She's How Old????

This may seem kind of random, but I almost flipped out the other day when I was browsing through an old magazine and discovered that actress Toni Collette is only a year older than I am. Am I the only one who thought she was...older? (Of course, this starts all those questions like, do I look that old? Does the makeup just make her look old?) No offense to Toni Collette (like she reads this blog or something)--I think she is a really good actress. But seriously...she's only 34??

(You can tell I have a lot to think about these days. Maybe it is time for school to start.)

The Last Days of Summer

School starts for teachers on Thursday, so I'm enjoying these last few days of vacation. On one hand, I'm ready for school to start--I'm excited about teaching 10th Grade Honors and 11th Grade American Lit this year, and I'm also excited about having my planning period first period and I also "should" be ending the day on a somewhat positive note because one of my honors classes is the last class of the day. (I say this because for the last two years, my 7th period classes have been not so great--they would leave me feeling defeated at the end of the school day.) All of these things are things I'm looking forward to. I've also been getting a little bored and restless lately, not really wanting to tackle anything that requires effort, but tired of just doing nothing.

On the other hand, I know that once the papers pile up and the grading begins, I'll be ready for a break. And I've enjoyed much of this summer, having occasional lunches with Darryl and other friends, getting the house organized and cleaned out (not fun at the time but feels good now), working on the baby's room, going to the pool, vacationing with family in Pigeon Forge, and relaxing. I've also enjoyed spending time with my girl, Abby:

You can tell that she has enjoyed a lazy summer, too.

So today I plan to have lunch with Darryl, do laundry, and work on some school things, and tomorrow I will have my glucose screening test done (fun, fun!), relax, and then have dinner with my friend Lisa.

Here's to the last days of summer!

This made me laugh and laugh...

Saturday night I was channel surfing and ended up watching an episode on E! of Saturday Night Live featuring a pre-DUI arrest Lindsay Lohan. This Debbie Downer sketch made me laugh so hard that it took me a while to get to sleep! I love it when they get cracked up. It all starts to fall apart about two minutes in and then unravels from there. Enjoy!

Last Full Week of Vacation

I haven't posted much this week because, frankly, not much has been going on. Here are the highlights:

--I met Kim Thursday for dessert (cake--yum!), and she wanted to know if I ever finished The Shipping News. I did. I thought the book was just okay, but I'm not going to judge it too harshly because seriously, people, my brain is just all over the place. My lack of focus possibly has something to do with my so-so reaction to it. (When a dead body was discovered, I actually had to flip back through the book to find out who it was because I couldn't remember. That's how bad my mind is right now.)

--I bought three pairs of pants. That might not seem like much of a highlight, but if you knew how hard it was to find a decent pair of maternity pants, you'd understand what an accomplishment this is.

--I accomplished some things for school. I now have my honors class planned out for the semester. My next task is to plan American Lit (11th grade) for the semester. (FYI--I'm taking a much-needed break from seniors this year. I've taught 11th before, so I'm not really doing a new prep. I'm looking forward to the change.)

Aside from those three things, I've just been enjoying my last opportunity to relax. I've watched TV (specifically online episodes of Friday Night Lights), played the Wii, taken some naps, gone to the pool. I'm soaking up the last bit of summer I can.

The Beckhams

Am I the only one who doesn't really care that the Beckhams are in America? I'm adding them to the list of people I'm sick of hearing about.

The Weekend in Review

Darryl and I went to Ingles for a "snack run" this afternoon, and this is what we bought:I have my glucose test next week...should I be concerned?

Other things of importance this weekend...we are pretty much finished with cleaning/organizing the house. Finally! My original goal was to finish before the weekend, but Darryl informed me that it would be impossible. He was right. It's finished now, though, thank goodness. When the organization guru was on Oprah a couple of weeks ago, he said that most households have "that" room that is never shown to company and always has its door closed. That room was our office, but not any more! Now it is the baby's room, all neat and tidy.

Yesterday we saw Ocean's Thirteen. It was just okay for me, but Darryl seemed to like it. I asked Darryl afterwards if it seemed slow because I was sleepy or if I was sleepy because it was slow. I liked the first two better. (Many people didn't like the second one, but I did.)

I should finish The Shipping News tonight. If I do, I'll consider this past week a success. This coming week, I really, really, really need to focus on school stuff. My main goal is to get my 10th Honors class planned out for the semester. This whole "turning my class over to a sub" thing has me a bit stressed because I have no idea yet who this sub will be. I need to structure my class so I'm leaving the sub with something "doable" for the last six weeks of the semester.

So this is my last full week of vacation. I hope to get in plenty of prep time, pool time, and even nap/reading/TV watching time.

Funk, Furniture, Friday Night Lights, and Harry Potter

I'm just combining it all into one post.

Funk. Yesterday I experienced what Darryl likes to call a "funk." I was just in a bottomless pit of self-pity and despair for about six hours yesterday. Do I really have anything to feel bad about? No. Shouldn't I be thankful for how good life is now? Yes. I'm blaming it on hormones.

Furniture. The dresser/changing table and a nightstand were delivered for the baby's room yesterday. (We don't really need the nightstand right now, but we're kind of thinking "long term" with this furniture. I hope Coretta likes it because she's going to be using it until she's in high school!) That means we have all our furniture except for a glider that probably won't get here for at least another month. I also received the curtain rods I ordered online. Seriously, people, how hard is it to find a white curtain rod? Apparently it's very hard as I looked EVERYWHERE for one and finally had to order one from Target online. Darryl hung the valances last night. Everything is coming together. Once we get a few things on the walls, I'll post some pictures.

Friday Night Lights. Tim and a few other people (and even TV critics) have been singing the praises of this show for quite a while, so I decided to jump on the bandwagon. (How many cliches can I use in one sentence?) I found the episodes on NBC's website, and now I'm hooked. I'm about four episodes into it and really like it so far. While my mother might argue that I already watch too much TV, in all actuality, I don't really have many "series" that I watch. Lost isn't coming back until February (I think), and Gilmore Girls is now over. I think FNL, Grey's, and The Office might be my main shows next year.

Harry Potter.Whenever a new Harry Potter book comes out, I wish I read Harry Potter. I love the excited frenzy everyone gets into over a book--I feel as though I should be a part of it. I haven't read any of the books, and I'm not even sure I would like them, but I feel like I'm missing out. Does that make sense?

Goals for the Week (and More on Big Daddy)

I realized that I failed to conclude the story of Big Daddy, the not-so-bright student in the Labor and Delivery class. The third week of our class, which happened to be the day after the 4th, Big Daddy and his wife weren't there, but several other couples were out too, I guess because of the holiday. Well, our last class was this past Thursday, and Big Daddy was back, but he was different: cleanly shaven and quiet, no stupid questions. Darryl and I determined that he really was stoned the first two classes. (Seriously...we think he was smoking the Mary Jane out in the parking lot or something.) And that's it for Big Daddy.

I had a rude awakening this morning when I actually looked at a calendar to see how many days left until school starts. Not many. Not only do I need to get some things accomplished, but I also need to work on being more active or else school is going to DEMOLISH me by the end of the first week. I need goals for this week. Here they are:

1--I want the house back in order by the end of the week.
2--I need to finish The Shipping News. (How long can it take Amy to read a book?)
3--I need to get up at a decent hour--oh, let's say 7:00--this week. I've been sleeping until 8, people.
4--I need to cook dinner every night until the weekend. No more relying on Chick-fil-a or Sonic or pizza to bail me out of cooking. :)

I would also post something about needing to walk for exercise every day, but let's not push it. Maybe that can be a goal for next week.

Saturday the 14th

We now have carpet! It looks really good, much better than what we had. I'm not bothering to post pictures because it isn't THAT exciting.

While the carpet was being installed, I went to a movie. I wasn't really in a movie mood, but I needed a way to pass the time. (Darryl was afraid the dust/carpet-dye smell might get to me.) I wanted a comedy, and I wanted something with an easy-to-follow plot because I don't have much concentration and focus these days. I decided to see License to Wed with Robin Williams, Mandy Moore, and the dude who plays Jim on The Office. (I'm too lazy to look up how to spell his last name.) It's not a great movie...definitely a rental. It has a few funny moments, and it does feature some of my favorite actors from The Office, and I do like Mandy Moore...

Last night, we had dinner at Maggiano's with Darryl's Uncle Sandy and Aunt Carol Sue. It was really good to see them again. They come to Atlanta once or twice a year, and we all try to get together when they come up.

Today we're going to try to get our house back together again. (Jen, right now, our house is similar to that house on Oprah the other day because we have junk from all the bedrooms in the garage and in the living room!) Lots of fun!

Friday the 13th

We have no carpet.

The lovely business who installs carpet for Home Depot insists that we called this morning and cancelled our installation. That is not true. When Darryl went to Home Depot to complain, Home Depot basically said that they have never had a problem with this company, and apparently the company thinks Darryl and I are lying about calling this morning. They're supposed to come in the morning, but that doesn't take away from the fact that Darryl took off a day from work today and that we've been accused of lying. Whatever.

On the upside, though, and more importantly, I had a doctor's (or, to be more specific, a midwife's) appointment this morning and everything is going well. She even said my weight gain is fine! Even better! To celebrate, I had a brownie.

Cleaning and Organizing Woes

Our carpet is being installed tomorrow--yay!--but I really hate doing all the work it takes beforehand...cleaning out drawers, bookshelves, closets, etc. When all is said an done, our house should be, for the most part, all nicely cleaned and organized.

I don't know if anyone saw Oprah the other day when she had on the organization guru. Anyway, he talked about how we tend to hold on to lots of stuff for sentimental reasons, but we don't really DO anything with those items, so they might as well be tossed. He also said that if we go through a pile and hesitate on whether or not we should keep something, we probably shouldn't keep it. That inspired me to throw away a lot of college T-shirts that I had been saving in a drawer (saving for what, I don't know), and I also am sending lots of things to Goodwill, things I probably should have sent long before now.

I've moved on to my closet, which has really become a hazard zone with all the shoes in the floor. Here's the thing about me and shoe racks: I like the idea of a shoe rack, but in all honesty, I don't use them, and they end up just taking up space. I'm thinking about just getting a few crates--one for black shoes, one for brown, and one for everything else. At least that will get them out of the middle of the closet floor.

For the record, I am not "nesting." My impression of nesting is that it is more out of a driven want or need to get things "settled." I pretty much feel anything but driven these days.

Comfort Foods

I had really been wanting some spaghetti, and I was just going to make the same old spaghetti I usually make, but then I ran across Paula Deen's Baked Spaghetti and decided to give it a try. I thought it was delicious. (Darryl isn't a huge spaghetti fan, so he wasn't turning cartwheels over it or anything. Trust me, though--it was good.) If you ever decide to make it, I would suggest making the layer of sauce on the bottom very scant because I really didn't have enough sauce for the top layer.


I also love cake, and I've really been into the cupcake thing lately...not sure why. I made these a few weeks ago and they were a hit with Darryl, me, and some of his coworkers, so I decided to make them again. I confess that the cake is Duncan Hines mix. The frosting is from the recipe on the Nestle cocoa container. Delicious!

Vanity Post

I'm just in a posting mood today, I guess...

I've had a few requests for a profile shot, so here you go. I'm 22 weeks. I have 18 (at least) to go. I'm going to be huge. I'm not going to sweat it, though. I've already decided that as soon as I feel physically recovered after the baby is born, I'm taking myself to the local Weight Watchers, a la Jenny McCarthy, to get the baby weight off.

I'm excited about two recent purchases. First, I finally found some jeans that I love from Gap Maternity. I've searched for weeks for some jeans, but nothing seemed to fit right. Gap was having an online sale this past weekend, so I decided to order two pairs and just take back what didn't fit. (That's something I love about Gap Online...I can just return everything to the store instead of having to mail it.) Well, both pairs fit. One pair fits well now, but I think the other pair, which is a bit looser, will fit just right in a couple of months. Hallelujah!

Also, I have Rosacea, something I've had for about ten years or so. Pregnancy certainly hasn't helped it, but I found a skin care line at Kohl's--Good Skin--that has products for red, irritated skin. I bought a starter kit yesterday, and so far, I'm encouraged. I've noticed an improvement already.

I'm not really sure why I posted all that--I think that women just like to share when they find some good products! There's nothing like the high that comes after a good shopping experience. :)

Democratic Dreams

Last night, I had one of those nights where I dreamed all night long. While I can recall about six or seven of them, here are the two most interesting:

1--I dreamed that I was having dinner around a square table in the backyard of my childhood home with my parents, Al Gore, and actress Jennifer Connelly. (She was in several of my dreams--one that included us going to church together in my hometown, and another that had us drinking coffee at Starbucks together. Not sure what's up with that.)

2--I dreamed I was playing board games and smoking cigars with Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and another presidential hopeful I can't remember.

Any attempts at analysis are welcome! :)

Pic of my Dr. Scholl's shoes, per Jessica's request

My friend Jessica, who is a very fashion-forward shoe fan, wanted to see my Dr. Scholl's tennis shoes. Can we still be friends, Jessica, even though I own a pair of these? I did at least try to get the cutest offering in the Dr. Scholl's selection!

Baby Registries, Tennis Shoes, and More

Darryl and I (well, mostly Darryl) have really been getting a lot done with baby stuff. Darryl painted the baby's room this weekend, and it looks great. (We're getting new carpet installed some time in the next week or so, so he wanted to paint before then.)

Saturday, we registered at Babies R' Us and Target. (I'm not saying that as a plug for gifts, trust me; I'm just detailing our progress.) Wow, was that a project. We already had a good idea of what we wanted, but still. It took about three hours, and we had to take a nap afterwards to recover. While it was kind of fun, I'm glad that has been checked off the list.

Yesterday, I cashed in whatever coolness I had when I bought a pair of Dr. Scholl's tennis shoes. I decided that I really need to be doing some walking and mild exercise so that I don't turn into a complete slug, but my hideously swollen feet won't fit into any "regular" tennis shoes. My Dr. Scholl's aren't very pretty, but they are slip-on (yay!) and have more flexibility than Nikes and the like. I don't know what I'm going to do when school starts--seriously, I may be wearing flip-flops with everything.

Is there such a thing as Pregnancy ADD? I have been reading the same book--The Shipping News--for six weeks. I like it, but I just am not in in the mindframe to read a book with a plot, nor do I have the focus to watch a 2-hour movie. What's wrong with me?