who invited bitter betty?
Anyone who has just had two miscarriages should totally join my small group. You’ll love hanging out with a mom of new twins, a pregnant gal due in early November (two weeks after my original due date) and a pregnant gal due in early February (two weeks before my second due date). We talk about great stuff like:
- baby showers
- pregnancy dreams
- maternity clothes
- “the pooch”
- cloth diapers
- babies sleeping through the night
- all of the Monday night babysitters we’re going to need in a few months
I’m sure there are other great things that I’m forgetting. Two weeks in a row now, I’ve nearly shot my face off. I can’t wait for to other two to have their babies so we can switch to:
- breastfeeding
- napping
- poop
- post-baby bodies
- bath-time
Perhaps I need an attitude adjustment?
In my defense, I’m working hard at the attitude adjustment. Saturday, I went shopping with “due-in-February” for a dress to wear to her sister-in-law’s wedding and some transition clothes to wear before she needs full-on maternity clothes. I’m in the midst of planning a baby shower for “due-in-November” and I’m going to start babysitting for the twins so “mom-of-twins” can start going to the gym a couple of times a week. Honestly, I think I just need to get over myself.
I’m working on not letting any circumstances rob me of my joy. I’m always very careful not to let my circumstances rob my sweet pregnant friends of their joy and I need to stop being so retarded about letting their circumstances rob me of mine.
brown paper packages tied up with string
These are a few of my favorite things:
Rimmel Eye Shadow – they have great color options and it is very affordable, so you can either save money, or buy more to have more options for the same amount of money you’re already spending on eye shadow.
Rimmel Eye Liner – my favorite eye liner that I’ve ever come across. It is the perfect consistency – hard enough to not make for messy application, but soft enough for a good, even, easy application. I’ve used the kind from the picture that you don’t have to sharpen as well as the style that requires sharpening and both are great.
I don’t do store credit cards unless there is really something in it for me, and this one is worth it. If you achieve Luxe membership, you get more rewards plus free shipping for online orders from Banana, Gap, Old Navy, and Piper Lime.
The BEST thing you will ever put on dry/chapped lips. I put it on my lips every night and every morning as a minimum. It is amazing for quickly healing a severe case of lip flakes.
While we’re talking about lip products, I must endorse Burt’s Bees. I always have a tube in my purse, one at my nightstand, one in the bathroom and one in a travel bag. Don’t leave home without it. The Lip Shimmer is a great lipstick refresher that goes on smoothly even on dry lips. It looks great with no lipstick too. I keep it in my purse and add it when I’m headed somewhere after running around town all day or something – just to freshen my look.
I’ve always been a sucker for salon shampoo/conditioner, but I’ve also always been cheap when it comes to buying shampoo/conditioner. This is all of the greatness of the Biolage brand, for the Suave price. They have knock-offs of other salon brands too, but this is the one I use.
This card is great. Husband and I have it and have racked up the cash rewards. Our rewards roll over in December, so we will essentially not even have a credit card bill in December as our rewards will cover the bill. Merry Christmas to us. (For the record I don’t recommend any credit card DEBT when I recommend credit cards. Don’t buy it if you can’t pay for it at the end of the month. That’s my public service announcement.)
Gmail is a great web-based email. It is super easy to archive and organize items as well as search for old messages.
It takes a time or two to get used to that little comb, but it works much better than the old-school brush and when I put forth the effort, can really make my stubby eyelashes look long and curly and defined.
Social networking is probably a post in itself. I’ve done xanga, I’ve done myspace and sorry Tom, but Facebook is the next frontier in this crazy cultural phenomenon.
search engine terms of the day
True story, someone got here searching for: “lessons on how to be a subservient wife”
Husband is snorting somewhere…
ode to esther williams
Today I went to the pool with my good friend and her three kids – Mr. Big Stuff, Little Girl and Sweet Boy (3, 21 months & 4 months). It was fun. Things I got to do:
- Wind up the swimming froggy 427 times.
- Snuggle and flirt with Sweet Boy.
- “Watch Me! Watch Me!”
- Aquire some tan lines.
- Put goggles on a 21 month old in a strawberry bikini.
- Laugh as Mr. Big Stuff bit off part of the fish kickboard that belonged to the other kids at the pool.
- Get a little color on my pale self.
- Eat PB&J for lunch.
- Spend time with my dear girlfriend who I almost nearly hated all through college.
- Wear my cute swimsuit cover-up.
- Mix some pink in with the white on my skin.
- Play catch with a diving stick.
- Grow some new freckles.
It was great.
rebel without a cause
Three posts in one day, I know…I’m out of control.
On to my rebellion. I’m wearing snowflake pa*nti*es in the middle of July…just because I can. That’s right. Things are getting crazy around here.
left behind – the continuing saga
Last night as we were hanging around after small group, the men all went outside and the two pregnant women and the new mom started up a conversation about maternity clothes in the kitchen. I was left in the living room with the teenage babysitters and saw a certain poetic element there.
I’m starting to feel left behind in terms of life stages. When I first moved here, all of the people I met and spent time with were married. They didn’t have kids yet, but they had a couple of more years of “the real world” and were ALL married. I was fresh out of college and decidedly not married. I enjoyed spending time with them, but always felt like I was just a step behind and was really sensitive to conversations being in terms of “couples” instead of “people” and things like that. I didn’t burst into tears or anything, I just was sensitive to it.
The same thing is starting to happen with people having babies now. Maybe I wouldn’t be as sensitive to it if it weren’t for the fact that I want to be having babies now. Many of my friends have gotten pregnant since I was initially pregnant, but they all annoyingly have due dates within weeks of either my October or my February due dates.
It is difficult for me to hear the woes of morning sickness or migraines, when I would endure any of those things if it meant that I was pregnant (easy for me to say, when I’m not really having to endure them, right?). I realize how silly it is that I feel this way and more importantly, I realize that it is a choice for me to feel sorry for myself, bitter, jealous etc. or to feel joy for my friends who I love and who want their babies as much as I wanted mine. 95% of the time, I am making the right choice. Sometimes its an easy choice and sometimes I fight myself pretty hard to do it. I am forcing myself to buy baby gifts for pregnant friends, offer showers, etc. so as to only add to and not to steal one ounce of their joy.
So now, I find myself wondering what lesson I need to learn in all of this as my friends all leave me in the dust, as I prepare to host baby showers and smile politely as I’m told that I’m next, as I continue to answer “Oh, someday,” as if I don’t even care when asked when we’ll have a baby, as I realize that another Mother’s Day will surely pass before I will hold my own sweet child, and as I struggle to rest in the peace of knowing that God is in control.
bless me Father
I read a blog yesterday that talked a little bit about blessings that kind of got me thinking. My paraphrase interpretation of what the blogger said is:
“Blessing” is a word that Christians use to explain away the good things that happen to them when in reality good things and bad things just happen without any master plan or puppetteer.
Now, I can’t even recall what blog I read this on as it was one I’ve never read before, but keep in mind that the above is the interpretation that I took away from it. Irregardless of whether or not I completely misunderstood the intent of the post, this whole thing got me thinking about blessings.
Coincidentally (I think not), I’m in the process of memorizing the Sermon on the Mount with my accountability group. For those unfamiliar, the Sermon on the Mount (starting in Matthew 5) starts with the Beatitudes (which means “Blessings” by the way):
Matthew 5:3-12 (NIV)
3“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
This sounds pretty crazy. Blessed are those who mourn? those who are persecuted? Blessed are you when people insult you? Persecute you? Falsely say all kinds of evil against you? Rejoice and be glad? Seriously.
Well, in all logic, the above questions can be answered by spiritual, eternal blessings. Big mansions in heaven, lots of jewels in the crown, etc. I don’t know about you, but as great as heaven must be, sometimes I wonder if I would really care if I had the smallest mansion, dullest crown, dingiest angel wings. Before I start getting condemned by people stronger in their faith than me, don’t worry – I know that’s not the point of all of this heaven stuff and I was kidding about the angel wings.
Romans 15 talks about spiritual blessings and material blessings, so I don’t feel like I’m off the hook chalking up material/earthly things to the Big Cheese. I have a question about these earthly blessings though:
Is a blessing always something that seems good? For example, the whole “Blessing in Disguise” mantra we like to use? A lot of the dictionary definitions of “blessing” link it to happiness, etc. but God doesn’t promise us happiness and doesn’t want us to be happy like I think most of us would like to believe. Personally, I don’t think God gives a rip about our happiness. Contentment and joy are things the Bible addresses, but happiness is not.
On that same note, obviously the freshest “big” things for me are the occurrences of my miscarriages. Are these blessings? I see some blessings in them – timing showing God’s omnipotence, a renewed awe of God and his creation, a chance to really experience the peace that only assurance in Christ can provide, etc. But is losing babies a blessing? Do we have a skewed definition of what a blessing truly is that doesn’t allow us to give merit to God and His timing, plan, etc?
Are we to see everything in life as either blessing or curse or is there more wiggle room where some things just are what they are?
I know there are promises in the Bible of blessings we can claim. I know that I can be 100% positive that when I mourn, I will be comforted because Jesus said that I would be. I know from James that if I persevere in a trial that I will become mature from it. I can add faith into the pot and claim those and lots and lots of others. So, maybe I start there and trust that as I continue down this path, some of the other questions will be answered.
maximum hold, flexible touch
As a lover of all things musical, I was very excited yesterday when Husband and I went to see this:
Although the fact that we had movie theater hot dogs and nachos for lunch was amazing, I would have still been a giddy little girl when the opening beats started playing and Tracy Turnblad belts out Good Morning Baltimore. I kid you not, I think I smiled like a happy little idiot through nearly the entire movie.
Grab your Aqua Net and go see it!
$1.50/spike, fluffy and snowball
In honor of 18 months and one day of marriage to my One and Only, I’d like to take a look at a topic that causes a little gag in the back of my throat – pet names.
Despite any intentions otherwise, Husband and I have fallen prey to pet names. Now, in front of others he sticks to calling me by my first name and I usually refer to him by first and last name – totally normal, right? Before you imagine a buffet of Cupcake, Darling, Sweetie, and Muffin, give me the benefit of the doubt.
I won’t go into what Husband calls me, as it is not as relationally interesting (in my Communication-bred mind) as the evolution of my pet names for him. To give an example, of this evolution…here is just an example of the names that I call/have called the Geekster in order of their inception:
- Pookie (with GREAT sarcasm)
- Pooks
- Spooks
- Scoobs
- Scuba Steve
- Mr. Scooby Doo
Mr. Scooby Doo himself usually goes for anything that rhymes:
- Honey Bunny (often accompanied by a bunny hop, but more often shortened to HunBun)
- Sugar Booger (often, but not always, used when discussing nose-picking, also frequently shortened – ShugBoog)
I’m not overly impressed with our creativity or with the simple fact that we don’t call each other by our first names, but there has really been no effort put towards finding a clever and/or appropriate pet name, these train-wrecks have just happened. So there you have it. Are we the weirdest people on the planet?
