Day 23 - If I Won the Lottery

Ooooohh - how much money are we talking about? ;D 
- First of all, I'd pay off any sort of debt either Mike or I have. I'd also like to give back to those who have financially helped us in the past few years.
- I'd get everything Mike and I need to have our dream wedding. I'd also pay to fly my parents my stepmother, my maid of honor and my out of town bridesmaids here to attend the wedding.
- I would love to be able to build a house with Mike. One with a finished basement and a room separate for Mike to have a recording studio and keep all of his band equipment. Preferably a house with 5 bedrooms, one of which being a master - I would love it to have a bathroom with a double sink. I'd also love to have a den or a front room with french doors, where I can paint shoes and scrapbook; sort of a woman cave. :) I'd like a two car garage, but have a shed in the fenced-in back yard, big enough to keep a car for Mike to work on.
- I'd get a minivan - since Mike and I would like to have a big family, it would be a great investment! 
- I'd put money away for Vincent and our future children's education. 
- I would give Mike the money he needs to put into a car project - he loves doing them and I know it would be a hobby he'd really enjoy. I am sure that our son (maybe other children in the future!) would LOVE to help dad work on the car too, which is another plus! :)   - I'd donate a percentage to Cure Search. This non-profit foundation is all about finding a cure for childhood cancer. I've gotten to know so many children and families in the past few years who are dealing with this horrible monster and have seen too many children taken too soon. I want to contribute to finding a cure.
- I'd use the rest of the money to help out and support any family members in crisis. Anything left over for that, I would put into savings for our family. 

Day 22 - My Worst Habits

1. Being a perfectionist I constantly feel the need to do everything perfectly, which is something you should not ever expect from yourself or anyone or anything else. Things just aren't perfect and neither are people. It's not in our nature. But I, more often than not, feel the need to have everything be just right and it causes me a lot of unneeded stress. I tend to obsess about little things like having objects be in a certain order, have the dishwasher be loaded a certain way...things that are really not worth making a fuss over. I know I sometimes drive Mike insane with it and I am trying my absolute best to work on it!
2. Being negative I've never been a terribly optimistic person. Although it has gotten a LOT better throughout the years, it is something I continue to struggle with. When I was little, my dad had to create a rule that before I say anything negative about my day, I have to name at least one thing that was good. This earned me the nickname Eeyore. When I was diagnosed with agoraphobia, I started a project for a year and stuck with it. Every day, I'd take a picture and write a few sentences about the best part of my day. EVERY single day, no matter if it was seeing a great movie or just eating a yummy meal. It has helped me correct this habit. 
3. Putting things of till the last minute This was especially bad while I was in school (although it got much better in college). I would do homework assignments and projects the night before they were do until all hours of the night and I would always be stuck cramming for tests. By organizing my time and making schedules for myself the past few years, it has gotten so much better. But that temptation is ALWAYS there. I find myself having to mentally smack myself on the hand often and tell myself to just get it done as soon as it is put on the to-do list! Because when you have obligations as an adult like paying your bills and going grocery shopping, you can't afford to put things off! 

Day 21 - What Makes Me Sad

Since I started this blog later in the month, this particular challenge fell on Thanksgiving and I did not want to do it on that day. Which is why I am posting this later. 
I could make a post like I did with what makes me happy, but I've been trying my hardest to not concentrate on the bad or negative lately, which is why I will make this post short. 
What truly makes me sad is how screwed up this world is. I want to say the world has become a very hateful place, but unfortunately, it really always has been. Rarely ever do you see people take the time out of their busy days to be kind to others and rarely ever do you see people perform completely selfless acts of kindness. 
I feel that instead of people living each day like it is their last, appreciating all they have, life is just one big competition. It's all about who is the most wealthy, who has the nicest things, who is the most beautiful, who the most handsome and I could go on with this list forever. Those who do not meet the "standard" or fall below it are made to feel like absolute dirt, particularly by the media. For this reason, the depression rate, particularly in our country, is through the roof and this is no surprise to me what so ever.
I almost find this fitting to mention today, with it being black Friday. When it comes to the decisions other people make, I do my best not to judge. I want to live my life the way I see fit and others should and will do the same. I am generally not a person to sit here and go off on certain groups of people and how they choose to do things - I wouldn't want anyone criticizing my way of living either. But I can't help but be overwhelmed and saddened by the fact that right after people have given thanks for what they have, they run right out the door to go and fight, shove and call people names, just to shop for a bunch of crap they don't need. It completely defeats the purpose of Thanksgiving and I refuse to ever participate in it. 
I don't understand why people can't just enjoy the little things in life and cherish time with family and friends. Life is so short and the things that people choose to focus on primarily are so irrelevant in the long run. I admit to concentrating on these things far too often; "Do my clothes look nice enough? Am I pretty enough? Am I skinny enough? Will I be accepted for who I am?" The fact that it's almost become instinct to have this mindset, is what makes me truly sad and the fact that it just seems to be getting worse through the years.

26 Weeks Pregnant

I know I promised that I'd add a chalkboard picture last week, but with Mike not coming home until Friday and being so sick, I decided to just wait until this week!

How far along? 26 Weeks today. I finally hit the double digits yesterday - I have 98 days left in my pregnancy! :D I'm so excited to meet our little man!

Total weight gain/measurements: I'm back down to 148 lbs (according to my home scale) from getting so sick this week. According to the scale at the midwifery, I weigh 149 and have only gained half a pound since my last visit. My midwife is a bit concerned I have not gained more, so she'd like for me to up my calorie intake and eat in between meals. She actually told me to go get a milkshake after my appointment today! Haha

Maternity clothes: Same as last week. 

Stretch marks? Not yet

Sleep: Sleep was not great this week with the nausea. It felt like the whole room was spinning. I would sleep, wake up, get sick and the whole thing would repeat several times until morning. I actually had to keep the bedside lamp on a few nights in a row for this reason. It has been much better the past few nights. Since Mike got back, we've been going to bed by 10 PM at the latest every night. (Which is a huge deal for us, since we are total night owls and could stay up all night xD) Mike has to be up early for work now and I think this routine will really aid my sleep! 

Best moment this week: Mike coming home! :)

Miss anything?: Being able to put on socks without a hassle! Since it's gotten colder, I've put my TOMS aside for the rest of the winter and switched to shoes with socks. (Hey, I live in New Mexico - give me a break!) It is so difficult to put the darn things on now! 

Movement: Vincent is a ridiculously crazy kicker! I love feeling him kick, but I must admit it makes it hard to sleep, especially with him being most active at night. I will occasionally sing or rock myself back and fourth in bed and it really calms him down. Mike putting his hand on my belly tends to calm him down too. Sometimes he will even fall asleep. :) It's very cute!

Food cravings: Blah. No. Nothing this week. 

Anything making you queasy or sick? GARLIC. I have found a nasty morning sickness culprit. And I didn't realize what it was until this weekend. The day Mike left, I made myself noodles with garlic and I was fine that night! But the next few days, I got incredibly sick. I was vomiting several times a day and I could not keep any food down at all. I felt like I had a really bad stomach bug - it was absolutely miserable, especially while being home alone. But I had no fever or chills, so I'm thinking it was what I ate. So I've completely changed my diet. I am eating mostly bland foods and have begun to eat even slower. I now force myself to stay seated completely upright for at least two hours after eating as well, so that my food can digest properly. It has gotten so much better and I haven't thrown up in a few days. 

Gender: Boy :)

Labor signs: Nope

Symptoms: The strain in my ligament has almost completely healed, so that's gone! (Yay!) This week I've been getting bad acid reflux, which I believe may have some connection with me getting so sick last week, since that's around the time it started. This is part of the reason I've changed my diet and started to sit upright after eating, because it really helps. I think it could be heartburn too, but I'm just not sure. It feels like I've got this burning, uncomfortable lump in my chest and throat and it makes me want to gag and throw up. Almost like I need to burp, but because I can't, I just sort of get these strange hiccups. The nausea has been better the last couple of days, but it has been a pretty constant symptom since...well the beginning of my pregnancy! I am hoping that the bad spell this last week just had to do with that garlic though, because I was really doing a lot better before that happened! 
Another is back pain - I feel like just a trip to the grocery store leaves me wobbling to the car. And the scary thing is that this is just the beginning, since I'm going to get so much bigger! (Yikes!) I know I've probably said this before, but my heating pad has become my best buddy! Even having it on a low setting right where my muscles have tightened up is the most soothing thing in the world and almost always relieves the pain. 
Man the symptoms part is always damn long, I feel like I'm always complaining! Sorry! It seems like every week, I get a new symptom and when that one goes away, another one comes up. Pregnancy is definitely keeping me on my toes! It will be good though to be familiar with all of these during my next pregnancy though.

Belly button in or out? Still just half way out!

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy, anxious, excited....way too many emotions to keep track of and they cycle through way too many times in one day! Gotta love hormones!   

Looking forward to: Thanksgiving! I probably won't be stuffing my face as I normally would, but I'm looking forward to being in good company, listening to music, doing embroidery with my mother in law and doing puzzles. :) I wish I could see my parents this holiday season too, but I'm grateful my brother will be there and we will be with Mike's family, whom I've grown very close with these past years! :)

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26 Week Appointment

Finally just got home! I had my glucose test today and quite frankly, I had been dreading it after all the horror stories I'd heard about it making some women pass out or throw up. The fact that I have been really nauseous this past week and was nauseous this morning did not help.  As you have probably read more times than you've wanted to, I pretty much only drink water, so I was not keen on having to down this drink in under 5 minutes. It tasted like flat soda with a really tangy and strange after taste. It would have been a lot better if I could have had a glass of water immediately after drinking this, but you are not allowed to eat or drink anything for an hour after downing it. I was actually surprised and rather glad that they did my whole check up and everything while we were waiting the hour, which made it go by so much faster!
My midwife is a bit concerned about my lack of weight gain. When I first got pregnant, I weighed 153 on my home scale. I went all the way down to 140 in a matter of weeks and gaining weight back has been a two steps forward, one step back process. I weighed in at 149 at the appointment today, which is only half a pound up from what I weighed a month ago at my last appointment. So I was instructed to increase my calorie intake and to eat between meals. I was literally ordered to go and drink a milkshake after my appointment! (How often does your doc ask for you to do that? ;D) 
I was prescribed more zofran to help with the nausea and was instructed to get in touch with them right away if I can't keep food down for 24 hours straight. I probably should have called last week, but I'm glad it got better on its own! I'm so glad I have something to take to help the nausea, because some days, I can not eat without it. 
We got a kick out of Vincent, who was totally hamming it up while my midwife tried to find the heartbeat. He kept kicking the doppler off me! Little stinker! His heartbeat was 144 today. It cracks me up that I was thinking he might be a girl, based off the fact that the heartbeat had been in the 160s before I found out the gender, then it dropped down to the 140s! 
Since they weren't able to get a very good view of Vince's spine during my anatomy scan, they are going to schedule me for another ultrasound in about a month. (Awesome!!) They just want to make 100% certain that everything is developing okay. I am actually really excited to get a second ultrasound and I know Mike will be too. But as far as measurements go, he is growing right on schedule and doing great!
Another thing my midwife mentioned; since a family member of mine had a bad reaction to anesthesia, she encourages me to not get an epidural. I really don't want to get one anyway unless absolutely necessary, but that is just one more motivational factor to try my best to get through labor without it. (Please cross your fingers for me!)  
After the check up, I had my blood drawn and got both my Rh shot and my flu shot. >.< You'd think that with a face full of holes and a tattoo that I wouldn't give a hoot about getting poked, but I really hate it. I don't care who you are - shots are no fun, period! 
Well, I drank my milkshake, went to the grocery store and now, I'm about ready to take a nap! :)

Day 20 - What Makes Me Happy

snuggling with Mike ♥ feeling my son kick ♥ the scent of vanilla ♥ christmas music ♥ listening to classic rock in the car ♥ going to concerts ♥ skyping with my parents ♥ snuggling with puppies and kitties ♥ cookie monster ♥ fall leaves ♥ painting shoes ♥ the guitar ♥ a fresh manicure or pedicure ♥ hearing children laugh ♥ being in good company ♥ family activities ♥ watching scrubs ♥ a good sense of humor ♥ snow days ♥ music in general ♥ making people smile ♥ planners and stationary ♥ colorful pens ♥ scrapbooking ♥ taking my camera on nature walks ♥ converse ♥ kitties purring ♥ getting happy mail ♥ singing ♥ butterflies ♥ bike rides ♥ longboarding ♥ the cool side of the pillow ♥ going to the opera ♥ quentin tarantino movies ♥ freshly popped popcorn ♥ a clean house ♥ decorating ♥ VW busses ♥ beautiful landscapes
I could probably go on forever, but that's all I can think of for now! :) It's the little things in life that make me happy!

Day 19 - My Favorite Movie

Oh gosh...I have got so many favorites! If I were forced to pick a single one, though, it would have to be Almost Famous. I am a huge fan of Cameron Crowe and he did a phenomenal job directing this film. Aside from loving classic rock and the music in this film, I'm also in love with the atmosphere. It makes me want to go back in time and be on that bus touring with them and singing "Tiny Dancer". If you have not watched this movie yet, I highly recommend you do! 
I absolutely HAVE to name 4 more though, so that I have a top 5! I just don't think I could complete this post without including these!
The Princess Bride I think I was probably about 7 or 8 the first time I watched this movie and it has been one of my favorites ever since. It was also the first movie I ever watched with Mike and I am glad it will stay a favorite in our family. :) I'll admit to have the whole damn thing memorized, because I've seen it so many times! If you're into "Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love....miracles...", then you must see this movie! Besides that, it's hysterical!
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Hunter S. Thompson? Johnny Depp? Need I say more? I can't tell you how many times I've read the book and watched the movie and it just never gets old. Johnny Depp portrayed this character so perfectly and I can not get over how amazing his acting is in this movie! And of course, the setting is in the 70s, so I adore the music.
The Green Mile This was the first movie to ever make me cry. Sob big crocodile tears, if I'm completely honest. It gets me every single time. I don't know what it is about Tom Hanks, but his acting really emotionally draws me into a movie. 
Alice in Wonderland The cartoon. I've loved it ever since I was little and it is definitely my favorite Disney film! It's just that perfect mix of beautiful, trippy and strange. I could just escape into that world! I get a kick out of watching it in German, because a lot of the dialogue makes ABSOLUTELY no sense at all which makes it even more trippy and cool! xD Another one I really liked was the TV Movie Hallmark version with Tina Majorino, Martin Short and Robbie Coltrane.