Counting Down The Days

So, now that I've informed my boss that I am leaving things are kind of downhill from here, as far as work is concerned.

With accounting everything is cyclical and we work on a one-month cycle. So, this week and next week we are finishing up February accounting. I'll be pretty busy for that. But then we start March accounting where I will be training the person who is taking over my desk. Training is so much easier than actual working. For one, because the person I am training is not a new hire, but instead someone who has been here for about a year. So he already has a basic idea of what to do. I just have to sit back and make sure he doesn't mess up. Once March accounting is over, it will already be April 7th or so and then I will only have ONE WEEK LEFT (give or take a few days). Can you believe that? Well, you might be able to believe it, but it's moving fast, you know?

Also, did February FLY by for anyone else? I mean, January seemed to go on forever and here it is nearly March. Granted, both January and February were kind of stressful/crappy. I am holding high hopes for March. Otherwise I might have to write off this whole year as a bust. We are doing some pretty exciting stuff though. I go to the doctor on the 3rd (just a regular "check on stuff visit", but it's in the middle of the day, so I'm pretty sure I can get away with taking a whole day off work), then our big 20 week ultrasound on the 18th. We are also going to see Brad Paisley at the Rodeo this month AND closing on the house.

March had better be good. I am tired of the whole "let's stress Emily out" theme this year has started out with. My patience is at an all-time low. I actually yelled at a Subway employee last week (the restaurant, by the way. Houston does not have a transportation subway--this caused some confusion earlier). I kind of feel bad about it, but really they kind of deserved it.

I Really Thought Today Was Friday

We DID get approved for the home loan!!!!! I also let the cat out of the bag at work, so some of the stress has gone away (knock on wood). Now if they would just let us know about our bonuses I could really rest at ease. Well, sort of. The actual "rest at ease" part should come after we close on the house, right?

My best friend is coming over for dinner tonight. I am so excited! We were college roommates. One of my favorite dinners we would make together was taco salad, so I'm thinking that's what we'll do tonight. She actually won't be over for long because she's flying to her parents house at 9. Ah, the benefits of living five minutes from the airport.

We are finally under the one month mark to the ultrasound where we get to find out the sex of the baby. March 18th is the big day and it seems like it is taking forever to get here. But at least that breaks up the monotony of waiting until March 28 when we close on the house.

Wow, lately these posts have had no cohesive nature at all. Geez. Why can't I just have a funny story to tell, huh?

Tick, Tock

Waiting on the phone to ring. The loan officer is supposed to call back this afternoon with the decision on whether or not we were approved for the loan to buy the house.

tick. tick. tick.

Nothing To Tie This Together At All

I slept about a total of five hours last night. The night before I slept about five hours. Lack of sleep seems to have made me delirious. I just spent five minutes laughing about the word "llama".

Also of note, last night on E! they said Jessica Alba is due in March. Was this a misquote or something, because she does NOT look like a person who is about to birth a child. She looks like she is barely showing. Perhaps they meant to say May or something?? I tried to find a picture to link to, but no luck.

And, lastly, the most recent gift that pregnancy has given me is heartburn from hell. I can probably count on one hand the amount of times I had heartburn pre-pregnancy. And that was nothing. NOTHING! Last night was just awful. The burning was so bad and then it would be followed up with kind of a dull pain. Needless to say I am not ever going anywhere without my trusty bottle of Tums.

On My Mind

*Our loan information has been received by the bank. She will let us know if we are approved as soon as she hears back from the underwriter. Keep your fingers crossed. I am so nervous.

*Taco Bell. Nachos. Nacho Cheese Chalupa. Twenty minutes until lunch.

*When am I going to get to feel this baby move?

*Are video monitors really neccessary? They are so expensive compared to regular baby monitors. . .

*Two more loads of laundry left until it is ALL done. It has literally been months since I have been able to say that. I guess the tired all the time stage is finally over.

Friday Round Up

*Last night was very peaceful. Thank goodness. We talked about the day and grabbed dinner at McDonalds. I got him a shirt and he got me a stuffed gorilla. No arguing! One day at a time, so let's knock on wood.

*Speaking of McDonalds, the Hot and Spicy McChicken is so good. But, they don't have it at every McDonalds. I'm not even kidding a little bit. I really want to go get it for lunch today, but I don't know if they sell it at the one near my work.

*This week I got the loan application packet all filled out for the house and sent it in. Now we wait. And wait. I do not like waiting.

*I also set up my first day of work for the new place. Um, that means I should really get on the task of letting my current boss in on the news. Kind of nervous about that one.

*My new job's insurance does NOT consider pregnancy pre-existing!!! This is practically the best news of the week. Most places do consider it pre-existing, so I thought I would have to use COBRA to continue with my current insurance. At a rate of about $400 a month. So glad that is no longer an issue.

*Speaking of pregnancy, at the ultrasound last month the baby was moving All Over the Place. At Monday's visit when they did the Doppler you could hear the baby kicking several times. It is so strange to me that the baby is moving around so much in there and I can't feel it at all!

Valentine

My husband and I have only been married for about a year and two months. You know how everyone says the first year is the hardest, etc., etc.? It doesn't really appear to be the case in this particular situation. For about three weeks we've been bickering and arguing quite a bit. The losing sleep at night, worrying about it all day kind of arguing. Some days it seems like everything is cleared up and things are fine and then we get into another fight over something really stupid.

Someone at work pointed out to me yesterday that other than getting married, I am pretty much hitting all of the major life changes in the next six months or so. Changing jobs, new house, moving to a new town, and having a baby. Obviously all of these major changes are probably contributing to the problems too.

Most of the morning I've been trying to figure out when this phase of arguing so much is going to end. But, that's tiring and sad. So, while it's pretty much a 50/50 chance that Valentine's Day might just be another argument tonight, I want to remember something happier.

Our very first Valentine's Day was about three weeks after we met. We met at the end of January and decided to date each other exclusively on Groundhog Day (oh, so romantic of a day, huh?) . It moved really fast, not just in a looking back on it kind of way. When everything was happening I can remember it being like a whirlwind. I met this guy on a Thursday and he was my boyfriend maybe a week later. It was just a feeling, you know? It was just right.

Anyway. . . Valentine's Day. Twelve days later. This was no easy shopping trip. For either of us. Have you tried picking out a card for someone you've known three weeks? On actual Valentine's Day, when the card racks are sad and have about five lonely cards? They were all "My Love", "Love of my Life" blah blah. I finally found one that was just cute. Something about a little dog being so happy it's tail was going to wag off it's butt or something. Then I got him some Dave Chappelle dvd that he had mentioned earlier.

He got me a really cute monkey named Bonzai. And a Snicker bar. And a card that was, um, odd, but we ended up chalking it up to the poor card selection.

That was four years ago. I had no idea that I'd be married to this guy just a few years down the road. I also had no idea that four years down the road on Valentine's Day I'd be as stressed out and worried as I feel today. I somehow doubt that he's thinking about this very first Valentine's Day at the moment, but I hope maybe it will cross his mind. And I hope that tonight when we both get home we can remember how lucky we felt to find each other. It seems like lately those memories and feelings get pushed to the back while the frustrations take center stage.

Houston, We've Had a Problem

**Note, I just recently read that Apollo 13 misquoted the actual phrase which is "Houston, We've Had a Problem" I was torn over how to title this post then, should I have gone with the better known "Houston, we have a problem?" Whatever.

Anyway, besides the major traffic problem in Houston, which is a constant source of headache, today's problem is e-mail. Our entire company's e-mail is down in the Houston offices. This has got to be the most annoying thing that has ever happened here. Hands down. What if I have something important in there? Plus, I left early yesterday. There is 24 four hours worth of e-mail that I am missing out on.

The other problem is that I am still on the course of not feeling much like eating. I mean, don't get me wrong, I eat. But I still don't feel like I can eat very much and my doctor kind of lectured me about eating more because I am 15 weeks and lost weight again. She said I should have started gaining or at least not be losing. I am trying!!! Really. Pizza. Chocolate. LOTS OF MILK. But, my appetite is so small that I can only eat a little bit. Or else I'll be sick. And then it's like eating nothing at all. There is just no winning.

Friday Round Up

-Guess who did not watch LOST. Me. That's who. I fell asleep at 7:50 and missed it all. The DVR better have recorded it. Otherwise it will be a sad, sad evening. This whole day has been centered around NOT finding out what happened. First thing I hear on the radio:

DJ 1: WAIT! You aren't going to say what happens are you?
DJ 2: Well no, I think they show this on the preview anyway. They are all thinking they are going to get off the island--

Luckily I changed the station. This station also ruined the end of Blood Diamond for me.

-This baby apparently does not have much of a taste for Italian food. Or Mexican food. I had enchiladas for lunch today and while I'm not feeling sick, it's just a general overall "blah" sensation. Almost like the baby is saying "Okay, I'm tolerating this Mexican crap today. But don't get greedy."

-Eyebrow waxing. Does anyone else have issues with this? Because apparently I do. I mean, my eyebrows are blondish anyway, so there aren't horribly noticeable. BUT, when I do get them waxed they look much better. However, it's like I get them waxed one day and then three months later I'm like "whoa. . . my eyebrows are out of control." This occurence totally confuses me because it's not like I don't look in the mirror EVERY day. Why must they always get to that emergency point before I go get them done? It's like I don't know that it hurts more when they are all willy-nilly crazy. (And yes, I'm too big of a sissy to pluck them myself. I get about two plucks in, start sneezing like crazy, eyes tear up, and I stop).

-We got a new King size bed a few weeks ago. I love it. LOVE it. So soft and cuddly. Plus we found a "luxury" down comforter 50% off. It's like sleeping in the land of clouds.

-My best friend went to get a Spray Tan for the first time ever yesterday. She called to inform me that this was happening. Now, neither of us has ever gone to any tanning salon so we really didn't know what she should expect. I figured it was going to be humorous though and said it's really too bad she didn't have a video camera along with her. I won't type the whole hilarious story, but let's just say part of her little adventure involved her standing, naked, behind the door to the room while the tanning salon worker tried to figure out why the machine wasn't working.

Not LOST!

Last May we moved from a one bedroom apartment to the two-bedroom apartment we are in currently. However, since I was pretty certain we'd only be in this apartment for a year some of our things were never put away in any kind of logical order so much as. . . well left in the moving boxes and stuffed into my closet. In no order whatsoever.

Did you know that buying a house requires filling out the mother of all application packets? Did you know this packet will ask for W-2s and 1099s from LAST YEAR and this year? I did not. But, obviously this isn't shocking. So, I gathered all the bank statements and check stubs, addresses and former employers, etc. I kept putting off all that tax info. though because while I knew I am totally responsible enough to keep it, I had no idea where it might be.

I mention to my Mom that I can't find them. She says "You should keep those! Don't you know you are supposed to hold onto that stuff for like 7 years?" See that is the burden of an uber-organized mother. She completely does not understand the difference between "cannot find" and "I threw it away."

But, whatever! Because I found it!!!! Finally. I'm sure this is exciting to no one but me. It was major though. I was like a detective! It was so hard to find. Okay, actually I thought it would be hard to find. So, I immediately started searching in all the back corners of places. In random folders and boxes. Just as I was about to give up (i.e. cry) I opened my closet door and, no kidding, right in the front of the closet in a little white wicker basket sitting atop a pile of old purses piled into a laundry basket was a booklet with a label that said something along the lines of "something something, blah blah TAXES". It was thrilling, really.

Oh, and to clear up any confusion about how such a random collection of items could be RIGHT in the front of the closet--I have given up on using that closet for clothes. That's what my husband's closet is for. I told you I knew we'd only be here a year, no sense in organizing, right? RIGHT????

(Oh Lord. I just had to edit this because I had typed "No since in organizing" instead of "No sense in organizing"--the Texas accent in my head sometimes makes me type the wrong word. . . )

It's Thursday. . . Do you Know what you Should be Watching?

What a magical combination for ABC. Mix the writer's strike with the fact that LOST had been off the air for eight months and add in the simple fact of "oh my God, what is going to happen next?" and BAM! Must see TV.

Last season it was always exciting when LOST night came around, but this season I seem more ecstatic than ever. My husband does not watch the show, so last Thursday it was me, glued to the tv, and him, making comments when I am trying to focus on the show. Example:

On the tv: Hurley is crying because he just found out Charlie died.
Husband (has no idea what Hurley is crying about because he is playing football on his PSP, but finds the need to comment anyway): What a wuss.
Emily (too focused on LOST to comment on how Hurley is not a wuss! Charlie died! This is super sad! What is wrong with you? Do you have no heart?): Shh.
Husband: . . . some other comment I didn't hear, but it still managed to distract.
Emily: SHHHHHHH!!!!! This is LOST! LOST!!

By the end of the show he had left the room because I was being grouchy. Grouchy?!? No. Focused is the word people. And sometimes focused may come across as grouchy. People who are not LOST fans should be given a handbook on how to behave when actual fans are trying to watch the show.

Anyway, back to the point TODAY IS THURSDAY! LOST COMES ON IN LESS THAN 12 HOURS. After last week's disruptions (plus dealing with the whole "you're such a grouch" thing post-viewing) I am tempted to just DVR the show and watch it Friday after work, in peace. But I just can't do it. Too many factors that are out of my control. What if the DVR doesn't record all or part of the show? What if I accidently hear something the next day on the radio? AND I'll totally have to wait to read comments on the internet.

Extinguish

Because I don't think it could come at a better time, I am copying Swistle today.

1. "You are making the wrong decision."
2. "Sometimes I wish you could see past the end of your own nose. There are people who matter besides yourself."
3. "Don't talk to her that way. Does it make you feel better about yourself to put her down? Because it just makes you look ignorant."
4. "Please realize how important this is. Don't ruin it."
5. "I'm sorry that we aren't friends anymore. I know it was my loss."
6. "I am not who you think I am, but it was your choice to judge me without getting to know me." 7. "I still think about you. I wonder what you are up to and where you are. I hope you still wonder about me."
8. "I can't believe I wasted my time on you. You did not deserve me."
9. "You are the most evil person I have ever met in my life, I'm glad that I no longer know you."
10. "I had so much fun with you and can't believe we lost touch. It's my fault. I wish the best of everything in this world."
11. "Don't do it."
12. "I'm sorry for being so difficult."

Today is really gray (for lack of a better word). Nothing is really going the way I want it to. As much as I don't want to drearily complain, in reality I think that is all I have to say. I'm worried about a lot of different things, most of which are completely out of my control. The one thing that should be easy for me to get a grasp on is seemingly the most difficult right now. Sometimes it's hard not to feel like I'm the only one trying to put out a fire while everyone else is just sitting around watching the flames get out of control.

3/2/2

Busy weekend! We made an offer on a house!!! It is so exciting, but kind of nerve-wracking as well. This will be our first house. . .

Let's see it's three bedroom/2 bath. HUGE backyard (which the dogs will be thrilled about). It is not brand new, but not too old either. It was built in 1998. We have agreed on a price with the seller, so today I scheduled all the inspections and what-not. Keep your fingers crossed that we don't end up finding out that the foundation is cracked, the roof is falling in and the a/c is on it's last leg.

Nothing else is new really, the whole home-buying experience has been keeping us pretty occupied. I did accept the new job though. I'm 14 weeks today and still down 12 pounds. My next doctor's appointment is in a week. Plus we're now only six weeks away from finding out the boy/girl status. Which is good because HOPEFULLY we'll have a nursery to paint pretty soon.