Potatoes in the Mist

Is it bad that I sometimes want the holidays to be over? I'm looking forward to January 2 with eagerness bordering on lust. I hate the pressure to do something interesting, SPECIAL AND FESTIVE on New Year's Eve. I'm pregnant, for crying out loud. I want to sit in my pajamas, eat fattening food and watch something mindless that I've seen before. But, as the Rolling Stones say, you can't always get what you want. It is a central paradox of my marriage that, although I test as an extrovert, I am more of a homebody; while D tests as an introvert, he loves to go out. And keeping D in on NYE would be an act of cruelty. And I'll probably have a better time than I expect. But for now, I'm kind of hating the holidays. It felt good to admit that.

So I went to Motherhood today (part of Destination Maternity, kind of a little mall filled with maternity clothes). I really enjoyed it. They pampered me a bunch, offering me water and juice for the road (after I made my purchases). Prices were reasonable and oddly enough, I like my maternity clothes better than my regular wardrobe! They seem to fit well and look flattering. I also saw a possible onesie for E -- light blue, and it said "chick magnet" -- but it was a bit too saucy! We want to keep him innocent :) I bought him some onesies at Old Navy recently. There was a turtle theme, and one of them featured a teddy bear, under the words "unbearably cute." Probably because I'm reading Easy Labor, I'm preoccupied with the birthing process. One of the central messages of the book is to be flexible, since the unexpected usually happens, but I've noticed people write up birth plans anyway. I guess the idea is not to be rigid and have a number of alternative...

So here are some highlights or just noteworthy events from the holidays, '07: Sunday. D and I took Amtrak to get to Boston, and the ride was uneventful. However, the drive home from the Alewife T station was not. Mom has a penchant for getting lost on the way home (and blaming me for it!) So I micromanaged her driving from then on. She also collided with a snowbank and started heading to Providence at one point (though I averted that disaster). The high speed on the highway also made me nauseous. So, let's just say - I'm happy not to have to drive in New York! I'm a walking kind of gal. Mom told us a story about my aunt (on my father's side) and her cat. One night Mom went to check on my aunt, who is 91, and found her anxious about her cat, Sophia. Aunt: I'm going to stay up with Sophia. She's having a problem with her leg and she can hardly walk. [Sophia strolls by, without effort.] Mom: She looks fine to me. [Sophia sprints up the stairs.] Mom: I think yo...

Since I'm up freakishly early (the bebe is an early riser), I've decided to compile a list of my favorite books of 2007 (titles only, since that is how All Consuming does it). I've added the author if I remembered his/her name. Liars and Saints by Maile Meloy Getting Rid of Matthew A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers (a novel) Hack: How I Stopped Worrying About What To Do With My Life and Started Driving a Yellow Cab by Melissa Plaut The New Yorkers by Cathleen Schine About My Sisters by Debra Ginsberg (you can't go wrong with anything by her). Still Life with Husband by Lauren Fox Tiare in Bloom by Celestine Vaite An Abundance of Katherines by John Green Because She Can by Bridie Clark Momzillas by Jill Kargman Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert Love is a Mix Tape (sad. But good.) The Return of Jonah Gray (I think this one squeezed in on the basis of quirk. By "return," they mean "tax return".) Secrets of the Model Dorm (soapy. But ver...

So I had a doctor's appointment today. I know - 2 appointments in 2 days -- one with the ultrasound people, one with the ob/gyn. The ultrasound office has better magazines. You know, the super-trashy kind where they talk about Jamie Lynn. I like the doctor's office, too, but they have more highbrow stuff, like In Style . Anyhow, I'm gaining weight like a runaway train or something else that's fast. If I continue to gain weight at this rate, I think I will gain 45 lbs (total, including what I've already gained) by the end of the pregnancy. Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh... On the plus side, my vegetarian eating has not made me iron-deficient. In fact, I have the highest hematocrit, or something like that, of all my doctor's pregnant patients. So she said, "You're not remotely anemic." Cool, huh? The kid's heartbeat is still pumping away, I'm contemplating buying blue onesies, and kind of wishing I could see an ultrasound every day -- they are that fun :...

So we can't name the baby Ginger, after all. But that's fine. I'm so happy that he's healthy and everything looks good. A couple of pictures of the little guy: His head is on the left :)

My belly button has always been super-deep. As in, it was kind of a pain because it would collect lint and dirt. Sorry, I'm making myself sound very attractive here ;) Now it's getting progessively shallower. Soon it will be watching reality shows and gossiping about Paris Hilton. I know this might sound weird, but I kind of want it to pop out! It doesn't happen to everyone, but I just think it would be cute. Apparently it can be irritating because it rubs against your clothes. Right now, though, it's still an innie -- just a much shallower one.

Last post was my 800th! Yay. If you are pregnant, secretly or otherwise, I recommend the baby book I'm reading (see sidebar). It tells you about all these amazing bargains and places to buy things on the cheap. Whenever I sit down to read it, I'm armed with a pen and I keep dog-earing pages. My SIL gave me a gift card for a little spa place! Very exciting. The only problem is, they have this huge smorgasbord of options. I've pretty much decided on the foot massage. If you've had one, please tell me how awesome it was :) Or if there is a reason NOT to get one, let me know. Otherwise, I am looking forward to 20 minutes of having my feet rubbed. It's the kind of thing that, as a (relatively) thrifty former New Englander, it would never occur to me to do. I've never even paid to have my nails done. But it's probably pretty relaxing!

If you live in Seattle, can you please adopt Cornelius ? Thank you. Doesn't he look dapper in his bow tie? Today D and I had lunch, and a couple of women at a nearby table offered us their bottle of wine. They couldn't finish it. We had to refuse, seeing as I'm preggers and all, and D is taking some meds for his hands (sometimes they tingle), but we ended up chatting with them. I asked them where they were from and resisted the urge to add, "Texas?" in case they weren't. Then they said, "Dallas." Am I smart or what? ;) I could tell because of the accent and it's a particular brand of friendliness. After a while of being too nauseous to knit, I picked up my needles again to finish a scarf for a family friend. It will take me a few days to complete, but I'm over the hump, so to speak. I met a new cat friend. She is very close to the pool where I swim. She lives in a deli. Her name is Nina. Her legs are a little too long for her body (I suspect ...

I just started Karma and Other Stories by Rishi Reddi. Some readers have criticized her for being too similar to Jhumpa Lahiri, but I think she is good in her own right. The first short story is about a man who orders a bean-and-cheese burrito at a fast-food establishment, and they bring him a beef-and-cheese burrito instead. He feels the cashier was rude to him, as well as violating his vegetarian preferences, and decides to sue! That sort of thing happens to us fairly often - D will order penne a la vodka and ask them to leave out the prosciutto at this one place, and sometimes they'll include it anyway. Or we'll ask for split pea soup, the waiter will assure us it's vegetarian, and it'll arrive with chunks of ham floating in it! Of course I wouldn't sue them (and it never occurred to me that someone would). I want to see how the lawyers handle that, in the story.

I never thought I'd get nostalgic for the 90s. My heart was always firmly rooted in the 80s (after all, I was only around for five years before that). But tonight D and I were eating at an Irish pub and every single song they were playing was from the 90s. It must have been some kind of conspiracy because we heard "Sex and Candy" by Marcy Playground earlier, and now we were hearing Alanis Morissette, etc. In college I got so sick of "Linger" by the Cranberries that I used to say the Cranberries should be sent to their own private island, with all the amenities, not as a punishment but just so we wouldn't hear them anymore. Now I miss that song and was even briefly thinking of buying it on iTunes. I want to bring back lo-fi. There was something refreshing and bare about it all.

...I am the least sci-fi-ish/fantasy person I know (or one of them), but I got sucked in because a friend did this. There's a site linked to the, um, movie Golden Compass where you can find out your "daemon" (animal form). Your friends can also take the quiz and see if they agree with your assessment. If they disagree, your animal will change! You can also find out your own "daemon"... Oy...

Gah. I got sickish, maybe allergies, maybe a cold, and my Claritin just wasn't cutting it. So I took a Benadryl. They are both Category B* drugs, but I got nervous because I had taken Claritin 9 hours before. D reassured me that it was okay, and it seems to be. Moreover, the Benadryl actually worked. Of course, Nyquil would have really vanquished the cold, but it's Category C and hence out of the question. Am enjoying The Abstinence Theory Teacher by Tom Perrotta, though he definitely switched from writing about more personal things to Ideas at some point. I don't mind the change entirely, though it can make his characters cartoonish, or at least a little caricature-y. It's like they're symbols rather than real people. The Wishbones is my favorite book of his, written when he was younger, but I guess people run out of that fund of personal stuff to write about and he has settled into a nice groove. The book also has plenty of comedic scenes that you know are going ...

So D and I went to a par-tay tonight in Brooklyn, which involved a somewhat lengthy subway ride, and the cars were filled with Santas! At first we thought they were Salvation Army folk, but some of them were in full drag, complete with red stilettos, and others were in "blueface" (like Blue Man Group). Apparently, some of them were chanting, "Ho Ho Ho" at one station, and it was described as "amusing and intimidating." The party was fun; the dogs were a little over-excited, and a stray paw on my stomach made me nervous, but nothing happened. The food was yummy. I tried a date/semolina/rosewater concoction that was like an upscale Fig Newton. Anyway, it turns out the Santas were part of a convention, called Santa Con, and they have a parade. Around Halloween, there was Zombie Con.

Thanks for the food suggestions so far! I went grocery shopping today (pre-suggestions, but I plan to implement them next time) and stocked up on what I planned to get, plus Reese's peanut butter cups (I am only human), cheddar rice cakes (cute bite-sized ones), Ritz crackers, sharp cheddar cheese, natural crunchy peanut butter (I found a generic brand that was a steal, and contained only roasted peanuts and salt!), canned pineapple chunks in pineapple juice, etc. While I was shopping, I heard 2 clerks talking enthusiastically in the cracker aisle. "The lioness wants to be admired," said the female clerk. "That's why she has a mane. She wants to feel beautiful." "Thanks!" said the male clerk in a really heartfelt way, and I wondered: why does he care? Is he going on safari? The female clerk nodded sagely. "Yup. You just need to stroke her ego. That's all you need to do." That's when I realized the male clerk's girlfriend was b...

I have learned something weird. If you are obsessed with chocolate chip cookies for a while, you *will* get sick of them. I have a bag of them sitting totally unmolested in the kitchen cabinet. The same goes for ice cream. I have a nice pint of B&J in the fridge but it just doesn't call out to me the way it once did. (Okay, I had a few spoonfuls yesterday. But I didn't attack it as I would have previously.) My current thing is dairy: skim milk with my cereal every morning, lowfat yogurt, and CHEESE, glorious cheese...I ate a whole big chunk of Muenster yesterday and the day before. Just by itself. And it was awesome. But I am need of inspiration. Before I was pregnant, I would eat oatmeal for breakfast, something fairly healthy for lunch and dinner, a couple of pieces of fruit, and a nonfat yogurt. That's it. That was my daily intake. Now I need to sate G's* ravenous appetite, and I'm not as into sweets as I was. I'm putting together a grocery list and have ...

So I just made an appointment for an initial anatomy ultrasound in 2 weeks! That will put me at 15 weeks, and the doctor said I could find out the baby's sex with an ultrasound at 15 weeks...so yup. If all goes well, on Dec. 19, I will find out the baby's sex (or as Liz sassily* put it, "the sex reveal"). What else has been going on? I've been putting on weight apace. I read in my pregnancy book that some women put on most of their weight in first trimester (the ones who don't throw up too much), so I'm hoping the pace will slow down. It actually has, a bit...but the amount I eat would still shock my pre-pregnancy self. I'm planning to close my eyes the next time I get weighed at the doctor's so I don't see the little metal blocks sliding into place. (Yes, I'm kind of serious.) Of course, the nurse always announces the number in a voice that would carry to Nevada. Also, D and I saw Enchanted recently. It was, well...enchanting! (Sorry, cou...

There's something disgusting but very satisfying about pregnant eating. Here's what's gone down my gullet today: 1) Blue cornmeal pancakes with bananas. I had brunch with a friend. It's one of the places where we go a lot. I used to feel the pancakes were mountainous, intimidating; now I thought, I'm not sure if it's enough. (Oh, and I had an apple and a teacup of lemonade BEFORE the brunch, because I woke up a couple of hours before we were supposed to meet.) 2) Another apple. Not bad. 3) Homemade mac and cheese. It's a somewhat lighter version...no eggs or butter, with skim milk, low-fat silken tofu and nonfat yogurt subbing in for some of the cheese. But it still had almost 2 cups of cheddar. I had, um... 3 bowls. 4) A few spoonfuls of Ben & Jerry's chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. This is now one of the great loves of my life. I regard it with the same rosy glow with which, in June, I will hopefully greet the epidural man...