Portland

I don't like driving long distances, mostly because I'm lazy. Regardless, I got in the car this morning (after only about 7 hours of sleep ... I couldn't go to sleep until 1 a.m. last night! Cruel world) and drove down there.

And the drive wasn't bad at all. Maybe it's because I'm always a passenger that it seems so long. Whatever. It was fine. I got to hang out with the Long Lost Michelle and a Jess from another coast, eat delicious Lebanese food, shop at the worlds most awesome used book store and hang out with cool people in general. All in all, good day. And I didnt fall asleep on the drive back, either. Two points for me.

What made the day extra good, though, was the fact Luke called last night. It was about 11:30 p.m. and I was finally dozing after laying in bed from an hour and a half (not sleeping mind you, definitely awake. But laying very very still). I wanted him to call so badly that I had actually not plugged my phone in at all but had it in my bed with me, just in case ... just in case willing it to ring actually did work.

And then it rang. Woohoo!! I'm convinced it wasn't so much the willing it to ring as the admitting that all the positive thoughts in the world wouldn't work.

But it was soooo good to talk to him. It's difficult to explain: having him be gone is hard, really really really hard. But it's the not getting to talk to him that makes it unbearable and oh so very lonely. Just hearing his voice made it all OK again. I almost think I can make it through deployment without going absolutely mad provided he gets to call me frequently. No contact may just kill me.

He called again tonight and promised to call again tomorrow ... and may even be home sooner than we thought on either the night of the fifth or sometime on the sixth.
~~~~~~~~~~~

This week may drag a bit, the last few days before he gets back always does. Tomorrow I've got church and a coffee date. Monday is my errand and gym day and possibly dinner with a friend. Tuesday, Bible study, gym. Wednesday, Bible study and a baby appointment and small group (aka day of weight gain reckoning. Sigh) ... and Thursday (!!!) spa day and maybe the day Luke comes home.

Yay :-)

Flashback

I was just sitting here willing Luke to call me, sending many positive thoughts in that direction ... and just moping in general about whether or not that would happen ...

When I suddenly had a flashback to the summer of 2007, July-ish. I sat in my apartment starring at my phone, willing it to ring with a call from, who else? Luke. And it didn't work then, either.

Granted, we're all husband and wife now, so technically he has more of a reason to call me ... you know, a reason beyond "boy but I have a huge thing for a boy who claims we have no future, but I KNOW he will call me." But if you had told me that then I would've been all "no, he'll call because I BELIEVE he will, and God promises to give us what we ask for."

And let's all stop and remember now that I was totally right about that. Not right at that exact moment, but eventually.

So maybe, just maybe, willing my phone to ring will work after all.

(or maybe, like every other time I've willed something to happen in my perfect timing, it won't work one little bit. blah.)

Ultrasound, etc.

Yesterday's ultrasound went just dandy. I'm never going to enjoy that nasty goo rubbed on my stomach, but let's move on.

The baby is head down, just like he is supposed to be. Turns out that large lump that's been bugging me is his butt. Awesome.

It was nice to see him. I was going to upload photos but alas they did not turn out very well so it's kind of pointless.

I haven't heard from Luke in over a week now and havent talked to him in two. This is getting old, especially since I know other wives/fiances have heard from their people recently. Where is Luke?! *wimper*

And I am tired.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Got some fabulous deals at Rite Aid today and basically ended up getting a variety of items, including 10 soy joy bars and three 12 packs of Coke for about $6. That's not bad. I don't know what I'm going to score with this new found deal skill once I don't need to buy Luke food anymore. And seriously, that's a lot of what I end up with -- Luke food.
~~~~~~~~~~~

Tomorrow: driving to Portland to hang out with Michelle Knopp and Jess Baggot. Haven't seen either in a long time, and considering Michelle LIVES there and has for many a year, its kind of embarrassing on my part.

We are also going to go to Powells tomorrow, land of awesome used books. That's exciting too. Maybe they'll have the Old Bear books and a Tom and Pippo volume or two. One can hope.
~~~~~~~~~~~

Next week should be dandy ... full of Bible studies, a coffee date or two, almost a whole day at the day spa (wooo!!) and ... dare I hope? The return of my long lost baby daddy.

So Tired

... yawn.

Gym work outs really DO wear you out. I definitely need a nap before small group tonight.

The days are ticking by slowly. This morning I went to PWOC, then made a peanut butter cake that may be too rich for my taste, but hopefully everyone else likes it. Cake making really isn't my thing so hopefully this is decent.

I get to see my baby boy tomorrow, I am excited about that. It'll be nice to spend most of the day with Abigail, too, seeing baby, drinking warm liquids, getting our nails done.
~~~~~~~~

Been watching a lot of Alias. And by a lot, I mean two seasons in the last two weeks. And these seasons are pretty long, too.

My conclusion: I would not be great at the spy thing. I can't kick that hard and I'm not particularly awesome at keeping secrets.

The Secret

I have found the secret to sleeping at night. Ready for it?

Being tired.

That's right, this ground breaking new discovery is brought you by, well, me and working hard or working out.

Last night I was tired when I went to bed (granted it was also 10:30 p.m.) and I slept fine. Tonight I am exhausted and it is 7 p.m. and I'm pretty sure that sleep will not be a problem ... and might start at like 8:30 p.m.

How has this miracle come about? Ah yes, the gym.

I've been walking about three miles outside for the past week or so (not everyday, but like three days a week). Today it was pouring rain so I hit the gym instead. Wow, what a difference in my exhaustion level. I think walking outside is good exercise and all, but I can see it is NOT the same unless I do something crazy like 5 miles. A half hour on the elliptical, however, and a few weights .. yeah. Different.
~~~~~~

Does anyone have bad feeling about the sweater thing Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was wearing during Obama's speech tonight? I've been thinking about it and the feelings just keep getting worse. Love the color, not the ... designs.
~~~~~~~~~

Tomorrow: PWOC, baking a delicious cake and taco bar night at small group (woo! I LOVE taco bar!).

Thursday: ultrasound. Have I mentioned I'm excited about this? I'm excited about this. It'll be nice to have eyes on the little bugger that's making my abs hurt from doing nothing but sitting on the couch. It's really a cruel world for the pregnant. Sigh.

Errand Day

Monday is my errand day in that I hit the commissary Monday morning. Generally speaking I hit the gym right afterwards, but this morning a drive by revealed every single parking space (and ones across the street and even one or two pretend ones ON the street) filled. I don't know what was going on, but whatever it was I was not willing to deal with it.

And so I decided to expend energy on other things instead. I ran to pick up some baby toys from a Freecycle person, most of which I ended up dropping off at Goodwill.

I dropped some donation books off at the library that have been sitting in our house forever.

I returned some things at Target and picked up some other stuff instead (storage bins for the baby's room, a stapler).

I hit Rite-Aid to score free granola bars and hairspray (Im almost out!) and gum for Luke.... got the gum, they were out of everything else. I'll go back Friday in hopes of getting it then.

I got my free Monday Movie from Redbox. This week it was "The Visitor." This was an excellent film about a stodgy white professor and how his life intersects with an illegal immigrant. It was just really sweet. Not award winning or anything, but I enjoyed it.

And then I cleaned my house.

I love Monday cleaning day ... my house always smells so great afterwards. I just like it when things are clean and shiny.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nothing terribly exciting going on in the world of Amy this week ... well at least for the next three days. Bible studies and small group. That's pretty much it. At least I'll have time to go to the gym or walk or something.

Thursday will be interesting, however. I have an ultrasound at 11 a.m. and then Abigail and I are going to go do our nails mostly because I have a great coupon, other mostly because Luke comes home next week and I want my nails to be pretty.

Nothing going on Friday...

And Saturday (!) Im going to Portland for the day to hang with a few lovely ladies and hit up the greatest book store ever, Powells.

... next week Luke comes home.
~~~~~~~~~~~

It's amazing how lonely I've gotten over the last few days. I miss Luke's company and I'm pretty darn bored.

If I wasn't getting a baby before Luke leaves I would DEFINITELY need a puppy.

To Make You Feel My Love

"When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
I could offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love.

When the evening shadows and the stars appear
And there is no one there to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love ..."

-- Adele

Kind of a Big Deal

.. and by the I mean the money I saved at Albertsons, not me personally (although you can draw your own decisions about that).

Yesterday evening, after plotting my deal getting Thursday, I hit Albertsons and Walgreens.

My plan for Walgreens was to score the following:

Two revlon lip glosses (by one get one free, plus full Walgreens rebate)
Fructis conditioner (two $1 coupons -- one in store, one from the paper -- and full Walgreens rebate)
2 jumbo packs of Walgreen diapers ($6 in coupons, plus the possiblity of $2 register awards which I didnt end up getting, plus the fact that they were on sale already).

I spent $24.07 out of pocket. I'll get $9.99 for the lipgloss and $3.99 for the hair stuff back via a Walgreens gift card (which Ill use to buy more/get more back ... essentially get stuff for free ... later).

When you factor that all in I got 80 diapers for about 12 cents each (really cheap), two things of lip gloss that, while I didnt need, I will use, and hair stuff that I wouldve bought anyway in a week or two.

So that was Walgreens.

Next I hit Albertsons. Under their by 10 select products get $10 in Albertson's money back (which I'll spend there later, no doubt about it ... I frequently go there to get the stuff the commissary doesn't have, like buttermilk, for example) deal and a bunch of coupons (at least one for each item) I was able to buy the following stuff for a total of about $5.50:

-- 3 boxes of lucky charms (Luke food)
-- granola bars (more Luke food)
-- toaster strudle (Luke food, again)
-- two boxes of brownie mix (can anyone say potluck!?)
-- A thing of ready made icing
-- two rolls of pillsbury grands (using in a recipe or two I plan to make when Luke gets home)

Needless to say, I am very proud of me.

Today I got diapers on diapers.com under a first time user deal and rebate (which I'll apply for after they come in a few days) for about 8 cents each. Since diapers dont really go on sale that often for that cheap, stock piling them now is a good idea, I think.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm really enjoying this whole couponing thing. Part of the reason probably is that this makes me feel like I'm contributing to our finances without actually making money. I hate feeling like I'm just taking all of the time, even though I know gearing up to be a mom and supporting Luke and all that is important. It just ... doesn't feel important.

So being the most frugal shopper physically possible is the best way I know how to contribute in a tangible way that feels like something real.

Frugal, not stingy, mind you. The more we have the more we can give. I love giving people gifts -- well, not gifts so much as spending time with them doing something, like taking them out to lunch, for example. The more I can save in other areas, the more I can give in that area.

The truth of the matter is that we are not poor nor even struggling financially -- the Army makes sure of that -- when I know so many people are. But just because we are not doesn't mean we can't take care of what we have.

I keep thinking back to Proverbs 31, wondering how this example of godly woman did it. I mean, check out the impressive accomplishments of this chick (as translated by Amy):

-- Works joyfully with her hands
-- Goes the extra mile to get good food or whatever
-- She is disciplined and caring
-- She is enterprising and thrifty, using whatever means she has to earn money
-- She is energetic, not lazy
-- She is influential

.. surely she did not feel useless. Maybe that's all Prov. 31 is ... a guide for people who do not have traditional careers to not feel boring and useless.

I. Might. Die.

Let's rewind a tad to the days of Politico, when Amy got her first blackberry. We'll give that date as November, 2006. The world suddenly opened up -- email on my phone! facebook on my phone! callendar! internet! 24/7 news! The world was at my finger tips.

I have had one ever since -- 2.5 years.

I have often been accused of being a complete blackberry addict. So, I am. That aside it DOES come in so handy. I looooove it.

Today the track ball on my blackberry stopped working. I went into the store thinking about my options ... if they couldn't fix it, and our contract was still super long anyway, I decided I would spring for a new one, about $100. Luke and I plan to switch services when the contract expires or he deploys and we can straight up get out of the contract. So depending on when he'll deploy $100 is a good or a bad investment.

First, guess what? Our contract ends in May. May! So we'll be switching then. Second, they couldn't fix my phone. Without the track ball there is no point in having email, I can't choose whether or not to answer any given call, etc. Basically, it's an important aspect of the phone.

So I did the cheap, best, right ... HARD ... thing. I went and bought a cheapo tmobile phone that will hold me over until May, and canceled all blackberry related services.

There is a strong possibility that I am going to go into withdrawal without it. I may start shaking and saying things like "but I dont know what's HAPPENING in the world!!!!" and "GIVE ME MY BLACKBERRY!!"

But in all seriousness, this is a huge deal. There are things that are more important in the world than being online all the time (though I'm not sure WHAT they are... just kidding), and people who don't think I can survive ... and I'm going to prove that I can.

Favorite Things

Because overall, today is a good day, a list of my favorite things:

-- Hot tea
-- The new pajamas pants Luke sent me as a final Valentines Day gift. These are SO GREAT, folks. It's an act of true irony that Victoria's Secret makes the most comfortable, unsexy pajamas and sweatpants out there.
-- Taking walks with friends and otherwise
-- Getting good deals on stuff I need. It just makes me feel good.
-- My mommy blanket and my snuggie
-- A clean house. It's the simple things, folks.
-- Hot baths. Someday I'm going to live in a place with a bathtub in which my shoulders and knees can be submerged at the same time. Until then, this one will do.
-- Coming to a final decision on the baby bedding. We are keeping the one from Target, folks, and getting a brown duvet cover for the twin sized bed. I know, thank God that's over. Phew.
-- Alias. I totally forgot how great this show is!! Abigail brought me Season 2 today. It's a good day.
-- Thinking about how closeish I am to having pregnancy be over with once and for all. 9 more weeks people! This is so exciting. Now, if I was only actually READY ... hm ... I should look into that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've added an email subscription feature to the right side of the page. This was primarily for the benefit of Luke, who either doesn't has access to the blog or forgets to read it. It's nice to keep one's husband in the loop on things blog wise, so email it is. I prefer it when people actually visit my page because then my hit counter goes up, and let's be honest, that gives me warm fuzzy egocentric feelings. But whatever makes you happy, ok?

Tomorrow I'm headed to Seattle for a little girl time with Heidi, friend of Liz. Providing I do not get stuck in the World's Worst Traffic tomorrow evening on the way home (like I did the last time I ventured up 405) this should be good times all around.

I can't believe Luke has been gone for only two weeks. It seems like an eternity, like he was here maybe a month ago or more. How the passing of time feels is a weird thing sometimes. I guess it just speaks to how we are once we get into the rhythm of being "single" again, like nothing was ever different, really.

I slept better last night, for the record, thanks to a little drug help. I can't let myself do that every night because I know that this is just my body getting me ready to all sorts of unrested soon. If that's true though ... who knew my body could be so mean to me?!

Grumpy Math

Grumpy Points:

Not getting enough sleep last night: 3
Heartburn for what seems like no good reason: 1
Having to leave my house at 8:30 a.m. for Bible study: 1
Luke being gone. Still: 2
The never ending research paper: 1
A house that makes itself dirty: 1
A guy honking at me while I was taking a walk (seriously?! I'm 31 weeks pregnant!): 1
Worrying about what the Army is going to do with Luke: 1
Worrying about what happens to me if the Army does whatever with Luke: 1
Worrying about deployment in general: 1
Other worrying: 1

Un-Grumpy Points:

A beautiful, clear blue sun shiny sky: 1
Talking a walk under said sky: 1
The smell of growing things in the sun: 1
A delicious smoothie: 1
Remembering that God is control of stuff, including all facets of the Army: 1
Having time to take a nap: 1
Booking part one on the cheap of our upcoming Babymoon to Port Townsend and Victoria BC: 1
Hanging out with neat people at aforementioned early morning Bible study: 1
Fresh air coming in my apartment from open windows: 1
Getting a spa finder gift card in the mail from said gone Luke and booking a massage and facial: 1
The smell of the flowers Luke sent Saturday: 1
Thinking about Luke in general: 1

Grumpy points: 14
- Un grumpiness: 12
---------------------
Grumpy: 2

And I suppose the day could still get better, pending the actual nap.

Coping and Thrifty Retail Therapy, Under One Roof

First, how I coped with Valentines Day ... in pictures:

I had planned a busy weekend of doing so that I wouldn't have time to sit and mope. The plan worked.

The non-moping was helped along when I got these at about 9 a.m.:

My second task of the day was going to brunch at my church. Sometimes it's just nice to be around nice people, what can I say. Eating waffles also helps:

After I came home I made some delicious food for a party that evening. I find baking extremely therapeutic, I dont know why. I love making something wonderful and impressive out of a pile of rather unimpressive things ... really, who has ever been impressed by a sack of flour.

Chocolate dipped strawberries, before and after like:


Cupcakes:

And eclairs. Mmmm:
The party spread:


Sadly, no photos of the actual party. I suck, I know.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As a final thought today, I want to share a few links that I have come across over the last few weeks and found extremely wonderful.

You should know that as much as I love to buy things, specifically food related, I prefer to buy them on the cheap. Since my D.C. days I've been a coupon clipper, but never really good at it beyond taking the ones I had to store and using them.

A few web sites, however, are rapidly helping me get better and find some pretty awesome deals. Some gems I've encountered thus far:

Frugal Living Online -- Portland based. This woman breaks down very well the weekly deals at Walgreens, Albertsons, Rite Aid and Safeway as well as highlighting helpful tips or any other steals she's come across.

Money Saving Mom -- Don't know where she is. She also breaks down the deals, but her focus seems to be more on other great steals, freebies, etc. I'm in the process of scoring a free sub to Martha Stewart Living (my favorite magazine that I don't like enough to buy) thanks to her.

Abundant Food Savings -- Like the Money Saving Mom, but more so. Found out about a free RedBox movie rental which I scored for tonight here. Good stuff.

Swagbucks.com -- Learned about this through Frugal Living Online, who claims to have seen results from it. I've not yet "earned" anything, but the premise is that you can earn gift cards by using their site, which operates through google and ask.com, to do your everyday searches. If it works like she says it does I'll be able to get free gift cards for basically doing nothing. Sounds fine to me.

Plasticjungle.com -- Dana turned me on to this a few months ago and I made my frist gift card purchase today. By signing up on their "wish list alerts" I was able to buy a $213 Bed, Bath and Beyond gift card for about $180. My plan is to take it to the store and buy several more gifts cards which I'll use as wedding gifts over the next few months. I'll be able to send a nice gift card that I would've bought and sent anywaya, for the less than cost. Can't beat that! If you use a specific store a lot or know, like in my case, that you'll be giving gifts to people from a specific store, and can plan ahead a bit, this is the Web site for you.

By Me Onesie

In just a few minutes I'm off to watch Doubt alone on post. It's in the new, fancy, shiny theater for $2 ... and since it's a movie I've been wanting to see I'm going to do it alone.

Please don't think I'm silly because I don't like going to these things alone. It's not really about me being incapable of sitting by myself for a few hours. I just like to have the company to chat with before the movie and for company making fun of, well, whatever is deserving (and there is usually a LOT where the military is concerned).

For the record, I plan to see Benjamin Button *with* company next weekend, so maybe it's OK after all.
~~~~~~~~~
Went to the gym today and overdid it as usual. I just can't get it into my little brain that I NEED to take it easy. Easy, as we know, is for wimps.

I haven't slept well for the last two nights. Tonight: big fat sleeping pill. I'm so excited. And tomorrow? Breakfast at church! *Hopefully* they have pancakes ... my pancake need has reached point critical. Not good.
~~~~~~~~~

Tomorrow is the big Day O' Love. Haven't received any of Luke's gifts yet, but my new nalgene did come today, so yay for that. Maybe they'll start coming tomorrow?

In the meantime being pregnant and Lukeless tomorrow is a lot less depressing than it could be, thanks to breakfast with the church family and a girl party tomorrow evening. I'm thinking about doing a picture post of all the pretty things I'm making for it: Eclairs, chocolate dipped strawberries and pink frosted cupcakes (these are from a box. Don't be too impressed).

Strike Out

IKEA was basically a strike out. That lovely bedding pictured below ended up being neon green -- not wonderful!

We did, however, find a few things including this:
This is exactly what I was wanting for the dresser top/changing table. It is the PERFECT size for the end of the table. The large compartment is for diapers -- again, perfect and the far right middle one is the perfect size for a diaper wipe container.

So I guess it wasn't a total strikeout. I really just wanted bedding ... but this was a cool thing to find.
~~~~~~~

I am really tired tonight, probably because I didn't sleep well last night. I got to talk to Luke for about an hour on the phone all told, more than I have for the last week put together. This is the last time I'll talk to him for the next two weeks. Sigh.
~~~~~~~~~~

I'm watching Alias because it is a show that will NOT make me cry. Or so I thought.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tomorrow: going to a movie alone. I really don't want to because I really hate doing that, but all of my movie going buddies have bailed. I'm not really into the movie alone scene, but it's Doubt for $2 on post ... and I REALLY want to see it ...

For The Record

I said this on Facebook yesterday, but I feel I should repeat it here:

The snuggie really would make the *perfect* Seinfeld or Friends episode subject. I can just imagine Kramer or Phoebe with one, and it's funny. Sad that both of those shows are only in re-runs. ... or not sad. Imagine how much more of my time would be sucked away by them?

So not the point. And now I'm off for some quality snuggie time.

Sunshine ....

It was a lovely day today. Cold, but lovely. I spent most of the morning pretending to work on a research project while actually working on . .. hm ... nothing. Finally got writing and finished another section. Only a few more to go before we are finished. For the last time, I do not CARE about the synoptic problem.

After pretending to work and then actually working I did hit the great outdoors for a three mile walk -- and it was beautiful.

And now I am - where else? - on my couch watching Alias with my Snuggie.

For what it's worth I think the baby likes the Snuggie too. He's doing a happy Snuggie dance in my stomach as I type. Hehe.
~~~~~~

For Valentines Day Luke is sending me a series of presents, he claims. It has taken every popwer in me to *not* go look at the credit card statement and see what they are. They are going to be arriving in stages next week while he is off trotting about the mystical magical field ...

I STILL don't know exactly what it is they do there, as it turns out.
~~~~~~~~~~~

Tomorrow: IKEA!!!

This calls for an update on the baby bedding.

It was too heartbreaking to write about the other day but ... I lost the bid. I did not win the ebay monkey bedding.

*sob*

So instead I have plans b. and c. ... they revolve around this set which Ive ordered from Target:

However, the hope is IKEA can deliver something better. For example, I'm hoping that I love this in person:

Snuggie!!

It's like a giant blanket with arms! Ok, that's exactly what it is ... not "like" anything ... but whatever. Sweet! Luke is SO glad he's not here right now, haha.

Not the best picture, but you get the idea:


Heh heh heh .. this is so great. (Wow I am such a loser to be so excited about this).

Uninspired Post

Kinda makes you wonder why I'm even bothering to write here, doesn't it?

Abigail informed me this morning that my blog is depressing her with the "I miss Luke" business woven into all of my tales. I maintain that I get to reiterate the missing for the entirety of his first week gone and then I'll at least try to cut it out.

Until then ...bwhaha.

For the record, I think he's having a harder time of it than I am. Maybe it's because he's not doing the same sort of busy work he did every time he went away before (when he was a platoon leader) ... sitting at a desk isn't quite the same. Or maybe it's because of the baby and his brain is just in a different place than it used to be (that's good, right?) ... either way, he's sad.

... that kind of makes me feel warm and fuzzy. Is that bad?? It's just nice being missed!
~~~~~~

In other news, how the crap am I supposed to know what kind of diapers to buy for my kid that comes in 10 weeks? I'm good on size 1 since people have given me a ton of those already (apparently you dont really use them for long).... but Lord almighty. There are a bajillion different kinds, and Im thinking where leaking body fluids are concerned, cheaper isn't necessarily better.

WHY isn't there a tutorial online for this?!
~~~~~~~

Guess what tomorrow is? The day my Snuggie comes in the mail!

It's the Simple Things

Today was a day full of simple, wonderful things:

-- A clean house. I spent most of the morning cleaning up clutter, scrubbing my bathtub, vacuuming, that sort of the thing. Soothing.
-- Bubble bath. Soaking in hot water -- how does life get better than that?
-- Sitting on the couch with the blankie my mom made me. Cozy.
-- Sleeping in. Enough said.
-- Lovely, simple weddings.
-- Time spent chatting with friends about nothing at all.
-- Realizing that the cheap theater is playing movies I want to see every weekend Luke is gone.

... That being said, all of those things would be that much more lovely with Luke here. I miss him.

The Land of the Giants

... Or maybe it's just my big giant stomach. Whatever.

I am feeling particularly huge over the last few days. Someone pointed out that I am moving much slower than I was just a few weeks ago, and it's true. I'm getting along at nothing more than a fast drag. Not good.

My stomach, too, is getting waaaay bigger and very, very hard. Mr. Baby is throwing his weight around, too, pushing in places where he is not welcomed.

Let's do a little comparison here, just to bring things home. This is a picture from the end of August, a week or two after I found out I was pregnant.


And here we are today, looking about 20 lbs heavier ... at least ... and carrying most of it in a very obvious place. And let's remember I was not the skinniest person in the world when the above photo happened.


I am so not feeling cute right now. And yes, I was trying to suck it in during the above photo, but to no avail, obviously.

I actually went and bought new maternity clothes yesterday ... in particular a new tshirt, because I feel like the days where my normal shirts fit are rapidly coming to an end.

We're also to the point where I can only sit on certain parts of the couch. If I sit on the extra cooshy middle seat I have nothing solid to push myself up by. I have to do a four or five point turn in bed to roll over. And this evening I had to soap my ring to get it off at a time off day when it is usually a tiny bit big on me ... has the swelling started too!??!

I guess I AM 29 weeks pregnant (giving me only 10 or so to go... holy cow, let's not think about that, K? So not ready for a baby right now) ... but still. Did this day HAVE to come?!
~~~~~~~~~~

Dana had the best idea ever. Instead of buying each other baby gifts we are going to save on postage and buy ourselves something comparable. I am so excited for an excuse to go shopping. It's a little ridiculous.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally got to talk to Luke today ... twice actually. He woke me up and called this evening. Even though his dumb cell phone has no reception in the middle of no where stupid Mojave, he has been able to call me ... so that's a blessing. He is also setting up an AKO account for me so that we can chat on the computer even while he is "in the box," and completely phoneless for a few days. He is not so good at the typing chat, but I think this will be good practice for his typing skills.

I sent him a valentines day card today ... hope he likes it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tomorrow: wedding in the middle afternoon.

That's really my only big plan, other than working on the world's most boring research paper. Seriously people. I know Luke says the "synoptic problem" is important and should matter to every Christian but .... it doesnt. I simply don't care. The Bible is written and it talks about Jesus and I know He is real. That is so enough for me. I don't need to know what sources the first three gospel authors based their work upon, and I dont care who wrote which first. It's really the most ridiculous waste of time I've ever encountered. Surely these people could come up with something better to think about. Good grief.

(I'll probably go to the gym, too, and... duh? ... take a nap).

Frozen

Maybe it's because yesterday was so beautiful. Maybe it really it's just nippy outside. Or perhaps it's because I took a nap under some very warm covers and then had to get up ... No matter, I am freezing.

And that's really the problem with this area. One day is absolutely gorgeous and the next day it's back to stupid clouds. No matter how much you warn yourself that the wonderful weather will not last more than a day, it's still a downer when, sure enough, the clouds are back.
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Today I did a little retail therapy.

No, not IKEA ... that's next week with Abigail. Today's was the supplement store (for protein powder), the tanning bed (don't judge ... at least I admit it and it was SO WONDERFUL), the maternity clothes store (TOO EXPENSIVE!), Pier 1 (also expensive but now my bathroom looks cute) and post to get a new ID (which actually looks like me and is not falling apart -- all good things).
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Tonight, Army officer wives coffee. Maybe my head won't hurt while I'm there. That'd be good.

Oh Beautiful Day

Let's admit it: last night was not. good. I got a milkshake with Luke before dropping him off. It wouldve helped more had I not found on from the instructional information on the sign that an Oreo Cookie Shake from Jack in the Book, the regular sized one, has like 700 calories.

That's right, if I have to know that, you do too.

After I got home I cried a little bit in the car, then came inside and cried a lot bit in my bed. Then fiiiiinally went to sleep.

(Please note that this is waaaaaay different from the last time I dropped him off for a dramatic, longish training mission. Remember that? ... also this is totally better than that just on principle. Army boys should not be allowed to trot off for training three weeks before their wedding. It's just not right).

I slept OKish and woke up this morning at about 7 a.m., still tired. I hate that. I went about my morning doing all my just got out of bed things, stripped the bed (nothing better than clean sheets!!), and threw my throw pillows back from the floor where they live overnight and onto the bed.

And that's when it happened. A giant brown spider scurried off one of the pillows and onto my bed.

I screamed. Obviously, as I am deathly (and irrationally, Im aware) afraid of spiders.

And they ALWAYS come out when Luke is gone. Every. Single. Time.!

So I vacuumed it up with the stupid canister vacuum where you can see the dirt (which I hate), burst into tears and called my mom. Duh.
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The day improved dramatically from there, it should be noted. I went to PWOC on Post, which ended up being super neat and something Im really excited about being a part of. (I'm going to give this some thought and blog about it later). Then I left there with plans to go to the gym only to notice that -- hello!?! -- it was 60 degrees outside and sunny!

Totally the WRONG day to go to the gym and the RIGHT day to go on a very long walk.

And it was. Abigail went with me and we walked 5 miles through Dupont! That is some hardcore walking when you are hauling around 17 extra pounds a portion of which is actually an extra human.
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Now that I'm home I'm making eclairs, because (let's be honest) I'm an overachiever who has snack duty tonight at Bible study. But these babies are going to be delicious!! I'm so excited.
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I have a bunch of things to do tomorrow, not the least of which is doing some hardcore work on Luke's research paper. This is good.

Instructional Videos

Luke this morning: I wish my dreams were actually like instructional videos. Then I could wake up and have learned something. But no, they don't make sense and I never learn anything.

I agree. It would be something like The Matrix where they load him with new programs. And then you'd wake up in the morning and say "I know Kung Fu."
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I know you're all interested in my baby bedding sage. OK, I'm lying. I'm positive that you are NOT interested. But do I care? No! So I'm going to tell you anyway.

Now, as you'll recall I had previously chosen this:


Ever since then, however, I've had the sneaking feeling that it is really kind of ugly. So I set out to find something better.

After much searching -- oh, it was difficult -- I found this:


And oh, it gets better ... and is even the reason why it's perfect.

I've found it for $25 used on ebay. Granted, it is on the comforter, bumper, skirt and mobile that they are selling. But who cares? For $25?! Seriously.

The whole point of finding a non-monkey neutral bedding that could go with monkeys was so that if another child rolls around (and let's not get ahead of ourselves here, pretty please), I could use it again under a different theme. Why in the world would I spend $150 on something that I wasn't going to use again? Seriously.

But for $25 (OK, fine, up to $50), I'll happily throw that baby out with the bathwater when needed and buy something else. Heck yes!

(Here's hoping I win the auction).
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Luke leaves today for a month. I handled it great this morning until about 1 p.m. Then I came home with him from lunch, proceeded to get really tired from doing nothing (I honestly don't know how that happens) and subsequently loose it entirely.

And cry. A lot.

It's not like he hasn't gone away before. I should be pretty use to it by now. But I'm not.

Coming soon to an Amy near you: retail therapy dressed in IKEA blue and gold.

My Element

This morning was my first chance to volunteer with the FBC hospitality ministry.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the situation I know what you're thinking -- I've been living here for a year and only NOW gotten involved? Am I still the Amy you knew and loved?!?

Believe me, folks, it was not for lack of trying. And we are working with the church to make it easier, faster, and, frankly, not scary to get connected with this church. The congregation is good at a great list of things -- teaching, fellowshiping and keeping attendees once they get plugged in. It is very, very bad at the plugging. We are trying to help them found a military ministry with the idea that the things we establish there will be taken up by other ministries.

Meanwhile, the once a year sign up to help happened a few weeks ago (that's right -- once a year. This is what I'm talking about) and so I signed up. We are doing hospitality for the month of February, greeting and hanging out bulletins like I used to do at NCC.

It was so good to be doing that again ... to be the first person to greet people when they come through the door, give them a smile and show them that their presence matters.

I really felt like everything clicked again when a woman walked in the door and said "I'm new here...." I helped her find where her kids should go, I connected her with someone else who could help, I found her in the sanctuary to give her some printed information on our different ministries, and when I came up to her and said her name she said "you remembered my name!" as if this was a shock.

Why should that be a shock? She's been church shopping, apparently, after living in the area for quite some time ... was I really the only person to meet her at church and remember her name? Was I the only one at any church to find her after the service and ask if we'd be seeing her again?

It breaks my heart that people -- whether they be Christians are simply curious about this whole Jesus thing -- can walk into a church and not be cared about by the very people who are supposed to be the most caring in the world in the place they call "home." It breaks my heart that I let that happen by not being more proactive, more intentional about reaching out.