Heartbeats AND Hollywood

Today Dan and I went to my Dr.'s Appointment and got to hear our baby's heartbeat!!! It was amazing!!! A strong healthy 170 beat per minute heart! It was kind of hard for her to find it over my heartbeat - she said I didn't weigh enough or have enough "cushion" yet to not pick up my pulse. But she did and I am so glad. It has suddenly made this all so much more real and exciting! And I am so glad Dan was able to go to work late and join me.

Then I went to work for a whopping 3 hours and ate lunch. I got a phone call from Dan that they got let off early from class and a group was going to see transformers 2 and I was excited to join them. I thought the movie was ok. Nothing like the first (few sequels are). And I was a little disappointed by the language and innuendos through the entire movie. The language was actually pretty bad. The only other problem was there was a LOT of movement shots and a lot of circular camera shots spinning around which I had to look away for fear of motion sickness - Luckily we weren't sitting TOO close. BUT I was happy to get to see a movie in the theatre (its been a while) and be with Dan.

Shelf Reliance Giveaway!

I signed up for an AWESOME giveaway at Shelf Reliance's new blog! It sure would be incredible to win, but they have a lot of other helpful advice and tips in their newsletter and website. If you want to participate too, just click here ! Good luck!

How I feel...

I keep getting asked how I am feeling. I usually say I am "fine" or "ok", but what I really want to say is...
...Well, it feels like I am reading a book with really small print and cannot put it down while sitting up straight in the front seat of a car with large windows and the car is driving very fast up a VERY windy road with tall trees on each side whipping by and sunlight shooting through the branches sporadically and moving across the page of tiny words I am reading...all the time...oh, and a bad metal taste in my mouth.

LUCKILY, I have an awesome boss that lets me come in late and leave early everyday now (9:30-2:00 is awesome!) - its just enough to keep me distracted on how I feel and keep me a little active, because by the time I get home all I can do is veg., sleep, and eat (or at least constantly think about what I'll eat next that doesn't sound too gross). Thank goodness I have a wonderful husband who has been doing ALL the cleaning and cooking - I can hardly take a step into the kitchen. I can't stand and yet I am totally obsessed with food. It is a fine balance between being too full or too hungry - each of which will induce increased nausea if allowed to develop. I can't wait for the day I can eat as much as I want whenever I want! THAT will be a day to celebrate!
ADDENDUM: I am aware of anti-nausea drugs and I did discuss them with my doctor - I have made a personal decision that I am not satisfied with the research that has been done that I have had access to and my doctor is not a huge advocate unless the nausea/vomiting is harmful to the baby. AND since my Morning sickness no longer/rarely includes actually vomiting and I am no longer LOSING weight we decided to wait it out and try a few more natural methods first - which seem to be working just fine most of the time. If I complain too much on my blog I apologize - it usually happens on the more unpleasant of days. That doesn't mean I don't think there is a time and place for the medication for certain women - some women need it to even function, I am still functional and ultimately still healthy - for which I am VERY grateful!

Reading for Pleasure

I have not been a big reader (for pleasure/fun) since...well, honestly since...high school? Of course I have read books for fun that I enjoy since then, but I used to do it all the time when I was younger, but whenever I have been in school, especially nursing school, I read so much in textbooks, papers, online articles that I didn't want to read anymore! Additionally, I am a slow reader - so that certainly doesn't help. I would spend hours reading and studying - so I rarely would pick up another book to "wind down" or "escape"! Now that I have graduated and am working, I come home from work and there is no studying to do, no tests to prepare for...I leave work at work! As soon as I took the NCLEX nursing examination this last summer I finally allowed myself to open the twilight saga - since then I have picked up a book now and then to read - it has been fun to rediscover reading for pleasure.

I've set up a bookshelf on my blog and you can read my reviews on books as I read them. I am definitely not a fast reader so you won't see new books popping up all the time, but its been fun to do the Shelfari thing and get suggestions and reviews on other books I've heard of but not sure if I want to read or not. What have you read recently that you enjoyed?

Temporary Postponement of I Made it Mondays

The typically weekly "I Made it Monday" of cooking recipes I have tried and enjoyed will be temporarily postponed until a later date which is not yet determined. Until the sight, smell, and even thought of food of any kind or form does not repulse me or send me into convulsions I think it best not to dwell on the idea. Besides - I certainly don't have the energy to be doing anything more than microwaving or pulling something out of the fridge that Dan has already so lovingly prepared. I can hardly set foot in the kitchen without my stomach churning and getting an awful taste in my mouth. So, too bad so sad for I made it Monday's - maybe one day it will make it's return.