Category: currently

It’s been a couple of months since I did this series, and I felt like bringing it back!

Current Book(s): I started Home to Woefield by Susan Juby for book club, and then the Infinite Jest challenge began and I’m really just interested in reading that now. But I will persist!

Current Playlist: So I’m really, really bad about discovering new music that I like, but I The Civil Wars not too long ago and now I don’t know what took me so long. I’m a huge fan of male/female duos. And you can get an entire album for free on their website!

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: Carbs. I don’t exactly overeat, but I haven’t been really trying to eat super healthy either.

Current Color: Our nursery walls are light green, and now I’m searching for the perfect curtains. What I want is earthy colors like olive green & brown/tan with some kind of pattern on it. I think that will help keep the room from looking too pastel. So far I’ve found these from Target that I like, but I want to see what they look like in person!

Current Drink: Lately I have transitioned from frappuccinos to iced mochas, mostly because fraps have a lot of extra fluffy stuff in them, although they ARE colder. I can’t make up my mind. Anyway, I need to learn to make mochas at home!

Current Food: I’ve gotten back into my cereal habit, which isn’t good. Cereal just might be my favorite food, but it’s just carbs and sugar. Starting this week I’m going to try and eat it only for dessert every once in awhile instead of every morning for breakfast!

Current Favorite Show: The only show that I’m really keeping up with right now is The Bachelorette. (Have you read my recaps of the first two episodes?) I’m also attempting to watch So You Think You Can Dance for the first time but I can’t judge it yet.

Current Wishlist: I want the next six-ish weeks to go by fast so that I can meet Meredith already! Also, I really, really, really, wish for her to come on time or early because I dread being induced and I don’t want to have to fight my doctor about it.

Current Needs: I need a couple more pairs of scrub pants, but I’m really procrastinating buying them. There really is hardly anything more boring to spend money on.

Current Triumphs: Nothing major, I’m just happy that I’m keeping up with everything in my life right now. Work, baby preparations, church, reading, blogging, family…it can get overwhelming but I’m hanging in there!

Current Bane(s) of my Existence: All my various pregnancy ailments, but especially the persistent chostochondritis (rib inflammation) and carpal tunnel syndrome. Most of my right hand is constantly numb and tingly now and both hands hurt all the time but a lot more in the morning. It’s quite an adjustment!

Current Celebrity Crush: I saw X-Men: First Class this weekend, and it has turned me into a James McAvoy fan. I’ve seen a few movies of his before, but he’s been flying under my radar until now. My list of permanent celebrity crushes is short, so we’ll see if he makes it for the long haul!

Current Indulgence: I don’t know if I ever mentioned it, but I signed up for a membership to Massage Envy awhile ago and have been getting monthly prenatal massages. It’s fantastic. I also recently found a cheap but good nail salon and am going to get regular pedicures because I really can’t do my own toes anymore. A small indulgence but completely worth it!

Current Blessing(s): Even though I’ve experienced one discomfort after another during this pregnancy, there haven’t been any serious complications and Meredith, so far as we know, is completely healthy. I feel so blessed to be pregnant at all!

Current Outfit: I bought some maternity shorts and tank tops from Old Navy this weekend, and I’ve been wearing them constantly.

Current Excitement: My first baby shower is next weekend! I’m looking forward to seeing everyone and stocking up on baby supplies.

Current Link: If you like entertainment, especially TV, check out the rest of the website that I’m contributing to. It’s written by my brother and a friend of his, and they’re very consistent and good!

Happy June!

I love March, because it means spring is approaching! Here we have been enjoying quite a nice false spring, and I hope it sticks around.

Current Book(s): I’ve had Outlander by Diana Gabaldan for quite some time, and I picked it up a couple of weeks ago. After a slow start I am now really into it. I tried to put it aside the other day to start reading my book club book, Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall, but I couldn’t quite do it. As a compromise I’m bringing the book club book on the bus with me (which is where I do the bulk of my reading) and I read Outlander at night before bed.

Current Playlist: I got an iPod/iPhone dock for my birthday last month, so I pulled out my old iPod Nano that I haven’t used in a couple of years. I put it on shuffle and have been enjoying some of my old favorites such as “Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl)” by Looking Glass, “More Than A Feeling” by Boston, and “Shameless” by Garth Brooks.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: I just have this huge appetite that is so hard to reign in, so a lot of times I don’t even try. Like this weekend at my brother-in-law’s birthday dinner I had fruit, crackers and cheese, a decent helping of beef stroganoff, a piece of French bread and butter, green beans, a chocolate chip cookie, and a bowl of ice cream with chocolate syrup. I’m still full.

Current Color: Pink for flowers and little girls. :)

[source]

Current Drink: Other than trying to drink as much water as possible, I have a glass of V8 Fusion every morning and a glass of some kind of juice (lately cran-apple) at night.

Current Food: Um, anything and everything?

Current Favorite Show: David and I decided to watch American Idol this season. I haven’t watched it in a few years, but I’m quite enjoying it. Steven Tyler annoys me sometimes, but I love Jennifer Lopez and there are a few contestants that I really enjoy. Plus, I would watch it just to enjoy the recaps by Paul F. Tompkins on Vulture. Hilarious.

Current Wishlist: More time! I’m on a huge reading kick right now and there are a ton of books that I want to get to, but I feel like soon I need to start doing my birthing/baby reading as well.

Current Needs: I could really use some more yoga pants and sundresses. We’ve got to figure out our daycare situation soon, as that has changed for us recently. And still, a home for Oliver.

Current Triumphs: I learned how to change the font on my blog! My brother designed my website on a custom theme, so most things aren’t too simple to change. He teaches me in bits and pieces, so maybe one day I’ll become a master. :)

Current Bane(s) of my Existence: I see a nutritionist, and she has me taking what seems like ALL THE PILLS IN THE WORLD. I am not kidding you, but I take close to thirty pills every night, and several more every morning. I once had a patient who I had to practically wrestle with to get to take his meds, and now I understand his point of view. My husband sometimes has to force me.

Current Celebrity Crush: Listen, I don’t have much variety in my celebrity crushes. They basically come down to Robert Downey, Jr., Johnny Depp, and Derek Webb. Oh! And Hugh Laurie, but I haven’t watched House since the third season so I haven’t thought about him as much lately. The strongest of the crushes lately has been RDJ because I saw him at the Oscars and he looked hot. Also, there is a new Sherlock Holmes film coming out soon which I adored him in. If I get a new crush I will be sure to tell you.

RDJ at the Oscars – [source]

Current Blessing(s): I have a healthy baby girl growing inside of me. I can’t tell you what a feeling it is to know that, after years of trying to get pregnant, losing my first pregnancy, and 20 weeks of nightmares of miscarriage and stillbirth. I know the worry won’t stop, but so far everything is good and I’m so happy.

Current Outfit: I’m holding out on maternity clothes for as long as possible. Today I’m in scrubs, but yesterday I wore a long, black, flowy top from H&M that I bought in New York. It was perfect to cover up the fact that my jeans weren’t buttoned OR zipped half the time.

Current Excitement: I just ordered a bunch of new books from Paperbackswap and Bookmooch, and most of them have come in the mail. I gave up on trying to read all the books I own before obtaining more because I realized it’s just never going to happen. I will always accumulate books. It’s my thing. I’m also going to change how I post my book reviews because I’ve been reading a lot of book blogs and now I know the kind of format that I like.

Current Link: I just got started on Pinterest and even though I’ve only pinned one thing so far, I can tell it’s going to be an amazing tool for inspiration. Add me if you’re on it too!

My first pin! – [source]

Happy March!

I try to get these currently posts up in the first few days of each month, but here we are nearing double digits and I’ve been woefully absent. Ah, well.

Current Book(s): Oh, I’m reading such a fantastic book called Great With Child by Beth Ann Fennelly. It’s a collection of letters from the parent of a toddler to a newly-pregnant young woman, but the letters read almost like poetry. It’s helping me with my own pregnancy, but it’s also inspiring me in so many other ways.

Current Playlist: The only music I’ve really listened to lately is when I’m in the car with David. He’s obsessed with the band Against Me! right now, and I reluctantly admit that their songs are quite catchy.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: Possibly watching The Bachelor, but I’m not really ashamed. It is what it is, y’all.

Current Drink: Lots and lots of water. I’m fighting off a cold, and I really don’t want it to get worse! I just bought myself this Nalgene water bottle, and I love it; it makes drinking so much easier and more fun.

Current Food: My pregnancy nausea is now gone, if you don’t count my nightly ritual of gagging while brushing my teeth, and I have now entered the stage where I have to restrain myself from eating everything in sight. My latest desire has been BLT sandwiches, of which I have eaten more in the past few weeks than I have in all of 2010. However, my overindulgence in food has also led to some rather uncomfortably fullness and heartburn, so I am now back on the (mostly) healthy eating train.

Current Favorite Show: There are a lot of TV shows I wish I could watch, but I don’t want to start in the middle of them. I’ll eventually catch up on Netflix. But I decided to watch American Idol again this season, and so far I’m loving it.

Current Wishlist: I would be so grateful to have a new computer. My little MacBook is about five years old now and doesn’t support many of the upgraded Mac features. It crashed once, but I was able to get it back up and running and it is still chugging along nicely, but recently the screen got damaged so that there is a huge black line running through it diagonally. It’s pretty dang annoying. Anyway, since mine is still working fine I’ve decided to save up for a new one over a year. Gotta stick to the budget!

Current Needs: To figure out what to do with our dog, Oliver. He got into another fight with our other dog Cleo, the worst one yet. They both have wounds, but Cleo’s are worse because Oliver is twice her size. Oliver has now attacked at least five dogs. David is fed up and wants to get rid of him. I guess that’s best but…he’s still so sweet to us. I’m attached to him. And also, where will he go?

Current Triumphs: I went to work today when I really, really wanted to call in sick. Sometimes it’s the little things, right?

Current Bane(s) of my Existence: Keeping the dogs apart is a HUGE pain. But if we let them in the same room with each other, a fight will break out. Also, I’m having a lot of trouble being on time to work. The company policy says that once you have six tardies you get a warning, and you are terminated once you have ten (in a calendar year). Well, I already have FOUR! I’m bitter because, for example, this morning I woke up at 5 a.m., left my house at 6:10 a.m., and didn’t clock in until 7:40 a.m., ten minutes late. My commute is brutal and I’m dependent on the bus.

Current Celebrity Crush: No new ones at the moment, what about you?

Current Indulgence: See above answers under “current food” and “current favorite show”.

Current Blessing(s): An absolutely perfect birthday weekend which I just might share more about if I get around to it!

Current Outfit: I’m totally bummin’ out in sweats.

Current Excitement: My second birthday dinner tomorrow night, finding out our baby’s gender in three weeks, the fact that I’m finally getting a little bit of a bump, writing real letters to friends, and the weekend. I’m always excited about the weekend.

Current Link: Free desktop wallpaper!

Happy February!

New year!

Current Book(s): I’m reading The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen and am loving every word. I can tell he’s one of those authors that I’m going to make a point to read all his stuff.

Current Playlist: Lots of audiobooks for now, but this month I’m going to try to spend more time listening to worship music.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: I don’t know what possessed me, but for some reason I started following People Magazine on Twitter and now I’m becoming a little bit obsessed with celebrity gossip. The other day I correctly named Hugh Hefner’s new fiancé from memory and my husband did a double take. “Who are you?” he asked.

Current Color: I just bought these shoes the other day, and I realized that olive green is the perfect color for shoes. I love them.

Current Drink: For the most part I’m just concentrating on getting enough water, but the other day I decided that an Orange Crush was exactly what I needed. I downed that thing so fast, and I hardly ever drink soda. Since then David has kept our fridge stocked with it, although I haven’t had the same craving since then!

Current Food: At this point I’m still dealing with nausea that hits me out of nowhere, so I have to be careful what I eat. For breakfast every morning I have two pieces of buttered toast or oatmeal and a huge Red Delicious apple or yogurt. Anything apple flavored, actually, tastes good. I will make an entire meal out of applesauce these days.

Current Favorite Show: I’m usually only ever watching one show at a time through Netflix, and these days it’s Mad Men. I’m a few episodes into season 2 and enjoying it.

Current Wishlist: I’m really quite content with what I have these days, although I still could use a few new pairs of boots. Oh, and I would like to find an all-natural mascara that actually works.

Current Needs: I need to start working on my happiness project, which will include exercising (lightly) and decluttering. More to come on that.

Current Triumphs: I know I’ve mentioned this on Twitter and probably here too, but y’all, I’m actually good at starting IV’s now. I haven’t had to ask for help in weeks, and today a patient called me a pro!

Current Bane(s) of my Existence: Bills! It is amazing to me how the medical bills keep piling up. Just when I think we’ve gotten them all, another one comes in. We are focusing hard this year on paying off our debts, and hopefully these will be knocked out within a few months!

Current Celebrity Crush: The other week I got sucked into a marathon of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. (I mean…who am I becoming??) I had only seen glimpses of the show before, and now, unexplainably, I have developed somewhat of a crush on Kris Jenner, the girls’ mom. Yes she may be ridiculous sometimes, but she’s also kind of fabulous…right?

Current Indulgence: First trimester is a bit rough, so I’ve been lax with myself on some things. I’m eating gluten and carbs when I feel like it (not as often as I used to) and I’m eating meat every once in awhile, nothing too crazy, and usually it’s because someone else cooked it for me. I also go to sleep between 7 and 8 p.m. every night which is fantastic.

Current Blessing(s): My husband who runs all my errands,

Current Outfit: I completely fail at taking pictures of my outfits, but I’m wearing a chunky beige striped sweater, skinny jeans, and knitted boots. The sweater David bought me for Christmas, the jeans were a great find at Target, and the boots (more like slippers, but who’s judging?) I’ve had for years.

Current Excitement: By the end of this month I’ll be out of the first trimester!

Current Link: Do you know about Grooveshark? Listen to almost anything online, just search for it. You can also create playlists.

Happy January, and happy 2011!

I’m out of my slump, I think! Wahoo! Let’s go November, bring us some fall weather will you?

Current Book(s): I told David he could pick out a book for me to read, and that always means true crime. In this genre, the well-written books are excellent and fascinating, and the bad books are just terrible. David reads everything. It works out because he pre-screens them for me and I only read the best ones. (Some past favorites: In Cold Blood, The Stranger Beside Me, and And the Sea Will Tell.) So right now I’m reading Columbine by Dave Cullen, which he spent ten years researching. It’s so interesting.

Current Playlist: The song that’s playing right this moment is “Ramona” by Guster. It’s a good one.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: I’m back on my chocolate chip-eating kick. But my nutritionist said that I can have dark chocolate every day, so that means it’s healthy, right?

Current Color: I saw this olive green sweater dress on Ruche, and now not only am I in love with olive green but I desperately need a sweater dress.

Current Drink: Just see my previous post to read all about Mix1 protein drinks, my current obsession.

Current Food: These are my staples lately: eggs, beans, hummus, and fruit. I think I might die without them.

Current Favorite Show: I had a dream the other night that I was on Dancing With the Stars. I constantly wonder how I would actually do on that show if I could be taught to dance. I think I might do alright if I could get over my embarrassment.

Current Wishlist: I started working on my Christmas list, and since I usually only get one major gift each year I’m trying to decide between upgrading to an iPhone 4, an e-reader, or a nice pair of riding boots. What would you choose?

v. v.

Current Needs: I really need to learn to cook. Maybe what I should ask for for Christmas is cooking classes, because I can never motivate myself to do it on my own. I also need to get back in to exercising other than running. As we are finally able to focus on getting pregnant again, I’m putting a hold on running just to be safe. I want to start swimming, biking, and doing yoga instead.

Current Triumphs: Well, we were finally able to do an IUI last week. After two years of infertility it was a relief to actually do something like that. We won’t know any results for another week and a half, but no matter what happens I’m in a better place mentally now that we have reached this point. I’m extremely hopeful that an IUI will work for us one of these times.

Current Bane(s) of my Existence: Medical bills! My goodness, they keep rolling in. If it’s not for David’s hospital stay, it’s for infertility testing and treatment or annoying things like the dentist. One of these days we’ll get them paid and get back on top of our finances.

Current Celebrity Crush: Y’all, I am sorely lacking in celebrity crushes. They are so much fun to have, and yet I can’t think of one. Who do you recommend?

Current Indulgence: Can I tell you how much I love being a Nintendo ambassador? Every now and then they send me fun stuff to tell you about. Last week the new game “Kirby’s Epic Yarn” was delivered out of the blue and made my day. My brother-in-law, the video game freak, was there when I opened it. He actually had been watching trailers of it and was totally jealous. So I’ve been playing it almost every day since then, but I’m definitely going to pass it on to him once I beat it. :)

Current Blessing(s): I feel like I’ve been granted a supernatural dose of patience. For the most part I’m not going crazy waiting to get pregnant, or to pay off our debt, or for our next vacation. I don’t know if it will last, but for now I’m basking in God’s provision for today.

Current Outfit: Oh, I haven’t showered yet today so I’m still in a cotton tank top and shorts. Nothing to see here, move along please.

Current Excitement: I start my new job next week! I’m looking forward to riding the bus to work again, calmer days, meeting my new coworkers, making weekend plans, and seeing what my new routine will be like.

Current Link: For gluten-free stuff, I’m completely depending on Living Without. For local, organic food sources (like Thanksgiving turkey!) I’m using Local Harvest. And for laughs, have you seen Very Mary Kate?

Happy November!