I am an idiot

So, you all know I was so excited to get this new camera, right?
Then why has she only posted like seven pictures, you may be asking yourself.
Well, in the very short time the camera has been in my(our) possession, I have managed to misplace the cable that connects the camera to the computer.
First on the To-Do list today- Go get card reader to fit new card.

Every day is one day closer...

I am not really sure what to report. I feel like I am just waiting. With no school and very little work, I have not been nearly creative enough in filling my time. I know that I should be doing things, mainly chore-like things that I avoid with the excuse of back pain. Oh, the back pain. Over the past two-three weeks, the back pain has become unbearable. A heating pad helps while I have it draped over my back, but the pain returns almost immediately once I remove the pad. Ugh. I hate to complain because I really have had an exceptionally easy pregnancy, but at almost 38 WEEKS I am just done with this unexpected pregnancy.

I don't know how many people read this blog, but I imagine those that do are aware that Futureman wasn't what we call a "Planned Pregnancy". This in no way means that he is unwanted. And if we want to redefine the word "planned" we could argue that he is in fact planned. He is just a bit early to the party. As Becca and I walked around Green Lake the other day, we really reframed the situation. Even if Futureman is two weeks late (please don't be), he is still three years early. The goal was to finish grad school and then start a family. We have just switched up the plan a little.

So, I think that my complaining is really just a disguised way of saying that I am anxious and excited and ready to meet Futureman. I am ready for real contractions that do something instead of the Braxton Hicks that just take my breath away momentarily and make me flinch. 

What have I been doing with my time? A lot of Facebooking, I read the first two books in the Twilight series,playing wii Sports,  watching court tv (there's nothing like seeing a rerun of a court tv program to make you feel like a giant loser!), walking around Green Lake, swimming at the Ballard Pool, Yoga...Currently, I am watching The Biggest Loser, which is apparently my new favorite tv show. There is something mildly satisfying about sitting here immensely pregnant, eating something that is not necessarily the healthiest(chicken strips from Herfy's), watching these people work their asses off. I have been fairly active throughout the pregnancy...swimming, walking, yoga (I stopped using the Wii Fit because it kept yelling at me for gaining weight, but wouldn't listen when I yelled at it that I was pregnant...stupid video game machines, and I have been sitting down while I play the tennis), but I am really looking forward to walking around Green Lake with my (sorry Rob, Our) baby strapped to me. Or using the jogging stroller, or going to Yoga and actually being able to do balance poses! I am currently the furthest along in my Pre-natal yoga class. Its so weird, when I started there were all these women who were further along than me, and now I am that person and there are all these women that are 15-17-21 weeks along, and I am just happy that I am almost done.

Also, I just need to say that I have the best husband ever. He puts up with the mood swings and rubs my feet and my back, and gets me rice crispies when I really want them, and only laughs at me a little when I declare as he is rubbing my back that the only thing that will help right now at this very moment is a bowl of crackling rice cereal. Although I don't think that rice crispy cereal will really make my back pain go away, it certainly tastes good. I love Rob. He is the best.

Now...let's hope this baby comes out sooner rather than later. Come on Futureman!!!

Enormous

So, I am 36 weeks pregnant today. And I am gigantic! I don't think I quite realized how big I got before I looked at these photos. I know that my maternity clothes seem to be shrinking and that lately, my belly has been dangerously close to the stove when I cook, but I think for my own peace of mind, I just ignored those things. Anyway, these two pictures were taken on a beautiful day out on West Seattle. It was far too cold to be on the beach without a jacket, but for the sake of documenting pregnancy, I shivered through it. 

Thug Mama

Thug Love

More new Photos!

Sometimes I like to compare myself to Ansel Adams. No, no I don't. But I do like to take pictures of cloud formations.

Puget Sound

The sun from our roof. Don't stare directly at it.

Backlit clouds with wires.

Mt. Rainier at Sunrise from our apartment.

Maybe its just me, but I see the shape of a bird in the sky space.

Out and About in Seattle with a New Exciting Camera!

So our new camera is here and it is INCREDIBLE! There are so many different things this camera does, I haven't even begun to crack the surface of this machine. So far, I have shot on auto and done some experimenting with the aperture and shutter speed settings. I haven't quite moved on to the completely manual settings, but I imagine that I will get there soon. I used to know about apertures and shutter speeds, but I could definitely use a refresher. But, here is a selection a few practice shots. Nothing too exciting to others, but they are to me!

Seattle Skyline

Seattle Skyline with dominating clouds.

Illuminated sign on Aurora against the grey sky

Scientologists and Pepsi

The iconic Space Needle. What a zoom.

"The Color Purple" at the Paramount on my Birthday.

A wonderful day, despite the setbacks.

I turned 27 today. 27 on the 27th, the so-called Golden Birthday. I don't really know what that is supposed to mean, but that is what today is. And it has been an incredible day. One of those incredible days that just feels wonderful despite all the things that happen during that day. If I were to list the things that went wrong today (and just wait, I will) one might think this birthday had gone awry, but all the sucky things that happened just couldn't compete with the overall greatness of the day.

Let me tell you all about it.

We were able to leave the house today. That in and of itself is great. After almost two weeks of being pretty much home-bound by the snow, I was ready to leave the house. We have gone on small trips, but they have been terribly nerve-wracking, so it was a treat to just leave the house confidently. Plus, we were running out of toilet paper. Our day consisted mainly of errands. We had to go to PaperZone to get a self-healing cutting board, and then we had to go to Glazer's to look at camera bags for the new camera that came last night!! I want to get a camera bag that might also double as a diaper bag. Meaning, one that has a nice padded area for the camera, but also enough room for a couple diapers and stuff...I don't actually know what babies need when they are out on the town, I suppose we'll find that out soon enough. Anyway, we found one we both liked and would both be comfortable carrying around and we toyed with the idea of buying it, but we just couldn't commit to the $150 price tag. It felt a bit ludicrous to pay that much for a bag, even if it is nicely padded and nice to look at. Good call, cause we then found it on Amazon for half the price! Still too expensive, but we're thinking about it.

After this we went the auto parts place on Stone Way where we got BRAND NEW WINDSHIELD WIPERS.  It seriously feels like a whole new car when you can actually see out the windows. It seems like we buy windshield wipers really often, but my grandfather was the West Coast Rep for some wiper company and apparently you are supposed to buy them every 6-8 months, and we all know they get a lot of action up here in Seattle.

Then, we went to Northgate Mall. I hate Northgate Mall. It is kind of full of the dredges of society (not to be overly judgmental or anything). But for my birthday, I really really really wanted Rob to get some pants without holes in them, so we went to Macy's where we have a gift card and all the jeans were so ugly. And expensive! I find it interesting that even men's pants are so fancy. They have the euro-fade and the embellished pockets, and are just kind of silly. Nothing good, so we went to Nordstrom's where they at least had a couple pairs that seemed to be just jeans, till you look at the price tag that says $220! Call me what you will, but that is just insane. Denim should not cost $220. Thank goodness for the sale rack. So we got him some jeans. And by this time, I could feel the hanger coming on strong. Hanger is the anger one gets when one is hungry, and this manifests itself in pregnant ladies like nobody's business. So, I got some veggie mall sushi. I know, I was skeptical too, but man, it was delicious! Then we went to GameStop because we are both somewhat interested in the Shawn White Snowboarding game. I walked in for a second and had to leave because it absolutely smelled like nerd. It was gross.

So, since we were at Northgate, we thought we would just pop over to Target and get some essentials, things like toilet paper and aluminum foil. And I wanted to look at diapers. Well, at least, I feel like I should at least get acquainted with some of our options. We decided against cloth, because it turns out they are just as bad for the environment as traditional disposables, plus they are about a billion times grosser. So I want to look at the different eco-disposables like seventh generation, g-diapers, and nature baby. 

Anyway...we didn't get there. As we were walking on the non-icy, non-snowy, somewhat damp sidewalk, I turned my ankle, lost my balance, and totally ate shit in front of a bunch of people, shoving an older lady on my way down. So...that was fun. I don't know what hurt more, my rapidly swelling ankle or my pride. Falling in front of people sucks. At least I wasn't still at the mall.

So, we went home and iced my ankle. Let me tell you what is more fun than climbing three flights of stairs- climbing three flights of stairs while pregnant. More fun than that-climbing three flights of stairs while pregnant with only one good foot. The silver lining to the uncomfortable trip up the stairs was that our next store neighbor has a visible tv from the stairwell and they were watching some very hard-core pornography on a high def television. Ha.

The evening ended with a lovely meal at Circa out in West Seattle, which is our new favorite little restaurant. I could have stayed home to rest my ankle, but we hadn't been out of the house for such a long time, and it is my birthday afterall. 

Now we are back home, tinkering with the new camera. UPS dropped it off at 9:42 last night. Crazy. I think they are just trying to make up for all the packages that didn't get delivered in time for the holidays.

I'll post pictures once we figure out how to get them from the camera to the computer.

Also, Rob got us tickets to go see The Color Purple tomorrow.  I am excited! I love live theater, and appreciate that my wonderful, caring, husband (now nurse for all my maladies) is willing to sit through a performance with me. I think he'll like it!

Whew, that was a long one.

Love to you all, and thank you to everyone who sent me Birthday wishes.

Going a wee bit stir crazy...

Here are some more pictures...

Doesn't it kind of look like a giraffe escaped from the zoo? Is anyone else worried about the animals who aren't accustomed to this weather? They don't even have clothes.

This is the yard next door that is featured in the comparison shots in the two previous posts. Normally, when it snows in Seattle, snowman are just surrounded by grass, because there just isn't that much snow. In this shot you can see that there is plenty of snow left on the ground. I saw a five layer snowman on my little walk today. But I didn't have my camera. Note-this is with the 3X optical zoom...if UPS was delivering and we could take it with the 20X optical zoom, we could see it even better.

Here is proof that sunshine does not equal warmth or melting. 

So, I know that I should be relishing these moments of having nothing to do and nowhere to go, because very very soon, I will be up to my elbows in baby vomit and poop and pretty much at the disposal of the tiny human being who will soon be here. However, there are things I want to do, like go to the bookstore or go to fabric store. Somehow I am under the impression that I can make curtains for Futureman's room, so I want to go pick out some fabric. And while the main roads are slushy but drivable, our immediate little neighborhood roads are just compacted snow drifts. I walked to the little grocery and video store today, just to get out of the house, and it was incredibly difficult.  That may be the extra weight I am carrying around, or it might have been the slippery compact snow that currently passes for Seattle sidewalks. Either way, I am ready for the snow to melt. The snow, she is a beautiful jailor. 

But where is the snow going to go? Although I am no expert, I don't think that Seattle sewers are adequate to drain all this precipitation. When I was in college, we went on a biology field trip to a Sewage Treatment Facility (it was gross), but I remember the guy talking about how Portland had incredibly inadequate drainage for any excess rain or snow. I imagine it is the same here. Will there be flooding? Will sewage run freely down the streets? Like in the middle ages? At least we live at the top of a hill and not the bottom.