A Day in the Life

Randomness about me today...

I'm sitting at home being a good, good girl on bedrest and thinking ahead. If all goes well, then on Wednesday we'll get to meet Ryder. I'm excited and nervous. As usual when I think too much, my brain starts working in weird ways and I came up with Ryder's personal ad:

Strong but sweet HWPD&DF male looking to find MF couple for mutual love, affection and life adventures. Anticipating much cuddle time, great meals and learning about this crazy but gorgeous world together. Likes: naps followed by tons of activity. Dislikes: sudden loud noises, green chile.

Jaime's out this morning, playing at mile 25.2 for the Austin Marathon. This is the first time I've missed being at the marathon in years. I was ultra-disappointed to stay home but my blood pressure was elevated this morning. I have to do what's best for my baby & my body right now. So...I caught a little on the news instead. The weather is awesome, possibly a little too warm for the runners. I wish I could be out in the sunshine, cheering them on. Umm...okay, I'll stop whining now.

I'm always proud of my runner friends when they tackle something like a 13.1 mile run or a full 26.2 mile marathon! I think it's incredible what your body can do even when your mind says "you think you're gonna do what??". For several years I've coached a walking group for the Cap 10K. Some of my walkers had never gone more than a mile before starting our training. It felt wonderful to know that on the day of the Cap 10K they walked 6.2 miles to a fantastic finish.

Yesterday was a great Valentine's Day. Jaime surprised me with a beautiful flowering cyclamen and a wonderful meal. The man who can't cook whipped up a surf & turf meal of steak, Jonah crab claws, pasta carbonara and garlic bread. It was delicious! Here's a picture of the feast:

Yummy! And in return, I gave Jaime his engagement ring. He'd told me on many occasions that it's unfair that women get a sweet piece of jewelry to show they're taken and men have to wait and wait until finally they get a band. And sometimes that band isn't much, other than plain gold. I made sure Jaime's ring is what he wanted, a tungsten carbide (translation: indestructible) ring with an intricate engraved design. The pictures I took don't do it justice, so here's one I ripped off from the manufacturer:

I hope everyone's having a great weekend. My plan now is to move to the couch and watch some silly & terrific chick flick.

I <3 Taste No Evil Muffin Company

In a city fast falling in love with food-from-a-trailer, I've started to become somewhat jaded when a new one opens up off a busy street. And then I was introduced to Taste No Evil Muffins, a colorful trolley in front of Maria's Taco Xpress on S. Lamar.

Last week, a friend asked me to run over from downtown to the trolley at lunchtime, specifically because he'd gotten a tweet that the Blueberry Buttermilk Bliss muffins had been involved with a scandal that morning: an extra cup of blueberries had sneaked into the mix. Extra berries or not, that muffin rocked! Slightly crispy top, moist interior and full on packed with flavor.

Because I like to ensure my food recommendations are spot on, I went back again yesterday only to realize that the trolley's closed on Mondays. No worries, TNE is on my commute to work. Today's muffin was well worth the wait. I purchased a Chocolate Sinsations for myself and Stuffed Cream Cheese Coffee Cake one for my friend. These are the two most evil muffins on the menu, healthwise. Mine was loaded with divinely rich dark chocolate chips that were just on the edge of melt-y and perfectly complimented the dark chocolate sweet bread. Ultra-chocolatey without being overly sweet, it was nothing but seduction in a paper muffin cup.

The coffee cake muffin looked and smelled fabulous but the only description I can give you on flavor is the mumbled "deelishus" I heard my friend mutter as he wandered away with his treat.

Try it for yourselves. I guarantee you'll enjoy these muffins. And for you gluten free folks, there's even one for you, the Chocolate Almond GF muff. There's a lower fat Strawberry Citrus Sunrise Muffin heading the top of my "Must Try" list. TNE uses organic ingredients as much as possible, which I appreciate. And if you really want decadent, try a Muffin Top Ice Cream Sandwich, a dark chocolate muffin top sliced in two, gently embracing your choice of the following Amy's Ice Creams flavors: sweet cream, dark chocolate or coffee. I've died and gone to muffin heaven and it's name is Taste No Evil.

Butt Rot & Other Joys of Modified Bed Rest

I'm still practicing modified bedrest when I'm not working. That means I spend all evenings and weekends on my couch or in bed. Now this may sound delightful to many, but after a while it grates on my last nerve. Or at least on my butt nerves. Yes, you can get butt rot, that numb & uncomfortable feeling you get on road trips just from the couch or bed. I think it comes on sooner than the normal 5 hour mark, though. It might have something to do with positioning, since my feet are supposed to be higher than my heart (not easy when you're pregnant with what must be a baby wildebeast). I've given up all dreams of being comfortable.

Sleep is elusive, something other people do. I wake up often to pee. Very often. Like every 1.5 hours or so. The days I can sleep for 3 hours in a row are wonderful, although then I wake up and realize that my body is cramped up like the Hunchback of Notre Dame because I didn't move a centimeter while unconscious. Which is really okay because...

It takes a LOT to roll over. Clutch the belly with one hand, wriggle away, push or pull with the free hand and finally, with a lot less finesse than Shamu coming out of the water and sliding across the loading dock thingy at a Sea World show, I've rolled over. Then I have to re-position the body pillow under my belly and between my knees, flip my pillow to the cool side, move my hair out from under my neck so I won't be trapped in a funny (funnier?) position and then try to go back to sleep. At this point I will realize that a) I haven't peed yet or b) I'm starving, c) I'm thirsty or d) all of the above. And that's not counting the times when I find myself completely wide awake. Awake enough to get up, do three loads of laundry and cook a meatloaf, if I was only cleared to do so.

Cooking. I love my babydaddy. He's learning to cook while I'm on bedrest. But I completely miss being able to stroll into the kitchen and whip up whatever I want to eat. I also dislike it that he's transitioned from lovah to butler. Seriously, I feel ridiculous asking him to refill my water. I must have never been super rich in a former life...I'm pretty sure I was a servant, not the one being served. And I want to be in the kitchen, creating delicious meals. His meals are yummy but I love, love, love to cook.

No matter how many cable channels you have, after a set amount of days watching television you will find that nothing holds your attention. New netflix movies can't get here fast enough. There's only so many times I can watch "Paranormal State" reruns.

Okay, bitch over. I am THRILLED that Ryder will be here in 10 days. I'm ready for the next step in my adventure, the land of sweet baby smell and soft, soft skin...of puke & poopy diapers and even the anticipated ultra sore nips from breastfeeding. I still look down and think "holy smokes, there's a baby in there!". It's amazing and humbling. But don't think that at some point in time when he's being a little stinker I'm not going to trot out stories of butt rot and insomnia, because I will. After all, I'm having a scheduled c-section a month early so it's not like I'll get to use the "I endured intensely painful labor for 34 hours to have you and here you are treating me this way?!!" line.

Things I See On My Way to Work

You know, I see some normal stuff and then some weird things. I see good stuff & bad. I see a lot. I see dead people, too, but that's off topic for this post. Here are things I've seen on my commute in the past week. And let me just say I love Austin and all it's freak flag flying ways.

1. A goth-guy dressed all in black and sportin' a ginormous cherry red mohawk (seriously, at least 7" out from his skull) waiting for the bus. I see him often since he lives near my 'hood. I always admire his hair and then wonder when goth kids starting wearing emo skinny jeans?

2. A rock sculpture in the front yard of a house I pass every M-F. The sculpture is one that looks like a strong puff of air would blow it over but it stays upright anyway. One day I'll stop and take a picture of it. It's oddly asymmetrical with smaller rocks positioned under larger ones. Kind of like this one, but not so pretty:

3. A man peeing on the side of a music rental store. He was kind enough to turn mostly away from traffic. It was cold out, so I imagine his penis was teeny & shrunken.

4. Not one but two people dressed up like Uncle Sam in red, white & blue tuxedos with top hats trying to wave the morning rush hour traffic into the parking lot of a tax preparation business. Because having your employees dress up in what appears to be a desecrated American flag guarantees you'll get my business.

5. The Taste No Evil muffin trolley. Well, at least a side view from the street when I pass by. My gay ex-husband turned me on to these delicious treats this week, introducing me to the owner, Karisa. I have since spent each day this week resisting the urge to turn into the lot and get a muffin or a dozen. These are tastylicious and tantalizing must-have muffs. We went on a day when the Blueberry Buttermilk Bliss muffins "accidentally" had an extra load of blueberries added to the mix. I think it was all an unaccidental plot to coerce me into muffin love...and it worked. I've had no cupcake cravings since tasting Karisa's muffins. Here, ripped off from my ex's blog are pics of the trolley and a muffin. You have got to go by and have one or seven. My next choice will be Chocolate Sinsation...a dark chocolate delight that is rumored to be better than Democrats in the White House, sex on any given occasion and having someone else clean your home for a year.

And...don't be fooled by the pic, these are NOT small muffins. The angle doesn't show off the muffin very much but my pics I took with my crappy camera phone didn't come out at all, so this is what you get, peeps. Just remember I rarely ever steer anyone wrong with my food rec's...so hightail it over to TNE and savor the flavors.

8.5 Months Pregnant

A few thoughts...

• If another person tells me that my not sleeping more than 1.5 hours at a stretch is "preparation for when the baby wakes you up to eat" I may just lose my mind. (No offense to my friends who've said it). I realize it's true but hey, I just want to sleep longer. Last night I got in a 3 hour nap from midnight to 3am and thought it was the best thing since Bud Light was invented.
• Speaking of adult bevies, the reason I slept for 3 hours last night was ultimately because of the 2 fingers of white wine Jaime gave me to drink at bedtime. My first cocktail since my Tom Jones Girls Gone Wild Gambling Adventure at the end of June 2008.
• My baby boy has begun developing quite the personality in utero. So far he has made it clear that he does not tolerate hard sleeping surfaces at all. If my body pillow somehow un-wedges from beneath my belly while I'm asleep, he will kick continually at the bed until I wake up and replace it. Then it's back to sleep for him while I have to get up, pee, get back in bed and get comfortable before maybe falling asleep.
• Trust me when I say that getting up & back into bed isn't easy when you're this pregnant. Turning over is a feat in itself.
• I feel much like a thanksgiving day parade float, lumbering down the street no matter if I'm actually on a sidewalk or going down the office hallway. The good thing is, most people like parade floats. People in general are so much nicer to pregnant women than to anyone else.