snack time

I found a new treat for myself today. I was at Beans and Barley doing my now typical mid-day lunch indecision dance. However, it's not always at Beans and Barley. Sometimes it's really just me driving around the east side until I can discern whether I am destined to another day of Qdoba, or something less heavy. But I digress.

I saw that they carry this brand of Greek yogurt I remember eating when I was in Greece. I had to have it as a late day snack. I just finished it and it's as good as I remember. Never had Greek yogurt? Well, let me tell you that you are not a real yogurt eater until you've had this stuff. Your fruit-added, overly sweet, low-fat, fruit on the bottom, Splenda-laced diet food mumbo jumbo that we all prefer to buy at the grocery store is nothing on a containter of sturdy Greek yogurt. First of all, it's thick. I can't even think of an adequate comparison. Thicker than any yogurt I can think of, thicker than custard....it's in a class by itself. And it is sour. Terribly sour. And there is TWELVE GRAMS OF FAT IN A SMALL CONTAINER. You heard me. This is not for the faint of heart. But the kind I bought today had a little side compartment of honey to drizzle over.

Greek honey tastes different than any honey I've had here. Not better. Not worse. Just different. The bees are different, you know. And I'm an expert. Not solely because I spent a month in Greece, but because my time spent there was primarily spent getting day drunk on cheap white wine and napping on the beach watching the bees. It was a stressful existance, I know. Nonetheless, I watched a lot of bees and ate a lot of yogurt and honey. And pistachios, but that's perhaps another blog.

I know I'm supposed to be upping my calcium and protein in these crucial months. And I'm going to be gaining lots of weight anyway. So I don't give a hoot about eating 5 ounces of something that should really provide nearly half my daily fat allowance.

Now if I can only find Greek pistachios, I would be in heaven.

Baby pictures

So here they are. Your first glimpse at the little thing. It's small and it has a face and it waves it's hands in the air. Likely, as if it just didn't care.

It's weird that there is this little thing there in it's own world and I can't feel it.

I will also tell you that the nurse had a helluva time trying to get little one in a position to be able to get a measurement of it's neck skin thickness. No matter how much she tried to jostle it, it wouldn't budge. My first impression of this thing: stubborn. Very stubborn. That made me very happy.

I guess I don't have too much more to tell you all today. I've started making big announcements via email and Myspace. I've still not told everyone at work yet. I don't think I'm going to do a big announcement here. Just let people find out as I get fat, or something. I don't think I could stand a big office full of people getting all screechy and making dumb noises at me.

Well, enjoy the rest of your day! I'm itchy to get outside to enjoy the near 50 degree temps before yoga.

Engaged...all the details you wanted to know

So we went to Chicago this weekend on a vacation/birthday/valentines day. It was a fantastic trip. We had good food, got to visit with some friends, had a great trip to the Science and Industry museum and the requisite trip to Ikea.

And I got engaged.

It happened at the Science Museum. We were walking through a maze of mirrors in one of the exhibits when Nic got this look in his eye, grabbed my hand, and pointed out the images of both of us going on forever in the mirror in front and behind us. He says incredibly sweet things all the time, so I didn't think he was actually proposing. He then said, "I want you to be my wife." I said "Is this my proposal?" He took a ring out of his pocket and put it on my finger. I smiled and said "Yes." We kissed. Then we heard people coming through the maze, so we kept going. And giggled and smiled our way through the museum for the rest of the day. Even though we had thoroughly discussed getting married, I had told him that nothing was a go until I had a proper proposal and he received an official answer. So now it's all official.

The ring is a big purple amethyst affair. It's my birthstone, and it's a very fun piece of jewelry that Nic picked out himself. I have been pretty clear from the beginning that I did not want a diamond engagement ring. And I don't envision wanting diamonds on my wedding ring.

Gasp! No diamonds? Why not? That's crazy. You're just being contrary, etc......

Okay. I'll lay it all out here. The reasons why I'm not too keen on diamonds for me. Did you hear that? I'm not keen on diamonds FOR ME. My choice to not have diamond jewelry by no means transfers over to you or your choices, gentle reader. You like diamonds? Great. Get 'em. Get as many as you can get your hands on. Got a big one? Then I'm happy for you. But my choice is to avoid them. And to not get preachy about it. So here goes.

1. International Human Rights
Okay. Plainly put, mining and trading diamonds fuels the actions of guerrilla warfare in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sierra Leone. Money from the trade of diamonds fuels violent and bloody internal warfare in these countries. There has been a lot of progress in socially responsible diamond mining and trading. You can indeed purchase a "Conflict Free" diamond. There are also huge diamond reserves in Australia, Canada, and Russia. However, there is actually no guarantee that the diamond you're purchasing did not support abhorrent acts against humanity. For this reason, I choose not to have a diamond.

2. A Diamond is Forever?
In 1948, the N.W. Ayer advertising agency came up with the phrase "A Diamond is Forever." At this point, the De Beers company controlled most of the world's diamond trade. Harry Oppenheimer, CEO of De Beers, wanted everyone in America to connect the idea of romance with diamonds so he used that great marketing phrase that is still used today. Pretty brilliant, I'd say. People like diamonds for wedding jewelry because a "Diamond is Forever." Not bad. However, the symbol of the everlasting diamond becomes less desirable for me knowing that it was all due to a (very successful) advertising agency. For this reason also, I choose not to have a diamond.

3. A diamond is expensive because they are so rare.
Yeah. No, no they're not. They are expensive to mine, true. However, the inflated prices of diamonds do not match their supply. There are other gemstones that are truly much more rare. For this reason also, I choose not to have a diamond.

So there you have it. In a nutshell. The very basic, boiled down reasons I don't want a diamond. If you want more information on any of this (or proof because you think I'm a whiney liberal wackjob) you don't have to look too far for information. Amnesty International's website is a great place to start.

Again, this is how I feel about the piece of jewelry that will be symbolic of my relationship to my future husband. I certainly understand the appeal of diamonds. They're sparkly. I also appreciate the want to do something just because it's what everyone else does. I'm not immune to that. But my choice is a wedding and engagement ring that has meaning to me and Nic and it doesn't matter one shake to me if it has meaning to you.

Does this mean I'm always going to feel this way? No. Maybe as I grow older, or politics change, I'll change my mind. Until then, it's a big ol' amethyst engagement ring on my finger! And I love it.

Vacation!

It's Friday morning and we're leaving for vacation tonight! I wish that we had the money or the time to get down to New Orleans and Florida like we had planned. Some sunshine would be very theraputic and I miss my old city and my good friend Cherie so much. But not knowing how I was going to feel during this time, combined with no vacation time and money being tight and we decided to stay close to home. We got a good deal on a hotel just off of Michigan avenue and we're going to have a quick weekend away.

Tomorrow we'll be at the Science and Industry museum. I've never been there and I'm really excited to go. Body Worlds 2 is the big exibit there now and I've always wanted to see it. http://www.bodyworlds.com/index.html We also have tickets to see a film at the museum's omnimax theater on Hurricane Katrina. It won't get me as close to the city as I wanted to get, but it's something. Throw in a couple of dinners and a Sunday trip to Ikea and we've got the makings for a fun weekend.

I finally got a digital camera last weekend, so hopefully I'll start posting pictures on this site. Of vacation, pictures of house projects, and if you're lucky....my (soon to be) fat stomach. But seriously, don't hold your breath on that last one.

I'm so bad at remembering to do this

So I set up this site so I could document my experiences and feelings and I just don't remember to get on here. I'll try and make a better effort, but that's what I say every year when I log in to my useless Livejournal account. Bah.

Anyway, to recap from the last posting...all of the family and friends know now. I'm a little less freaked out. My eating and sleeping habits got real weird after that last posting but have evened out. And I think now that I'm entering my second trimester, I'm finally over every single person telling me "Oh, you should start taking folic acid." I think I heard that from 15 different people, who all had their hearts in the right place. However, you can only hear something so much before you want to say very sarcastically "Gee! Thank you! I wish I had known that! Boy, my doctor sure doesn't know squat! She didn't tell me that at all!"

My birthday has come and passed, and I received minimal baby items. I was worried that my birthday would be the first step in people forgetting about me as an individual with wants, needs, and likes. And for baby items, I got some pretty useful stuff. Leslie got me a Classic Pooh baby blanket. Which is perfect as that is the theme chosen for the baby's room. Mom got me some maternity clothes. Two awesome tank tops, and this outfit that included a pair of, um, uh.....panel pants. UGH! I didn't even want to type it. That got me a little upset. Certainly not because of the thoughtful and practical gift...but when you're eye to eye with a pair of black and white checkered panel pants when you're still trying to ease your way into accepting and getting excited about said pregnancy...it just gets to be too much. The pants are a nice lightweight material. They'll be great for when I am big and it's summer and need work clothes. But it's winter. And I'm still the same size as I was. So they make me panic. There. It's out there now. Panel pants make me panic.

And then there's the weight thing. It is very endearing that all of my friends are so far excited for me to be showing. However, talk about making an already body-image sensitive girl uncomfortable. Now, all of a sudden, my weight and my body are a normal part of public discourse. "Are you gaining weight?" "Are your breasts sore?" "Do you have gas?" I mean, really now. Please tell me in what other social situation are these questions appropriate? And just because I'm now pregnant does not mean that I'm suddenly excited to explain to anyone in great detail how and where my body stores extra weight during the winter.

It is awfully theraputic to have somewhere to vent all of this. And truth be told, I'm not full of small annoyances like it sounds like. I'm really not as angry as I sound.

Nic has been fantastic. Buying me small cute gifts when I have bad days. Like the 3 boxes of mac and cheese he bought and wrapped up like a present, and the card with the dog in a sweater on the front. Priceless. All of that helps. A lot. And most of all, putting up with toxic mood swings. Anyone who can put up with me when I'm that crabby deserves a Nobel Peace Prize.

I could go on forever. But I'll shut up now so I can have fodder for future posts.