pregnant: the side view + the control group

David has taken three pictures of me so far while pregnant. And he chose to use himself as the "control."  (HA!). So whenever I remember, I prompt him to take a picture of me, and then I take one of him. Here is what we have so far:

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17 weeks and 3 days along. (07-15-2011)

Here I am from the side. 

This was the day Harry Potter 7 part 2 opened in theaters. Hence my special shirt!

And here is DH. The "control" group. 

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20 weeks and 5 days along. (08-07-2011)

I'm in a dress so I don't look that much different than before. And my facial expression is definitely on the weird side.

DH again. In control.

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25 weeks and 2 days along. (09-08-2011, today)

Yes my hair is still wet. 

And here is DH maintaining control, wearing an AWESOME pink shirt.

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And that's all for now. According to one of David's colleagues, I am "great" with child (and that was 2 weeks ago!). I can only imagine what I'll be at the end. Probably magnificent with child. Or titanic. We shall see.

laundry woes

I have discovered a new aspect of my slovenly housewifeness.

For the first time ever, I have my own washer and dryer. I share it with no one (except DH, but he doesn't count). No one will be annoyed if I leave sheets in the dryer for a week. No one will be annoyed if I leave piles of clothes in the laundry area because I am avoiding folding them. And, finally, no one will have clothes that are put away.

In my previous existence as a tiny 1 bedroom apartment dweller, I would do laundry on the day that DH was going to run out of underwear. Or he would. (Actually, that is the grand strategy. Make sure you have more underwear than your partner and then they are forced to do laundry. Hopefully.)

So in this previous existence, on laundry day, I would scope out the laundry hut (because it was sort of like a hut) to make sure none of my neighbors was using it. We had an agreement that it was ok to move each others stuff. These agreements are IMPORTANT. I even mentioned it to each one early on to make sure there would be no issues. (Some people have issues.)

If available, I would haul out the first load of laundry and put it in the washer. Then I would come back in and set the chicken. (In our house, the timer is in the shape of a chicken. Thank you Karren! Although I am worried it might have met its end by being dropped one too many times. But I have not given up hope that it will once again become reliable.) 45 minutes later, the chicken would ring. And I would go outside, move the stuff to the dryer, put more stuff in the washer, etc. And then repeat. After each load was dry, I would come inside and dump it on our bed. We only have one laundry basket. I intend to keep it that way. It is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL for preventing the laundry basket syndrome that has befallen THOSE WHO SHALL REMAIN NAMELESS. Who live out of laundry baskets. Or used to. Anyway. Moving on. I had to set the chicken (timer) for fear that I would forget about laundry and one of our neighbors would try to use the washer and find our wet underwear instead. This was not ok. Or, they would interrupt my laundry groove by assuming I was finished when I was not.

So to jump to the end of the story, we would end up with piles of laundry on top of our bed that had to be put away before we could sleep that night. And so it was put away. Now, unfortunately, there are many other places besides the bed to put laundry and leave it. There is the washer. And dryer. And couch (recently acquired). Or on top of the dryer. Or on the floor. I could go on.

In order to prevent such laundry woes and attempt to decrease my slovenly housewifery, I must figure out a way around this "problem" of not having to share a washer/dryer. I could pretend someone else used it each night. Or I could pretend that anything left in the dryer grows mold (I don't have to pretend this for the washer, which is why it is less likely to have stuff in it for too long!) Or I could just give up and be grateful that at least I only have one laundry basket. Whatever happens, I'm thinking I might just continue with my trusted method of dumping it all on the bed. 

wearin' o' the Ute

Today is the first day I feel semi-normal after the move.

I must say that I do not recommend moving during pregnancy. The phrase most commonly used by me in the last 10 days was: "my poor little feetsies." And they were oh so poor. I got to enjoy swollen ankles for the first time as well (which are finally back to normal, thank goodness).

DH and I were both so exhausted, with the peak occurring the day we had to drive to Utah, a week before last thursday. Not the best timing! You know you have had no sleep for too long when the sight of Sacramento turns you into a blubbering buffoon. (Although this might be normal for some people...)

Anyway. We were exhausted for a few days. Then when I was feeling better, I got stomach flu. David asked me, how do you know if it is stomach flu instead of pregnancy nausea? I'm not quite sure. Maybe because I only threw up once during the "morning sickness" bit? That was last wednesday. Then, yesterday, I was exhausted again from lack of calories. I figured out late on stomach flu day that eating popsicles didn't make me throw up, but they didn't make much of a dent in my intake for the day.

And finally, today came. I woke up. The sun was shining. DH kissed me goodbye. And I knew I was feeling good because I wanted to eat some leftover birthday cake with my breakfast. And I wanted to go running. And I wanted to wear one of my Ute running tops.

So there I was. Running down the street in my red sleeveless Ute shirt. I was hoping to get some dirty looks. But I didn't get a single one! Someone even said "hello" in a pleasant tone of voice. Granted, it was a bit late for the running masses and I wasn't out very long, but still. So then I decided to take my bike to get aligned (my poor little bike was abused by the moving truck) while still wearing my running garb. I walked over to a shop (Mad Dog Cycles), maybe half a mile. On the way there, a girl DID look at my shirt and grimaced ever so slightly. FINALLY. And I was not refused service at the bike repair shop for my wearin' o' the Ute. They did not even comment. And they fixed my bike in less than 5 minutes. Woot.

Maybe my expectations are a little off. Maybe I am imagining what would happen if someone ran through the University of Utah campus wearing a BYU top. And I was not actually running on campus, so had limited exposure. Or maybe I just need to run through BYU campus wearing it the morning of the BYU-Utah football game.

Yes. I am twisted and derive satisfaction out of ridiculous things.

birthday + early provoness

Today is my birthday. It has been weird so far. Usually I remember my birthday is coming up at least a month in advance. And then I might think about it once every couple days. And then the night before, I would go to bed thinking that the next day is my birthday. And I would remember it the moment I woke up. This year, I was so distracted with moving that I barely noticed my birthday was coming. I didn't even think of it yesterday until someone wished me an early happy birthday on facebook.  I didn't remember it was my birthday for a whole hour after waking up this morning. I am not sure what is normal for most people, but this year has definitely been unusual for me.

Another possible reason I did not anticipate my birthday is because there is very little mathematical significance about the number 28 (my new age!). 28 is 7 times 4. But it is not a prime number, or a cube, or anything like that. So it is definitely lacking in the math thrills department. I am excited for next year when I am 29. First prime number since 23. Yes, I am nerdy. This is no surprise.

So far I have been in Provo since Friday morning at 7:15 am. That makes it 4 and a half days so far. Our ward appears to be pretty good, based on my experience last sunday. There are the old ladies in Relief Society that know all there is to know. There is the old man handing out programs with a smile. The only thing that was decidedly provo (to me anyway) was the signup sheet in the attendance binder sent round Relief Society asking if you were expecting, and if so, to put down your name and due date.

I have been on campus twice now. Both were for free breakfasts for new or continuing faculty. Today DH took me into the BYU bookstore. There is a shelf called "Forgotten Classics" that I mistakenly thought would contain things like Agnes Grey or Around the World in 80 days. But, no. They mean LDS classics with long names. I was also amazed at the amount of junk food sold in the bookstore. Wow. I mean. Wow. And they actually sell clothes that are not BYU items. DownEast Basics is sold there too. This astounded me.

So far I have accidentally stumbled onto only one lovers tryst. I was trying to walk home (by myself, after David ditched me) without knowing anything but the general direction. I found myself entering a garden like area. I went down a few steps. And then I was at a dead end. But I was not alone.

Also on the same walk home, just after I parted with DH outside his office building, there was a group of people walking behind me. These were university faculty and staff streaming out of the same meeting I had just attended with DH. I kissed DH goodbye (on the lips), and went on my way. Then not 10 seconds later I hear someone say behind me, "And there is a great example of student/professor relationships." I was somewhat shocked but also thrilled that I could add this comment to my collection of strange provoisms. I turned around and looked at them to make sure they knew I'd heard, and also to make sure they were talking about me. I forget what they said after that (something about how they were kidding, and enjoyed the display), but I entertained myself thinking about the exchange on the way home, at least until I discovered the tryst and realized I was lost in 90 degree weather. Sigh.

Sorry for this long post. Or not.

moving + the end of the endless soap

We're moving this week. That means we procrastinate packing until the last two days before movers come and get our stuff. (I am so thankful BYU pays for movers!) But I am tired from just thinking about two solid days of packing...

I have been trying to use up everything in the fridge/freezer and have done relatively well. I had no idea I had so much ham. Or pork. I think I will avoid ham and pork for a while.

Some things are working out perfectly. Out of the 48 toilet paper roll pack I bought some time ago, we now have 2 rolls left. We have maybe 1 cup of laundry detergent left. Unfortunately we ran out of peanut butter a couple days ago. I will probably have to buy more. Alas.

BUT the most amazingly timed event ever is that we FINALLY used up the last of the soap. You know. The soap I have written about periodically for the last 2 years. Here and here and here. I know you will be SO sad to know that this could be the last soap post. David did suggest that we hunt down another bar of that soap (if Walmart still sells the same bath kits) and test out how long it lasts by using it only in the shower (since the last one was used solely as hand washing soap in the bathroom). I am not sure how I feel about repeating the soap experience. While definitely entertaining and amazing at times, it really was quite irritating having endless soap that doesn't lather. I'm not sure I want to do it again, even for the benefit of science.

But my birthday is coming up, and if DH gets me a Walmart bath kit (highly unlikely, if not impossible) then I guess we'll have to see:)

ja vi elsker dette landet

I was maybe 8 years old when my entire family got Norwegian flag t-shirts. I'm talking about the standard white t-shirt with a flag printed on it. It had "ja vi elsker dette landet" printed below the flag, which is Norwegian for "Yes we love this country" and is the national anthem of Norway. I forget the occasion for the group purchase, but the point is that we are Norwegian. I'm like 45% ish. Or whatever. So I was watching this music video, which is sort of addicting. I want to watch it over and over. (its the Pop! song with Hugh Grant...) Anyway, there is a guy in the video wearing one of those British flag t-shirts. I'm not talking about the white t-shirt with a flag on the front, but where the entire shirt is the flag. So that got me thinking that I really need to have one of those. Except I want the Norwegian flag on it.

After searching for a while on the internet, including google.no using both english and norwegian search terms (norsk flagg skjorte), I now know that they are almost non-existant. The closest thing I found was this:

But unfortunately, it does not come in anything other than standard male t-shirt sizes. But I will not give up. Someday I will find one that is perfect, and then I'll wear it with a leather jacket.

It's a girl!

David was right. Though I'm sure the baby will love blue towels:)

My family is especially excited since it's the first granddaughter after a slew of boys. Woot!

The end.