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  • 101 Goals Update

    It’s been awhile since I’ve updated you on my progress toward my 101 goals. Actually, it’s been awhile since I’ve intentionally worked on these goals, but since I only have about 8 months left until my 1001 days are up I figured it was time to check in!

    Completed so far: 59

    4. Be a vegetarian for a month: I did this for over a month before I got pregnant after reading the book Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. With all the pregnancy changes I couldn’t keep it up, but I do intend to merge back toward a more vegetarian diet once I have the baby.

    30. Become oncology certified: Passed my exam in November 2010!

    59: Take David to visit my aunt and uncle in South Carolina: We went last week and had a great time!

    60: Paint the entire front half of the house: Other than the tiny bathroom off of the laundry room that needs to be completely redone, it’s all painted! We’ve actually done most of the back half of the house too.

    62: Sell/give away/donate all the books I don’t need or want: We took several huge bags to the used bookstore recently and donated. This will be a constant battle as we acquire more books, but we’ve got a good start.

    93. Complete the Biblica New Testament challenge: I did this with my church and wrote about it on my book blog.

    In progress: 9

    18. Transition to all-natural personal care products: This has been a long process of finding out what I like, but I’m almost there! I’m using up what I have before trying new things, so I still need to find a natural conditioner, bar soap, and deodorant.

    20. Pay off my credit card bill: We’re slowly chipping away at all of our debt. The medical bills came first, and this is the next one to work on.

    24. Implement a system for David and I to save our change: We have a designated spot to place our loose change, but I haven’t yet gone through the process of taking it to get rolled and cashed or deposited.

    36. Watch all of the movies that have won Best Picture: I’ve seen 42 out of 83, and I haven’t made much progress in awhile. This is going to be a tough one to complete because I don’t have a whole lot of spare time.

    38. Read 5 Pulitzer Prize winning books that I haven’t read: I’ve read three new ones, and I have one on my shelf.

    39: Read 5 books of David’s recommendation: I’ve read two so far. I need to get him to recommend a few more.

    75: Send 10 ‘just because’ cards: I’ve sent seven! This will be an easy one to finish.

    81. Donate blood once a quarter: Until I got pregnant I donated blood even more often than this, about every two months if I wasn’t too anemic. Obviously I can’t donate now, and with my anemia problem I don’t know if I’ll be able to continue, but if my counts go back to normal once I deliver I want to get back into the habit.

    92. Memorize Philippians 3: This is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, and it’s not too long. I know a decent chunk of it, but I just need to focus to finish up.

    Some of my goals are going to be hard to complete, and they might get relegated to a future list. I’m going to try though!

  • Currently In June

    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!

  • Current Obsession: Time Management iPhone Games

    I am what you might call a “casual gamer.” I really enjoy video games, but they’re not my primary or even my secondary hobby. I love our Wii and my favorite games for it are MarioKart, Dr. Mario (old school!), and Kirby’s Epic Yarn. But it’s hard for me to find time to sit down and play these games, especially when the TV is usually being used for other things.

    I recently upgraded to an iPhone 4 after dealing with the slowness of the 3G for the past year, and now my iPhone experience is completely different. It’s so fast! Apps no longer crash! I’ve completely rediscovered my love for casual gaming. There are certain word and puzzle games that I like a lot, but I think I’ve found my favorite genre of video game, one that really shines with the touch screen of the iPhone: time management games.

    My obsession first began with Sally’s Spa. I played this one a couple of years ago when my old phone was still new-ish. You are the owner of a spa, and you must handle all the incoming customers for the day by dragging them to the appropriate station and performing tasks in a certain amount of time. You earn money according to customer satisfaction, and with that money you can purchase upgrades. There are 50 levels which allow for a lot of play time. Even though I finished the game, I like it so much that I’ve gone back and replayed it from the beginning a couple more times.

    Now that I have my new phone, I got the urge to find more games. I started playing Sally’s Spa again, but then realized that there are probably others out there similar to it. The search was on. The next game I tried was Chocolate Shop Frenzy because it was only $0.99. The concept is similar to Sally’s Spa except that it’s not as challenging. The money you earn only determines your score, you don’t do anything with it. Your shop is automatically upgraded. There is a fun Bejeweled-type game embedded, and awards you can earn. I completed the entire game in only a few hours, and although I could go back and get more out of it, it didn’t provide enough variety for me to love it.

    The game I just finished playing last night is called Ranch Rush, and I loved it. In it you build up your own ranch and each level has you trying to complete a specific order for a customer. At first it’s simple things like a few crops, but as you advance you have to buy animals and machines in order to produce complex items like milk, cheese, wool, ketchup, jam, etc. There are lots of awards you can earn and organizing the ranch is fun on its own. I can tell that it’s one I’ll enjoy going back and playing over and over again.

    I’m already planning my next time management game purchases. I’ve heard good things about Diner Dash and Cake Mania 3. Anyone else love these kinds of games? Have any to recommend?

  • Notes For A Lazy Monday

    Hi friends! I am loving this long weekend, how about you? If you have to work today, I am sincerely sorry. I understand though; I used to have to work every other weekend and most holidays. I love my new schedule! Anyway, here are a few things buzzing around in my head today.

    ***

    The Bachelorette Recap & Review

    My brother is one of the main contributors to the blog ApeDonkey (I have no idea why it’s called that), which features mostly TV reviews. Since it’s only guys writing the blog they tend to feature masculine shows. I asked him jokingly if he was going to recap The Bachelorette this season, and he in all seriousness suggested that I do so. And because I don’t have anything else going on in my life right now, I said yes. I’m not ashamed to admit that I quite enjoy this show despite its ridiculousness and cheese factor. Anyway, I watched the season premiere late so my first recap is just now up. Read it and comment please! It was my first attempt at writing a TV show review, so hopefully I’ll improve throughout the season. :)

    Reading Challenge

    Here’s yet another thing that I’m taking on this summer: Ashley’s Infinite Jest in a summer challenge! I love read-a-longs and book challenges, and after reading the summary and reviews of Infinite Jest (apparently it’s kind of a modern classic) I decided that it’s something I’m definitely interested in. Although the book is 1000+ pages long, we’re reading it all summer which boils down to about 15 pages a day. I think I can do that! I’ve purchased it for my Sony Reader so I don’t have to lug around such a fat volume, and we start reading June 1st. Visit Ashley’s blog if you want to participate!

    Nursery Progress

    This weekend we finished painting the nursery, installed new blinds, and put all the furniture together. It’s starting to actually look like a baby’s room now! There is still a lot of work to be done: put up curtains, repaint an old rocking chair, obtain crib bedding, put up wall decorations, and organize. But still, it’s exciting.

    Call For Blog Ideas

    I feel like I’ve been neglecting this blog a little bit, and although I’ve sort of done it on purpose because it can’t be my priority right now, I’ve been brainstorming ways to put some fresh life into it and keep it fun. One thing I love in other blogs are recurring features or series of posts. I’ve got a few ideas in mind, but I was wondering, what are your favorites? My goal is to use my weekend downtime to get 2-3 posts scheduled for each week, and if I have some features planned it’ll be easier to meet that.

    ***

    Thanks y’all! Enjoy the rest of your holiday, and I hope your week goes by fast!

  • thirty-two weeks

    On our recent trip to South Carolina, after church.

    Symptoms: Friends, I am becoming quite uncomfortable, to tell the truth. I still have the wandering rib in the back, but now add to that inflammation of the rest of my ribs (called costochondritis) and the result is fairly consistent pain, worse in the evening or after I eat. If I’m hot my hands swell up like crazy so I took my wedding ring off a few weeks ago. I think I have carpal tunnel syndrome too, because my hands are constantly falling asleep, especially at night (it wakes me up), and it feels like they are on fire. Plus, the joints of my fingers and wrists are very sore and stiff all the time. I get periodic heartburn. I still have anemia despite taking iron three times a day for over a month, so I’m tired all the time. Oh, and I have side effects of taking a lot of iron which I won’t get into.

    Medical Stuff: I don’t even know how many pounds I’ve gained, but it’s probably close to thirty by now which makes me cringe. I failed one of my glucose tolerance tests, but thank God I passed the final one, so I don’t have gestational diabetes. Yay! I really do need to start eating better, though. I mentioned that I still have anemia, and it hasn’t improved at all. I don’t know if it’s just due to pregnancy or if there’s some underlying cause for it, but we’ll just have to wait until I deliver to find out.

    Movement: I feel less kicks now and more whole body wave-like movements. My belly bulges in different places all the time and is usually lopsided. It’s kind of fun, but very strange. :)

    Clothes: I finally bought a pair of maternity shorts for weekend wear because it’s so hot out. Other than jeans and yoga pants I have two dresses that fit me and one skirt. I’ve begun wearing the hand-me-down maternity shirts I was given as well. My regular scrubs are still hanging in there for work, and I really hope they last!

    Preparation: Well, we finished our childbirth classes, and part of that was making a birth plan. We also met with our doula. My registry is basically complete and my showers are scheduled. The nursery is far from being done, but it is almost painted. This weekend we will finish painting, install new blinds, and put the furniture together. I’m signed up for a breastfeeding class, and hopefully I can schedule a tour of the labor and delivery unit of the hospital soon too. We found a daycare that is two minutes from our house and has plenty of spots open. Vacations have been taken. Maternity photoshoot is planned. We’re making progress!

    Also: David has been saying to me for months, “When will she come out?” It’s a little joke with us now. We are just really ready to meet her, and I’m really ready to not be pregnant anymore! Eight weeks still seems so far away right now, and time has been dragging, but I know it will be here before we know it!