Obligatory Wednesday

The last few days have been considerably kinder to me than in recent weeks. I'm able to eat more, hug my toilet less, and get to work earlier than ten o'clock. However, I've been so tired come nighttime that all I can do is zone out on the couch, nevermind there's a TLF soundtrack to create and blog materials to research and a sink full of dishes that aren't going to clean themselves, you know.

I also need to ponder why I'm still losing weight.

WEIGHT ON 2/28: 135.6
CURRENT WEIGHT: 130.4
TOTAL PREGNANCY POUNDS GAINED: -5.2

It's not a huge deal, I guess, but when I think about how I usually float between 137 and 139 pounds, it becomes more significant. A doctor's appointment is scheduled for next week to check my progress in this area, so hopefully I can at least maintain my current weight until then.

Things haven't been too exciting since I last posted. Luke returned from a three-day trip to Louisiana on Friday night, and we decided to exchange anniversary presents a few hours early. I received the Cherish figurine from the Willow Tree line (love love love Willow Tree!), and my husband was presented with a scrapbook of mementos documenting our courtship, wedding, and honeymoon. Since traditional first-anniversary gifts are paper, I tried to include all sorts of related items: movie stubs, concert tickets, the message slip documenting my first phone call to his newspaper, even the check I wrote to pay for him at the bachelor auction. All that and pictures, too! I came up with the idea on Thursday night and immediately scampered off to Target to buy the necessary supplies. The muse of craftiness kept me and the baby awake until two in the morning cutting and pasting and cursing and farting, and the muse of exhaustion woke me up just long enough to turn off my alarm so I could call in to work. It was worth it, though, because Luke seemed to like it--maybe not as much as lil' Freke and I liked it--but it was appreciated nonetheless, so GO ME.

We spent the afternoon feasting on pasta at the Macaroni Grill and shaking our heads in disbelief at Spider-Man 3; Luke is much more generous with his review than me, but I didn't like it, not the plot, the personality changes in Peter Parker, the one-dimensional take on the villains, or the predictable death at the end (I'm not even going to count that as a spoiler, because at least one person has bitten the dust in every Spidey flick thus far). It pains me to say these things, because I truly loved the first two movies, and I adore Tobey Maguire, but still. Thumbs down, Sam Raimi.

On Sunday, we visited our first maternity store. That was, um, interesting.

The clothes, for the most part, were beautiful, and looking around, I actually became excited thinking about all the classy outfits I could wear. Hell, I'll probably look more put-together in two months than I do right now, simply because my ever-changing shape will make me self-conscious enough to put forth extra effort in how I present myself. I found my first tummy tube, delighted at the idea of wearing my pre-pregnancy pants a few weeks longer, and pulled no fewer than eight tops into the dressing room to try on. And when I saw the belly belt hanging on the wall, I almost squealed like a pig. It was the ultimate dress-up dream.

Until I put it all on. Then I felt ridiculous, because wearing the belt gave the impression that my stomach was popping a boner instead of housing a human being, and anyway, I have no baby belly to speak of and therefore no business buying clothes that only come with a ten-day return policy, because who knows where I'll gain weight? Who knows how fat I'll get? I could have a ginormous ass and flabby arms or I could be all belly or I could gain a little bit everywhere and in general look like a chubby hot mess. So I bought the tummy tube, a pair of lounge shorts, and a sleeveless yellow top that I should be able to fill out sometime before August and dragged Luke back to the car, where I cried a little bit and sipped on the shake I would later regurgitate the minute we got home.

If that's not enough of an update for you, we also shopped around for a new cell phone provider. Feel free to share your thoughts on Cingular, Verizon, and Sprint, though I've been a Cingular customer for about three years and haven't been terribly impressed with the service. I also spotted the resident baby geese loitering around our apartment building today and got Luke to take this picture:

This so belongs on a Jones soda bottle.

Comments

[mjd]

If I type fast, I may be the first to comment. The picture has to be a Jones Soda Winner. Your scrapbook anniversary gift sounds like a wonderful present made by little Frema's hands and lil' Freke's help.

[Professor Art Nerd]

What a nice anniversary present! I do not have the talent, patience or materials for scrapbooking- more power to ya! I can't imagine what you'll make for your third anniversary- leather, meow!!

Oh, and stop on by my NEW DOMAIN!! for the answers to your questions from last week!

[Liz]

I've been so sad, reading the Spiderman reviews. We go to the theater for only a couple of movies each year, and this was going to be one of them. It was so great for the first two, watching Spidey swing around the skyscrapers on the big screen.

Oh, well. We'll wait for the rental.

[Jessie]

Happy anniversary! I always start scrapbooks but then I get bored and never finish them so I have about 5 half-done scrapbooks laying around. Am such a lazy procrastinator.

As for cell phones, we too have cingular and I just have to say: Fewest dropped calls, my ass! I drop calls left and right, which I never did when I had Nextel (now Sprint). My only issue with Nextel/Sprint was coverage in rural areas. Whereas everyone else in my family had full service in Michigan's UP, I had none. I also didn't have coverage at my in-law's house which was not that far from a pretty big city, but again, everyone else had coverage. It may be better since the merger. Just my 2 cents.

[VirginiaGal]

I think AllTel and Verizon were the top two cellular providers across pretty much every market according to Consumer Reports (and yes, I'm a geek because that's the first place I look for information on any product).

Your weekend sounds very nice and the Willow Tree figurine is beautiful. Going out to lunch and seeing a movie trumps spending pretty much all Saturday cleaning for the in-laws to come for lunch on Sunday. At least they brought the food.

[Joanne]

I'm a Sprint customer, I think they are the best of the rotten choices for cell phone users. But that could just be habit, I've been with them forever.

With my first pregnancy, I didn't really have to worry about maternity clothes until I was like four or five months along. I have to say I loved Old Navy Maternity, I think you can only buy it online but it really was inexpensive, comfortable, cotton, all the things I look for in clothes.

[Marriage-101]

I was a long time Verizon user and the service was pretty good, but I can't even count how many times they screwed up my bill and tried to jip me out of more money.

I use Cingular now and while it's cheaper and the phone is cool, they do drop a lot of calls. So it's really a toss up between the two.

[Gillian]

I love having my belly band (Tummy Tube to you!). I bought mine on eBay and am able to wear two pairs of my work pants with it. I fold it in half, though, because I can't help but feel like an elderly person when I wear it full length (same goes with the mat pants that come up to the boobs and offer "belly support").

[Diana]

Have you looked into T-Mobile? I switched to them a few months ago after years with Sprint and I love them! Their "fave five" thing has saved me a ridiculous amount of money. I'm telling you, my bill has gone from over $200 a month to around $70.

[Rachel C]

I'm another T-Mobile convert. I was with Verizon but I switched to take advantage of the Fave Five thing. It has saved me so much money! Also unlimited text messages for $5 a month. I'm a big fan of texting so that has saved me money as well.

[Silly Hily]

I have Sprint and can't really complain. I never see or have to deal with the bill though so I don't know if it's ever screwed up or how they are on customer service. It seems like with cell phones you either get good coverage and bad service or bad coverage and good service. It's a hit or miss from what I can tell.
I LOVE Willow Tree and have that same one. Love it.
That whole maternity store thing? The whole thing? Been there, done that. Hopefully the next visit will be better.
The baby geese are too cute.

[Isabel]

Glad you are feeling a little better.

Glad your anniversary was nice. (Except for Spidey. I hated the second one. HATED IT!)

Willow Tree is so cute. I have one from my Mom when Babboo was born. So special.

We have Cingular, and we like it. But I hear that T-Mobile is taking over the world. (My hubby works on their ad campaign. Blame him.)

Keep us posted on the clothing hunt. It's important to feel good about yourself while pregnant! You'll be just fine.

[Katie]

Good call on the maternity clothes. A neighbor took me on a shopping spree when I was about 8 weeks along. I just knew that I should size up on at least one pair of pants, but that old pride got in the way :-) The pants were so big in the butt and legs that I just couldn't imagine needing a bigger size, even though I *knew* that the pants are only designed to accommodate a 25-pound weight gain, and I'd gain at least 40. I'm only 26 weeks along now and am already having trouble with all the pants :-P

Also, I chart my weight gain in Excel. Is that normal? I am an engineer, so maybe it's to be expected for people with my abnormalities, lol.

Either my internet or Typepad is being wicked, so I apologize if this shows up ten times.

[lizarita]

There were so many things in this post that made me snort. I can't even begin to tell you. lil' Freke! boner belly!
You rock.

[Fraulein N]

Glad you're feeling at least a bit better, and that your anniversary was nice. I've had Sprint cell service for a while and I really can't complain. Cingular, on the other hand ... rage rage RAGE, and that's all I'll say about that.

[Audrey]

First things, first. THANK YOU for still calling the baby Freke! I was definitely going to keep it up throughout your pregnancy, and I'm so glad you are, too! Go Team Freke!

Second -- I made a scrapbook for Tim for our first anniversary, too. It seemed like a perfect "paper" gift -- a whole colllection of mementos from our first year of marriage. I hope Luke loved the one you made!

Third -- I'm on Verizon and am generally happy with it because pretty much everyone I call is on Verizon so I can get away with the cheapest plan since I hardly use any actual minutes. However, we were shopping for new phones last weekend and were stoked to take advantage of a BoGo sale only to learn that the BoGo is only for NEW customers. I had the same problem when I was on T-Mobile -- I guess nobody cares about rewarding customers for their loyalty. All they care about is new converts. Once they've got you, they could care less about you. (And we definitely asked the sales person if we could cancel our account and create a new one to get the BoGo, but if we did that we couldn't keep our phone numbers. So Lame.)

[daddy d]

I so glad you are feeling better. Paper for number one is just right. Nice touch.

[Lindsey]

I love those figurines! They are so great and I think it's adorable that Luke got one for you as a gift. Happy belated anniversary you crazy kids!

I'm also glad you are feeling a little better these days.

[Rachel]

I'm glad your anniversary went well! What an awesome present for Luke! Very thoughtful.

I hated buying maternity clothes because during the summer, when they are cute clothes, they were still too big and by the time I could really fit well into them, it was winter time and the clothes were not so cute anymore and I just felt like a big blob!

Good luck on the next shopping trip!

[Christar]

I completely hated Spiderman 3! It was so dumb! And I'm not being biased because I'm a huge Superman fan, but it sucked! The first two were pretty good, but this last one was horrible. And I've lost a lot of respect for Toby McGuire since I saw him smack a fan's camera out of their hands and onto the ground, just for trying to take a picture. Not very nice!

[Bethiclaus]

Okay, so obviously I'm reading this really late, but I just wanted to say that you are doing awesome. I lost a lot of weight first trimester (and some of second) with Alliclaus, but I eventually caught up. And I'm only MAYBE six weeks pregnant and I already can't wear my normal pants.