Rick made the mistake of renting Everybody's Fine with Robert De Niro last Tuesday night when I had had a tough day and was just feeling down, emotional, and hormonal. He rented six movies in all but that was the one I was drawn to, of course.
Big mistake.
Boy did I ever start the waterworks. It's a sad movie to begin with and I surely would have cried if I weren't hormonal, but the combo was a one-two knock out. As the credits rolled, I must have gone through another ten tissues as I sobbed while my shoulders hopped up and down and my breathing hiccuped. I was a complete mess. I guess I needed the release.
He said afterward that I need to note on my blog "Husbands: don't ever rent a drama when your pregnant wife is having a tough day. If you do by accident, grab the tissues and call the insurance guy to make sure you have flood coverage because the emotional waterworks are coming."
Moral of the story: Men- learn from the mistakes of those who have gone before you, save the dramas for the non-prego mommas.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Target Shopping vs. The Compact
Luckily I took Rick with me so I wouldn't feel so bad going to Target Friday night. You would think people have better things to do on a Friday in the city, but no. The place was hopping.
In my effort not to buy things for the year... I must report that I did very well. We got the cleaning products and daily necessities we needed - diapers, wipes, toothpaste, tissues, etc. And we only bought two things that I would count as "questionable". Batteries for a frother we bought at Ikea a year ago and haven't used since we didn't have the proper battery for it (but we bought the smallest possible two-pack), and sippy cups for Ada since we only have one large one and four small ones and it's the one item she needs for daycare in March. I think both fall under necessities so we're good.
My mom, in her desperate attempt to be supportive of me and thereby my commitment to The Compact, or her crazy love of pictures, offered to purchase the extra sheet of photos from Ada's Valentine's that we didn't use so she can have one on the fridge and in her home office and her work office and one for a friend. All just to save me a little guilt (and have more opportunities to stare at her bubbly little grandchild.) I'll be delivering it next weekend. :)
I will say that I am spending way more money on food these days, but I think that is due to the fact that I'm learning to cook and buying way more food and crazy ingredients than ever before. That makes me want to start composting...we'll see about that. I'm still in the research phase.
And the one thing I really want that I'm not giving in to...yet... are things for my camera. My photography class I'm taking this month is causing a bit of a dilemma. My instructor suggested we get a UV lens cover to protect our camera lenses - a $5 insurance policy for a $100 lens and a smart investment. And there is a software he is training us on that is $250 or so but I might be able to find that used or in a previous version so that's a new challenge. And he told me it isn't smart to connect the camera to the computer to download the photos, but instead use a memory card reader to do that. Easy enough since I have the card reader, but now I want another card so I can switch out between the two. Turns out I have another card, but it's in Granny's digital photo frame displaying adorable photos of Ada and doesn't have the capacity that I need. And I think I have a third card, but I'm not sure where Rick put it last. (It's always his fault since he borrows my camera for work and then leaves important things like the memory card at work so we go on vacation for a weekend and have to buy a new card -- but I never see the original one again, type things.) So there is hope for that yet.
Moral of the story: I must admit, I'm still loving the compact and the effect it's having on our bank account. Amen to that.
In my effort not to buy things for the year... I must report that I did very well. We got the cleaning products and daily necessities we needed - diapers, wipes, toothpaste, tissues, etc. And we only bought two things that I would count as "questionable". Batteries for a frother we bought at Ikea a year ago and haven't used since we didn't have the proper battery for it (but we bought the smallest possible two-pack), and sippy cups for Ada since we only have one large one and four small ones and it's the one item she needs for daycare in March. I think both fall under necessities so we're good.
My mom, in her desperate attempt to be supportive of me and thereby my commitment to The Compact, or her crazy love of pictures, offered to purchase the extra sheet of photos from Ada's Valentine's that we didn't use so she can have one on the fridge and in her home office and her work office and one for a friend. All just to save me a little guilt (and have more opportunities to stare at her bubbly little grandchild.) I'll be delivering it next weekend. :)
I will say that I am spending way more money on food these days, but I think that is due to the fact that I'm learning to cook and buying way more food and crazy ingredients than ever before. That makes me want to start composting...we'll see about that. I'm still in the research phase.
And the one thing I really want that I'm not giving in to...yet... are things for my camera. My photography class I'm taking this month is causing a bit of a dilemma. My instructor suggested we get a UV lens cover to protect our camera lenses - a $5 insurance policy for a $100 lens and a smart investment. And there is a software he is training us on that is $250 or so but I might be able to find that used or in a previous version so that's a new challenge. And he told me it isn't smart to connect the camera to the computer to download the photos, but instead use a memory card reader to do that. Easy enough since I have the card reader, but now I want another card so I can switch out between the two. Turns out I have another card, but it's in Granny's digital photo frame displaying adorable photos of Ada and doesn't have the capacity that I need. And I think I have a third card, but I'm not sure where Rick put it last. (It's always his fault since he borrows my camera for work and then leaves important things like the memory card at work so we go on vacation for a weekend and have to buy a new card -- but I never see the original one again, type things.) So there is hope for that yet.
Moral of the story: I must admit, I'm still loving the compact and the effect it's having on our bank account. Amen to that.
A day of weird moments
Yesterday contained a few weird moments. That's the best way for me to describe it. See for yourselves.
First off, we started the day with brunch and learned that two of our most awesome friends are expecting their first child this year. Yeah! I couldn't be more excited as they are going to be AWESOME parents! Totally took me by surprise.
At brunch, we tried a new place that just happens to be a big deal in Chicago. Lou Mitchell's on Jackson. You walk in and get a powdered covered donut from the hostess. Then you get a mini halloween-size box of milk duds when you are seated. You order and they bring you a prune and an orange wedge in a small bowl. Food comes and you're happy. Then they offer you a tiny cup of ice cream to send you off on your day with a smile. Ada got crayons to play with of course. The weird part was... as we go to pay with our credit card, we learned it was cash only. Not a big deal, just another weird shocker since this is a large restaurant that is busy and doesn't deal with credit cards. They save on the credit card fees, and make a killing on the ATM fee commissions they must be getting from the ATM by the door. But they can do that, because the food is good, the service is fast, it's a friendly atmosphere, and you get tons of fun goodies. All surprising in a good way.
Then, our desktop computer hasn't been loading correctly so I've been getting the "Windows death screen" as I call it. You know the one where the computer starts up and just stays on the start up screen. The little load bar keeps going and going, and then it stops to fake you out and make you think it's going to continue to start up the computer, but it doesn't. This annoyed me so much that I have been nagging Rick for the past three days to fix it as I was desperate to get it back up and running. I really depend on this thing as it turns out.
In an act of brilliance, Rick was able to fix it yesterday and all is now well with the world. Ah...
Then last night, as we were playing a new board game I'm kind of obsessed with called Settlers of Catan, a bowl that my friend Anne passed down to me about 2 or 3 weeks ago, just jumped off the counter in the kitchen, taking another bowl with it, and one of them shattered all over the kitchen floor. I haven't found a home in the kitchen for this set of 5, now 4, bowls and made the mistake of stacking them on a pile of produce still in their plastic bags from the store and over time, or maybe the spin cycle of the laundry machine on the other side of the wall, they became dislodged and plunged to the floor. Ada really wanted to go walk all over the mess while barefoot but we, mean and evil parents that we are, forbid her from walking in the kitchen. So mean...
As the day is nearing its end, we decide that maybe we are hungry since it's 8:45 and we had brunch at 10ish, then lunch at 3ish, and maybe it was time to eat something. I grabbed a bag of pretzels and hummus to tide us over until we could order something and upon opening the bag I discovered, what is that?, my little one-inch-tall karate man figurine that used to sit on the computer desk. As I'm laughing hysterically, my friend Bob looks at me like I'm a nut. Yes, I am a nut... But I'm laughing because Ada stuck the little karate guy into the pretzel bag last week when we were having pretzels and hummus for a snack on the couch. She cracks me up!
Still hungry at 9:30, Rick calls our good ol' standby for last minute dinner, Ceasars. It's a block away and the food is always ready in ten minutes or less. We can always count on Ceasars to save us, until 10pm when they close the kitchen. Rick calls and no one answers. He calls again, no answer. It's so close that he decides to just run over and order and bring it back. Thirty seconds after he leaves, my phone rings. Ceasars is closed on Sundays. Duh. We're going to just have to go to bed hungry. What's weird about that? We've lived here for over three years now and I can think of only two other instances where we've ordered on a Sunday and they've been closed. I think they are open on Sundays in the summer. Just not winter. Oh well.
Moral of the story: Life is totally unpredictable. Just roll with it.
First off, we started the day with brunch and learned that two of our most awesome friends are expecting their first child this year. Yeah! I couldn't be more excited as they are going to be AWESOME parents! Totally took me by surprise.
At brunch, we tried a new place that just happens to be a big deal in Chicago. Lou Mitchell's on Jackson. You walk in and get a powdered covered donut from the hostess. Then you get a mini halloween-size box of milk duds when you are seated. You order and they bring you a prune and an orange wedge in a small bowl. Food comes and you're happy. Then they offer you a tiny cup of ice cream to send you off on your day with a smile. Ada got crayons to play with of course. The weird part was... as we go to pay with our credit card, we learned it was cash only. Not a big deal, just another weird shocker since this is a large restaurant that is busy and doesn't deal with credit cards. They save on the credit card fees, and make a killing on the ATM fee commissions they must be getting from the ATM by the door. But they can do that, because the food is good, the service is fast, it's a friendly atmosphere, and you get tons of fun goodies. All surprising in a good way.
Then, our desktop computer hasn't been loading correctly so I've been getting the "Windows death screen" as I call it. You know the one where the computer starts up and just stays on the start up screen. The little load bar keeps going and going, and then it stops to fake you out and make you think it's going to continue to start up the computer, but it doesn't. This annoyed me so much that I have been nagging Rick for the past three days to fix it as I was desperate to get it back up and running. I really depend on this thing as it turns out.
In an act of brilliance, Rick was able to fix it yesterday and all is now well with the world. Ah...
Then last night, as we were playing a new board game I'm kind of obsessed with called Settlers of Catan, a bowl that my friend Anne passed down to me about 2 or 3 weeks ago, just jumped off the counter in the kitchen, taking another bowl with it, and one of them shattered all over the kitchen floor. I haven't found a home in the kitchen for this set of 5, now 4, bowls and made the mistake of stacking them on a pile of produce still in their plastic bags from the store and over time, or maybe the spin cycle of the laundry machine on the other side of the wall, they became dislodged and plunged to the floor. Ada really wanted to go walk all over the mess while barefoot but we, mean and evil parents that we are, forbid her from walking in the kitchen. So mean...
As the day is nearing its end, we decide that maybe we are hungry since it's 8:45 and we had brunch at 10ish, then lunch at 3ish, and maybe it was time to eat something. I grabbed a bag of pretzels and hummus to tide us over until we could order something and upon opening the bag I discovered, what is that?, my little one-inch-tall karate man figurine that used to sit on the computer desk. As I'm laughing hysterically, my friend Bob looks at me like I'm a nut. Yes, I am a nut... But I'm laughing because Ada stuck the little karate guy into the pretzel bag last week when we were having pretzels and hummus for a snack on the couch. She cracks me up!
Still hungry at 9:30, Rick calls our good ol' standby for last minute dinner, Ceasars. It's a block away and the food is always ready in ten minutes or less. We can always count on Ceasars to save us, until 10pm when they close the kitchen. Rick calls and no one answers. He calls again, no answer. It's so close that he decides to just run over and order and bring it back. Thirty seconds after he leaves, my phone rings. Ceasars is closed on Sundays. Duh. We're going to just have to go to bed hungry. What's weird about that? We've lived here for over three years now and I can think of only two other instances where we've ordered on a Sunday and they've been closed. I think they are open on Sundays in the summer. Just not winter. Oh well.
Moral of the story: Life is totally unpredictable. Just roll with it.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
The Compact...hmmm...
So Rick had to make some purchases, which normally fall under his category of things to buy since he is in charge of the computer and all things electronic in the house. But I'm in charge of most things photographic including printing photos of Ada, creating photo albums, and organizing and archiving our photos.
You see, instead of sending Christmas cards each year, I've started the tradition of sending a Valentine's day card from Ada to some of our closest friends. Last year I had 100 copies of a photo we took of her at the lakefront copied and I made valentines frantically to send out. Knowing we would keep up the tradition again this year, we discussed how to go about such an undertaking while respecting The Compact. We considered having Snapfish print and send the cards, but Rick would have to make that purchase since I'm "not allowed" to buy things that are new and unnecessary, and it would be costly. Creating more waste defeats the purpose of The Compact so I instead wanted to use up supplies we already had in order to make this project more "Compact friendly". The solution was to do it all ourselves and instead of ordering photos from a chain drugstore or Snapfish, we'd print them on our home printer and reduce our mailing list. The list dropped from about a hundred to less than forty. We then incorporated an email version for friends who aren't big "photo people" or who have Internet access and can get the sentiment and print the photo, or make it their computer monitor's wallpaper, if they like.
To achieve this feat of printing the photos on our home printer, we had to get new ink cartridges since ours were dead and Rick didn't have time to reload them with our refill kit we have in the basement(which we may have already refilled them to death anyway), nor did he have time to stop at the cartridge recycle store a few blocks away since he's been working late. So again, we had to compromise, but do so with good intentions. We now have the old cartridges to refill and can use the new ones as back ups to refill and alternate so we always have some available. That's the theory anyway. Or we'll take them to the recycle place next time around.
Unfortunately, after printing most of the photos, the last 2 pages didn't print properly because, after spending $31 on ink for the printer, the color couldn't last beyond 11 full-color photo pages and lost it's luster on pages 12 and 13. Knowing that we still had 6 valentine's to stuff with a photo of our little angel, I received a photo coupon for a free 8 1/2 x 11 from Walgreen's today and bit the bullet to purchase 2 pages of photos so we'd have the six images we needed. I only spent $4, and technically it breaks The Compact, but... it's also technically an errand I did for Rick since I put this all on his plate two weeks ago and he just ran out of time. As it turns out, we didn't even use one of the sheets yet...the one I actually paid for...so it's an "extra".
Talk about The Compact changing my thought process and increasing my awareness of what I purchase. Whew!
In all of this, I've also justified the purchase of the new printer cartridges as a "necessity" for work since I use the printer when working from home. And even though Rick bought them, I still feel guilty for not planning ahead further so that we had more time to get them recycled from the ink cartridge store, or refilled them from our kit downstairs. I'm also feeling bad since I asked Rick to purchase some DVD's to backup our computer files, mainly photos of Ada, so that we can store them in a secondary location and be able to recreate my work files and condo association records. Again, something I "needed" for work, something Rick purchased, with my final justification being that by using DVDs that we didn't have instead of CDs that we did have, I can use less because they store more data, again making better use of the resources we have available to us.
Does your brain hurt yet? Because I'm exhausted just from thinking about it.
I also must admit to buying gift cards for two friends having babies in the next month since I bought them from a baby store. I didn't buy them gifts, and the gift cards could be used to buy cloth diapers or environmentally friendly toys or laundry soap, but that's less than realistic. I did buy them in conjunction with other friends as "group gifts" if that gets me any points, and I encouraged the "groups" to support a local baby store instead of going to Target--part of the whole "buy local" idea. So if we are keeping track, $10 goes toward one friend, and about $17 goes toward my portion for another friend. Keep in mind that they also may be used to buy nursing bras which would fall under the "necessity" category of The Compact as I interpret it. (I'm all about the technicalities.)
And I also bought a gift card for a local ice cream shop for a friend's son who just turned five. It's local, it's food, and it encourages him to enjoy a treat with his parents and new baby sister-to-be. How's that for a trifecta? Not to mention the homemade card Ada and I made for him tonight from our stash of leftover cards, envelopes, and stamping supplies. Entertainment all around.
Poor Ada must feel like she lives in an art studio or a sweatshop with all of the cards we've been cranking out of here. I'm not sure which but she sure seems to be enjoying it so far and I'm getting a tiny bit more storage space from the supplies we are using up.
Moral of the story: The Compact will make you think harder about how your actions affect the world around. Just know your head might hurt as a result of too much thinking after awhile.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Ada, kitties don't like water...
I tried to tell her, but she just wasn't having it.
Kitty got a shower.
It was either Kitty got wet, or Ada threw an early morning tantrum that I just wasn't willing to have.
Ada won. Sorry Kitty.
Moral of the story: Pick your battles. Sometimes, it just isn't worth the fight.
Love,Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Awake at 4 am?
Why am I up?
No, seriously. It's almost 6 am now and I've been up writing since sometime after four am since I can't sleep...likely due to heartburn and upset stomach from trying out a new menu for dinner (curry chicken that was a bit more spicy than I'm used to), eating too late, or topping dinner off with five Oreos and a glass of milk. Hmmm... all good culprits.
My Doctoress wants me to gain more weight since pregnant people should also be fat people, I guess. I'm eating, just not like I did before I had the flu. And I'm trying to eat healthier since it makes me feel better...and my cooking lessons' friend Sarah told me to try a more Alkaline diet to reduce the acid in my system so I'm giving it a shot. Or I'm trying it until the Oreos I urged Rick to make a special trip to the store for call out my name and force themselves down my throat with a glass of milk -- turns out sugar and dairy products are acidic once processed and top the list of diet "no nos". I try to justify them by telling myself they will fatten me up and make my Doctoress happy, but that backfires when I feel sick and yo-yo back to not eating anything but bananas and carrots for a few meals to get back to a happy place in my tummy.
Which brings me to a mini soapbox... upon which I must stand to say... to everyone out there who is treating their ailments with all of these fancy-named pharmaceuticals instead of altering their diets... tisk, tisk. Sure it might be tough to follow a more strict diet and forgo things you love or reduce them, and I know it is just so easy to fork over some cash for a cute little magic pill that makes it all better... but seriously. Do some research to see if food could be the source of your issues (high cholesterol, blood pressure or heartburn--hint hint) on what slight adjustments you can make to your diet to make your body a little more happy. And consider going to see a dietitian or a natural healer for recommendations. I'm not suggesting you cleanse or give up all things that make you happy, but instead fill your diet with things that will make you feel good and accentuate them with things that make you happy. Life needs balance to be happy and little magic pills don't count on my "happiness scale" in this case.
That said, no more Oreos and/or milk/ice cream for at least two weeks, and then only in moderation. (Can someone please come eat the last row in the bag?) No more eating after 9 pm. No more burgers and fries -- 20% burger and fries + 80% alkaline foods(fruits/veggies). Yes to feeling better and hopefully, gaining weight from healthy food sources. Wish me luck!
Moral of the story: Everything in moderation, unless "everything" just happens to be bad for you. Think 80% good stuff, 20% bad stuff, and do your best to stick to it.
No, seriously. It's almost 6 am now and I've been up writing since sometime after four am since I can't sleep...likely due to heartburn and upset stomach from trying out a new menu for dinner (curry chicken that was a bit more spicy than I'm used to), eating too late, or topping dinner off with five Oreos and a glass of milk. Hmmm... all good culprits.
My Doctoress wants me to gain more weight since pregnant people should also be fat people, I guess. I'm eating, just not like I did before I had the flu. And I'm trying to eat healthier since it makes me feel better...and my cooking lessons' friend Sarah told me to try a more Alkaline diet to reduce the acid in my system so I'm giving it a shot. Or I'm trying it until the Oreos I urged Rick to make a special trip to the store for call out my name and force themselves down my throat with a glass of milk -- turns out sugar and dairy products are acidic once processed and top the list of diet "no nos". I try to justify them by telling myself they will fatten me up and make my Doctoress happy, but that backfires when I feel sick and yo-yo back to not eating anything but bananas and carrots for a few meals to get back to a happy place in my tummy.
Which brings me to a mini soapbox... upon which I must stand to say... to everyone out there who is treating their ailments with all of these fancy-named pharmaceuticals instead of altering their diets... tisk, tisk. Sure it might be tough to follow a more strict diet and forgo things you love or reduce them, and I know it is just so easy to fork over some cash for a cute little magic pill that makes it all better... but seriously. Do some research to see if food could be the source of your issues (high cholesterol, blood pressure or heartburn--hint hint) on what slight adjustments you can make to your diet to make your body a little more happy. And consider going to see a dietitian or a natural healer for recommendations. I'm not suggesting you cleanse or give up all things that make you happy, but instead fill your diet with things that will make you feel good and accentuate them with things that make you happy. Life needs balance to be happy and little magic pills don't count on my "happiness scale" in this case.
That said, no more Oreos and/or milk/ice cream for at least two weeks, and then only in moderation. (Can someone please come eat the last row in the bag?) No more eating after 9 pm. No more burgers and fries -- 20% burger and fries + 80% alkaline foods(fruits/veggies). Yes to feeling better and hopefully, gaining weight from healthy food sources. Wish me luck!
Moral of the story: Everything in moderation, unless "everything" just happens to be bad for you. Think 80% good stuff, 20% bad stuff, and do your best to stick to it.
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