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Three (3!) Things Thursday

Jan 19th, 2012
by gazelle.
3 comments

1. Yesterday morning, the architect & I woke up to a very loud noise at about 2 am. We rushed to the window to see what was the matter. Turns out, it wasn’t jolly st. nick & 8 tiny reindeer. It was one of our walnut trees uprooting and falling onto the architect’s pickup. We also were powerless (well, without electricity, anyways) all night, so it was a chilly, dark, and snowy morning! I made it to work about 9:30, and the architect waited at home for PGE to come cut down the tree, since it was leaning on some lines. He waited. And waited. And after the power went on, he plugged in my kick-ass chainsaw and with the help of a couple of neighbors, cut down the biggest parts on his truck. Finally, at about 8 pm or so last night, PGE came and cut down the rest of the tree. Apparently they were a bit busy yesterday!

 

2. I am four weeks away from finishing school! I would be super excited if I wasn’t so stressed out about finishing school! And work! (ha! just kidding, mom – I am not stressed at all. In fact, I am currently floating on a zen cloud made of unicorns.)

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3. I am writing this on Wednesday night (as is my custom), and it’s 11 pm. I haven’t been asleep for almost 21 hours. I hate these periodic insomnia episodes! If I weren’t floating on unicorn clouds, I’m sure it would be stress related. The job is a bit…much right now. Good news – after Friday, the job will go back to normal stress levels, and I’m hoping to sleep for 48 hours straight this weekend. Or at least 10 hours in 2-hour increments.(This is, however, nothing to worry about if you are, by chance, my mother & are just here to see a pic of the architect’s truck. Really – I tell lies on the internet to make myself seem more interesting. I actually sleep like a baby.)

 

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The Twelve Days of Gazelle-mas: Day 8 (2011 In review)

Dec 30th, 2011
by gazelle.
1 comment

First of all, I need to mention that I fell asleep about 11:30 pm last night and then: I slept until almost 7 AM! I woke once & briefly about 5, but did not need to get up. I’m sure those of you who aren’t/have never been pregnant (or closely associated with a pregnant person) are not sure why that’s news-worthy, so let me enlighten you.  This is probably the 3rd or 4th time since late July that I haven’t had to get up to pee at least once. I don’t know if you remember me bitching about remodeling our bathroom in August – the month of no running water in our upstairs (read: bedroom adjacent) bathroom. I know you didn’t know I was pregnant, but I was, and holy balls, that sucked the big one.

ANYWAYS – looking back! Such an interesting year. A lot of surprises – mostly  good ones.  How did I do with my 2011 goals, you (probably don’t) ask?

Well – let’s just look at that, shall we?

 

  1. Run a half marathon by the end of June. – FAIL! In fact, I didn’t run a half marathon all year. I only had one run over 13 miles, even. Boo!  However, it took a LOT longer to recover from my foot surgery, and just as I was getting into the swing of things, I got myself all knocked up.
  2. Read 52 non-paranormal romance books, including at least 12 from my Nobel Prize list. – FAIL! I only read about 50 books (not counting textbooks) total in 2011, and only 2 were from my Nobel prize list. There’s no way a majority were not brain candy.
  3. SIRASANA! With no wall support. – SUCCESS! Albeit, briefly. I did hit this pose a couple of times, for short periods of time. This is something I will never stop working on.
  4. Take fencing classes. – FAIL!  Due to school/work/pregnancy, this, too, was put off.
  5. Achieve contentment with my body (which may be a combination of weight loss and muscle gain) – EH??? I don’t know. Pregnancy has really thrown this off.
  6. Take a few risks that may lead to happiness. – SUCCESS! Job risks, Toast risks, getting knocked up risks….
  7. Secret Goal that I don’t want to talk about – FAIL! Job changes really got in the way of this (btw, it involved a career switch, and I did interview for a new job in January/February 2011, and was a finalist, but it was not to be….)
  8. Finalize my capstone paper topic and get ready to finish grad school! – SUCCESS! I have only 7 weeks left until I’m done with grad school! YAY!
  9. 5K PR – FAIL!  Again with the recovery from foot surgery + getting knocked up. 2013 is my new year of the runner!
  10. Successful cheddar cheese! – SUCCESS! I love cheese.
  11. Eliminate all non-mortgage & non-student loan debt. – EH….I am in much better shape now than at the beginning of the year. Of course, I’m sure that having a baby will make all my financial dreams come true, right?

 

Overall – even though it looks like I had an approximate 50% fail rate for goals, I am okay with the ones that are fails. I failed for good reasons (i.e. not pushing too hard during surgery recovery, getting pregnant, getting a new job that changed a few of those goals), and I am pretty happy with my 2011 overall.

I have some of the best friends a girl could ask for – both here in PDX, back in South D, and in the internets, as well as the best architect in the land. I’m having a great(ish) pregnancy, I’m almost done with school, I got a promotion at work (and no longer feel one step away from failure at work), and life is pretty damn good.  There are still changes I want to make with my life and my job and all sorts of things, but overall, I’m generally pretty content.

***First the song, and then I will reward (punish?) you with a photo recap of the year!***

On the eighth day of gazellemas, Amy gave to me:

Eight hours a-sleeping

Seven miles a-cycling

Six yogis posing

FIVE PAIRS OF SHOES!

four pancakes,

three lazy cats,

two empty boxes, and

A Pooh Bear outfit, adorable and twee!

 

January 2011:

February 2011:

March 2011:

April 2011:

 

May 2011:

 

June 2011:

 

July 2011:

 

August 2011:

September 2011:

 

October 2011:

 

November 2011:

 

December 2011:

 

 

I am pretty excited to see what 2012 will bring. It certainly won’t be boring!

 

 

Three (3!) Things Thursday

Dec 8th, 2011
by gazelle.
3 comments

1. I am one week away from finishing the first half of my Capstone course. This does not necessarily mean I am one week away from being halfway done with my project….just that the time is ticking down. Overall, though, I feel that it’s in good shape, and since we have two weeks off for the holidays, I am planning on doing a LOT of reading and revising. Overall, though, I am 8 (official) weeks away from finishing my Master’s. EEP!

(this is not MY regalia)

 

2. Last night, it was discovered that there was only enough coffee left for one person to have coffee this morning. I am sitting here, typing out my three things, and drinking coffee.  How wonderful is the architect? (Answer: pretty damn wonderful.) Apparently a cranky pregnant wife is not something he wants to deal with…

 

3. The other night I was on the bike trainer, and due to the sheer uncomfortableness that is my growing belly, I can only stay on for about 15 minutes at a time. So I ride for 15 minutes, get off and do some upper body strength training, rinse, repeat. I had just gotten off the bike for my second set of weights and had picked up a 10 lb weight. I heard a weird noise from the kitchen, and as I looked over, I saw the xmas decoration box go flying in one direction, and before I knew what had happened, felt impact in my wrist, then the bike pedals started spinning, and then a blur ran up the stairs. It was our youngest, Lola. She’d been sitting on the box, something startled her, and she took off like a bat cat out of hell. She hit her head on my dumbbell, and since I was holding it very loosely, it spun around and hit me in the wrist (and I have the swelling & bruising to prove it), then ran into the bike on the trainer (specifically the pedals) before getting out of the obstacle course that is the living room and heading upstairs. If it hadn’t been so painful, it would’ve been hilarious. (We checked Lola out, too, and she seemed normal the same as usual.) Crazy cats!

She looks so calm in this photo

 

Happy almost weekend!

 

The first two photos were found on Flickr by searching for pics available under the Creative Commons license.

Bumpday – Week 21

Nov 23rd, 2011
by gazelle.
3 comments

Okay, people. I have heeded your pleas, your desperate emails, and have taken photos of my (mostly invisible bump) for you. I am super nervous about posting these pics, because I am still trying to work through my body image issues. (Blah blah blah – I know how I should feel, so no need to tell me to get over it, okay? THANKS!)

So – from the top, I think I still look pretty normal, right?

IMAG0668

Obviously, this was taken under the boobs. I haven’t seen my feet in years, and can no longer even see my toes.

 

Even from the front, I don’t think I look very pregnant….

 

IMAG0666

I do have a nice, wide stance, though, right?  Just noticed that right now. I am also noticing that I haven’t yet made the bed. Sorry! (Do you like how I pretend that making the bed is actually part of my daily routine. Ha!)

 

So – it’s the side photo that I actually really hate. It’s also the only photo that shows any kind of  bumpiness. Please don’t be mean.

IMAG0667

You really get a good view of the unmade bed in this photo. And the fact that I’m wearing a sports bra that is currently about 16 sizes too small. Oh yeah – and a small protrusion on my lower abdomen.

 

So – there you have it. 21 week 2 day old bump.

 

I am still feeling pretty good. I had some serious sleep issues Saturday & Sunday night, but have slept much better the last two nights. My back starts to hurt after a long day sitting at work. And Alvie Bean is developing into quite a little kicker. I’m feeling him much more consistently now, and am just waiting for the point when the architect can feel the kicks, too. It’s one of the weirdest feelings I’ve ever had, and it startles me every time it starts up again. Every time.

 

Gratitude Journal

November 23, 2011: I am grateful for the architect (I know he’s been mentioned a couple of times already, but I am really grateful for him). He is so patient with me when I’m being ridiculous and emotional; and he will fetch the ice cream out of the basement freezer so I don’t have to go down the stairs. Really, a wonderful man.

November 22, 2011: I am grateful that I have such excellent furry foot warmers who like to curl up by me when I sleeping and steal the covers. Well, maybe not that last part, but I do love my cats!

November 21, 2011: I am grateful for my excellent co-workers that make my days much less crappy (and more productive).

November 20, 2011: I am grateful for my beer theater. It is close to my house, has $4 first-run movies before 6 pm, serves decent pizza, and has beer and wine. Also, it has bottle water, which is what I had today.

November 19, 2011: I am grateful for random port-o-potties on my running route.

November 18, 2011: I am grateful that I have a connection to bits of my cultural heritage; I can’t imagine a world without lefse, and am so pleased that I have learned how to do it and have a skill I can pass on to Alvie Bean.

November 17, 2011: I am grateful for coffee. I know it seems like I mentioned it yesterday, but yesterday I only said I was grateful for the coffee maker (in a list of other things). But I really wanted to draw attention to coffee as deserving of its own special day. Coffee is the best beverage ever invented. I don’t understand how I got through so many years never drinking it and thinking it really wasn’t that great. Mmmmmm……coffee.

November 16, 2011: I am grateful for all the little luxuries I have that I often take for granted…my car, my phone, the coffee maker (so very grateful for my coffee maker). It’s so easy to caught up in the things I don’t have that I occasionally forget how very lucky I am. My life is so freaking awesome.

November 15, 2011: I am grateful that I have the kind of job/life/etc. that allows me to afford pretty shoes, and the level-headedness that keeps me from buying (very many) shoes that wouldn’t be practical.

November 14, 2011: I am grateful that I work in a place with lots of little food nooks. It’s always an easy walk to grab more food. Which I do more often than ever, lately.

November 13, 2011: I am grateful for streaming Netflix (and Hulu Plus!). Also, I am grateful for John Barrowman. And my new found love of Torchwood.

November 12, 2011: I am grateful for my awesome friends! I got so much good quality friend-time this weekend! Walks & cocoa & thrifting with her! Ornament painting and dinner and movies with Alisa, Jen, Lisa & Sarah! Cocoa and a chat with her! (I should maybe also mention that I’m grateful for hot cocoa.)

November 11, 2011: I am grateful for laid back evenings at home with the architect.

November 10, 2011: I am grateful to live in Portland, Oregon. It is so beautiful here. I love that we have four seasons, and I especially love autumn.

November 9, 2011: I am grateful for modern medical conveniences that help eliminate unnecessary surprises from my life. Yay for ultrasounds!

November 8, 2011: I am grateful for my brand-new employee who started today, who I am hoping will help take some of the financial reporting burden off my plate & allow me to do a better job on the more big-picture things.

November 7, 2011: I am grateful for weekends and the opportunity to relax and recharge.

November 6, 2011: I am grateful for running – and grateful that I am still able to run. I am also grateful for my proximity to the most awesome running park in the history of the world: Forest Park.

November 5, 2011:I am grateful that I was able to discover enough courage to join Toastmasters. I know this sounds super cheesy, but it’s really made a HUGE difference in my life.

November 4, 2011: I am grateful for the internet, which gives me the ability to work from home, in my pajamas, this morning.

November 3, 2011: I am grateful that I have a good job that is challenging & interesting, if not necessarily catering to my life interests.

November 2, 2011: I am grateful for the architect, who is simply wonderful. He picks up the household slack when I’m busy with schoolwork, brings me chicken fingers on his way home from work, and is simply the most wonderful husband I could ask for…

November 1, 2011:  I am grateful for my (so far, knock on wood) easy and wonderful pregnancy.

Three (3!) Things Thursday

Nov 3rd, 2011
by gazelle.
3 comments

1. The other day, I went down to the freezer to get a pizza for dinner (I am all about lazy cooking now that I’ve started my final project for my Master’s). I opened it up and something wasn’t right. I picked up a package of ground beef to move it, and my fingers squished right in. And blood spurted right out. The freezer was not on! We have no idea HOW it became unplugged, and how long it was in that state. Neither of us had accessed the freezer for a few days. All the stuff on top was thawed out and drippy (including my planned pizza). So much meat that had to be tossed. BUT – everything in the bottom half of the freezer was still frozen solid, including a couple chickens, a bunch of Colin, and all my raw milk. I was really sad, though.

 

2. For my final project, I had to turn in a work schedule. And, because I am insane, I already mostly had one. The next 7 weeks of my life are fully scheduled. I do have “leisure time” built in, but it is pretty ridiculous. My first real assignment is due tonight, and involves “picking a topic.” A few months ago, I knew exactly what my topic was – and that topic is still pretty interesting to me. However, with all the recent job changes, that topic is no longer relevant to my current career, and I am wondering if I should change the topic. Unfortunately, that’s where my wondering stops – it does not go on to wonder if I should change my topic to “very specific topic on which I could find several excellent references in just an hour of searching, but not something that’s been done to death.” Unfortunate, right?

 

3. As you may remember, I totally agonized over what I was going to be for Halloween. I’m pregnant enough that none my original costume choices fit, but not so pregnant that I could be a “pregnant” anything & get away with it. The architect had a monk constume left over from years ago (actually, that’s what he was wearing the first Halloween we were dating, 9 years ago – we didn’t spend the holiday together, but I did stop by to see him on my way home from work before heading out to Scary-oke at the Whaler in Venice with my at-the-time roomie Dr. M.). So – I headed to a costume shop and picked up a nun costume. I did have to stuff my costume to make it funnier – but I think it worked:

(Photo credit: Sarah!)

 

Happy Thursday!

 

Gratitude Journal

November 3, 2011: I am grateful that I have a good job that is challenging & interesting, if not necessarily catering to my life interests. I have the opportunity for professional development (weekly leadership seminar today!), have a decent salary, good health insurance, and a bunch of people who are excited for my pregnancy and not at all worried about my maternity leave (in fact, they’ve told me to not even THINK about being available in May – i.e. budget season – and that they’d get through it without me, as long as I do all the prep work before I leave…)

November 2, 2011: I am grateful for the architect, who is simply wonderful. He picks up the household slack when I’m busy with schoolwork, brings me chicken fingers on his way home from work, and is simply the most wonderful husband I could ask for…

November 1, 2011:  I am grateful for my (so far, knock on wood) easy and wonderful pregnancy

 

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