2012 Goals to Attack

I'm gonna get cha'!

I already know that 2012 is going to be a year for the books! 2011 most definitely was (between Shawn being laid of to me beginning a new job, to him finding a new one and moving to South Carolina while I stayed in AZ for three months,to me leaving new job moving across country, the anxiety of renting out our beloved house, to me finally getting a new job, and creating a life during it all... I am exhausted and happily put that wacky roller coaster to bed).

This will be the year I actually try to make some goals:
Behold my goals:

1. Put down the soda cans, woman! There is no need for one person to drink so much Ginger Ale and Diet Coke. 3pm everyday is NOT a special occasion
2. Stop paying Wells Fargo so much dang interest! They already have enough money, so pay off that $5,000 credit card.
3. Comb your hair and put your face on! Just because you have a baby (soon, I hope!), doesn't mean you should look like a mess. Other people have to look at you and you don't want to scare your kid. 
4. Get out of the house! Have at least one baby-free date night with Hubs. Remind him that he is your Husband first before being Henry's daddy.
5. Give yourself some credit! Learn to take a compliment. (This drives Hubster bananas and always "requests" you just say thank you. May actually be his life's mission at some points.)

There we are. Obviously, I have other goals, like losing the baby weight (I freely admit that it is actually pizza and pasta weight and that my baby will probably account for a very teensy amount that I chubbed on my hips) before my 10 Year High School Reunion this Fall. Learning how to parent and taking care of myself are overarching themes for 2012 and  am not going to pressure myself to look like one of my model-y classmates (there are several on Facebook).

What are some of your goals and themes of 2012?

Mommy Takes a Tumble

This is why I wear New Balance and not stilettos (they also hide the fact that I can't bend to pedicure my feet)

When a woman is enduring the last few weeks of pregnancy - that is, when she feels like she has a planet stuck to the front of her - things get a tad wobbly. The center of gravity is off a bit (pulling from aforementioned planet - naturally). I waddle and I swing my arms with unintentional vigor. I have finally packed away my wedges after much begging from friends and family.

My clumsiness timing is impeccable, as usual.

Sunday afternoon, I returned home exhausted from several hours of church and errand running. Wham-o! Next thing I knew I was sprawled out on the garage floor, crying like a wounded five-year-old. I rolled my left ankle and scraped up my right elbow and knee. Belly remained free of harm, but I still bawled my face off. 



Shawn scooped me up like a newborn and carried my hysterical self inside. Walking aint easy, when your body feels like twice its normal size, even when it isn't.

To make matters more fun, I might have a stress fracture in my right foot. That dang foot (a key to proper walking, I've heard) has been giving me issues for the past couple weeks. It is most likely a stress fracture most likely as it isn't swollen and the pain goes away when I don't walk on it. Go figure. I wrap it up at night and keep my butt firmly in my computer chair at work.

Its been a fun ride. Humbly Hobbled and no longer going at 80 miles per hour. I'll just sit right here and wait for birth.

Third Trimester - Best Dr's Appt Ever

Went in for an Ultrasound to check Henry's growth this week (I got an extra ultrasound - boo yah). Why did I get blessed with an extra peek into my womb (side note: that word makes me shudder for some reason)? There was a little complication called a Two Vessel Umbilical Cord that may inhibit his growth (a single vein and a single artery have to do the work of a normal cord with two arteries and a vein).

His photo shoot went very well, twisting and turning for the camera, flashing a little leg here and there. His heartbeat is 140 beats per minute, his growth is a perfect 50%, his feet are still big, and his profile is still Gerber baby gorgeous. His cord, however, seems to have sprouted another artery! A Halloween time miracle, I tell you! The SUA is only a minor complication as it tends to require an earlier delivery and smaller babies, but we certainly wiped this complication out of there.

These are behind the roundhouse kicks I feel all day long

In other news, my blood pressure is down, my hemoglobin is up, weight gain is nil (a personal hallelujah - even though Dr. Walvoord says I shouldn't worry even if I gain 50 pounds - at which word I almost passed out and prayed that would not be the case for me), and I passed my Glucose Test with flying colors. My finger still hurts from the hemoglobin finger-prick test, but I'll take it.

okay this one looks a little Halloweeny - Henry has good bones :)

Hooray for a good day! Tonight we're celebrating by chowing down on Caramel Apples with Reese's Pieces. No diabetes? Bring on the Sugar!

Holy Hunting - The Search for Church

The Family G have begun a quest, a gholy quest of sorts, to discover the new home of our spiritual enlightenment and salvation. I admit that my physical body has not been in a church for way too many moons, but I pray everyday and I consider myself a spiritual person. I just have not been a church-y person. This is mostly due to being a more Laz-y person more preoccupied with sleep and/or pancakes than putting on pants and get my spiritual house in order.

Also, I have a vast library of excuses. Please email me if you need a rather creative one as I have have many tried and true excuses for just about anything.

Shawn was raised Catholic and I was raised Southern Baptist. This is a favorite excuse. Where can we meet in the middle? Is there even a middle between Southern Baptist and Catholic? We have finally taken the crusade seriously rather than just talking about how we should go to church and just do it.

This Sunday was the first church service we have ever attended together. We have been dating and/or married since 2003 so am suprised at this revelation. I'll admit that I spent some time stealing glances at my Yankee husband when the preach preached extra Southern with pronounced gesticulating and gave a few squeezes of his hand when I thought I heard someone speak in tongues a couple times.

While we may not have found "the one" on our first trip out, but if you have been to Greenville then you know that there are no shortage of options, and we have plenty of Sundays to explore. In all seriousness, we are excited to find that sense of comunity we had while we were growing up. Even more so when imagining our little baby growing up playing a shepherd in Christmas pageants and teaching us the songs we used to sing in Sunday School ourselves.

I may have the Dia-Bee-Tus

 
Son of a sugar coated buttery dream biscuit! I failed the glucose screening test and must go back to the doctor's office for the Three Hour Starve and Stick Marathon that is the Glucose Tolerance Test. I feel bad not only for myself, but also for everyone around me. I will not be able to eat or drink anything other than sips of water until 11:30am next Wednesday. If you are not aware, I get a little "cranky" when I am hungry. I shamefully turn in to the Incredible Hulking Preggo, "Mommy angry! Feed Mommy now!"

I probably should have skipped the Blue Bunny Vanilla and Strawberry Ice Cream the night before the Screening.

Having gotten this fine news all I could think about was cheeseburgers and crinkle cut french fries for the rest of the day. Lord help me, my brain and my blood sugar are conspiring to kill me.

Double Charlie Horse and a Split Rib

It seems that almost every morning I wake up with pretty awesome pains in both my calves. They are super sore as if I have did a serious session of sleep-exercising (any AbFab fans out there? yes? no?). It appears I have been getting major cramps when I sleep in both legs. This makes my 3am potty breaks a practice in wobble walking when trying to navigate around my very pointy, very hard furniture with my eyes closed.

Remy's having no pains at all, but he feels bad for Mommy

For the past month I have had a pain in my right back ribs. Usually it is a constant, dull ache. I liken it to someone pulling my ribs apart. I no liken it at all.

What can a mama to be do to make these ouchies go bye-bye (practicing baby talk for Baby H's debut)? My doctor says to drink more water for my calves to quit cramping. If I drink any more water I will have to move my desk into the restroom; I already have to pee every time I stand up, I might as well just diaper myself. My Helpful Hubby suggested I do some impossible yoga stretches. My baby birthing books suggest sleeping on my side may be to blame, but I should ONLY sleep on my side as laying on one's back is absolutely forbidden. Mommies on blogs say, "Suck it up, you can't do anything about it." Okay, so those are my words, not theirs.

via

At least I can giggle when I think of Charlie Horse and instantly imagine the sock puppet from "Lamb Chop's Play-Along"

A Good Place

I'll be honest, folks. I struggled with the changes my body has experienced during pregnancy. Let me tell you there have definitely been ch-ch-ch-changes. All the while I think of how incredible it is that I am doing something miraculous (Look Ma, no hands!). I am creating life here! But in the back of my mind creeps that familiar old voice of pessimistic, self-doubt and ugliness. As a woman who has dieted on and off for the past however many years, it is no picnic seeing myself balloon (keeping this new incredible skin on the invite list, but that faint line on my belly and giant freakin' tatas are off the picnic RSVP list).

...Until you feel the little guy inside throwing 'bows and kickin' the nonsense out of you. Perspective comes back and a sense of  contentment and tender joy washes over; a calming wave brought on by the ninja inside. At 22 weeks gestation, Little H has already began to make me a better and more confident lady. Bless this baby! Just three months and 2 weeks until I can hold you, and not my tummy, in my arms.

A to Z

Had a pretty blah  day so I figured I'd give you all even more information that-is-totally-all-me-all-the-time-me-because-you-can't-get-enough-of-lil-ol'-me. If you do a list, link it in the comments section, so I can get to know you better!!

Remy - Super Dog!

A. Age: 28

B. Bed size: King (I bow down to Overstock.com and their low price/$2 shipping)
C. Chore that you hate: Folding Laundry

D. Dogs: Remy, age two. My mutt is my fur-st born son
E. Essential start to your day: Having the hubby press the snooze button (sometimes twice), followed by hair, makeup and a bowl of Cheerios
F. Favorite color: Today it is turquoise
G. Gold or Silver: White Gold, heh heh heh
H. Height: 5’4"

I. Instruments you play: the wood block, and not even very well
J. Job title: Cental Sales Specialist
K. Kids: Baby H to make his debut in January
L. Live: Greenville, SC
M. Mother’s name: Brenda
N. Nicknames: Mo, MoFo, husband parrots the nicknames I give him back on to me
O. Overnight hospital stays: None, Im pretty fortunate
P. Pet peeves: Mouth noises (OhMyGah! Can you chew silently and not slurp puh-leeze!) and being late (I can't stand having to make people wait on me. Drives me bananas, but not nearly as psychotic as mouth noises).
Q. Quote from a movie: "I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper. I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries." - French Soldier in Monty Python and The Holy Grail 
R. Right or left handed: Right
S. Siblings: two younger rothers and a younger sister
U. Underwear: I am all for them
V. Vegetable you hate: Raw tomatoes. I know, I know. They're fruit. And they're gross.
W. What makes you run late: My husband
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Spine (my last five vertabrae are outta line), foot (I broke it while acting the fool in college), teeth (stupid wisdom teeth removal)
Y. Yummy food that you make: I craft up a pretty good Korma and Mussels Mariniere
Z. Zoo animal: Polar Bears

A Dream I Dream

Some people dream big, shooting for the stars, profound life-altering dreams. My current dream (aside from not looking awkward when I preggo dance around my living room in front of my husband while singing the wrong words off key to Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger") is to get myself all dolled up primped-curled-and-pearled, Stepford Wife perfect and then rock out in the pit of a hip hop concert.

Glenn Close in the 2004 remake; via

Can you imagine the fun for everyone to see me jamming at a Lupe Fiasco or Pitbull show in my Sunday best?

Heck yes that would be a good night!

Super Nose

Is it a gift? Is it a curse? At this moment, it is a bit of the latter. This super nose of mine is picking up all of the stinky things in a mile radius of my home. It is amplifying the blech of foods, my dog, repair and installation men, phantom lingering odors on random sidewalks, cigarette smoke from the car next to me at the stoplight, the korma (think curry, a lot of it) I made yesterday, and of course the smelly garbage in the next room.

All those eeeeeewww moments aside, I can truly enjoy the smell of my hubby coming home (my lord his cologne is simply amazing!), the scent of Remy's oatmeal puppy shampoo and conditioner (but not his stanky breath), my dryer sheets are intoxicating, and pear candles are divine.

I am PREGONATOR! Able to smell a truck stop restroom from the highway, cry at the start of a commercial, break out into teenage acne with the blink of an eye, pee, pee, and pee, and bloat like nobody's business. Pregnancy hasn't been exactly a beautiful thing s far, but is has MOST DEFINITELY been a  joyous thing.

I just hope this nose quits before the diapers arrive.

When I Grow Up

What did you want to be when you grew up? I changed my mind every couple of months or so. I wanted to be a nurse, a teacher, a ballerina, a children's book author (but only for kids younger than my seven-year-old self).

When did you picture yourself becoming the dreaded adult? I always thought it was when I turned 27. That was the age my parents were when they got married and when they had lil ol' me (ok, my dad turned 28 a couple of weeks before I burst onto the scene).


What did you think constituted being a grown up? I thought I would be old and dress in suits and be very serious all the time. I thought I would suddenly, overnight transform from a Beverly Hills 90210 teen into Zach Morris's mom. Funny how growing up you don't see adults very often in fun roles, they usually sit on the periphery and not given any interested story lines in young-adult geared shows.

I woke up this morning wondering if I fit my child-prescribed version of adulthood. Kinda? I wear suits (on days I'm seeing clients, only... I am a true rebel, baby). I really don't feel that interesting (I need a hobby something fierce) like a sitcom mom, I never thought that I would work in the event sales industry, but wish I would have stuck with at least one of my childhood dream-careers, I am not very serious. I pay bills, I have a mortgage, I have student loans, I am married with a dog and a turtle.

I'll grow up another day. Today I'll be the Most Interesting Man in the World.

Photo from April 23, 2011 ;)

In just over two weeks...

My Life will be flipped upside down and rolled down a Blue Ridge Mountain!

In just over two weeks:

I will have my last day of work (at my new job, hmpfh)

I will finally see and hug and hold my husband

I will have traveled to a foreign country and back again

My house will be packed up and trekked across the You Ess Ayyy

I will be in a two-seater car with a 27 lb dog and a three ounce turtle

I will have to get a new driver's license

I will begin to say "y'all" and mean it

I will get so lost my GPS won't be able to save me (*cough*it has happened before)

I will try to make new friends

I will try to be employed

I will plan for my family to come see me (geez, I miss them!)

I will love my new home

I will finally be home :)

As for right now:
I will still try to make sales, even though I may not be invested (paid)
I will coordinate my last 2011 prom, two dinners, two breakfasts, one PR event
I will search through the interwebs for a new J.O.B
I will continue this very effective diet (booyah!)
I will spend as much time with my Arizona friends as possible
I will purge my closets, and dressers, and chests, and secret drawers of all the suff I haven't worn, looked at, or loved in too long
I will call Hubby everyday and bug him as much as I can
I will make my bed just in case the realtor comes by
I will eat all the veggies my garden has grown
I will continue to smile my dang face off

New Flag of New Home

via

Reality is setting in

Let's be honest... I have done NOTHING with regardds to my impending move across country. NOTHING. I haven't found a place to live, haven't found people to live in my place, haven't found a job, haven't packed a thing! I told myself, "Self, you are in denial, but admitting it, is half the battle."

Today I said to myself, "Self. You are full of crap."

I walked into our third bedroom (used to be the "wedding room," instead it was an empty room filled with junk that drives me craaaaazy so I don't go in there) last night. I expected it to be more empty than when I last entered it. Happy Hubby was supposed to clean out all the junk so we don't move it across country.

Last week, just days before he left for Greenville, I walked upstairs, noticed the door was open and Hubster was sitting indian-style, looking intently at objects on the floor.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Cleaning stuff out," he said.
"Oh really," I questioned skeptically.
"Yeah, because if I don't you'll just throw everything out."
"Ha!" He knows me so well. I walked out and didn't hink of it again... until last night. Behold, an episode of "Hoarders" exploded in that room. Piles and piles of the "stuff" he was looking at covered the carpet. Anxiety attack! KA-POW!

I have a reoccuring nightmare that I am in a cold concrete room surrounded by stacks and stack of paper. Suddenly the cieling fan goes on and the cieling-high stacks begin to sway. Single sheets of white paper float down on top of my head. I start to brush them off but then they come faster and faster, I keep flainging my arms and covering my face, but they keep coming faster, there's so many... AHHHHHH! and then I assume I am crushed (and probably covered in thousands of tiny papercuts) because the dream is over.

Get Me Out of Here!
 (via)

That is the feeling I got when I walked into that room last night. Reality is a skyscraper of paper that squashes you when you least expect it. Hopefully this new degree of anxiety will spur me into action and I'll get packing... right after I envision a new, more comforting dream of packers who do it for me.

Too busy to be sick

I have a lot on my plate right now. I have sales calls to make, events to coordinate, emails to follow-up, a house to pack, a hubby to keep on track, a dog to snuggle, a friend to say bon voyage to, laundry to do (even after the laundry marathon that was this weekend), photos to take and post of the house, renters to find, appointments to make, and a nose to blow with a teary eye to wipe. I am a human ground-zero for debilitating allergies this week.

"I am misery," I would say to Hubster.
"Do you need something, my love?" he would reply.
"Help me," I would roughly whisper, "this may be the last day I am alive."
"You want some water in your final moments," he'd play along. "Take an Advil Cold & Sinus."
"But, Sugar, I can't die yet," I'd remind him. "I don't have life insurance yet. I am worth more to you alive right now."
"You better not go dying on me."
"I am too busy to be sick," I'd remind him."Misssssery..." I trail off in a sudafed sleep state.

We've been on this road before. I am a very dramatic sick person (not to mention my face warps into a scary troll mask - swollen eyes, beet-red nose, dried and scaly lips, always dirty glasses, and I smell like medicine and vitamins). Hubby plays along with me, coddling me like I need. He's a good man and he doesn't tell me to get over it, when I act this way, he just loves on me.

I have a roll of toilet paper on my desk for the never-ending nose. I wrote "Heal Me" on it, so I may fool myself into feeling better. I hope I don't get black writing on my nose!

Goodbye Gina Bean

Last night I said my first good byes to one of my best friends. No, she's alive and kicking, she's not dead! She's shipping up to Denver. She was born and raised there and sought new adventures at age 18 when she enrolled at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. Best decision she ever made if you ask me. We bonded over playing dominoes and talking about boys and drinking beer and staying up for days and mayhem and mischief and so on and so on.

I'm going to miss Miss G. She is the first of my group of girlfriends to move out of Arizona. (at the end of the month Lil Miss Kenda moves to Dallas and then a month later, I will take my own wild ride across country). You better call me as soon as you date the doctor I promised you you'll marry :) I just want my, "thank You , Mo, you were right," because I always am right and its nice to hear it from someone else's mouth aside from my own.


Have a great time in Denver, dahling.

I don't have time for this, I'm management

Its been a little while since I have communicated with the blogging world. I have taken on my new job as Facility Sales Manager at Arizona Science Center with gusto. I have already learned the building (well, I have learned it enough to make guests think I know what I am talking about), I have booked my first walk-through (wish me luck peeps, if I book this wedding, I will be overjoyed), and am in the middle of creating marketing materials (ie a brochure we need oh so badly). I worked my first event (a resounding success) and have three more this week alone!

What is it that I do, you ask? I book events for the Science Center and then I coordinate them. Weddings, networking mixers, receptions, awards show, bar mitzvahs, quinceneras, sweet sixteens, proms, grad nights, fundraisers, oh my! I am really excited for this new venture in my life and hope I deliver as much as I can. (PS spread the word if you're in the Phoenix-area that if someone wants to host an event, I am right downtown wanting to impress).

Hugs and Love!

Isn't that pretty... I can do that!

Moving on Up to Downtown

Downtown Phoenix (via)

Today is my last day in the television bidness. I have bittersweet (but mostly sweet) feelings about leaving. I am ready to move on, to ask for what I deserve, and to make use of my abilities. I will make a difference, I will be challenged, I will be busy, I will be proud and honored by my accomplishments.

"Ask for what you want, and be prepared to get it." I know what I want and I am ready to grab hold of that proverbial brass ring.

But before I re-enter the workforce, I am taking a few days off (ok, two days, any more than that would make me antsy) and pretending I am on a vacation. Tonight is my send-off from my current coworkers. Saturday I am going to my friend, Kenda's, bridal gown fitting and my other friend Bev's, Hawaiian themed St. Patty's Day Party. I will be making my living room feel like Spain on Sunday (playing spanish guitar music, eating my favorite paella, pretending to dance flamenco, and drinking my share of "Sangria" in the comforts of home). Monday Hubster and I are partaking in outdoor activities (I need to get out of the house!) Tuesday will be Spring Cleaning day (if we have to move out of state, I refuse to lug our boxes of boxes and Hubby's 25 old cell phones across country).

I can't wait for the adventures we have before us! Woo-hoo!

Just want to go home...

...play with my dog and eat a sleeve of oreos.

It is a very good thing that I do not have any cookies at home, let alone a box of Oreos. 

This is a feelings-eating kind of day.

Just kidding :) That would make me terribly sick.

How is your day moving along fellow bloggers?

When one door closes...

Open door number two!

Oh the delightful stresses of life. We all have the day-week-month-quarter when we aren't being the most positive person we can be. We all experience those times when we feel like things could just be a little better. I am guilty as charged. Like, dead woman walking guilty. My name is Mo, and I have been a serious downer.

Then something happens to make you wake up and realize you are being your own worst enemy. Your eyes open, the fog clears, and the cobwebs are wiped from your mind.I realized a week (plus) ago that I needed a real change in my life. Okay, I admit that I have known this for probably a year, but I just recently became ready to act on the inclination to JUST DO SOMETHING!

I applied for a job, had two interviews, and got the nervous-excited-antsy-glee of anticipation when they started calling my references and then bang...

My husband joined the ranks of the laid-off.

I cried. I updated my resume. I cried some more. I told my boss I HAD to find new new job. Mine alone couldn't pay for our mortgage let alone bills, student loans, cell phones, internet access... LIFE! We are not buying groceries for as long as possible. I will re-start my dining calendar (saves on groceries because I use everything up when I plan ahead). Movies are a no-go. Trips are a no-go. Anything involves the burning of money, a.k.a. gas is a no-go. Limiting use of electricity and especially the heater and air conditioning. Solely the use of blankets, flannel and candlelight in our house! (That is the restrictions I am trying to impose, anyway) We've called the satellite company and reduced our package (they gave us a great discount - Thank you for understanding, DirectTV). We've called the credit card companies (they don't really care at all, actually. Jerks!).

The next day, I was offered the job. I happily accepted.

A new start for me, and soon Happy Husband will be employed again and it will be a new start for him. I will shake off the doldrums and make the most of our time together. I will cast my fears aside. I will push my "practical" and "realistic" side away. It does more harm than good. I will smile and remain positive and cheerful (he needs to see it, if he doesn't feel it himself). I will help him in any way that I can (yes, I will reread your resume. yes, let's take another look at that job board. yes, I will go anywhere with you that we need to go. yes, you are still my knight in shining armor. yes, I love you so much I could explode in a shower of hearts and sunshine. yes, you don't ask for affirmations, but I love to give them to you anyhow).

It has been rough, but smooth roads lie just ahead. While I cannot see it, I can feel the sun lifting over the horizon. Hope is in reach and I am grasping for it with both hands.

Eleven Days into Oh -Eleven

1. In the quest to be in shape I have... well ... I have done little aside from make myself a very healthy lunch today (gotta start sometime): 3 oz. mixed greens, 2 hard boiled egg whites, 3 oz. baby carrots, tuna with mustard and 1 oz. white onions, and a delightful bottle of h2o. I apologized to any coworkers for the stanky smell coming from my desk. Tonight will take My Little Remy for a run.
2. Have not had a single sip of any soda since the New Year, let alone a drop of DC. Also curbed my Crystal Light intake, it was a little much ***but tasted oh so good***
3. Credit Card still has a balance on it. I am saving 75 cents left and right by no longer visiting the vending machine. One goal leads into another, baby!
4. Have yet to dust off the ol' Ethnic Cookbook. Will be making something fishy tonight for sure. Also will most likely be healthy which will help achieve numero uno on this list.
5. Yep, still a-whining. Starting to think I really dont live up to my goals; how quickly I forget and abandon them. Is this genal pessimism considered whining?
6. Just finished a book most people thought would be very boring, "The Cult of Personality Testing: How Personality Tests Are Leading Us to Miseducate Our Children, Mismanage Our Companies, and Misunderstand Ourselves" by Annie Murphy Paul and loved it. I feel more informed and can probably carry on a good debate about the pitfalls and perils of boxing one's personality into one form. We are too complex. A very well-written and engaging book.
7. I put more junk in the second guestroom yesterday. Did not take anything out. Opposite of plan. Whoops!
8. No daytrips, but the year has just begun!
9. Am starting an album of the past year. But first... we finally received our WEDDING ALBUM! Heck yes I am excited, even though I have seen those photos a thousand times.

Ahhhh the progress!

Reading: "The Cult of Personality Testing: How Personality Tests Are Leading Us to Miseducate Our Children, Mismanage Our Companies, and Misunderstand Ourselves" by Annie Murphy Paul

Listening to: "Let's Dance" by M. Ward