Preggers Equals Designated Driver

On Saturday night Ax and I went out to a new restaurant with some friends. Tom and Sandy. Tom and Ax went to high school together. Sandy and I just absolutely love each other, most of the time.
On Sandy:
She has a fabulous personality. The only thing that slightly puts me off about her is that while she seems like a free-spirited, fun loving gal ...when we go out she does a 180. Sandy goes from "lets go everywhere" and "I love to have fun" and changes to "I don't really like this place" and "isn't there something more fun to do?''. Sandy is a little odd in that respect. But aside from that she's wonderful.
But I digress, I totally didn't mean to go off on a tangent about Sandy.
It's Tom's actions that defined the night.
Tom absolutely raved about the new restaurant we visited. However it turns out that it wasn't the food he was raving about. The Long Island Iced Teas are what Tom loved about the place. Before the night was over Tom was singing a different tune.
Tom ordered a Long Island while we were waiting at the bar for our table.
Tom ordered another Long Island after that one while still at the bar.
Tom ordered a Long Island with his meal.
Tom ordered ANOTHER Long Island for dessert, I guess.
Tom couldn't finish the fourth one.
He was so drunk and loud and foul-mouthed. It was kind of embarrassing.
Ax had two drinks but was okay. He had a big meal with them.
Sandy also had two but was decent. It hit her later.
Jenni had lots of The Water, mmmmmmm.
Jenni drove.
Jenni pulled the car over for Tom to ralph up his shrimp.
(Good thing we didn't go to that movie!)
Jenni got Tom a garbage can to ralph in as he was lying on her living room floor.

Tom and Sandy finally left. Sandy seemed sober and didn't exhibit any signs of tipsy-ness whatsoever. However she told me last night that she shouldn't have been driving. She was weaving all over the place on the way home.

All I can say to that is that Ax and I tried to encourage them to stay with us longer. However Tom decided he wanted to go home and that was that.

I told Sandy I felt awful about letting her drive if she was drunk. She said there would've been no stopping Tom. He was going home no matter what.

Thankfully they weren't pulled over. However it still scares me to think about it.

Damn the Glitter Icon...Go AWAY!!!

Damn this stupid Glitter thing!!! I don't know how to remove it!!! AHHHHHH!!!! Any ideas???

Today has been a helluva day. There are blinds in front of my window here. I can't open them because the track they are on has decided to remove itself from the wall. Screws have popped out and the mechanism could fall on my head at any minute. The blinds themselves are all that are propping the thing up. Nice. And I won't mention that it takes the jerks around here ages to fix anything. The upside is that no one can come to my window. It's closed, locked, and the blinds discourage people from walking up. Fine with me. I'll catch the phone and surf.

A certain big dog up in City Hall came back to talk to me about a new policy that has gone into effect. I wrote a letter to him describing why I thought the new policy is discriminatory towards certain individuals. My nerves got all messed up and made a wreck of me. However I believe that I stood my ground and got my point across. While this certain big wig is stubborn as all get-out, he did take the time to come to my office to debate the issue with me. I don't honestly expect results, however my concerns have now been made public.

The Name Game

Ax and I had better have a girl. She'll have a name.

A boy would be wonderful. Ax wants a boy and I feel like that's what the baby is.

But if we have a boy he may not have a name.

If it's a girl, she'll be Hannah Marie.

Ax is absolutely STUCK on the name "Tyrus" for a boy. We'd call him "Ty".

I DO NOT LIKE THE NAME TYRUS.

However, I may have to get OVER IT. Ax calls the baby "Ty". I'm okay with the abbreviation. Just not the entire name. Ax likes it because his favorite baseball player was Tyrus Cobb. Ty Cobb was an obnoxious jerk. Not good personality traits.

So, I don't know how this name game is going to go. I'm glad we still have plenty of time to decide.

Looking Ahead

http://www.babycenter.com/general/baby/1442886.html

The link above is to a series of entries written by a new mother. I've been reading her account of what it's been like for her ((Joyce) to care for her newborn, Violet. I'm a bit frightened by what I'm reading in some senses. I don't expect it to be easy. I suppose education can be bad for you sometimes.

When I think of the routine that Ax and I have right now and then I think of how drastically that will change when the baby arrives...it's unsettling. Joyce describes feeding Violet 8 to 12 times a day for the first couple of weeks. She feels chained and imprisoned. Not to mention horribly exhausted for being a human food machine.

The story continues. Things begin to get a little better, schedule wise. Then week 10 arrives and Joyce is terribly lonely. She feels trapped inside their apartment with no adult contact. She was a working stiff like the rest of us until she became a stay at home mother to Violet. Joyce laments her job, old routine, and adult contact.

As far as I go personally I have often felt chained to this desk chair. Trapped in this office. Sick of looking at these same walls in this office, staring at my computer. Joyce doesn't give me much hope thinking that I'm moving from one prison to another. Maybe it's all about personal outlook. Being tethered to my desk and computer is far more limiting than what I imagine my life as a homemaker would be. At home you have multiple rooms to roam. While my house may be small, it's far bigger than this office. At home you have books to read, TV to watch, the outdoors. Those things are forbidden to me here at work, for 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week. Not to mention the consuming time it takes to ready myself to get here, then drive here and back. Those hours all add up. Maybe it's distraction that I'll have to be prepared for whenever I reach Joyce's stage with Violet. There are family to visit and old friends to lunch with.

In case it's not completely obvious I'm a bit frightened by the unknown. It is exciting to think that in 6 months from now I'll have a sweet, tiny baby and I'll no longer be glued to my chair in this office. However I know there will be difficulties, adjustments, and exhaustion. How will Ax and I change? How will our life and routine be different? I consider myself optimistic, but uneasy nonetheless.

Bright Sun-shiny Day

I went to the doctors office today. I got to hear the baby's heartbeat again. It's an amazing miracle. And a wonderful relief too. The doctor said everything appears to be great. I agree. The doctors visit was also wonderful because it was the absolute fastest doctors visit I have ever been to. Usually I wait in the lobby for an hour to see her and then another 30 minutes in the exam room. Not today! After about 5 minutes in the lobby and then 5 minutes in the exam room the doctor walked in! I was in and out of there in around 25 minutes!!! Oh, how I wish it could always be this easy! I had time to go shopping, go to the Post Office, and meet my parents for lunch at Chili's. It's been a bright sun-shiny day!

Apprehension

While I try to remain optimistic, I've been a bit apprehensive about things lately. My morning sickness is finally subsiding and I feel rather "normal". I'm not showing at all. I suppose the lack of discomfort worries me. I want so desperately for everything to be okay. I've heard the heartbeat and seen the beanie on the ultrasound. I'm anxious to feel, see, or hear something reassuring. I know that going to the doctor tomorrow will help tremendously. The appointment has come at just the right time. They can ease my apprehension one way and one way only. With that little doppler device that can detect the heartbeat. I'll be so thankful to hear it. I'm also very interested in my hormone levels. I hope it's all going textbook perfect.

The other point of apprehension for me regards my desk that is for sale in the paper. I got the desk when I was in college, for my birthday. It was rather expensive so I helped to pay for it. I picked it out. It's a cherry rolltop desk with brass accents. It's beautiful. Ax and I have a small house and the desk isn't functional for housing a computer. There is no place for a keyboard and the inside of the desk is full of little drawers, cubby holes, and slots. I'm sacrificing it to use the money we get to buy a much more useful computer armoire. It would hide all of Ax's computer junk. The problem is that I don't really want to sell my desk. I want to rearrange our small and already cramped dining room to make room for it. One day we'll have a bigger house. One day they'll be room for a beautiful roll top desk. Dammit. It's frustrating.

All in the Family

This weekend was great. Saturday night we celebrated my dad's birthday. This time last year he was in Iraq. It was a double celebration! We grilled out chicken and hamburgers and had a fabulous time.
We had my niece and nephew over Saturday night. I took them to church on Sunday. There are activities that allow the children to go up in front of the whole church. Aaron and Lauren have no qualms about it. Not a shy bone in Lauren's body. She is younger (5) but leads the way. Aaron kind of follows. They're great kids.
Sunday night we went over to the in laws house for dinner. I mentioned to them that my mom was buying all the nursery furniture. Out of no where my MIL said that they would go in on half of it. I am completely surprised. They aren't exactly generous to say the least. It's very nice of them, most definitely.
I can feel my lower belly becoming more firm. It's amazing. I go back to the doctor on Thursday. I absolutely CAN NOT wait to hear the baby's heartbeat again. It fascinates me.

Myspace Glitters

12 Weeks

I thought that when you hit the three month (12 week) mark the symptoms of nausea and general desires to vomit at any given moment were supposed to be PASSING. Ummm...no. Whoever that applies to is not sitting here typing. On Monday I had a nasty headache. Monday night I was nauseated (nothing new). Thought I'd swallow down my dinner of a barbecue sandwich and maybe do away with the nausea (at the very least). Oh but hell no. I fought off the desire to barf for about an hour and then....dear heaven, help me. My head was in the toilet for the first time since I've found out I was pregnant. It was horrible, utterly horrible. I was out of work recovering yesterday. I've felt like I've run a marathon and didn't even get a t-shirt for it.

Today I went to JCPenney's website and picked out my baby furniture. My mom wanted to put it in layaway. I hope Penney's has one.

Granny is At It Again

My mother just called to inform me that my grandmother has been hounding my Uncle Mike, who lives in the house behind her, for money. My Uncle Mike was given steward over my granny's checkbook and finances after my granny bounced nearly thirty checks. The entire, horrid problem rests squarely on my cousin Mark, who lives with granny. Uncle Mike is his father. Mark is addicted to crack or meth or some such horrendous stuff. Mark hounds granny for money for any excuse he can think of and she falls for it hook, line, and sinker. Mark has granny basically brainwashed. After we originally took the checkbook from granny and gave it to Uncle Mike, Mark was informed of his future inability to procure crack/meth money from granny. Mark promptly borrowed granny's car (which he had promised not to do). He then proceeded to trade the car for $250 worth of crack/meth. Now we're back to square one.

My granny works at a nursing home as a receptionist. She has borrowed money from one of the patients of the nursing home. Well, isn't that nice?! What quicker way can you think of for her to get FIRED?! Other than just out and out stealing from the place. Honestly if the woman gets fired my sympathy will extremely limited if existent at all. She'd have brought it on herself. While I will concede that the situation has come about in it's entirety to the manipulations of a drug addict, I am fed up. Can you tell?!

When my mother called me at first today she was gung ho about kicking Mark out of granny's house. Mother was fired up about telling Mark to pack it up and not look back otherwise he was going to get his kneecaps broken. I am a big fan of this method. However now that things have cooled it doesn't look as if my mother is going to do anything. I agree with mother that it should be up to my Uncle Mike to do something about Mark. But Mark has been at this game for 2 or 3 years now and Uncle Mike has not made one tiny effort to do anything about Mark.

I am totally stressed out.

The Winds of March

The temperature is nice here in North Georgia. However the wind is showcasing it's magnificence. Driving with the window cracked just a bit I could hear the wind rushing against the car. The car resisted the windy influence but I could sense a desire to bend to the winds will. Swaying trees and stop lights danced to the tune of the wind. Any poor soul outside would've felt the winds wrath with fly away hats and raised skirts. Kites would soar high on such a day that could only be described as a kite lovers dream.

The day brings to memory a visit to the Tibee Island, near Savannah, GA that Ax and I took for our third anniversary in April last year. We had gone to the beach with hopes of sunshine but were greeted with harsh winds. We snuggled close together and enjoyed the day despite the it all.

Do da, do dah, do dah

Made my cake last night and ate it too. Yummm....I'll be having some tonight too.

My head has been swimming today. I do not like it. Feels like my head is a balloon and floating above my body. Yes, I realize that there are a million jokes about me being an airhead just screaming to be made. But it seems like an adequate description.

Today the weather has been fabulous. My suggestion is that we take our computers outside and work in the sun.
Okay, that's not practical whatsoever. But I can wish, can't I?

It must be admitted to the world that currently my toosh is aching from sitting too long. I sincerely wish my employment was more conducive to motion and less sitting.

Dreaming of Chocolate Cake

Last night I had an extremely detailed dream about baking and eating a chocolate cake. I made the mix, licked the beaters, poured the batter into pans, baked it, iced it. I could even taste it in my dream. Soooo...obviously tonight, come hell or high water, I will be baking a delicious chocolate cake and EATING, EATING, EATING IT.

Oh sweet month of June, come faster, faster. I want to leave for Destin, Florida. I want to walk on the beach, listen to the ocean, smell the saltwater. I want to lie in the sun, run sand through my fingers, and collect seashells. Oh how I look forward to lathering up with sunscreen and taking a million pictures of everything around me! June, where are you? I'm waiting!!!

A Black Cow Standing in a Field of Buttercups

Saturday:
* A guy came inside the Family Dollar and loudly exclaimed to the clerk that he couldn't find the cassette tapes, Ax and I agreed that before long he'll have to check the antique shops
Sunday:
* on a trip to my in-laws house I saw a black cow standing in field of buttercups
* I ate dinner with family and friends
* I took a long, lazy nap
* I read a book my granny gave me about a bunch of old ladies
* Ax told me he wanted to feel the baby kick

Short Tempered Sally

I have really had a short fuse lately.
1. Yesterday I wanted to kill the Indian guy. (I also wanted to beat with baseball bats the Circuit City jerks who out- sourced the billing department.) I slammed the phone down very violently, most likely in the Indian guy's ear.
2. I almost yelled at, but instead just spoke through clenched teeth, at a dummy asking for help about a week too late. I can't turn back the damn clock, buddy!!
3. I just chewed out and then hung up on my granny. She's planned a trip to Gadsden, Al with my mom and I this Saturday to go see her aging cousins. But instead of being honest with me she came up with some bullcrap about not hearing back from her cousin to make arrangements. The truth is that granny has said she'd work this Saturday. Damn it.

I am getting frustrated and angry to easily, it seems. At least Ax has not been the recipient of my wrath at this point.