Christmas 2009

I had a llllllong draft all about the holidays so far, and I decided that it might be better to do it with pictures. Here goes...

We had our office holiday party at The Sultan's Tent. This is my boss with the belly dancer.

With some of my work GFs

Then we had our annual Christmas party with our friends. Here are some pics of our super-fun Gift Card Yankee Swap.

Linda started -- which is the worst thing in a Yankee Swap. BUT, she did happen to pull out the envelope with the CASH instead of a gift card!

Dee picks out my gift card...to Anthropologie!!! (I was so tempted to steal it!)

Mr.S' turn -- he steals the cash from Linda...and then even though it's all the same, I stole the cash from him.

Miss L2B gets Mr.S' Toys R Us card...They ended up swapping later on (for a Tim Horton's card) because well, we're really the only ones who could use a Toys R Us one right now!

Linda picked up a Best Buy card, had it stolen, re-picked and ended up with an Esso gift card. I think she's the only one of all of us who does NOT drive.

Then came time for the annual get together with my BGFFs (best girl friends forever haha!). We did pot luck again, since, well, we're all pretty gifted in the kitchen!

Our buffet (clockwise from the top): baked mac & cheese, caesar salad, veggie lumpia (is there an actual name for this? lumpiang gulay maybe?), lumpiang shanghai, naan, beef pot pie, butter chicken, potato salad, inihaw na baboy (pork BBQ). MIA: mini quiches, stuffed mushrooms, red velvet cake, truffles, chocolate-covered cheesecake poppers

The Gals, armed with our accessory for this year, antlers. We all go back at least 12 years.

Miss H2B and me, sporting our matching feather head bands.

Christmas Eve was held at home, as usual. I didn't go overboard this year with the baking, and instead devoted my time to cooking, both for our dinner and the various potlucks we'd be having at family Christmas parties over the next few days.

Our Christmas eve dinner -- I made a mean clam chowder, I have to say. I think it's so good, I'll add it to my list of "potluckable" dishes. Also here: Mr. S' scallopped potatoes and my baked spaghetti (which was actually fettucine because my brother boiled too much fettucine earlier, so I decided to just use it)

Us, by the tree.

And now, some pics of our gifts...

Mr.S with his stocking stuffers.

Baby brother likes to wrap gifts in mysterious shapes to throw us off. This is how he does it. (It was actually a pair of what will soon be my favourite pair of pants.)

Baby brother and his gift from Santa for his new hobby (that I hope, hope, hope he doesn't end up loving...geez, he likes dangerous things!)

I was good this year. Santa got me a Dutch oven, which has been on my wishlist for.ev.er. OMG.

My gift from Mr.S. Ally McBeal is my most favouritest show of all time. This is what I'm doing with my spare time while on maternity leave. (Can "spare time" and "maternity leave" even be in the same sentence?)

Mr.S with his gifts from Santa -- a Jack Johnson package, which also came with an autographed poster!

My gift to Mr.S -- for timing his runs (as in running, not diarrhea). This also came with a video game.

A cushy cushy blanket from Baby Brother for the Baby.

My very first gift from our baby. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. Needless to say, I cried...and cried and cried when I opened it.

Mr.S' gift from our baby. A fetal doppler to hear his heartbeat.

Then came Christmas day and parties with our families.

With my in-laws, we decided to do Kris Kringle this year, which was an excellent idea!

Then we played a game, sorta like Hedbanz. I was so disappointed -- I didn't guess mine :(

Mr.S, on the other hand, got two rounds because he and our cousin were so good (and I didn't help him cheat).

Poor Vader, our "nephew" just wanted some turkey.

Then it was off to my sister's house for the gathering with my side of the family.

We're BIG.

MAYHEM!!!!

Some of us were so amused by our gifts, we didn't even open them completely before we used them. (HAHAHA!! Sorry Lei, I had to...look at how amused Dad is by you!)

Then, when the night died down, it was time for marshmallows by the fireplace.

Then we were pooped.

We slept over at my sister's house and early in the morning, the Autobots (i.e. my brother, Mr.S and the brothers-in-law) went Boxing Day shopping. They came back with some awesome deals.

They're so pretty.

One of the boxing day deals: a guitar for my niece.

Nail central - where you get yo nails did.

Karaoke. Thanks to these guys, I dodged it this year. PHEW!

And that's all for now, folks. Just a few (even though I know it's a LOT). Hope your Christmas was full of blessings and love.

And here are some pics of my baking...

Kara-OH NO!-ke

I have an issue with karaoke. It's not that don't like it. It's not that I'm afraid of it or that I'm afraid of singing. I just have an issue with it. I did it once though, but I was on the other side of the world, drunk, with a bunch of people I had just met along with my fiance and one of our bffs, singing Wannabe by the Spice Girls. I sounded worse than Cameron Diaz in My Best Friend's Wedding, or at least I thought so when I thought about it the next morning.

Every year, at Christmas time, karaoke rears its horrid head. I realize it's all in good fun, but for some reason, I can't take the (magic) mic into my hands and sing. It happens at my in-law's Christmas gathering and then again at my family's gathering. I'm not tone deaf and I think my voice is decent so it's not that I have issues with singing. And, I don't really get stage fright, so it's not that either.

There was one time I found myself in a very uncomfortable karaoke situation, and I ended up mentally compiling a list of things I would rather do or have happen to me than sing karaoke. Here are a few items on my list (note that at the time, I was NOT pregnant):

• Get hit by a car (mildly, of course)
• Run a marathon in the dead of winter
• Get a full body tattoo
• Go through 20hr labour, without an epidural, delivering decatuplets
• Participate in a polar bear dip
• Go back to being 12 and playing piano in front of people I barely know for my parents' satisfaction, making 20 mistakes per piece performed
• Smell my brother's worst fart...for an hour

Just a few. The list got pretty long, as that night, karaoke went on forever...

BUT, I think this year, I just might try it out, face my "issue" and then maybe it'll be easier from here on in. We'll see.

Must get bootleg

(because I won't be able to see this in the theatre...)

COLLABO...

This whole thing not only makes me laugh really hard, but it makes me happy. Here are two from my list of my most favouritest celebrities in the whole wide world, collaborating, something that I would never expect would happen. Enjoy!

Click here.

Third of Three

Today, I begin my third trimester. It’s kinda bittersweet. While I’m SO ecstatic about the baby coming in three months or less, I feel a little sad that this is sort of the beginning of the end of feeling the little movements inside me along with all the little pangs of joy that have been keeping me extra positive and full of faith and gratefulness over the past six months. I know that when the baby arrives, these will be even more amplified by the baby, outside my womb, but I still feel a little sad about it.

Being pregnant is hands-down the best I’ve ever felt. It’s a crazy thing to know that there is life inside me; that there is a person inside me; that I am housing a miracle in my body and for nine months, I am his/her home; that this being in my body was made by God with the love my husband and I share. And in three months, this baby will be ready to live with my husband and I to witness in person and experience the very love that helped to create him/her.

I know this won’t be the last third trimester I’ll experience, as we are already looking forward to having and hoping to be blessed with more children. But for now, this is my last trimester and I’m going to enjoy every crazy moment of it.

Here comes the torch!

One of our old friends from high school (and elementary school) was blessed to have the opportunity to be one of the Olympic torch bearers yesterday. Too cool!

YAY! JOANNE!

Aren't you sleepy, Baby?

Today is Thursday. I feel like the baby hasn’t slept since Monday afternoon. My belly has been looking like it’s housing a wild animal, eager to get out and run around. It’s bizarre. At the same time though, I’ve never been more pleased to be kicked, punched, elbowed, kneed and poked.

I don’t know how some mothers have been telling me that the movements get annoying. It really doesn’t, or at least to me it doesn’t. One of my friends told me she thinks it’s one of the best parts of being pregnant and I agree (or at least for this pregnancy so far).

A lot of the time, when I’m at home, I sit around with my shirt bunched up above my belly so I can watch the movements. It’s most amusing, really. (And the men of the house don’t mind my bare-bellyness.)

Here's what I've been looking like all week (note: this isn't me...I really wouldn't shoot a video with me, lying there naked with the parts covered)

A Petty Dilemma

So I’ve mentioned before that after 2007, Mr.S and I have a shortlist (or well, it’s not really that short) of artists whose concerts we MUST go to, however, there are some events going on in early March. We also have some films we’ve been waiting for that just happen to be coming out at that time as well.

To Mention Two...

I just found out that Alicia Keys will be in Toronto. I’m dying to see her in concert. She’ll be here over a week before our due date, but I don’t want to run the risk of my water breaking and making a mess all over the theatre seats. How nasty! Who knows, maybe the baby will love her music so much, he’ll wanna come out!

There’s also Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland which, as you know, I’ve been waiting for eagerly. It comes out on the 5th of March and I’m hoping I can hold out that long.

And if I find, as March approaches, that I can’t handle sitting somewhere for too long, I can wait for the DVD and next Alicia Keys concert. For now I’ll just enjoy the ads, trailers and Element of Freedom CD.

My Guilty Pleasure

It's Tuesday night, my lip has been bleeding for over half an hour* (what the?), and because of this, I can't start baking yet. So, what do I do? Flip channels until I'm intrigued by something enough to stick with it. So after deciding on Mickey's Christmas Carol, I decide I need a commercial channel.

Flip, flip, flip. MTV it is!! There's an update on the mamas from...

I admit, I've seen every episode, so really, the update isn't really and update. It's more of a recap with footage I've already seen. I cry again when they have a segment on all of their labours and births. And then I find out there's a spin-off: Teen Mom. Some of the moms from 16 and Pregnant are in the spin-off, and it pretty much showcases the drama-filled rollercoaster of life as a teen mom with a new baby. The first two episodes are on tonight and I'm watching them. And just like with the original show, I forget that I'm 27 and pregnant and not 16.

*I wasn't peeling it, I swear. It just started bleeding while I was eating dinner and I noticed it when there was blood dripping down my glass when I went for a sip. EEK!

Bellywatch 2010 - 25ish weeks

Bellywatch - Santa Edition...

Okay, really...

For my fellow Shorties

Has anyone ever been to Naturally Petite? I just found out about it and am thinking about checking it out just to see what they have. If you've been, let me know!

December 14

Even though they haven’t been “legally” married for over twenty years now, I still put my parents’ anniversary on my calendars. For some reason though, I’m not sure why I’ve never actually calculated how long they would have been married if my Mom was still here.

I calculated today and it would have been 41 years.

I wonder what it will be like 40 years from now with Mr. S. I have ideas and think about all sorts of things and I picture our kids to be a similar picture of what my siblings and I are like now. It gets me really excited.

And so, today, when Mr. S gets home, I’ll make sure to give him extra hugs and kisses, because I’m pretty sure that my parents didn’t imagine their 40-years-later to be what it is today.

xoxoxoxoxo

Is it too early to have a birthday wishlist?

I just found out about this:It's a Yudu product for creating your own graphics on t-shirts. OMG.

Imagine the things I can do with this thing. I usually make my own graphic tees with iron-ons, which crack when the fabric stretches :( I don't own a silk screen press. This would rock my socks.

Now if I can just manage to get it before the pregnancy is over so all these maternity graphic tee ideas in my head can be regurgitated on cotton.

Prenatal fitness

With the snow on the ground now, I've closed my prenatal running for this pregnancy. Although I didn't get to do it as often as I initially intended, it was quite an experience. When I started, it was pretty easy, but over the past month, I found it increasingly challenging. The extra weight on my knees wasn't easily welcomed and so I had to taper it off. I never did run a long distance; the goal was to incorporate cardio into my regime, not to achieve longer and longer distances, as I'm accustomed to. I have to admit though, that it was so tempting to tack on a bit more each time. I know next time I'm pregnant, if it happens to be the right time of year, I'd like to participate in at least a 5k. I know I'm capable.

Now though, I've got more time to do more prenatal yoga. It's a bit different from regular yoga in that there are a lot more easy asanas, more meditation, more stretches and more focus on breathing. Perhaps the biggest difference, though, is the emphasis on getting in touch with the baby. My favourite asana is sukhasana, with one hand over my heart and the other over my belly. I admit, the first time I did it, I cried. It's such a nice pose, and of course, quite easy.

The baby really likes exercise. Nearly every time, when I'm done, there's a LOT of movement. I guess it's entertaining from the inside. Maybe it's like being inside a working machine or something.

A White Blanket

Mr. S and I took a few days off work and headed to NY this weekend...BUFFALO, NY to be exact (just when you started picturing a post full of pictures of Times Square, Central Park and Serendipity yummies...). We did some crazy Christmas shopping and it was so pleasant. The malls and outlets weren't packed, people were in good spirits and we got a lot done. Excellent trip. We high-fived to that several times. (We high-five to everything good.)

As we were closing in on our shopping trip before leaving for home, we overheard some fellow shoppers talking about the snow outside. SNOW?!!? We took a glance out the windows of the next set of doors we walked by and there it was -- snow, and lots of it, coming down fast. This would certainly slow down our trip home, we thought to ourselves. We haven't gotten our snow tires yet and we haven't seen what Natalie (our car -- I never did write about her, did I?) can do in the snow.

We made our last purchase--scratch that, second last--(because a few minutes later, we found ourselves in Target buying a snow brush) and headed outside. We weren't parked far at all and by the time we got in the car and closed the doors, we were covered in snow. Mr. S tried to get rid of as much snow as he could with his sleeve and I opened and closed all the windows to minimize his need to do this. We sat in the car, thinking about how this was our first snow experience of the upcoming winter and how it's so strange that it was now, of all times and how it was so heavy so quickly.

Then we remembered that this white blanket that was draping itself on us was yet another sign that the baby's coming and coming fast. When this blanket decides it's been here for a long enough time and begins to melt away, our little baby will be here.

The drive home really wasn't bad afterall. It was kind of nice, warm and toasty in our seats, listening (and singing haha) to Christmas music (the Jackson 5 Christmas music was especially amusing to sing along to), admiring the snow falling and the drivers' extra caution all around us. And what do you know, crossing the border took us 30 seconds.

Let it snow.

How not to behave in church

(taking place in whispers before mass started...)

K: My feet are so hot and they aren't fitting in my shoes.

J: At least it's not summer, because then you'd be really swollen.

K: But if it were summer, I'd get to wear flip flops.

J: You can't wear flip flops everywhere though.

K: Sure you can! Where can't you wear flip flops?

J: At church.

K: You can wear flip flops at church. Jesus wore flip flops.

J: No he didn't, he wore Birkenstocks.

K: BAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Zzzzzzz

I found out today that I've been snoring...for the past month or so. Mr. S never told me. I only found out because I caught myself doing it and was shocked...and then he mentioned I've been doing it for a while now. Darn, just when I thought I was one of the exceptions to the "pregnant women snore rule".

THR33

So I had my usual appointment with my doctor today and I was weighed, as usual. Guess what?

For the first time in my life, I finally weigh

3 digits!!!

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hyperactive S.

I've been feeling movement in my belly for several weeks now. I think I mentioned before that it's more distinct...not gas-like. I know the baby's sleeping patterns for the most part, so I sorta know when I'm in for some rumblies in my tumbly. Well, in the past two or three weeks, this child has really been moving. There was one night on my way home on the subway when I could swear this child knew that there would soon be less room to play, and so saw it fit to do somersaults. It was quite a strange, but welcomed, sensation. I imagine that if I had the opportunity (or the audacity) to watch my belly on that ride home, it'd look like my belly had been invaded by an alien. (I watched the V mini-series on TV when I was a kid, and now that it's a regular TV show and I'm pregnant, all sorts of memories from the 80's series are coming back to me.)

It would seem that this child has a real sense of humour. He must know that I enjoy feeling movement so much, I won't get angry at what I feel, and so he thinks it's funny to kick me in funny places. Mr. S says he thinks the baby has his sense of humour.

"Funny place" #1: my bladder

I know that not too long from now, I'll really be spending more time on the can or looking for one because he'll be sitting on my bladder, but for now, he likes to kick it. It seems that he knows exactly when to kick it too because it often happens when I have to pee. Maybe he thinks it's too full and is crowding his space and thinks if he kicks it, it'll go away.

"Funny place" #2: my colon

This feels WEIRD. Unlike with my bladder, this is pretty random. He's probably actually just kicking downward and all my guts and stuff happen to jiggle my colon. I don't know exactly how close he is to it. Luckily, I've got my colon-control intact, and so this doesn't make me have to go on emergency potty-runs...or have potty runs (ew!).

At the same time though, I think he's learning to distinguish between my baby-talk and my stop-kicking-my-_____-talk. Or at least, he knows what, "Hey! Stop that! You think that's funny?" means. I'm teaching him early ;)

Something about Parenting and "Childing"

I got another good GOOP newsletter yesterday. I love Gwyneth Paltrow when I read some of these things. Anyway, I found yesterday’s particularly interesting, inspiring and informative. As I was telling Mr. S last night, lately I find myself enjoying reading things about life and finding that these things I’m reading are already things I’ve incorporated into my quest for spiritual growth. It makes me feel that I’m already well on my way to self improvement, and of course, that's a good thing.

The newsletter was a BE one, my favourite of all her different “GOOPs”. Here’s the question she asked several people:

“Relationships with our parents are notoriously difficult. When we children grow into adults, year after year, the same buttons still get pushed, the same grudges resurface. After years of repeatedly dealing with the same hang-ups, and for some, years of therapy, why is it so hard to accept our parents for who they are? What can we do to be better children to our parents?”

Here is an excerpt from the latest Goop – BE.

“There are no coincidences in this life. When it comes to the topic of family, we are each born into our situations for a specific reason...In order for us to be happy and fulfilled, to reveal our potential, and to accomplish what we came to this world to accomplish, there must be a process of change we go through. Sometimes that change is effected simply by ourselves; other times it is people or events that push us in ways that force us to change....

“Some of us are born to parents who judged, ignored, or hurt us. The choice for us becomes, are we going to be a slave to our past – “Why did they do this to me?” – or are we going to grow from the pain – “Why did I need them to do this to me?” One focuses on blame and victimhood; the other puts us in control of our lives...Too often we ask the wrong why, and it becomes very difficult to move on...When we realize our soul needed to come into this particular household in order to break through, to grow from, and to become the person we need to become, we begin to let go of the anger, blame, disappointment – and all the guises of the victim mentality. When we realize how necessary this was for us, we can then forgive and grow thankful. Ultimately, when we reach this level of thankfulness, having gone through the stages of change, transformation, letting go, growth, and forgiveness, we come to a point where we can start helping our parents." - Michael Berg

You can read it in its entirety here. I think so much of what is being said can be applied to all relationships, not just those we have with our parents.

MORE ALICE!!!

How to for new Moms

Obviously, I've been thinking about being a mother more and more as the months have been going by. I think in the back of my mind, I've always been collecting bits of motherhood I've observed, read, learned and experienced (of course, more so after the huge section of my head reserved for weddings moved from the back...to the front...to oblivion). These days though, I find, with my husband, that we're becoming sponges, paying more attention to things around us, making mental lists of things we want to do with our kids, things we don't want to do with our kids, things we need to do to ensure that our kids are this way (and not that way!), the list is endless really.

What is it though, that I need to do to ensure that I become a good mother, the mother I've always dreamt of being? I've had parts of this conversation with my siblings, my parents and friends and these days, I find that chunks of it are with my husband, with myself and with God.

As I get closer and closer to being a "full-fledged* Mom**", I get closer and closer to living my biggest dream. Even associating the word, "Mom" with myself gives me this sense of purpose, fulfilling purpose. Whenever I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I gave the usual answer of a profession or occupation. As long as I can remember though, my real answer was wife and mother, that I was sure of, then -insert career of the moment here-.

Not only that though, I feel like all my dreams aligned with that one big dream. I felt unmotivated in university and instead of focusing on one thing directed towards a specific profession, I found myself delving into all sorts of unrelated fields, eager just to finish, so I could work and begin putting together my own life so I could get on with my plans. While I did well in school and jobs I've had, I didn't/don't felt real emotional and spiritual links to them. Those have been reserved for my passions -- my boyfriend-now-husband, my family, my friends and my independence. But once I got going, realizing dream after dream, I got going.

And now, here I am.

I'm trying to piece together all the little bits I've collected and I think I know what I'm doing and am going to do, but I find myself wondering if I'm ready. Am I ready to lose sleep to a crying baby, then to a teenager coming home past their curfew? Am I ready to discipline a child despite how much I want to either laugh or cry? Am I ready for tantrums, innocent questions, strange misunderstandings, going back to imagining worlds, and all sorts of other stuff we forget about as we get older? Am I ready for the cooing and the crawling and the walking and the running (oh yes, the running!)? Am I ready to chase this child through life? Am I ready to let them go when it's time? I hope it comes naturally. I feel ready in almost every way and in all the important aspects, but I think I won't be completely ready until this little baby has completed the move from my imagination, to my heart, to my womb, to the world.

My husband assures me that I'm going to be a good mother. The first time he ever expressed it was one time long ago, before we were even married, at my parents' house. We were in the kitchen and I was getting us something to eat and as I was putting it all together, he sorta just blurted it out. I couldn't really understand what made him say it then, but I believed him. I thought about the moment for years to come. It's one thing for you to think it all your life and another thing for your partner to confirm his belief in it too.

These days, since we talk about it a lot more, he tells me about the things he sees us doing one day and how excited he is to see me as a Mother. I think he dreams about it as much as I do with him and the baby. He patiently answers my questions, especially the ones when I'm seeking to fill in blanks that I had growing up motherless for a time, and never ceases to console me when I find myself going back to that challenging period in my life. He reminds me in so many ways that despite that time, I've had and have many people to fill that part of my life with overflowing love and lessons, enough to make my own Mom sure that I'm going to be a good Mom.

My faith in myself and in God becomes stronger every day as I pray for His guidance. There isn't a more important "job" in the world than the one I'm about to have. I don't take this Mom-thing lightly (if you couldn't tell already) and I know I need to be prepared. I know that whatever happens, I have Him to cheer me on when I'm happy, to console me when I'm sad, to keep me strong when I'm weak, to give me energy when I'm tired, to give me more patience when I'm at my wits end, to keep me faithful when I falter, to love me all the time. I know He has equipped me with everything I need to be a good Mother. I just need to keep remembering that.

I am strong.

I was built for this.

And I must be getting some of this down because I'm already fretting about being a Mother and isn't that one of the things good Mothers do?

*full-fledged as in not a "Mom-to-be" as us preggies are called -- aren't we Mothers already? I mean, just because our babies aren't out of our bodies, doesn't make us sub-Moms...right?

**yes, it requires a capital M

I'm in for a treat

"This week marks the beginning of some serious weight gain. Your baby's weight in the next four weeks alone should double (and you may feel as though yours is too)."

-From my daily What To Expect email

I’m not THAT weepy

You know how they say not to mess with pregnant women because they’re all emotional and full of unstable levels of hormones? I’d like to say that I don’t think I’m all that bad, although, some may beg to differ. I admit though that I was a tad off (that’s what I’m calling it) in the earlier stages of this pregnancy.

I do understand what they mean though when they say that pregnant women are weepy. I don’t know how it is/was for every other pregnant woman, but I don’t find that I break down more often or anything. I’m not an emotional wreck. In fact, I find that I’m feeling more expressive and more cheerful in general. I mean, what do I really have to complain about?

But, as I said, I understand what they mean by weepy. In the odd instance when I do find myself feeling sad or frustrated and start crying, it’s quite a challenge to stop. I sit there, wondering why my tear ducts are so hyperactive and if this is what makes some women look older after they have kids; that the tears are so plentiful that they wrinkle women’s faces.

Poor Mr. S, after thinking I’m fine after a crying bout goes back to his business and then finds me crying again the next time he looks at me, thinking, “you’re STILL crying?” but trying his hardest to console me…AGAIN. It must be a trying thing to be the partner of a pregnant woman.

But I swear, I’m not THAT weepy.

MORE Alice!!

Bellywatch 2010 - 20(ish) weeks

Note: I'm going to try to do one every 5 weeks...

How I Woke Up This Morning

The baby woke me up this morning. I know I have a lot of mornings like this in my future, but right now, I really don’t mind at all. I welcome it with open arms.

I’ve had the fortune of feeling plenty of activity in my belly lately. It’s such an amazing feeling and is just another thing to add to why I love being pregnant (I’ll get back to that in a sec).

One of the good things about the movement now is that it has become distinct from the feeling of gas. I know, it sounds horrible, but the first movements really were easy to confuse with feelings of gas. Now, I get why the books and some women say it feels like butterflies. It’s such a nice feeling. It's even better when you can feel the movement from outside your belly as well as inside. Mr. S gets really giddy.

So this morning, I woke up to kicking or punching (or maybe stationary running!)…thankfully not from Mr.S, since he was already up getting ready for work. What a wonderful way to start the day. I didn’t even mind that this meant I was up almost half an hour before I usually get up.


And oh yes, I love being pregnant. I understand now, post-morning sickness, why women don’t mind getting pregnant over and over again. Even though I’ve heard that the last few months are uncomfortable in another sense, I hope I can continue to be as enthusiastic as I am now.

36 Rules of Life

My coworker showed this to me and I found some of them quite amusing, some quite true and some ridiculous.

1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

2. Don’t worry about what people think, they don’t do it very often.

3. Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian anymore than standing in a garage makes you a car.

4. Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

5. If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you’ve never tried before.

6. My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.

7. Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.

8. A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person.

9. For every action, there is an equal and opposite government program.

10. If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip.

11. Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks.

12. A conscience is what hurts when all of your other parts feel so good.

13. Eat well, stay fit, die anyway.

14. Men are from earth. Women are from earth. Deal with it.

15. No man has ever been shot while doing the dishes.

16. A balanced diet is a muffin in each hand.

17. Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.

18. Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.

19. Junk is something you’ve kept for years and throw away three weeks before you need it.

20. There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.

21. Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.

22. By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends.

23. Thou shalt not weigh more than thy refrigerator.

24. Someone who thinks logically provides nice contrast to the real world.

25. It ain’t the jeans that make your butt look fat.

26. If you had to identify in one word the reason why the human race has not achieved its full potential, that word would be ‘meetings’.

27. There is a very fine line between ‘hobby’ and ‘mental illness.’

28. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.

29. You should not confuse your career with your life.

30. Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance.

31. Never lick a steak knife.

32. The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.

33. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.

34. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she’s pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.

35. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that deep down inside we ALL believe we are good drivers.

36. Your friends love you anyway.

More Alice!

I became a fan of the Mad Hatter on Facebook today just so I could see this: (one of three)

If you're a FB junkie, become his fan too and like his post and he'll show us more!!!!