>I’ve had three baby showers (a major one for family & friends, one at work, and a small one at my craft club) and have two more scheduled (at my husband’s work and at church). We have so much baby stuff now! There are only a couple major things left that would be nice to have. The nursery is completely disorganized and I really want to whip it into shape, but I rarely have the energy to do more than walk in there, take a look around, and walk out again.

>I’m still recapping The Bachelorette, and I’ve been trying to catch up with old TV shows that I’m sadly behind on. Right now it’s Glee, and next I’m thinking I’ll go back to 30 Rock. We’ve been under-utilizing Netflix and I want to remedy that. At least I’m not discontinuing it until after maternity leave is over! Also, I’m watching So You Think You Can Dance for the first time. So far I like it!

>I got about a hundred pages behind on the Infinite Jest read-along that Ashley is hosting. I blame it on the wacky page numbering of the ebook version. So I’ve been attempting to get caught up. By the way, I really like the book.

>My life consists of surviving each work day, spending the evenings collapsed in a lump on the couch reading or watching TV (the only activities that aren’t hard on my hands or body; blogging is difficult because of the carpal tunnel), eating whatever we have on hand no matter how unhealthy, trying to be more comfortable, thinking about preparing for Meredith’s arrival, and various other social engagements including church, family, and friend stuff when I can manage it.

>I’m just really ready to have this baby.

Hi friends! I am loving this long weekend, how about you? If you have to work today, I am sincerely sorry. I understand though; I used to have to work every other weekend and most holidays. I love my new schedule! Anyway, here are a few things buzzing around in my head today.

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The Bachelorette Recap & Review

My brother is one of the main contributors to the blog ApeDonkey (I have no idea why it’s called that), which features mostly TV reviews. Since it’s only guys writing the blog they tend to feature masculine shows. I asked him jokingly if he was going to recap The Bachelorette this season, and he in all seriousness suggested that I do so. And because I don’t have anything else going on in my life right now, I said yes. I’m not ashamed to admit that I quite enjoy this show despite its ridiculousness and cheese factor. Anyway, I watched the season premiere late so my first recap is just now up. Read it and comment please! It was my first attempt at writing a TV show review, so hopefully I’ll improve throughout the season. :)

Reading Challenge

Here’s yet another thing that I’m taking on this summer: Ashley’s Infinite Jest in a summer challenge! I love read-a-longs and book challenges, and after reading the summary and reviews of Infinite Jest (apparently it’s kind of a modern classic) I decided that it’s something I’m definitely interested in. Although the book is 1000+ pages long, we’re reading it all summer which boils down to about 15 pages a day. I think I can do that! I’ve purchased it for my Sony Reader so I don’t have to lug around such a fat volume, and we start reading June 1st. Visit Ashley’s blog if you want to participate!

Nursery Progress

This weekend we finished painting the nursery, installed new blinds, and put all the furniture together. It’s starting to actually look like a baby’s room now! There is still a lot of work to be done: put up curtains, repaint an old rocking chair, obtain crib bedding, put up wall decorations, and organize. But still, it’s exciting.

Call For Blog Ideas

I feel like I’ve been neglecting this blog a little bit, and although I’ve sort of done it on purpose because it can’t be my priority right now, I’ve been brainstorming ways to put some fresh life into it and keep it fun. One thing I love in other blogs are recurring features or series of posts. I’ve got a few ideas in mind, but I was wondering, what are your favorites? My goal is to use my weekend downtime to get 2-3 posts scheduled for each week, and if I have some features planned it’ll be easier to meet that.

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Thanks y’all! Enjoy the rest of your holiday, and I hope your week goes by fast!

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>My brother created this addicting website called Epic Spoilers. A movie spoiler pops up, you mouse over it, and the movie name appears (along with Netflix and Rotten Tomatoes integration!) The tagline is “You know you want to,” and it’s true. I know the endings of way too many movies now.

>Kate shared this link on Twitter, and it was hilarious. As she said, “Kate Middleton is amused by your simple, unroyal life.”

>Thankfully I don’t have to deal with this for awhile, but reading this post about changing to reusable pads was super interesting. I am no longer utterly disgusted by the idea!

>I want to subscribe to a bunch more magazines just to make an inspiration journal like this!

>I was in Babies R Us today doing some pre-registry research, and when I saw that a Moby wrap costs $40 for what is literally just a long piece of knit fabric I was convinced that I can make my own. I searched and found this tutorial – no sewing required!

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Have a great week and I’ll be back soon!

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I’ve installed Google Friend Connect on my blog, and I’d love it if you click through and become a follower. I only have five right now including myself, and that’s just sad. :)

Also, coming up in the near future I’ll be launching an ancillary blog dedicated to books, reading, and other literary thoughts. Reading has always been my primary hobby and lately I’ve been getting into the whole book blogging culture. I want this space to stay dedicated to personal stuff and I don’t want to bore those of you who aren’t as interested in books, but I do want to explore that area of my life in more depth. I’m really excited about how it’s coming together, and I hope some of you will check it out when it’s ready!

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Ever since the other weekend when I treated myself to a Starbucks mocha frappuccino I’ve been craving them. What I don’t crave is the $5 price tag, so I decided to learn how to make them myself. I had no idea it would be so easy. I’ve been using this guide from Savory Sweet Life except that I adjust it to taste which usually means extra chocolate syrup!

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I bought new heels recently for a wedding, and this is something to be recorded because one of my 101 goals is to buy three new pairs.

They are the perfect height, are actually extremely comfortable (even pregnant – but notice the tiny amount of extra room since I know my feet will grow), and I love the peep toe and the cutout at the heel. I chose a beige/nude color because they’ll go with lots of things. The brand is LifeStride and I got them at Famous Footwear.

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Today is the day that I finally break down and buy some more clothes. I’m not going for full-on maternity stuff, just some regular t-shirts, tank tops, sundresses, and yoga pants that I’ll be able to wear even when I’m not pregnant.

That’s it for now! Enjoy the rest of your weekend. :)

Okay, so today I need advice about a fairly trivial matter. I’ve been thinking about what to do about my iPhone, and I just can’t make a decision. I have a 3G which is over 2 years old that is running the new software and is therefore veeerrrrryyyyy slllloooooowwww. It is driving me crazy. I am due for an upgrade so I don’t have to pay that fee, and I don’t care about signing a new 2-year contract.

However, we are trying really hard to save money. I’d love to upgrade to the iPhone 4, but as of right now that would still cost me $199 and I can’t justify spending that much when my current phone still works. My other options are to upgrade to a refurbished 3GS for $19 or a new 3GS for $49. BUT. What if Apple releases a new iPhone version in June or July, and then the iPhone 4 is significantly cheaper? Should I wait and see? I don’t know!

iPhone users and lovers, what would you do? Let me know by answering in the poll below, which will close in a week. Any other ideas or opinions, please leave in the comments. :)

[polldaddy poll=4755154]

P.S. I’ve considered giving up my iPhone altogether to save money, but it has become an integral part of my life. I also don’t want another type of smart phone!

Edited to add: The results were overwhelmingly in favor of me waiting for the next generation of iPhones to come out! So I’m working on my patience and in the meantime I’m going to wipe my phone clean and start again to see if that will help it run faster.

• I decided to jump on the bandwagon and try out the 30-day Shred. I probably won’t be able to do it 30 days in a row due to days I work 12-hour shifts, but I’m going to try. So far I’ve done three days and I’m walking around like an old lady all stiff and jerky. Seriously, I am sore all over it hurts to sit on the freaking toilet. I knew I let myself get soft, but this is ridiculous.
• Megan and I saw In the Heights last night as I mentioned, and it was great! My brother said he’d burn me the soundtrack and I can’t wait. I usually fall even more in love with musicals after I have a chance to memorize their songs. One day I’ll put together my top five, but I want to become more of a connoisseur before then.
• I donated blood today for the first time since before I got pregnant. I wouldn’t have been surprised if they denied me due to low iron, but I was right at the cutoff. There was a bad moment when the screener asked me the birth date of my last child (because I had to answer ‘yes’ when I was asked if I had ever been pregnant). I don’t feel that people should assume that just because a woman has been pregnant it means she has a child. It really made me sad for some reason.
• Only me and one other person are going to make it to our book club meeting tonight, so instead of our usual dinner at Cafe Express I’m going to her apartment to have Boston Market, brownies (I think since I gave blood I deserve a little something sweet), and watch Dancing With the Stars.
• Almost forgot–anyone have any links to recipes that are healthy and not too complicated? My husband and I are pretty picky when you put us together, so it’s hard for us to find healthy meals we’ll both eat. We’re fine on snacks, but I really need some dinner ideas that will give us meals other than cereal & sandwiches.
• I feel like I barely have time to be online these days. I don’t know how my days got so packed. I’m working a lot (I picked back up the contract job giving chemo on my days off from my other job that I did before I was pregnant), and seem to have a lot of social engagements as well. At home I’m trying to keep the place clean, change our eating habits, exercise every day, and handle our crazy dogs. I’m going to need to slow down soon!

Gotta go, love you all. :)

Retirement

Not mine, unfortunately. My mentor, the woman who showed me what a good nurse looks like, is retiring in a week. I am sad but so excited for her. I am in charge of collecting money and procuring a gift for her from our entire unit, and I feel a lot of pressure re: this.

Netflix

I’m so excited that Netflix streaming will soon be available for Wii. That will help SO MUCH with my goal of watching all the movies that have won Best Picture.

My teeth

I can sympathize with my nephew because I’m teething and it is terrible. Technically I’ve been teething for years as my wisdom teeth have slowly been pushing their way out, but as they are coming in sideways they aren’t making much progress. I have had pain off and on for quite awhile, but the last couple days have been the worst. My gums are inflamed and I can’t eat hard foods. Recently I begged my dentist to send me to an oral surgeon to get them removed (because in addition I have chronic TMJ problems that this only complicates) and he agreed. I get them out the last week in April and it can’t come soon enough.

Weekend

I’m really looking forward to this weekend. My plans are to visit the farmer’s market, hang out with a friend, attend a wedding, go to church, and paint a couple rooms in our house.

What’s on your mind?

After I got let off work early on Friday I unknowingly headed straight into a traffic catastrophe that put my commute home at 2 1/2 hours. I admit that my good mood faded somewhere around an hour into the drive when I had only made it a few miles. But the ease of driving my new car and a good audiobook made it bearable. I arrived awhile later, only slightly frazzled, at my in-laws’ house to meet my husband for dinner, and we enjoyed a meal that I realized was an exact replica of the one I ate immediately before I got sick a week ago. The fact that I did not, in fact, get sick again I took to be a sign of better things to come.

After sleeping in on Saturday morning, I indulged in something I should be ashamed of, but am not:  Farmville on Facebook. Yes, I play it; I enjoy it because it is a mindless and soothing distraction. And did you know that there are more Farmville players than Twitterers? So I promise not to be annoying about my Farmville habits if you promise to just block it already and not make fun of me. Anyway, on Saturday morning I had some time and I made a lot of changes to my farm and now it’s pretty and yeah I can’t believe I’m actually still talking about this but that’s what happens when I’m in a good mood! I ramble!

During this time my three dogs, who were quietly sunbathing in the backyard, suddenly went into an uproar. A stray dog had approached the gate, and they were beside themselves. They got so riled up that Cleo and Oliver transferred their fury onto each other and launched into a full-fledged battle, while Eddie stood by and barked. I know a person is not supposed to get in the middle of a dog fight, but my other option was to let them kill each other or at least injure one another to the point of very high vet bills. I hate to brag, but at this point I’m kind of an expert at breaking up dog fights. Unfortunately in my weakened condition I managed to stick my leg in the wrong place and ended up with a rather painful bite to the calf muscle. Don’t worry though! Not only am I okay, but we just kept the dogs apart overnight and they made up the next day.

Next on the agenda was a couple of extremely satisfying errands such as picking up my Nintendo gear from the FedEx office (more on that later this week) and getting a new EZ tag for my car. The EZ tag lets you breeze through the tollways in Houston, and although I’m not in the habit of using the tollway unless I must, you can understand that I was dying for one on Friday night when I was stuck on the feeder road because I didn’t have any cash for tolls. The best part was that it didn’t cost me anything because I still had money left on my truck’s old EZ tag.

Afterwards I met my sister-in-law for the much-anticipated pedicure, and I believe this sentiment sums up my feelings perfectly:

Then David and I made good on a Christmas present we gave to his parents and took them to eat at Friday’s (the bruschetta chicken pasta was excellent) and saw “Shutter Island” which was an extremly well-done movie.

After a lovely church service on Sunday morning a friend of mine told me she’s pregnant and I didn’t even cry! I allowed myself to feel miserable for just a little while, but then I channeled it and went on a surprising cleaning/productive spree that I hadn’t planned. In fact, I had purposefully devoted this weekend to NOT cleaning in order to simply relax, but it turns out that my idea of relaxing is doing laundry, sweeping and vacuuming the floors, shopping for groceries, washing my truck to get it ready to sell, and wiping down every possible surface in my home. I have to say that I don’t regret it, because a clean home is better than almost anything.

David and I finished off the day by spending a couple hours doing our taxes, and let me just say that Turbo Tax is worth every penny. We are getting a rather large tax return, which is not only a blessing but a relief because going into it I had no idea what to expect. But it turns out that if you get yourself a mortgage, pay a ton of money in student loan interest, and give a lot to charity you get a bunch of deductions. When you look at it that way it’s not near as much fun, so I’ll just continue to think of this as free money.

Why can’t it always be the weekend?

Y’all should know by now that I love Goodreads. I’ve been dying for an app for a long time, and it’s finally here. Now I can post updates of my reading progress, browse books, add to my “to read” list, and read reviews from anywhere! More info here.

Nintendo enthusiast!

The lovely people at Brand About Town have chosen me to share my love for Nintendo. I’ve got a Wii and a Wii Fit Plus on the way, which will be perfect for helping me ease back into exercising after all these health setbacks. My new triathlon goal date is August, and there will certainly be some 100+ degree days where I won’t want to go outside to run. I’m so excited. (Not to mention, I’m still intent on conquering Mario Galaxy one day….)

Pedicure tomorrow!

Although what I really need is entire weekend in the spa, this will have to do. I haven’t splurged on a pedicure in way too long, considering they are one of life’s greatest pleasures–especially when done at my favorite salon & spa.

More time off!

Even though I’ve taken a lot of time off work lately, it hasn’t been fun. I was supposed to work late today, but because of a drop in our census I’m not needed and I get to go home and enjoy the weather. I also have this weekend off, and I’m hoping that it will be just the thing to lift my spirits.

Here’s to happiness. :)

So in order to avoid being too depressing, here is some randomness from the week.

My dogs can be really cute and sweet. Even Oliver.

But then he goes and eats my books. Four so far, to be exact. Taken from the bookshelf.

Oh, and I chopped off my hair. Why? I don’t know. Something to do.

Other things I’m thinking about:

• I think it’s time to start exercising again. There is a super sprint triathlon on May 9 that I think I could be ready for if I start now. It’s only a 200 yard swim, 8 mile bike, and 2 mile run.
• I would like to finish learning how to solve a Rubik’s cube at some point.
• This is the month of doctor’s appointments. I am going to more this month than I usually do all year. Also, I am going to demand to have my wisdom teeth removed, so that should be fun.
• There have been some moments of real joy in my work this week, and then in a matter of minutes it would turn into chaos and stress. Work has been great to distract me and keep me busy, but this week it has been tiring to the point of exhaustion. Still, my better days are the days that I’m at work.
• I made a Formspring page, and then promptly forgot about it. Sorry if I haven’t answered your question yet, but I will soon!

Have a great weekend, friends. :)