A Big Rant, About a Big Movie, About a Big Ship

Not feeling super great last night, I dragged myself upstairs ( who's idea was it to buy a house with stairs again?) to bed. I went in my room to find the last 30 min of the movie Titanic on. How this got on, I have no idea. Brynlee was supposed to be in her room, and actually was for once. I have the movie Titanic on VHS (wow I'm really dating myself here). When I do watch it, I always just watch the first tape. Watching everyone die is not super fun to me, so I just skip right over that part.

But since it was on TV and I haven't seen the end of that movie in a super long time I thought I'd watch. Besides almost everyone dying, which is horrifying in itself the ending of the movie bothers me still, 16 years later. I found myself getting more and more irritated.

Did Jack really have to die? Was there no other piece of wreckage he could get on? With all the stuff floating around there was nothing for him? While I appreciate Rose's sentiment about wanting to start a new life once she got off the boat, how did that work exactly? She was a 17 year old spoiled brat with no skills besides sipping tea and looking pretty. What happened when the boat docked and she had NO money and NO where to go. What did she do? Somehow she magically managed to do all the things she'd always wanted to do with Jack. Isn't it great when hopes and dreams pave the way? Maybe White Star offered some sort of housing to Titanic survivors that I'm not aware of, but that has always bugged me.

Lastly, the part that really chaps my hide the most is when she throws millions of dollars to the bottom of the sea. Seriously? Gee Rose, maybe your grand daughter who takes care of you could have used some of that money. Or maybe you could have sold the locket and donated the proceeds to kids with cancer or something. No, you just flung it right over the edge of the boat after holding on to it for 80 something years. Well done. It will do a lot of good on the ocean floor.

Ahhh! Obviously besides the things I've listed, the rest of the movie is totally realistic ( NOT!). I've never been a huge fan, as you can tell by my rant here. I remember all the hype over that movie, and it's so awful in so many ways. It took a long time for me to like Kate Winslet as an actress because I thought the character of Rose was so irritating. After seeing Kate Winslet in several other things I really do enjoy her work and think she is wonderful.

Maybe I should stick to just watching the first tape of the movie Titanic, if I watch it at all. Better yet I'll just stick to my Titanic documentaries. OK, rant over!

Rite of Passage

I'm not a huge TV watcher these days. I find myself unable to focus while watching a show. I'm either reading while watching ( which equates to not really watching), playing on my phone or zoning out. There just doesn't seem to be much on TV that really holds my interest, which isn't a bad thing I think.

After watching football on Sunday Dateline came on. The program was about a non profit organization called "Little Baby Faces" which provides plastic surgery to children born with facial deformities, but recently has opened it up to bullied teens as well.  Here is the best link I could find:

Little Baby Faces Dateline Report

I expected to see teens with horrible deformities and birth defects. Cleft lips, etc. But as they showed several of the teens applying to the program I was perplexed. They looked just fine to me! Did they look like super models, no. But most people don't look like supermodels. I was instantly entranced by the show, curious as to how this all works. Is a big nose now considered a birth defect?

Don't get me wrong...I'm not against plastic surgery necessarily. If some people feel the need to really "fix" things about their appearance then more power to you. If it makes you feel better, great. When it comes down to it, we could all be better looking, right? I mean there is always something that could be "fixed". I myself have a few things that I'd like to tweak with, and who's to say I won't somewhere down the road. I've entertained the idea, but it's a big commitment and I don't feel it necessary for me at this point.

But what bothered me about this was that these were kids. Like 14 year old kids. 16 year old kids. Kids not yet done developing and growing. Who knows how they will look 5 years down the road? What started out as a huge nose might not be so huge later on. I'll use my husband as an example. Yes his nose is large. We joke about it all the time. But it was a LOT bigger when he was 14! He has grown into a bit. And while you wouldn't consider it small by any stretch now, I think he looks just fine. And furthermore, is anyone really attractive at 14? That's like the worst age ever. If you didn't get made fun of and called ugly for the way you look at some point in school you were the exception, not the rule. At least that is my understanding. It's an unfortunate rite of passage that we all go through.

I hate the idea of bullying, and I hate that people make fun of other people for the way they look. But I'm not sure that teenagers running out and getting plastic surgery because of it is the answer here. What if your nose gets fixed and people still make fun of you. What then?

We all know it's what's on the inside that counts. But we all want to be attractive as well. I get the desire, but taking kids who have yet to really develop their own self worth and identity and "fixing" their face doesn't feel right to me.

There was one girl on the program who actually had a visible eye lid deformity. It was a birth defect and they did help her, which I think was awesome. And surprisingly she seemed to be the one that was most OK with not being helped if she didn't get picked!

When it comes to bullying, is surgery really the best answer?

Smarty Pants

I remember before I was ever pregnant thinking about how pregnancy was going to be. Like before you have kids how you say things like " my kids will never do that". Ha ha. Oh life does like to throw you curve balls doesn't it?

Pre pregnancy I thought pregnancy would be sheer bliss. I'd only eat an extra Yoplait yogurt a day because you really only need like 200-300 extra calories when you were pregnant. I'd seen way to many of those I Didn't Know I was Pregnant shows, so I thought pregnancy would be pain free and I'd feel totally normal. Looking back at that I think about how dumb I was. Or naive I guess would be a nice way to put it.

One thing I really didn't expect was the severe loss of intelligence. Seriously. Pregnancy brain is no joke, and I've got it real bad. I say and do the dumbest things all the time. I really should write them down. It's a good thing we are only pregnant for 10 months as I can physically feel my IQ lowering by the day.

A little while back I went to make a frozen pizza for dinner ( I know, housewife of the year over here). I baked it for the duration it said on the box. When I tried to get it off the pan it was still all floppy. But looked done on the top. I was perplexed. Being that I'm the queen of frozen pizzas I'd never had this issue. Then I realized I left the cardboard circle on the bottom of the pizza when I baked it. Duh. Really, who does that? Me. That's who.

We keep seeing commercials for the Olympics on TV. My conversation with my husband went something like this:

Me: I don't understand how they are going to have winter Olympics in Brazil. It's a tropical climate like all the time I think.

Jimmy: ( looking at me strangely, I think trying to figure out if I'm kidding) Sochi is in Russia.

Me: Oooooh. That makes more sense. That's a perfect place for the winter Olympics.

Jimmy: ( still staring at me with a confused look) Yeah.

We still watch Jeopardy pretty regularly. Not that I used to get a lot of answers correct, but I'd at least know some. Now I watch it with drool hanging out of my mouth still trying to understand what the categories mean as the contestants and my husband fire off answers.

I hope what little intelligence I had comes back after I have this baby. I think it starts to come back, but I can't remember what happened after Brynlee. I know, I can't remember something, shocking!

We Wish you a Merry Christmas

This was the first year I was actually kind of relieved when Christmas was over. Isn't that sad? Normally I get really depressed. But this year I actually breathed a sigh of relief.

Maybe because it's a ton of work and now baby #2 is just a hop, skip and jump away! While having a new born again kind of freaks me out  (OK really freaks me out. I hope I remember how to do everything) the idea of not being pregnant anymore has me wanting to dance in the streets! Woo Hoo! I'm already planning my post pregnancy work out, and can't wait to have some energy again ( after the first few initial weeks when I don't sleep like ever). I find myself staring at my pre baby clothes longingly, salivating for the day when I can wear them.

We did have a wonderful Christmas. We all made out like bandits and everyone seemed to really like their stuff. Well sort of. I got Mitzie some new toy mice that she wants nothing to do with. She keeps carrying around her old cruddy blue mouse with the stuffing coming out of it. And I got Brynlee new slippers and a bathrobe, both of which she refuses to wear. Oh well, what can you do.

Here are some pictures from the Christmas madness-

Dad was really excited about the toy gun Santa put in his stocking, LOL. 

At first Brynlee was kind of hesitant, but then she started tearing right in!

Jimmy got in on the opening present action.

He got all the tools he needs to start building me stuff. My first project for him, shelves in the garage!

Oh Mitzie. All the boxes, bows and wrapping paper make her crazed. This happens every Christmas, she runs around like a cat on drugs jumping in everything she can. 

Don't mind my dirty garage...Brynlee's first bike! This was the last thing she opened, and by this point I think she was in present overload. I'm sure eventually she will love it. 

The after Christmas morning wreckage. Stuff EVERYWHERE!

Brynlee and Maylee ready for Christmas dinner. These two are so cute together I could just die. 

Something was funny because they were cracking up!

Here they are getting ready to play with a real porcelain tea party set. They were so excited!

Lastly, in case anyone cares- Pregnancy stats:

Weeks left: 10!!!!! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel

Stretch marks: still none ( fingers crossed, fingers crossed)

Weight gain: 22lbs. My Dr said aim for 35lbs so I'm right on target as this baby is going to start packing on the weight. She is currently about 3lbs

Cravings: still Grape Nuts. I eat at least a bowl a day. And milk, and cheese. 

Heartburn: Ugh. After disappearing for a while it's starting to rear it's ugly head, even with the prilosec. It's not terrible, but I cannot wait for it to GO AWAY.

Other fun facts: I'm still up in the middle of the night just about every night. I'm working my way through seasons of One Tree Hill on Netflix. I guess it's good time to catch up on my cheesy teenage dramas? And even if I just peed every time I sneeze I piddle. It's super fun and not humiliating at all, LOL. 

We MIGHT have decided on the name Claire. Might, so don't hold me to it if I change my mind. Now we are battling about the middle name. Surprise.

Domestic Diva

Earlier this week, for the first time ever I made bread. Yes bread! From scratch! As in no box or bread maker or anything. I know this doesn't seem very exciting to many of you. But for me it was a proud moment.

I decided I wanted to make bread for some Christmas gifts this year. As someone who loves bread, the fact that this was my first attempt ever at the age of almost 30 is laughable. But anything with yeast intimidates me. I'm not sure why. Maybe because it's so finicky. I always here about peoples bread not rising properly because they "killed the yeast". I don't have a good track record of reactions when things I bake don't turn out properly ( any long time blog followers may remember my post titled Birthday Cake Meltdown when I ended up throwing cake all over my kitchen in a fit of rage). But I was determined to hone my baking skills.

It was touch and go there. At times I questioned what was going on and had to call my friend for reassurance. But when all was said and done, Ta Da!

Isn't it pretty? And here they are all wrapped up and ready for gifting. I put chocolate chips in the dough for some, and on top for others. 

I actually set out to make six loafs. One I lost after the rising process... I didn't have enough flour down and it was a goopy sticky mess. The other two I didn't bake long enough at first so I tried to bake them for a little longer and they weren't quite right. We kept those ones. And ate them all. Despite not being perfectly baked.

All and all it was  a TON of work and my body was aching afterwards. Standing in the kitchen for like 4 hours when you are 7 months pregnant is not a great idea. And I think I used every bowl, spoon and kitchen utensil I own. But it was delicious and helped me conquer my yeast fear. Bring on the bread recipes! Actually bring them on in a few months when I'm not pregnant anymore, LOL.

Going Postal

Ah this time of year. I love it. Yet hate it at the same time. Why you ask? LINES!!!!! Everywhere I go there are lines miles long! Pre Brynlee I wasn't so bugged by a long line. I would just wait patiently. Long lines gave me time to think, ponder if you will. Now with Brynlee a long line means death.

For those of you who have not waited in a long line with a 3 year old I do not recommend it. At least not with my 3 year old. She will stay with me patiently for about 1 minute. And then she starts touching stuff, people, whatever. So, I usually try to plan accordingly. If I'm going to have to go somewhere where I know I will have to wait a while I do my best to either go while she is in school or work something out with someone who can watch her ( ie Megan, my life savor!).

However I had a package to mail, and the clock was ticking. Christmas is coming and I just wanted to get it into the mail to be sure it gets there on time.

So I braved the post office on a Friday with Brynlee in tow. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot I knew it was a bad idea. Was there anyone in the town of Queen Creek that was not at the post office at that time? I don't think so. We walked into a HUGE line. But there was a smaller one to use the self serve kiosk. I'm all about the self serve kiosks these days. So I waited in that line. While it was shorter than the other one, it was by no means short. We finally got to the kiosk only to find out that my package was in fact too large to go down the chute, and that I would have to wait in the other line. So not happening. So after waiting for no reason at all, making me late for an appointment I had we left. There might have been some pregnant woman rage involved. I might have cried ( yes I cried, what can I tell you I'm hormonal). I might have thrown my box down in my fit of rage. Not to worry, there was nothing fragile in there. Even though I was seeing red I knew I didn't want to actually damage the contents of my box!

I decided I would go the post office first thing the next day ( Saturday) without Brynlee. According to the website the post office opened at 9am on Saturdays. At 8:55 my box and I entered the doors of the post office. Luckily they have like a vestibule thing here, so we didn't have to wait outside. Not planning on being at the post office for very long, I was basically in my PJ's with no make up or bra on for that matter. Imagine my surprise when I saw 8 other people lined up. That's Ok! 8 I can handle. I took my place at the end of the line. At 9:05 I began to wonder what was going on. The actual post office was still not open. I looked at the door and saw that it said the Saturday hours were 10:30am to 1:30pm. 10:30!!???? I mentioned this to the lady behind me who told me that she had called the post office and the recording told her it opened at 9:00am. Word spread throughout the now lengthy line that it appeared they did not actually open until 10:30 despite the info on the website and phone. We could hear workers milling around in the back. One of my fellow patrons rang the door bell repeatedly until a postal worker opened it, advising us that they did not in fact open for another hour and 15 min. Mob mentality struck. Talk about some angry postal patrons!

Ugh. What was I to do? Let the post office get the best of me, again? I'd already waited 20 min at this point. However there were no chairs, no bathrooms and no water fountain ( all necessities to a pregnant lady).  The idea of going home again with my package and having to make a 3rd attempt at mailing it another time was not one I wanted to entertain. I decided to wait it out.

About 30 min later I was re thinking my decision. My back was killing me and I was doing the pee dance. As the mob grew angrier and angrier ( more people had shown up by this time) someone else decided to ring the doorbell repeatedly. When another postal worker answered, I threw myself on her mercy. Bathroom! Please let me use a bathroom! Not only did she let me use the bathroom, she actually opened up a window early to help us! And the people that were in front of me in line actually let me go first. It was a Christmas post office miracle.

I came home that day 1 package lighter. But more importantly I gained a new respect for postal workers and man kind.

Reality of Age

As the year 2013 winds down, the reality that my 20's will be coming to an end shortly hits me. Luckily for me my due date is 10 days before my 30th birthday so I'm guessing there won't be much time to mourn the loss of my youth.

Unfortunately though my body reminds me that age is creeping in on me and my once resilient body is not so resilient.

I used to be able to read in the car, no problem. Books, magazines, comic books ( yes Ashley and I spent the better part of a trip to Calico ghost town reading Archie comics when we were like 10). I always felt bad for those poor people who got car sick. Now I am one. I can barely read a magazine in the car without getting a raging head ache. It's so annoying. And boring. Especially on rides from Arizona to California where there is nothing but barren waste land to look at. I'm not sure when exactly this happened, but I hate it. I've tried the front seat, I've tried the back seat. No dice. My days of putting long car time to use have come and gone.

I used to have NO allergies. I could eat it, use it, touch it whatever. And it didn't bother me. Then earlier this year I developed the strangest allergy ever. After using the same lipstick for 10 ( yes 10!) years I'm suddenly allergic to it. They didn't add any new ingredients. I didn't change brands. Just one day my lips decided they wanted to ruin my life as far as makeup goes ( pardon the dramatics, but it really is annoying). It took me weeks and weeks to figure out what is was. I thought it was the Arizona climate. I thought it was my lotion, the water, anything. Anything but the lipstick that had been so good to me for a decade. I finally faced reality and gave up on old faithful. Red swollen burning itching lips where not worth it. I've yet to find another lipstick that I actually like. And I have NO color in my lips so if I don't wear something I look like a corpse. I think the allergy might actually be getting worse. On Thanksgiving this year I said screw it and wore my old lipstick. Just for one day. And my lips looked great if I do say so myself.  It used to take a couple of days of consecutive lipstick use for the allergy to flair. Not anymore. Now I use it one day and pay the price with swollen aching lips for the next 4 days.

It makes me wonder what will happen next. I can't sleep on the floor comfortably anymore ( even pre pregnancy I couldn't do that) but that's something I would expect with age. Strange allergies and the loss of my ability to read I was not anticipating!