I'll Tell You a Secret

I'm going to tell you a secret right now.

Here it is: Pregnant women don't want to hear your comments about how huge they are and how you can't believe that they still have x amount of days or weeks before they are due. I don't care if the woman has gained 70 lbs and has to be rolled around on the floor because she is so huge. I don't care if it looks like she has a fully inflated beach ball down the front of her shirt. I don't care if she has walk around with both hands under her stomach to support the weight of the baby. No pregnant woman wants to hear "Oh, you look like you are ready to pop at any moment!" Particularly if said pregnant woman has just disclosed that she has more than a month (or two or three) to go before her projected delivery date. If you are shocked when she says she has 8 week, SHUT UP. Keep your face neutral and stick to these stock responses:

Congratulations
How wonderful
You look beautiful
How exciting

Variations on these responses will work, but don't get too crazy. You can also combine any of these options if you feel the need to say more. For example, "Congratulations, you look beautiful" or "That is very exciting, congratulations. And, by the way, you look beautiful." Under NO circumstances should you say "Good luck with that" or "I'll be praying for you." As for the last comment, I'm certain many pregnant women appreciate the sentiment that you will be praying for her and her baby, but, put into this context, the comment is too easy to interpret as "I'll be praying for you, you are so huge with your giant mutant child that you are going to need it."

Down with Florida

I think I shocked a few of my interpersonal communication students this morning when I declared in class that I thought that everyone who lived in Florida should move inland and just abandon the entire state. I feel that Florida should be allowed to return to its natural, swampy condition. My students were a little surprised and confused. "But why?" they asked. I held up hurricanes as my first piece of evidence. Florida has been hit by so many hurricanes, the people who live there should just take the hint. In addition, it would be much better for the global environment, I argued, if Florida were just left alone - unbothered by human habitation. This is an excellent example of how I mis-use my classroom power for underhanded purposes. My students were so surprised by my statement that none of them even tried to argue. I'm hoping that because my argument comes from a position of power and seemed (on the surface) to be backed up by reasonable and logical evidence that many of my students will go out and spread my Florida propaganda. Unethical? Maybe.

Ang Loves Donut Holes

I have been a bad blogger. So, this morning while chatting with my BFF Ang, I asked her what a good blog topic would be for today. She told me I should blog about donut holes because she loves donut holes and was, in fact, eating a donut hole at that very moment. So, I decided to write about how much Ang loves donut holes. First, however, a photographic illustration of Ang's love of donut holes...

Ang about to enjoy a delicious donut hole

Ang enjoying said yummy goodness

Ang highly satisfied by her tasty treat

Ang was kind enough to send me those pictures from her classroom in Iowa City where she teaches choir. She is an excellent choir teacher and I have often wished that we would somehow wind up in geographically similar locations when my children are of choir age so that she could teach them.

Writing about Ang tempts me to make a few comments on the value friendship. Ang and I became friends through NDSU's concert choir. She was a first-year student during my second year. While we didn't really become close friends during that academic year, that spring we drove together up to Grand Forks for an outdoor, all-day concert and our BFF-ness was born. I won't relate too much about that day, but it did result in really dirty feet, ridiculously uneven sunburns (one half of the face burned with white lines where our sunglasses sat, the other half barely tanned), and a friendship that is still going strong almost 10 years later (Holy Cow, Ang, we are OLD!).

These past 10 years have had great ups and downs. We were both bridesmaids for each other at our respective weddings. We have both been there for each other during health scares involving family members. We've vented to each other about spouses and families. We've taken trips. We've grieved the loss of a wonderful friend. Sometimes we go for days or even weeks without actually speaking to each other. But one of the best things about a friendship like the one we share is that even if it has been a month since we talked on the phone, we can always pick up right where we left off and enjoy that same sense of love, acceptance, and belonging that you can really only get with your closest friends.

On Good Morning America the other day they were doing a story on whether or not your partner/spouse should be your best friend. While I love my husband beyond what is rationale and we have lots of fun together, I would not say that he is my best friend, nor would I want him to be. Best friendships bear a burden of selfless support. I need my best friend to listen without judging or problem solving, to tell me I'm right when I'm being totally ridiculous and to confirm my worth on my most worthless days. I need my best friend to listen to all the self-doubts I would never dream of telling my husband. I need my best friend to be willing to send me silly pictures of herself so that the 4 hours of car travel between us, or the 4 months between visits, won't seem as great or insurmountable.

And that is why I hope everyone has best friends. Because who else could be convinced to pose for donut-hole-eating-pictures to be posted on your blog for the world (or my four active blog-readers) to see.

Ali Rapp Broke My Browser

One of my favorite things to do with killing time is to check on my friend Ali Rapp's blog: No I Am A Cat. Well, she has recently changed her blog so that it only shows one post at a time. This means that in order for me to see if she has posted anything else that I haven't read (if, say, I haven't been able to check in on her blog for a few days) I have to scroll ALL THE WAY DOWN to her blog archive and activate that link to view past blogs. ANYHOO, as irritating as this is, being the fan that I am, I endeavored to check her past postings not 5 minutes ago. Lo and behold, trying to access her January blogs actually froze up my browser and I had to shut down Firefox and re-open it, necessitating a complicated series of keyed short cuts and re-logging into my email. In other quasi-related news, Ali has finally seen the light and bought a Mac laptop. Woo Hoo Ali! Welcome to the land of computer intelligent!

As for the Super Bowl yesterday, I was cheering for the Cardinals. It is actually the first time in several years that I have been invested in a team that played in the Super Bowl. I was understandably disappointed when they lost it at the very end (grrr) but have to grudgingly admit that the winning TD catch was one amazing display of athleticism. The receiver did an amazing job of not only catching the ball over the top of two defenders, but also keeping the presence of mind to keep both of his feet pointed so that he made sure his toes dragged through the end zone. Good work Steelers.

Other than festivities surrounding the big game, Mark and I did not do too much of note on the weekend. We did greatly enjoy the sunshine and warm weather. We had originally discussed painting the crib this weekend, but Mark was really tired on Saturday and didn't want to do anything other than lay around. This is a rare condition for him and I like to encourage his laziness because he works really hard and I am perpetually afflicted with laziness so I like it when other people are also lazy.

So, tonight I am going to earn my three hours of couch-potato-ing (new episodes of Chuck, Heroes, and Medium!) by cleaning up my kitchen and throwing in my last load of laundry right when I get home. Hurray for earned laziness!!

Book Recommendation

I've been reading "The Middle of Everywhere" by Mary Pipher for a discussion group I am in at school. It is about new refugee experiences in America. Pipher lives in Lincoln, Nebraska. In an effort to find out more about new refugee experiences she started working with them. I have only read the first four chapters, but it is full of amazing and sometimes terrible stories about people who have been forced to leave their homes and find themselves in a new and foreign place with few resources and fewer friends. I didn't know it, but Pipher has written several other books on different topics. I will probably have to explore them. I always have the best of intentions to read more interesting and thought-provoking non-fiction... although I tend to fall into the trashy fiction trap very easily. Lately I've been reading a lot of Charlaine Harris. I read her Southern Vampire books (which I loved) and then moved on to her other mysteries (which I also love).

I've been reading a lot lately. I think I'm getting in lots of reading now 'cause I know I won't have time for it after the baby is born. It's working out well for Mark, because I don't care if he spends the entire evening playing Gears of War on PS3 if I am reading. Thank goodness for the Hennepin County Library request function. It is doing a great job of keeping me in reading material. I'm very excited because the latest Kathy Reichs book finally came for me this week. I've had to wait for, like, three months to get that one in! There was a big list of requests for that one. I guess I know what I'll be doing Friday night!

I Am Tired

I am tired. I want a nap. I cannot have a nap. From this moment onward, I am living this day for bedtime.

Writing My Memoirs

Not really. I'm not writing my memoirs, although I think it would sound cool if I told people I were. Honestly, I'm a little skeptical about regular people memoirs. Yes, I would consider myself to be just a regular person. I have had important and amazing moments in my life, but no more so than the next person. These moments of mine are amazing to me because they are mine, grounded in my past, my perceptions, my goals... I do not assume that others will find the same joy or inspiration in my life.

Two reasons why I am thinking of memoirs today. First, I thought it was really cool that Michelle Obama presented Laura Bush with a leather bound book and pen for her to start her memoirs. Laura Bush has had some interesting and amazing experiences. I would be interested in reading her memoirs. Second, I just got a promotional email from Borders.com advertising the memoirs of an author. They book was describes as "funny, and frank" and focused on the transition between need parents and becoming a parent. Now, I haven't read the book... I would probably enjoy it... but I don't know how appealing that is as a memoir. Maybe I'm just being overly-critical, but I've never been THAT interested in nonfiction. For me to get hooked, it has to be pretty spectacularly interesting nonfiction. Anyway, those are my thoughts on memoirs. Feel free to contradict me if you like.

Obama's Inauguration (duh)

The duh is because of course I'm going to blog about Obama's Inauguration. I have had several thoughts and emotions (as I'm sure many of us have) about today.

First, it seems unbelievable to me that this day is finally here! I've been anxious for it ever since campaigning began so long ago. Yes, at that time we did not know who would be sworn in on this Inauguration Day, but my cynical and disillusioned self thought that anyone would be better that George W. Bush.

Second, I think it is truly remarkable to see all the enthusiasm for this day! One of the news commentators this morning mentioned the feeling of celebrity that Obama has inspired. McCain tried to spin this idea of "celebrity" as a bad thing. My take on this issue of celebrity is that it is good to be in love with your President. Why should enthusiasm and excitement be a bad thing? In the past, we have lived in a largely politically apathetic country. Yes, we experienced a spike in patriotism after 9/11, but, in general, our recent history of involvement (as evidenced by voter turn-out) has been less than inspiring. The excitement, enthusiasm, and commitment to this inauguration by so many people is wonderful and I hope this engagement with our political process will continue as Obama's Presidency unfolds.

Third, I feel hopeful for our future. It is easy to get bogged down in what is currently wrong/bad/sad/unfair in this world. While we still have to see what this new administration is capable of, I can't help but feeling that this country is finally in good hands.

Fourth, even though I am really glad to see him go, I can't help but feel a little bad for outgoing President Bush. It has to be difficult to watch a country celebrating the end of your Presidential career.

So, those are just a few reflections that I have on this Inauguration Day. Let's all celebrate today and hope that tomorrow is the beginning of something new and great for our country.

And I Actually Feel Better!

Hurray! I actually feel better today than I did yesterday or Monday. Yesterday morning was rough. I was VERY crabby when I got to school. First, I've had this cold for over a week. I kept expecting to wake up feeling better any day... but yesterday I actually felt worse. Ok, Ok, it could be a little bit my fault as I was finishing up a book. I didn't go to sleep until 11:30 - I didn't realize how late it had gotten as I was reading the last chapters. So, not only was I feeling yucky, I was also tired. And let me tell you, being over six months pregnant and lack of sleep do NOT go well together.

Adding to my irritation was the fact that the commute yesterday was RIDICULOUS!!!! Now, I'm not one to get made when stuck in traffic. It's one of those things you can't do anything about and I always keep an audiobook in my car for such emergencies as sitting in a standstill on 394 waiting to get through Spaghetti Junction. What really ticked me off yesterday is that the horrid weather we have been having covered all the roads with black ice and there were many stupid commuters out there who refused to drive prudently. Of course, these idiots got into spectacular accidents that basically shut down ALL the major thoroughfares in the city. So, these couple of idiots made everyone driving suffer. I can't like them.

So, long story continuing to get longer... I was in a bad mood when I got to school. I really really really really wanted coffee. But I'm really trying to curtail my caffeine consumption (I say as I sit typing and drinking a mocha - but it's the only caffeinated beverage I've had this week and it will be my last one until next week. Also, it's a small one, not the bigger size I usually get). After writing a cranky, venting email to my mom I started getting ready for the first day of interpersonal communication. The good news is that after interpersonal communication I felt MUCH better. Teaching does that for me. I often leave class happier than when I went in. Students can be great mood boosters!

After lunch I made a very important discovery... If I prop up my feet on my other chair and roll my purple fleece blanket behind my head I can actually sleep in my office chair! I do not consider these little power naps to be slacking. Indeed, these 20 - 30 minute naps are not only helpful for my pregnant self, but they make me more productive in the long run. I would say this time is better spent sleeping than, say, 30 minutes playing Scrabble on Facebook (which I also do in my office... shhhhh...)

Finally, I'd like to mention a post I read in my friend and colleague The Contentious Introvert's blog earlier this week. He was talking about being on the cutting edge of the trend of slow blogging. This was very exciting for him, as he claims he has never been on the edge of any trend, unless you count his clothes as being trendy in the 1980s (to which I would reply sadly, No, Contentious Introvert, just because your clothes were made in the 1980s does not make them trendy - stick to the slow-blogging, it's what you're good at). Anyway, I think the idea of slow blogging is a good one so I'd like to end with a little bit of broader commentary in the spirit of slow blogging.

I believe it is very important for college-age students today to begin understanding that they are the creators of their own destiny. In the real world, there are very few checks and balances... No one is going to tell you to go to class, or to go to work, or to balance your checkbook. It is very easy to live in the present and leave the future for another day (and I speak from experience here, especially when it comes to credit cards - boo). But taking responsibility for yourself and your actions now should be one of the lessons that college teaches people. If you don't master this early (or ever) you may wind up in your thirties with a house-sized debt to pay off (I mean, literally, you may have a debt the size of a home mortgage) and little idea of how to go changing your circumstances. This is something that my husband and I continue to struggle with as we pay off debt, pay a mortgage, and get ready for a new baby (child care is REALLY expensive - but it's hard to begrudge money you spend on having people take care of and teach your child). So, that's my bit of slow blogging for the day. See, in this blog you get two speeds, fast and slow! Thank you Contentious Introvert for pointing out this important trend!

Christmas Break is Over.

I'm 95% glad Christmas break is over. My break was nice, but pretty busy with the exception of the last week. Mark and I went to Fargo... twice. There was much packing of cars and unpacking of cars. A lot of trying to figure out where to put Christmas and Shower gifts, and alot of time spent with family (all good). We were in Fargo (the first time) for almost a week. We left home the night before we originally planned because of (of course) weather. Somehow, we managed to run around and be busy the entire time we were there. Jared just got a new game for Xmas, Settlers of Catan. We played Catan quite a bit. It is a very fun game. Dave, Mark's brother, also got the game for Xmas so we were able to continue playing it even after we came back from Fargo.

I also entered my third trimester over break. This is it, the last stretch. The fact that I have fewer than 3 months to go was brought home this morning in my 11:00 a.m. class when I announced that April 2nd would be my last day here for the semester. But I told my class not to fear, as I have set up the last weeks of class to run without me. They will have presentations and workdays that I can have video-taped and then can grade from home. I am fluctuating between times of exhaustion and lethargy and times of nesting and organizing energy. Unfortunately, the exhaustion times are a little more frequent than the energy times (this is evidenced by the amount of laundry I didn't get done yesterday).

My voicemail light is blinking at me. I'm scared of it. I don't want to check my voicemail. I have no idea how many messages I have... I haven't checked them since last semester. I hate voicemail messages. I wish people would just email me. If they leave call back numbers I am never able to write down the entire number before the message is over. Then I have to listen to the whole thing again. It's really a giant pain.

I think I am going to make myself some more hot cocoa to soothe my throat. I coughed so much in my class this morning (I have a cold) that now it hurts when I swallow. Stupid cold. I've had it for a week but haven't had any problems with coughing or speaking until today. But, that is life.

World at War Lulling Me to Peace

Today is Friday. Finals were all finished yesterday. Of course, my goal for today was to have everything graded and calculated. This did not happen. I blame the pregnancy. I slept in until 9 a.m., which was awesome. Just me and the dogs in bed (Mark had to go to work... sucker). Then I got up and had the best intentions of getting the house cleaned up and all my grading done. Instead, I wound up watching the last hour of a couple of meh movies, taking a shower, and being basically worthless until almost 1 p.m.

As I was checking my email this morning in a fit of not-grading, I ran across an email that claimed I could prevent some of the worsening heartburn (it gets worse!?!) by keeping my stomach more full. Two things about this bit of information overjoyed me. 1) My heartburn has been bad the past couple of days and I'd like it to go away and 2) I love any advice that tells me I need to eat more often. So, I decided to give it a try. I attempted to eat snacks every two to two and a half hours and... I haven't had to take a Tums all day!! Hurray for no heartburn!!

Anyhoo, for lunch I ate some leftover pad thai from Pei Wei (so yum) and then I followed it with a small bowl of Moose Tracks ice cream. I'm not sure if it was the Thai food or the sugar, but I suddenly became energized. So, while watching Librarian: The Judas Chalice on TiVo, I began to actually accomplish a few house-keeping things. I washed our sheets and some towels, cleaned the kitchen, cleaned up the dining room, swiffer vaced the basement, and made sure the guest bedroom was ready for company.

And waiting for that company is what I'm doing right now. I'm stretched out on the couch with a sleeping Sheltie-Eskimo cross (or Sheltimo, as we like to call Quinn) by my feet while Mark plays Call of Duty: World at War on the PS3. It's pretty grusome on the 42 inch plasma, I have to say. Right now he's trying to storm the last bastion of Nazi power in April of 1945. He thinks this will be the end of the game. People get blown up and everything - you can see the body parts fly... Ooops, he just got killed by a grenade. He hates the grenades. He is also drinking wine out of a water glass, which is hilarious. There he sits, drinking merlot while killing virtual Nazis. I love being a nerd married to a nerd husband. I was trying to convince him earlier to set up the Wii -- it's been far too long since we've Mario-Karted, but he loves Call of Duty so much... and I was baking cookies until half an hour ago, so I let it pass.

So, I'm feeling pretty nice and mellow. My house is clean, I have freshly baked cookies, and a husband nerding out. Pretty soon my BFF Ang will be here with Dan and Isabelle and their black lab Abby. I'm sure this will cause chaos for awhile, so I'm determined to enjoy the peace while it lasts.

And I'll finish grading later.

Cursed Fish

The word cursed in the header of this blog should be pronounced Cur-sed. As in, Cur-sed Ju Ju Fish.

I'm sitting here grading... grading... grading... Grading marathon day. As I sit here grading I can't help but reach for the cur-sed Ju Ju Fish given to me my Ali RappStar. They are addictive little buggers. And I CERTAINLY do NOT need anymore sugar today.

Hmmm... Man, those fish look tasty... I think I will have another...

Not Too Preggers to Sleep on the Floor

So, in theory, spending an entire day in my office with nothing to do but grade is a good idea. I knew I would have few distractions from students today, as it is the Tuesday of finals week and students are slowly trickling off campus as classes are wrapped up, final exams completed, and final projects turned in. Of course, what this means for professors is - GRADING. At least that is what it means for me.

Yesterday I had two finals, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Happily, I am done grading everything but extra credit for those two classes. I have another online final this afternoon and one more online final tomorrow morning. And one last paper due tomorrow evening. My goal is to be all done grading by the end of the day Thursday so that I can go home and stop thinking about this semester. This is my plan. I feel like I'm on track so far, but who's to know how tomorrow and Thursday will go?

I spent this morning being fairly productive. I graded late papers, did some other miscellaneous paper work, and, in the spirit of saving, didn't even go get coffee. Then I had a student come in and then I went to lunch with David and Wes. For a wonder, the food in the cafeteria wasn't too bad today. They even had a very yummy chocolate chip and caramel dessert bar that I enjoyed quite a bit. During lunch, I conveniently forgot that I am attempting to eat less in a sitting because my abdomen is largely filled with baby right now. I have been plagued with heartburn for the past couple of days and I think it's because I'm still eating what used to be a normal portion size. Trust me, there is a point to this little side-trip down "I Overate Lane." The point is this: by the time I got back to my office I was full and SO SLEEPY.

Now, being sleepy after lunch is not a new sensation for me. Afternoons are not my best awake times when I'm NOT pregnant. However, today the sleepiness seemed to be of mammoth proportions. So, I decided to take a nap on the floor of my office. I unrolled the yoga mat that I keep in my office (the mat got quite a bit of actual yoga-use last fall when I was attending free yoga classes every Tuesday and Thursday - less use lately - until today that is). Then I spread my winter coat onto the mat and then I lay down using my purple fleece blanket as a pillow. I wasn't sure how comfortable I would be considering that I am starting to reach the point of awkwardness, but it wasn't too bad. I napped for a half an hour and awoke, while not refreshed, at least able to function again.

After I made sure I didn't have any weird lines across my face from sleeping on the blanket, I got up, collected my various paperwork, pulled on the coat I just napped on, and headed out into the snow to run my few errands. As unpleasant as -2 temp with a -10 windchill can feel, the cold did a nice job of waking me up the rest of the way. Also, I have to admit that campus looks really nice from the skyway that connects Oren to the library while it's snowing outside. OH! Also, the lovely Ali Rapp stopped by with a Xmas card and Ju Ju Fish for me while I was napping. Very nice of her. The sugar in the afternoon is highly appreciated.

After being such a busy and productive professor all day (yes, I do consider the nap productive) I am now contemplating what to do for my next trick (as my mom would say). I'm pretty sure I'm going to get a jump on those final papers. A few of my students (in particularly studious fashion) have turned in their drafts ahead of time. If I get the early ones done today, that means fewer papers for me to grade on Thursday (who said I wasn't any good at math?). I also suspect there may be a little time for playing Scrabble with Angela on Facebook. She should be done teaching in about 20 minutes. Ah, finals week...

Should've Stayed in Bed

Well, here I am. At school. Sitting in my office.

I'm tired and out of sorts today. I shouldn't be. I slept in until 7:45 this morning (yawning as I type this). Maybe it has to do with all the activity going on in my house lately. Charley and my Dad showed up Saturday morning to start working on the basement. From that point, trips to various home improvement stores aside, Mark, my Dad, and Charley worked non-stop for four days. The good news, of course, is that I have a beautiful new basement. But just because the floor got done, doesn't mean the work is done. Last night Dave, Mark's brother, came over to help us move some of the big furniture back to where it belongs so that I could have some sense of order. We put the couch back in the family room along with my desk. Mark still need to put the trim back on downstairs, so while the new walls and floors are lovely, it still looks a bit unfinished. We also elected to leave the big TV upstairs for now, a fact which I'm sure Dave appreciated.

Despite my convenient pregnancy excuse, which has gotten me out of a multitude of physical labor tasks, I did help some last night. I think that may be the reason my ab muscles are so sore. It's odd. I'm supposed to be exercising, but not in certain ways. So, I don't think my muscles are sore because I did something wrong, I think they are sore because they are all stretched out and have begun to atrophy as a result of lack of activity. And speaking of that, I've been having major cognitive dissonance about my lack of gym attendance over the past... let's just admit it... months. I keep having the best intentions of going, but somehow bedtime rolls around and I drift off to sleep cursing myself for missing another potential day of exercise that (all the pregnancy websites assure me) would greatly help both me and my unborn child.

It's 9:30 a.m. Only 5 and a half more hours until my last scientific and technical speaking class. See, this is why I should have stayed in bed. Yes, I have work to do and papers to grade, but I could do that at home. Instead, I have a bad feeling I'm going to be counting down the hours until my afternoon class all day. Dumb.

Unfortunately, the only thing on my mind at the moment is whether or not I should go get some coffee. And, if I do, should it be caffeinated. While the warm beverage would certainly have a positive psychological effect on my, I think I would feel more alive if I got the caffeinated kind. And... do I get a sugary beverage in light of all the mass quantities of sugar I consumed yesterday (it was our department Xmas party). Sigh. These are the days of my life.

Happiness is a Warm Office

I had a great Thanksgiving weekend. Nothing terribly fascinating. Good food. Family. Great sales on Black Friday. You know, pretty standard.

I had my last speech meet of the semester last night and I have to say with all honesty that I'm glad it is over and done. The past three weeks have been really busy, fun, but busy. The epiphany I had this morning as I was getting ready to leave the house was that I didn't have anything major to get done today. Now, I don't want anyone to think that I don't have any work to do, because I certainly have plenty of that. What I do not have, is a major deadline approaching, a pile of papers to grade, a meeting to attend, or a trip to plan. Instead, I have the current luxury of being able to take a couple of minutes to blog while whittling down my To Do list in a calm and orderly fashion. It's pretty fab.

This weekend Mark starts on the basement remodel with the help of my dad and my father-in-law. They will be arriving with a van-load of stuff on Saturday morning. I'm hoping the van-load contains the crib, daybed, and dresser for the nursery. Yes, we bought a dresser in Fargo over the weekend. It is unfinished, so Mark will have to stain it and it is fabulous. I am really excited to start on the nursery. Right now it's still just a room (with a fabulous paint color) that stores a bunch of random stuff. People keep telling me "Oh, you have lots of time..." Blah blah blah. Yes, I still have almost four months before the baby comes, BUT I also have a life and full time job. It's not like I have four months of nothing to do before the baby comes. Also, I have a shower coming up over Christmas break and it sure would be nice to be able to put everything away somewhere instead of just setting it in the living room (which is where all our new laminate flooring is currently sitting. Ask me if I'm thrilled about that.).

I happen to be wearing a very cute maternity dress today and have gotten several compliments - although I had to drag the compliment from my husband out of him. Somehow, it just doesn't mean as much when you have to ask for it. Anyway, it's really cute. This morning I saw my friend Darcey who told me I look fabulous. (Which I do, today. I wouldn't say I look fabulous everyday, or even most days, but I AM pretty dang cute today). Then she said "Isn't it fun to live in a different body?" Hmm. Not really. I'm not that big yet... Not big enough for it to really hamper my life much, but it is a bit hard to adjust to getting bigger when we live in a society that is perpetually telling us how important it is for us to be smaller. Also, I'm at the cute pregnancy stage right now. I'm guessing I'm going to really HATE being in a different body in another three months.

Anyway, my space heater is making me nice and toasty in my cute dress and I'm sad to have to leave my office chair for class. But I do. Tomorrow I force Ali to help me decorate the outer office for Christmas. But I will be bribing her with muffins, so hopefully she won't complain too much. Perhaps I will document our decorating and post the pics on this blog. We shall have to wait and see.

San Diego Pics

I don't have much time to write about my San Diego trip yet, but I wanted to put up some of the pictures from my trip.
















The fabulous Kristen and JJ McIntyre















Me, Naj, and Anna Kudak




























Me, Mark (my PhD advisor) and Mary Frances

Her Name is Mud

So, as you might be able to guess, my thoughts have been consumed with baby girl names lately. In my quest to find interesting names that I may like, I stumbled upon a website called "Baby's Named a Bad, Bad Thing." I'm under the assumption that the "Baby's" stands for Baby is...

Anyway, there are postings from various baby-naming boards with little comments in response. Here is my favorite so far. The posting reads:

Brittany after the statue- Brittania

The response is:
'Cause nothing in, say, France is called Britanny. Nothing big like a province. Nothing else in England called Britannia, either. Nothing big like...England.

Their hatred of this particular woman is the only thing England and France have agreed on since 1066.

I laughed really hard after reading this. Check out the website. Good laughs.

http://www.notwithoutmyhandbag.com/babynames/index.html

I'm Heading to San Diego, San Diego Here I Come.

Tomorrow I board a flight for San Diego. This will be my first trip to California, to the West Coast in general. I am very much looking forward to it, and not only because it is supposed to be in the low 70s and upper 60s during the day! While it is true that I will be attending an academic conference (which, nerd that I am, can be exciting all on its own) but I will be reuniting with several of my best friends from graduate school for the first time since May of 2007. We are all now in different places -- if not geography that career-wise. Kristen and JJ are in Arkansas, Anna is in Kentucky, and Najla is still in North Dakota, but in a kick-ass new job. And, of course, there will be a whole bunch of other people from my grad school days there to catch up with as well.

I return from San Diego on Monday and return to school here for a day and a half before Mark and I head back to Fargo for Thanksgiving. It's going to be a busy and excellently fun weekend. When we get there Wednesday night we will be attending Kate's birthday party at Johnny Carino's. Thursday, of course, is Thanksgiving, a holiday I greatly enjoy even though I don't eat turkey anymore. The day after Thanksgiving, of course, is BLACK FRIDAY!!!! Only one of my favorite days of the year. This year Annie will be joining Mom and I again as we brave the cold, and dark, and crowds at 6 a.m. in search of great deals. I am especially looking forward to having Annie come with because the last time she attended Black Friday Shopping, she greeted my cheerful wake-up call at 5:30 a.m. with the words "I hate you." I can't wait to see what kind of vitriol this year will bring!! (Of course, Annie doesn't really hate me. She just hates mornings. I think it's hugely entertaining to watch her moan and grumble her way through the first 45 minutes of the day until she reverts back to her normally cheerful self).

We have a Black Friday routine. We get up between 5 and 5:30 and try to head out just before 6:00 a.m. We always go to Kohl's first, because they do have really great deals in the morning and it's worth the wait in line (which last year stretched half-way around the store). After that we usually go to Linen's N Things. This year, LNT is going out of business so I don't know if we will be going there or not. On one hand, there might be great deals. On the other hand, I don't know if it is even still open. Then it's off to Herberger's where we usually spend a big chunk of time. Around 9 a.m. we head to Barnes and Nobles for coffee and breakfast in the cafe followed by book shopping. This year I have to buy Mom coffee and breakfast because we had a wager going as to the sex of the baby. I lost (I was SO SURE she was a boy! Oh well. Mark and I are really excited about our baby girl). We are typically done shopping by early afternoon at which point we head back to Mom's house to take stock of our booty. It's great fun, although I can understand why there are some people out there that avoid shopping on Black Friday like the plague.

I am hoping to document both trips with pictures this year, so hopefully I will be able to relay through images some of the fun of my upcoming week and a half.

It's A Girl!

Mark and I had our 20 week ultrasound on Friday. I say Mark and I because he was there too, even though I'm the one that had to lay there for half an our while being prodded with the little ultrasound wand thingy. It was really exciting. We had already decided we wanted to know the sex of the baby. Little did we know that we would have to wait to find out while our awesome ultrasound technician took pictures of EVERY part of the baby. She measured the circumference of the baby's head and the baby's tummy. She took pictures of the heart - which was really cool because you could clearly see all four chambers of the heart beating. She took pictures of each of the legs and arms and pointed out where all the bones were developing. We got pictures of the head and spine from every angle. Finally, the second to last thing she looked at was sex.

We have been POSITIVE since I got pregnant that we were having a boy. I don't know why, it was just a feeling... a very strong feeling. So, when the technician said, "I'm going to say girl," we were both really surprised. It was almost like finding out I was pregnant all over again. We had to start completely over with the name game because we hadn't been thinking about girl names at all this entire time.

My mom was thrilled and vindicated (she'd been saying girl since the beginning). After telling her about the sex over the phone (she was stranded in Savannah, Georgia at the airport) I had to relate all the other good news about the baby. She is the right size and appears to be put together normally. One of the ultrasound techs even exclaimed "Oh, what a pretty baby." Which left Mark and I wondering several things: How can you really tell if the baby is pretty from an ultrasound?; and, If you can tell if the baby is pretty or not, what do they say when the baby ISN'T pretty? Does that ever happen? But, of course, proud parents that we are, we choose to believe that, of course you can tell if the baby is pretty or not and that, in fact, our baby is prettier than the average baby.

In half an hour I'm off to judge/coach at a speech tournament. This weekend I'm flying San Diego for the National Communication Conference. The next two weeks promise to be busy, but the semester is almost over. If I can somehow manage to keep up with the grading, it should be a relatively short few weeks until Christmas break. Yay, Christmas Break.

No, no, no

I feel a little like I might be coming down with a cold or something. This is not good, not good at all. These next two months are going to be extremely busy and hectic and I don't have time to get sick. I especially don't have time to be pregnant and sick, which means that I can't take nearly as many helpful cold-symptom relieving medications as I normally would.

All in all, I have to say that I wish pregnancy in real life was more like Piper's pregnancy on Charmed. When Piper was pregnant with Wyatt she was practically indestructible. Of course, it was because she was a witch a carrying a magical baby that protected her from harm and germs -- but how nice would that be? Instead, when you are pregnant (according to the book I'm reading) you become MORE susceptible to illness, your balance becomes iffy, and you become prone to forgetting stuff. Also, if you don't get enough calcium the baby will suck it right out of your bones. Of course, I can't really begrudge my poor, as-yet-unseen baby for all of this. It's not really his/her fault. It's a cruel trick of biology... much like how I can't drink caffeine or eat spicy tuna sushi. And don't tell me to drink decaf. It's not the same.

Anyway, I think veggie-noodle soup may be in my future for tonight. I have to run to the library to pick up a few books. I just got caught up in the Southern Vampire Series by Charlaine Harris. I highly recommend it. The only problem is that now I have to wait for book nine. At the library books 4 and 5 of Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series are waiting for me. Also excellent and highly recommended. Maybe Mark will run to the store to get soup ingredients while I am at the library... Of course, Chuck and Heroes are on tonight, which is yet another reason to celebrate.

Keep your fingers crossed that I'm just in an afternoon slump and not actually heading for the infirmary!