Sick Day

Sick Day To Do (Done) List

• Research Pinterest for nursery ideas. 
• Two naps.
• Watch Mad Men season premier.
• Watch Biggest Loser.
• Try to drink as much water as possible.
• Try to eat lots of food.
• Run to Smith's for Antacid, cottage cheese, grapes and vitamin water. (Can we discuss the unfairness of having heartburn and morning sickness at the same time, and even more unfair having morning sickness again in my 2nd trimester?)
• Stop at Red Box for a movie (Like Crazy, not sure how I feel about it yet).
• Sit on Google Reader, Pinterest and Facebook just waiting for someone to update something.
• Check my phone over and over to see if anyone has taken their turn at Drawsomething yet.  No one has.
• Try to replicate Starbucks Double Chocolaty Chip Frappecino.  I found a good recipe but it's too sweet, I'll have to try again.
• Feel like a bad dog parent because he's been stuck inside napping all day.  

The Best Cookie Ever

A letter to my favorite cookie company, Selmas.

Dear Selmas,

I love and adore your cookies.  I make trips to Disney parks just to eat your cookies.  OK, that might be an exaggeration since I don't live near a Disney park, but finding a Chocolate Chip Supreme cookie is one of the first things I do when I get there.  I've gotten other people as addicted to your cookies as I am.  I was browsing your website today and discovered that you also sell your cookies in Las Vegas Casinos, and it just so happens that I'm headed to Vegas next week!  Imagine my delight at thinking I can have a Selmas cookie without having to go to a theme park!  Can you tell me what casinos you are in so I can have my dream fulfilled?  (Also, are you by chance in any coffee shops or stores in the Salt Lake City area?)

Thanks!

A Devoted Fan,

Annie

Yes, friends that is how much I love Selmas Cookies.  I first became acquainted with Selmas when I worked in Walt Disney World.  I scoured all four theme parks and several of the hotels and could tell you every store they were sold in.  I did make special trips when I worked for Disney for these cookies, and whenever I came home I brought at least one to every family member.  When I moved back to Salt Lake I was so obsessed with these cookies that my bosses at my new job bought me a box of a dozen for my birthday.  It probably took me six months to get through the box because one cookies can seriously be three or four servings, they are just that good.  Needless to say, every time I go to a Disney Theme Park I DO make it a priority to get a Selmas cookie. They're harder to find now, they're not in every park, and they are also sold under the Disney brand, but make not mistake, it's a Selmas cookie.  It's been to long since I was in Walt Disney World, but in Disneyland you can only find them on Main Street in the Confectioners Shop.  They're sold individually packaged, and they truly are the BEST COOKIE EVER.  So, wish me luck on my quest in Las Vegas to find my favorite cookies.  And maybe wish Shawn some patience in case we have to visit more than one casino to find them.

Body Changes

So, here I am at the end of my second trimester of pregnancy.  I'm 26 weeks today, or yesterday depending on if you pay attention to my pregnancy app or my OBGYN.  And I have to say, other than the horrible morning sickness, the hardest part of this pregnancy has been the change to my body image.  I kind of hesitate to say it just like that, because there's so much swirling in my mind that isn't covered by that statement.  And at the same time I'm totally fine with what's going on, it's just a big change.

Let's just start by saying for those of you who don't know me personally, I've always been a petite person.  I grew up taking ballet lessons and for a long time thought I'd be a professional ballerina.  Even though I've always been petite, I'm totally fine with the weight gain associated with pregnancy.  I weigh more right now than I ever have and I think it's great.  I don't even mind that my body is changing, that I've got this giant belly that's just getting bigger.  I do miss some of my cute clothes, especially my skirts and dresses, but I tell myself I will get to wear them again this summer.

I guess what is hard for me, what bothers me if you will is the change in how my body moves.  I can't touch my toes for the life of me.  I drop something and have to seriously weight the pros and cons of bending down to pick it up.  My belly bumps into the sink at work every time I wash my hands.  I've fallen down twice because I just couldn't recover the same way from a stumble.  I'm just not as agile as I used to be, and that is so frustrating! And that lack of agility is what makes me feel huge, even though I have 14 weeks to go.  And even though I'm OK weighing more, I guess it's the constant feeling of more weight on my belly that bothers me.  I'm constantly aware of my belly because I feel it constantly.  If it doesn't feel heavy, I'm getting kicked and prodded by my little one.  I miss just not thinking about it all the time.  Sometimes I beg Shawn, can you just take this for an hour or two so I can stretch and bend and take a nap on my belly?  I'm starting to be jealous of all those animals that do trade off the responsibilities of incubating the fetus. (I'm staring at you penguins!) And what I wouldn't give for a night of sleep that didn't involve thinking about how I'm sleeping.  I wake up constantly on my back, and that's a big no-no for pregnant women!  I know I SHOULD sleep on my left side, but sometimes my right side is just more comfortable, or simply the less uncomfortable of the two.  And it's more comfortable to sleep with a pillow between my legs, but it's harder to turn over, and then there's so much less space in bed with an extra pillow, and since I'm feeling huge anyway, space is important.

Oh friends, I want to embrace my body.  I want to embrace this pregnancy, and I think in a lot of ways I really do, but at the same time I feel frustrated, and big, and tired.  I'm not ready for it to be over because I'm not ready for a newborn, and I certainly don't want this baby girl coming before she is good and ready, but I do want a break.  I want a pregnancy break, just a few hours of my old body maybe in my old favorite dress.  Does anyone else feel like this or is it just me?  How is my body image going to change AGAIN when I've had the baby and need to lose the baby weight?  Will I ever feel like me again?

Just Good Enough

If there's one big lesson I've been learning during pregnancy, it's one that we all really need to learn in Kindergarten.  Sometimes I'm really good at this lesson, sometimes I need a big reminder, and being pregnant I've needed a giant reminder.  Don't compare yourself to other people.  It always ends up badly!  I've really tried to be good at reminding myself that every pregnant woman is different, and that even every pregnancy is different.  But I still do it, I still compare. 

I have a lovely coworker, a truly wonderful, kind, generous, friendly person, but I tend to get jealous of her pregnancy.  Let's just say that in a lot of ways this pregnancy has been hard on me.  I've struggled a bit, and she just didn't.  No morning sickness, no heartburn, she traveled and didn't have any of the usual pregnant symptoms.  And I find myself comparing my pregnancy to hers a lot and feeling inadequate a lot.  Morning sickness hit me hard, and I found myself jealous of her.  I took one trip for work while pregnant and it wiped me out and took days to recover!  I instantly cancelled the second trip I was planning in my head.  I am exhausted ALL THE TIME and having a seriously hard time making it to work in the mornings.  And then I compare myself to my coworker and I feel bad.  Why can't I do those things?  Why am I struggling so much?  Why does she have to (appear to) be so perfect at pregnancy?  And then I remind myself, that's just it!  To me, she appears perfect.  But we're not close friends.  I'm not the person she'd come crying to if she didn't feel well.  I'm not the person she'd tell if she was exhausted.  We don't even work on the same floor so I have no idea what time she gets in to the office in the morning, or if she's even there!  I don't know what she's going through, so I certainly don't need to compare myself to her.  And, I work with a bunch of parents.  My boss has been amazingly understanding, the women in my office have been supportive, and the men are excited.  I'm really lucky.  And I'm doing the best I can, and right now, that just has to be good enough.

To Do List

I'm taking a personal day today, a day to not think about work, to rest, but also get things done on my own timeline. A day not to be overwhelmed by everything that needs to be accomplished.  And I love days when "shower" gets equal weight on the to do list as "do taxes."

1) Do prenatal yoga
2) Shower
3) Make lunch (I'm thinking a salad and quesadilla!)
4) Do laundry
5) Vacuum house
6) Wash Winnie the Mini Cooper
7) Get my rock chips filled at Techna Glass
8) Do a baby registry at Target (then stop and get frozen yogurt)
9) Finish our taxes

And if I can figure it out I'll add pictures from Instagram of each item on the to do list.  But again, that's if I can figure it out!

What do you do on your random days off?

Strange Cravings

Strange Cravings (so far)

1. Coffee  I don't drink coffee, never have, and I've never even liked the smell, so the fact that one day it smelled like the best thing in the world was particularly odd.
2. Popsicles  I did indulge in popsicles, wonderfully sweet, juicy, cold popsicles.  I want more right now.
3. Hamburgers  During morning sickness and shortly after hamburgers and cereal were the only "solid" foods that didn't make my stomach turn.  And when I went on a recent business trip to Atlanta I had a hamburger for dinner every night.  They were good too. 
4. Chocolate Ice Cream  There was a good stretch there when I had to have a bowl of chocolate ice cream every night. 
5. Baked Goods Donuts, chocolate cake, cupcakes, brownies, I want them all. 

My Best Pedicure

For Christmas my lovely Shawn gave me a gift certificate to get a pedicure.  At Walmart.  Now, I know what you are thinking, and I was thinking the same thing, WALMART?  Seriously?  As excited as I was to get a pedicure, again, Walmart?  Would I even get a decent nail polish job let alone a relaxing pedicure?  Shawn looked around and tried to find another spot, but where we live there aren't a lot of options nearby, so Walmart it was.  And he gets major bonus points for knowing that I would really really want a pedicure.

Around Christmas I wasn't feeling exactly human and was still in the midst of the terrible, horrible morning sickness, so I put off getting a pedicure.  And then when I started to feel better life got busier.  So, finally this past weekend when Shawn was painting the nursery, and I couldn't help and needed to get away from the fumes I finally took a break to head to Walmart for a pedicure.  And I have to tell you, I will admit it right here, I was WRONG!  The pedicure was AWESOME!  Honestly, it might just have been the best pedicure I have ever had.

I walked in and was told that they were busy right then but I could sit and soak my feet for 20 minutes.  I liked that option, so I picked a pretty spring blue and took a seat in a nice massage chair and soaked my feet.  My only complaint of the entire experience was that they didn't have any magazines to read, but luckily I had my iPhone and caught up on Drawsomething and Hanging with Friends, and just when I was done playing with my phone it was my turn!

My nail technician didn't really speak any english, but I know the drill, when they tap your foot take it out of the water, so we got along just fine.  It just reminded me of getting a leg massage in China and not being able to communicate with the massage therapist. But that's a story for another day.  The best way to describe this pedicure is to say that my technician was efficient.  He didn't mess around.  He got me in and out, but again, I have to say, it was awesome.  He was thorough, he knew what he was doing, and it felt great.  My 5 minute leg massage was perfect, and my feet felt wonderful!  Someone else came over to do the actual painting of my toes and then left and I didn't know how long I was supposed to wait.  Eventually I decided it was time and the saw me making a move and came rushing over.  He said "no move feet" and then slipped my flip flops on my feet in a way that made it look like a magic trick!

For $25 plus a tip it was so much better than any of the "deluxe" pedicures at the fancy salons downtown.  So, next time you need a pedicure, give Walmart a try!  It's been five days and my nails are still perfect, again better than some of the fancy salons I've been to.