plus, I can skip those annoying commercials! Yes, I watch cartoons with her. Those are the only two she likes that actually appeal to adults too. Man, did I get lucky!
I've said it before & I'll say it again, but we're pretty cautious about what we let our daughter watch. I even hate all the commercials she's exposed to. I know some people that really don't give a second thought about what their kids see (including "R" rated movies) and it truly mystifies me. She'll see more than her fair share of bad things in the coming years. Why on earth would I intentionally expose her to those things? To toughen her up? To inform her? No, all of those reasons suck, so that can't be it. Who knows. Everyone has their own style of parenting I suppose. I'll be sticking to my own way, thank you very much.
Our next big household expenditure is a new washer & dryer. Exciting, huh? Our ancient dryer has taken to smoking after about 15 minutes of use, leaving a bizarre haze in the laundry room. Also, our clothes feel so hot coming out of the dryer, you can hardly touch them. Um, yeah. Gotta suck it up and get a new one. Our washer seems to be OK, but "OH NO!", says my husband, we might as well get a matching set. With four people in the house, we'll need it sooner or later anyway. I guess he's got a point. Now I just need to hang tight until the money fairy gets here. Any minute now...
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
My Crappy Morning
Happens to everyone now and then, I guess. One of THOSE days. So I decide to take my husband's SUV this morning because after I take my daughter to school, I'm dropping off my giant, smelly dog to the groomer. Not only does he really need a bath, but he also really needs his nails trimmed and I just can't do it myself. The first thing I notice as I'm pulling into daycare is that my husband's radio is doing something strange. I switch channels, but that didn't fix it. Huh.
So into school, drop off my daughter. Back into the car with damp, smelly dog. Did I mention it's steadily raining too? Key into ignition. Nothing. Uh, crap. Nothing. Spying jumper cables on the floor of the passenger seat (um, was that a clue?) I go into daycare to bum a jump. Get the jump (soaking wet & miserable by now) and I'm OFF!...about 8 feet, right into the intersection before the car decides it's not "down with that" and just....quit. No sputter, no jerk. Just nothing...except a wet, pregnant, pissed off lady with a heavily panting moist, antsy dog in the back. OK, this time I get a bit panicky. Not only am I not going to make the groomer's by now, but I'm also starting to get concerned about making my noon lunch appointment too. So...yet another phone call to the husband with my inappropriate, panicked, pissed-off tone. Not the peaches-and-cream that would probably have worked best.
He comes to my rescue anyway. The poor bastard leaves work, calls the shop and comes to retrieve my sorry ass. Let me also mention that NO ONE stopped to see if I needed help. NOT ONE. Thanks, a-holes. Once my husband arrives, we try again to jump the car to at least get it out of the way, unsuccessfully. Then he announces that he doesn't want the dog in his company car. "Let's leave him here, go home, get your car and come back & get him", he says. Um, no. First of all, the dog is already freaked out, secondly, the tow truck guy is on his way. I'm sure he could tell that this was not the optimal time to argue with me, so agreed to take the extra, smelly passenger the 5 miles to home.
Well, I did make my lunch on time, and $300 later, we have a lovely new alternator in our SUV. Unfortunately, it is still raining. Tomorrow's another day.
Happens to everyone now and then, I guess. One of THOSE days. So I decide to take my husband's SUV this morning because after I take my daughter to school, I'm dropping off my giant, smelly dog to the groomer. Not only does he really need a bath, but he also really needs his nails trimmed and I just can't do it myself. The first thing I notice as I'm pulling into daycare is that my husband's radio is doing something strange. I switch channels, but that didn't fix it. Huh.
So into school, drop off my daughter. Back into the car with damp, smelly dog. Did I mention it's steadily raining too? Key into ignition. Nothing. Uh, crap. Nothing. Spying jumper cables on the floor of the passenger seat (um, was that a clue?) I go into daycare to bum a jump. Get the jump (soaking wet & miserable by now) and I'm OFF!...about 8 feet, right into the intersection before the car decides it's not "down with that" and just....quit. No sputter, no jerk. Just nothing...except a wet, pregnant, pissed off lady with a heavily panting moist, antsy dog in the back. OK, this time I get a bit panicky. Not only am I not going to make the groomer's by now, but I'm also starting to get concerned about making my noon lunch appointment too. So...yet another phone call to the husband with my inappropriate, panicked, pissed-off tone. Not the peaches-and-cream that would probably have worked best.
He comes to my rescue anyway. The poor bastard leaves work, calls the shop and comes to retrieve my sorry ass. Let me also mention that NO ONE stopped to see if I needed help. NOT ONE. Thanks, a-holes. Once my husband arrives, we try again to jump the car to at least get it out of the way, unsuccessfully. Then he announces that he doesn't want the dog in his company car. "Let's leave him here, go home, get your car and come back & get him", he says. Um, no. First of all, the dog is already freaked out, secondly, the tow truck guy is on his way. I'm sure he could tell that this was not the optimal time to argue with me, so agreed to take the extra, smelly passenger the 5 miles to home.
Well, I did make my lunch on time, and $300 later, we have a lovely new alternator in our SUV. Unfortunately, it is still raining. Tomorrow's another day.
Monday, October 11, 2004
Random Junk
This was the damndest thing: My giant Great Dane was completely passed out on the living room floor this morning when I saw it...a mirage, or something like it. I actually saw waves of shimmery heat rising from the rib cage of my dog. Like when the heat rises from a long stretch of road during the summer. I really thought I was seeing things for a moment. I've never actually seen heat rising from a living creature before! Isn't that bizarre?
So my husband is taking my daughter out of town to the in-laws this weekend. Why? College friend's bachelor party. Yippee. There's nothing a pregnant lady loves more than imagining her husband with a hard-bodied stripper bouncing on his lap. Of course, HE can't choose where his friend wants to go for his own party. Oh, no. Oh well, whatdaya gonna do?
This was the damndest thing: My giant Great Dane was completely passed out on the living room floor this morning when I saw it...a mirage, or something like it. I actually saw waves of shimmery heat rising from the rib cage of my dog. Like when the heat rises from a long stretch of road during the summer. I really thought I was seeing things for a moment. I've never actually seen heat rising from a living creature before! Isn't that bizarre?
So my husband is taking my daughter out of town to the in-laws this weekend. Why? College friend's bachelor party. Yippee. There's nothing a pregnant lady loves more than imagining her husband with a hard-bodied stripper bouncing on his lap. Of course, HE can't choose where his friend wants to go for his own party. Oh, no. Oh well, whatdaya gonna do?
Normally a free weekend would mean getting all cute & going out for several dozen martinis with the girls, but, ya know. So as it stands, I have Friday afternoon plans with one of my friends and so far, that is IT. Absolutely nothing planned for the entire weekend. What to do, what to do? Wouldn't it be sad if I had to go to the movies all alone? Movies are the only non-alcohol related activity that doesn't involve children that I can think of. Maybe I can get at least two in! And then of course there's all the napping. Mmmmmmm, napping. Well, maybe my weekend will take some sort of random, exciting turn for the better. Of course I'm not holding my breath, either. But of course, I'll let ya know.
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
I'm Freakin' HUGE!
Relatively speaking, of course. I think I look about six months pregnant right now, although I am only four. Does this mean I will look like I'm having triplets by the time I reach 9 months? Let's hope it all levels out somewhere along the line. In a way, I'm OK with that, though. I hate that fuzzy, grey area where you don't fit your regular clothes, but maternity clothes seem silly since you're not big enough. I'm not even kidding when I say that you want to wear a sign saying "I'm pregnant..not JUST fat!" Because most people are tactful enough to not ask, but it often doesn't just "come up" either. Now when people eye my obviously-larger stomach I can just say "Yes, I am".
Since I've grown so fast I feel this bizarre need to go in & see all of my top doctors ASAP. I need to show this off. Why on earth?... you may ask. Because I never know when my boss might decide to come & ride with me. It's bad enough when some office twit says, in front of your boss, "Oh my gosh, we haven't seen you FOREVER". The last thing I need to do is show up with my boss, obviously pregnant for some time, and get a surprised reaction from people. I need to go throw this weight around so people have seen it. This might sound overly-cautious and/or paranoid, but it isn't. It's stuff like that that can get you busted slacking. So off to work I go (right after lunch of course). Plus I happen to enjoy working more in the spring & fall when the weather is milder. It feels kind of good to get in & out of your car...not like the freezer or oven it is during winter & summer. What the hell else am I gonna do? Blog all day?
Relatively speaking, of course. I think I look about six months pregnant right now, although I am only four. Does this mean I will look like I'm having triplets by the time I reach 9 months? Let's hope it all levels out somewhere along the line. In a way, I'm OK with that, though. I hate that fuzzy, grey area where you don't fit your regular clothes, but maternity clothes seem silly since you're not big enough. I'm not even kidding when I say that you want to wear a sign saying "I'm pregnant..not JUST fat!" Because most people are tactful enough to not ask, but it often doesn't just "come up" either. Now when people eye my obviously-larger stomach I can just say "Yes, I am".
Since I've grown so fast I feel this bizarre need to go in & see all of my top doctors ASAP. I need to show this off. Why on earth?... you may ask. Because I never know when my boss might decide to come & ride with me. It's bad enough when some office twit says, in front of your boss, "Oh my gosh, we haven't seen you FOREVER". The last thing I need to do is show up with my boss, obviously pregnant for some time, and get a surprised reaction from people. I need to go throw this weight around so people have seen it. This might sound overly-cautious and/or paranoid, but it isn't. It's stuff like that that can get you busted slacking. So off to work I go (right after lunch of course). Plus I happen to enjoy working more in the spring & fall when the weather is milder. It feels kind of good to get in & out of your car...not like the freezer or oven it is during winter & summer. What the hell else am I gonna do? Blog all day?
Friday, October 01, 2004
Ewwwwww!
OK, I had the grossest thing happen. The worst part is that this is the second time in my life this exact thing has happened.
We were being overrun by these odd little black flies in our kitchen. Not your average every-day fruit flies that hang out with your bananas...these were bigger, with longer wings. They were EVERYWHERE in the kitchen. We noticed this problem shortly after returning from our week-long trip. These things were constantly trying to dive-bomb into your food or beverage. I also noticed that they were getting into our ice maker. They kept appearing in my cup after getting ice. Acckkkk! Where the HELL are these things coming from?!?
Well...after one quick glance under the kitchen sink, all became clear. They had taken up residence in our aging bag of potatoes. For those with weak constitutions, I'll just say that they were....breeding. ...copiously. I have yet to hurl during this entire pregnancy, but this episode really tested my limits. Fortunately, I kept it together, but how gross is that?
I think the other time this happened, I was in college... I do recall having had this happen once before. Some people just never learn.
There are still stragglers (the flies), but I've been managing to pick them off one by one. Now my biggest dilemma is where do I store my new potatoes? I bought some at the store the other day, and so far they've been residing happily in the back seat of my car. They seem happy there, but it doesn't seem suitable as a permanent residence. I'm too grossed out to possibly ever store them under the sink again.
Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed a bug theme emerging from these blogs? Weird.
OK, I had the grossest thing happen. The worst part is that this is the second time in my life this exact thing has happened.
We were being overrun by these odd little black flies in our kitchen. Not your average every-day fruit flies that hang out with your bananas...these were bigger, with longer wings. They were EVERYWHERE in the kitchen. We noticed this problem shortly after returning from our week-long trip. These things were constantly trying to dive-bomb into your food or beverage. I also noticed that they were getting into our ice maker. They kept appearing in my cup after getting ice. Acckkkk! Where the HELL are these things coming from?!?
Well...after one quick glance under the kitchen sink, all became clear. They had taken up residence in our aging bag of potatoes. For those with weak constitutions, I'll just say that they were....breeding. ...copiously. I have yet to hurl during this entire pregnancy, but this episode really tested my limits. Fortunately, I kept it together, but how gross is that?
I think the other time this happened, I was in college... I do recall having had this happen once before. Some people just never learn.
There are still stragglers (the flies), but I've been managing to pick them off one by one. Now my biggest dilemma is where do I store my new potatoes? I bought some at the store the other day, and so far they've been residing happily in the back seat of my car. They seem happy there, but it doesn't seem suitable as a permanent residence. I'm too grossed out to possibly ever store them under the sink again.
Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed a bug theme emerging from these blogs? Weird.
