Thursday, March 27, 2008

Caution: Warnings ahead

Credit where credit's due....thanks Rob for making a very pregnant and often cranky woman laugh her ass off.


Monday, March 24, 2008

I'm so done with this

A few weeks ago, at 34 weeks pregnant, I was meeting with a colleague in her office when we needed a document that was still sitting on my desk. I started to get up to get it when she said 'don't get up you're pregnant.' My response was, I'm not that pregnant'.

Having had two kids already, she laughed.

Less than a week later, I started to feel 'that pregnant'. Moving around started to get difficult, carrying Austin starting to get difficult, sleeping started to get difficult. Overall, I started slowing down.

But now, another two weeks later -- at 37 weeks pregnant -- I'm so done with this and I'm so tired of being pregnant. Sleeping is incomfortable at best. Sitting is uncomfortable. Standing still is uncomfortable. Walking is -- you guessed it -- uncomfortable. Oh yeah, and slow. It's a damn good incentive to remember to bring my lunch every day (and therefore save money) because walking the two blocks to the shops and the two blocks back to the office is a heck of a lot of work!

I'm ready for this baby to come, both physically and mentally. Even a week ago, I would've said, 'no, not yet' because the room's not ready or the baby stuff is still in boxes or I still have a lot to do at work. But now, the room is ready, Austin's moved in to his new room, the baby stuff is unpacked and put away and my hospital bags are even packed and ready to go. And the work I still have to finish at work -- well if it doesn't get done, it doesn't get done. So be it.

I just want to sleep comfortably even if it means only sleeping for two hours at time. And I just want to be able to walk up from my basement without losing my breath. I want to be able to do up my winter coat, since winter seems to be never-ending this year. And I want to own more than five shirts that fit. Becuase when your maternity shirts stop fitting, you know you're in trouble.

So here's hoping that it really is three weeks or less until the newest Evans joins us, and not five more weeks like big brother Austin tortured me with.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Well, at least I can see now

My whole family is blind as bats without their glasses. My sisters both got glasses when they were in school and my parents say they've both been wearing glasses since they were in elementary school.

But somehow, I ended up with the recessive gene and managed to bypass the obligatory 'guess what you need glasses'.

Well, until now. For months, I've been complaining that things are a little blurry -- especially when I'm tired. I first noticed it in the late fall when I was using our new digital SLR camera. I couldn't get it to focus -- even on autofocus. Ryan took the camera away from me, muttering under his breath that I broke it, only to discover that it focused fine. When I took the camera back, it was still out of focus.

A little light bulb went off over our heads at that moment.

But I let the months go by, partly because the blurriness wasn't bad enough for me to remember all the time, partly because I claimed I was too busy to get my eyes checked and, honestly, partly because I didn't want to hear the final answer. Call me a baby, but I'm 32 years old and I didn't want to start wearing glasses.

But on Friday, I finally went to an optometrist. And sure enough, I need glasses. I actually only need a very mild prescription, just something to 'sharpen things up' for me. And, I won't have to wear them all the time. Only when I need to see things at a distance -- for example sitting at the back of the class syndrome. Also when I'm driving at night and possibly watching a movie -- although with our new big screen TV, I don't really have any troubles seeing movies. Oh, and since I've really noticed the bluriness at Raptors games, I'll probably have to wear them there too. Basically, whenever I need to 'sharpen things up' as the doctor said, is when I'll have to wear them. So you're not likely to find me walking around the house with them or running out to the grocery store wearing glasses.

It's a weird concept for me, this idea of having to wear glasses. I'm going to have to remember to carry them in my purse wherever I go. But I'm also going to have to remember to put them on when I need them.

But first, I have to remember to actually go and pick them up from the store.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Next time, don't bother being responsible

A few months ago, we accidentally backed into another car in a parking lot. There was no damage to our car but damage to the other car. No one saw the accident. But we took the high road and took responsibility for the actions -- waiting for the other driver to return so we could own up to our actions.

The guy was apparently very nice about the whole thing and, although we paid him for the damages, he appeared to try his best to keep the costs down.

I tell this story, because we didn't have to do all that. We could've just driven away and that would've been that. But then it becomes one of those karma things -- what goes around comes around and all that.

Except today. Like many days, I had parallel parked in the driveway of our staff parking lot because by the time I got in in the morning, all the spaces were gone. (With all the snow this winter, we've lost 8 to 10 spots in the parking lot because there's no where to pile it. It's a pain because it's a small lot to begin with so even on days when I arrive at 8:45 a.m. (like I did today) there's still nowhere to park.) So I joined the queue of cars already parked in the driveway, pushing up against the fence as much as I could. The only other choice is street parking. But it's only one-hour parking and the ticket guys come around at least three times a day.

So at 7 p.m., when I went back to my car, I found my driver side mirror lying on the ground. No note, no nothing. I cursed under my breath and threw it in the backseat.

I'll report it on Monday when I'm back in the office, but it's unlikely to do any good. It could've been another staff member, it could've been a visitor, it could've been the courier truck. In other words, it could've been anyone -- anyone who chose not to take the high road and stick around.

So now, I'm out a few hundred dollars, at least, to fix my mirror. So much for karma.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

What to do with all this hair

When I was in high school, my hair was so long it went a quarter of the way down my back. I loved it that way – and hated the idea of cutting it. I think that may have been a direct result of the fact that my mother used to insist I cut my hair short when I was in elementary school – probably so that she wouldn’t have to ‘maintain’ it for me. But as I got older, I let it grow and grow – as can be witnessed in my school pictures. Each year, my hair was longer than the year before.

But that was more than 15 years ago and ever since then I’ve grown and cut my hair to various lengths. Some years, it’s been a short, chin-length bob, other years it’s shoulder length. Some years it’s layered, other years it’s not. Some years it’s even highlighted with blonde streaks, other years it’s not. But even the year I got married and I ‘grew my hair so I could have it put up’, it didn’t get much past my shoulders before it started driving me crazy.

But lately life has been busy and for many months, I neglected my hair. In fact, the last time I had it cut was August.

Around November I started thinking it was time for a haircut. But November quickly turned into December and you know how busy December can get.

By early January, my hair was really getting long. But surprisingly, it wasn’t driving me crazy and surprisingly people kept complimenting me on it. After awhile, I stopped responding by saying “it’s long out of shear laziness” and started just saying thanks.

Now it’s March – and honestly, my hair is as long as it was in my high school days – maybe longer. And because of this pregnancy and all the awesome hormones that rush through my body, it’s healthy and shiny and thick – things it never was when long before. And it just keeps getting longer because it grows so damn fast.

And to be honest, I kind of like it like this – even if it isn’t what’s ‘in style’ right now.

But I know, once the hormones slow down and the sleepless nights kick in, it’ll go limp and bland and the thickness will start to fall out.

So, I made a decision.

For the next month or so, I’m going to enjoy my long, shiny hair. I’ll wear it straight or curly, up or down. And then, sometime in May or June – just when it starts to drive me crazy – I’m going to cut it all off and donate it so it can be made into a wig for cancer patients. Hair only needs to be eight inches long to donate and I’m pretty sure my ponytail is longer than eight inches right now.

I’ll probably go with the Pantene campaign, only because it benefits the Canadian Cancer Society.

I figure by actually putting this in writing – I’m more likely to go through with it.

Besides, I heard on the radio the other day, that what is ‘in style’ right now is the bob, thanks to the likes of Katie Holmes.