Tuesday, June 14, 2011
made my day
Friday, June 10, 2011
if it's not one thing, it's something else...
I am going to be really unfair today. I'm sorry, but i have to. I guess I could write down all of my problems with today in a personal journal so no one else can read it, but hey, its the 21st century!
I wish I could say this has been a really great week. I mean, I'm not homeless, my family is alive, I've got a wonderful husband... Why can't I just be happy with that? But, I'm going to write about all the terrible things that have happened this week just to self-justify my whining.
#1 - I got my hair dyed (good) and it looks great, but since my hair is so darn thick (bad) the hair salon decides to charge me three times the normal amount because they had to use extra dye. Then, because I'm a sucker, I ended up buying the expensive shampoo I know I can't afford just so my dye doesn't come out of my hair prematurely. So, over 200 dollars later, I've got slightly darker hair and no split ends... doesn't seem like a fair trade.
#2 - Our car started to overheat last weekend so we have resorted to the old fashioned way of getting from point A to point B - walking. Walking is wonderful. I love an excuse to be outside, and I'm hoping extended periods of walking gets this baby to come soon, but my laundry basket is full and I'm not about to carry it a couple miles to wash clothes, and I feel so bad asking friends and family to cart me around to run errands.
#3 - Husband decides to take the car in to the shop on Monday, but, as fate would have it, he got in a car accident on the way there... what are the odds? The insurance company has yet to determine whether to fix it or call it totaled, so we very well may be having to buy a car. Thankfully, James is perfectly fine, but imagine the horrible thoughts that would go through your head if your husband got in a car accident two weeks before your baby is due. Two weeks! I don't even want to think about it. And I spent all that time installing the car seat for no good reason! And how am I supposed to get to the hospital if I go into labor tonight? And how am I supposed to get baby Claire home from the hospital if I make it there?
#4 - Week 38 of pregnancy is not faring well for the Alexander household. Walking has become an incredibly difficult chore, and speaking of chores, I attempted to clean the house today and was rewarded with a newly discovered stretch mark, among other unspeakable physical ailments. I won't even get into that. Plus side is, I haven't gained any weight in the past two weeks... it's sad that NOT gaining weight has become the new standard for celebration. Plus, I just want to meet this little girl growing inside of me. I want to hold her and feed her. Even changing her diaper and staying up all night sounds like complete happiness to me. I am getting more and more anxious for labor and delivery as well. I am not afraid of the actual event, I am just afraid that the doctors will try to induce me if I don't go into labor a week after my due date. And in my family, our babies stay in there for a while. For a mother who wants to birth her child without an epidural, getting induced is the very last thing I want to happen. As much as I don't want to be pregnant anymore, I want this baby to come when she is ready, not on my or my doctor's schedule.
#5 - The whole "everyone thinks they have a right to touch my belly" thing is something I could care less about. I'm totally fine with total strangers touching my belly. It's kind of fun, and I like seeing the joy in other's faces when they acknowledge the miracle of pregnancy and child birth. One thing I cannot stand, however, is the people who think they have the right to offer advice whenever they want. If I get one more person telling me "Oh, just wait until that baby is born, then you will REALLY be tired" or "You'll be begging for that epidural" or the worst one "You'll never have the body you want ever again" I think I'll.. I don't know what. But it would be something bad. Can't you say something like, "Babies are a joy" or "More power to you for a natural birth" or "If you put your mind to it, you can get your body back in shape". This is not the time to tell me I can't do something. What good are you doing by telling me that? I already cry in the shower daily when I look at my ruined and disfigured body. Don't get on your soap box and use me to make you feel better about yourself. Wow. That was really harsh. But I don't think I will erase that sentence. I wish I could just blow off their remarks, but all I can think is that I will NEVER tell anyone they can't do something or discourage them from achieving their goals.
#6 - My sister called me and said that her sweet boyfriend had surprised her by taking her to the beach. I should be happy for her, right? Well, of course I was happy for her. But then, I started thinking about the beach, and thinking how I'm stuck in a place with no beach. In fact, the sun just barely decided to come out this week since October of 2010. Add to the mix an extremely emotional and very pregnant woman, and you've got an emotional breakdown on your hands. My poor husband. He probably thinks he has lost his wife to mad cow disease. I'm honestly going crazy. Then again, I've always been this crazy, I'm just an intensified version of my former self. (It's OK mom, go ahead and laugh) Once this is read by my mother, I 'm going to get a phone call from her asking me why on earth I put this garbage on the internet for the whole world to see. She is much wiser than I am, but I'm going to behave like a four-year-old for a little longer and I'm not going to feel bad about it until tomorrow morning.
Well, I think I should stop here before I make a fool of myself more than I already have (not that more than a handful of people will read this anyway). In the end, all of this crum will be over in a matter of weeks, maybe even days, and then I'll feel so ridiculous for ever getting worked up about it. Things ALWAYS work out in the end. Really though. I'm not just saying that. Getting a traffic ticket, loosing your wallet, loosing a family member, worrying about your rebellious son, getting old, even getting toothpaste on your shirt (which happens to me just about every day); all of these things will pass. You'll go to traffic school, you'll cancel all of your credit cards and buy another wallet, you'll welcome the wrinkles and creaky joints, you'll rub your toothpasted shirt with a wet towel only to discover an hour later that it didn't take the stain out (it never does) ... you'll look at your Dad for the last time before they close the casket... and then you will go to bed, wake up in the morning, eat breakfast and start another day. Hopefully that day will be better than yesterday. And if it's not, maybe the next day will. One day, you'll find yourself laughing at a joke. The stain on your shirt never came out, so how could you possibly be happy? I don't know. It just happens.
I wish I could say this has been a really great week. I mean, I'm not homeless, my family is alive, I've got a wonderful husband... Why can't I just be happy with that? But, I'm going to write about all the terrible things that have happened this week just to self-justify my whining.
#1 - I got my hair dyed (good) and it looks great, but since my hair is so darn thick (bad) the hair salon decides to charge me three times the normal amount because they had to use extra dye. Then, because I'm a sucker, I ended up buying the expensive shampoo I know I can't afford just so my dye doesn't come out of my hair prematurely. So, over 200 dollars later, I've got slightly darker hair and no split ends... doesn't seem like a fair trade.
#2 - Our car started to overheat last weekend so we have resorted to the old fashioned way of getting from point A to point B - walking. Walking is wonderful. I love an excuse to be outside, and I'm hoping extended periods of walking gets this baby to come soon, but my laundry basket is full and I'm not about to carry it a couple miles to wash clothes, and I feel so bad asking friends and family to cart me around to run errands.
#3 - Husband decides to take the car in to the shop on Monday, but, as fate would have it, he got in a car accident on the way there... what are the odds? The insurance company has yet to determine whether to fix it or call it totaled, so we very well may be having to buy a car. Thankfully, James is perfectly fine, but imagine the horrible thoughts that would go through your head if your husband got in a car accident two weeks before your baby is due. Two weeks! I don't even want to think about it. And I spent all that time installing the car seat for no good reason! And how am I supposed to get to the hospital if I go into labor tonight? And how am I supposed to get baby Claire home from the hospital if I make it there?
#4 - Week 38 of pregnancy is not faring well for the Alexander household. Walking has become an incredibly difficult chore, and speaking of chores, I attempted to clean the house today and was rewarded with a newly discovered stretch mark, among other unspeakable physical ailments. I won't even get into that. Plus side is, I haven't gained any weight in the past two weeks... it's sad that NOT gaining weight has become the new standard for celebration. Plus, I just want to meet this little girl growing inside of me. I want to hold her and feed her. Even changing her diaper and staying up all night sounds like complete happiness to me. I am getting more and more anxious for labor and delivery as well. I am not afraid of the actual event, I am just afraid that the doctors will try to induce me if I don't go into labor a week after my due date. And in my family, our babies stay in there for a while. For a mother who wants to birth her child without an epidural, getting induced is the very last thing I want to happen. As much as I don't want to be pregnant anymore, I want this baby to come when she is ready, not on my or my doctor's schedule.
#5 - The whole "everyone thinks they have a right to touch my belly" thing is something I could care less about. I'm totally fine with total strangers touching my belly. It's kind of fun, and I like seeing the joy in other's faces when they acknowledge the miracle of pregnancy and child birth. One thing I cannot stand, however, is the people who think they have the right to offer advice whenever they want. If I get one more person telling me "Oh, just wait until that baby is born, then you will REALLY be tired" or "You'll be begging for that epidural" or the worst one "You'll never have the body you want ever again" I think I'll.. I don't know what. But it would be something bad. Can't you say something like, "Babies are a joy" or "More power to you for a natural birth" or "If you put your mind to it, you can get your body back in shape". This is not the time to tell me I can't do something. What good are you doing by telling me that? I already cry in the shower daily when I look at my ruined and disfigured body. Don't get on your soap box and use me to make you feel better about yourself. Wow. That was really harsh. But I don't think I will erase that sentence. I wish I could just blow off their remarks, but all I can think is that I will NEVER tell anyone they can't do something or discourage them from achieving their goals.
#6 - My sister called me and said that her sweet boyfriend had surprised her by taking her to the beach. I should be happy for her, right? Well, of course I was happy for her. But then, I started thinking about the beach, and thinking how I'm stuck in a place with no beach. In fact, the sun just barely decided to come out this week since October of 2010. Add to the mix an extremely emotional and very pregnant woman, and you've got an emotional breakdown on your hands. My poor husband. He probably thinks he has lost his wife to mad cow disease. I'm honestly going crazy. Then again, I've always been this crazy, I'm just an intensified version of my former self. (It's OK mom, go ahead and laugh) Once this is read by my mother, I 'm going to get a phone call from her asking me why on earth I put this garbage on the internet for the whole world to see. She is much wiser than I am, but I'm going to behave like a four-year-old for a little longer and I'm not going to feel bad about it until tomorrow morning.
Well, I think I should stop here before I make a fool of myself more than I already have (not that more than a handful of people will read this anyway). In the end, all of this crum will be over in a matter of weeks, maybe even days, and then I'll feel so ridiculous for ever getting worked up about it. Things ALWAYS work out in the end. Really though. I'm not just saying that. Getting a traffic ticket, loosing your wallet, loosing a family member, worrying about your rebellious son, getting old, even getting toothpaste on your shirt (which happens to me just about every day); all of these things will pass. You'll go to traffic school, you'll cancel all of your credit cards and buy another wallet, you'll welcome the wrinkles and creaky joints, you'll rub your toothpasted shirt with a wet towel only to discover an hour later that it didn't take the stain out (it never does) ... you'll look at your Dad for the last time before they close the casket... and then you will go to bed, wake up in the morning, eat breakfast and start another day. Hopefully that day will be better than yesterday. And if it's not, maybe the next day will. One day, you'll find yourself laughing at a joke. The stain on your shirt never came out, so how could you possibly be happy? I don't know. It just happens.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
summer lunch
This is what I had for lunch... and it took twenty minutes.
Grilled Salmon (the frozen salmon fillets from Costco) topped with crumbled goat cheese and cherry tomatoes sauteed in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and fresh garlic, and a side of spinach.
It was so delicious and so easy. Do any of you have a favorite summer lunch?
Grilled Salmon (the frozen salmon fillets from Costco) topped with crumbled goat cheese and cherry tomatoes sauteed in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and fresh garlic, and a side of spinach.
It was so delicious and so easy. Do any of you have a favorite summer lunch?
Monday, May 30, 2011
well, we did it! two years of marriage in the bag.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
in which rinda attempts to be crafty
O.K. everyone, I'm definitely not the crafty type. I don't generally get the urge to turn a set of drawers into a credenza or make a lamp out of toilet paper rolls. I do, however, watch episode upon episode of "This Old House", I have built at least 7 tree houses in my lifetime, and I wish I had a carpentry shed in my back yard. That being said, and since I don't have much going on in my life right now but waiting for baby Claire to get here, I've decided to enter the realm of "crafts" by making the holy mirror of mirrors, "The Captain's Mirror" by the holy furniture companies of furniture companies, BDDW. Feast your eyes upon this.
Collecting the materials to attempt said project is taking some time... anyone know where I can get a solid, circular, wood hoop to place the mirror in? Anyway, hopefully sooner than later I will post the finished product and my experience making it step-by-step. Wish me luck!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
updates, updates, updates
firstly, i feel like i haven't blogged in ages. i can't really think of any excuses other than moving to a new place, finishing off the semester, and getting things ready for baby claire... is that good enough? baby girl is about ready to come (i hope)! i'm 35 1/2 weeks along, so 4 1/2 weeks left, and i'm just shy of looking like an elephant. james and i have been going out a lot lately and i can't help but notice everyone staring at me. i hope it's an "oh cute, she is pregnant" stare, and not a "oh my gosh she is huge" stare... i'm thinking it might be the latter. anyway, i've been in ultimate nesting mode for the past couple of weeks. james caught me scrubbing the kitchen cabinets in the middle of the night the other day. i even looked at our bookcase (bookcase = stacks of books on the floor) and had the urge to color coordinate every single one, but i resisted. plus, i'm in the process of doing some much needed interior design in our new house, and i'm waiting for this blasted weather to heat up so i can finally plant my garden.
claire's bedroom - my dear friend, catey, made the adorable flag banner.
my sweet sister, lauren, threw me a baby shower! this picture was taken right before the festivities started. this is the living room of our new home. i love the wood floor and the amazing stove. the interior design project i was talking about was to get some framed pictures on the wall.
james and i went to the arcade fire concert with a bunch of our friends. it was a treat! i was the least squished person in the crowd... i think people were afraid to bump in to me. rinda - 1, crowd - 0.
oh, i also bought a bunch of cacti (i feel weird saying cacti... cactus') for our kitchen!
our landlords keep our yard looking amazing, and its always a surprise to go outside and see what else has bloomed. the tulips have since died, but our trees are blooming with beautiful, pink flowers.
hopefully i'll have more updates on finishing all of these interior designing projects and planting a garden soon...
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
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