Changes in the Weather

Alan had a four day weekend and we spent it pleasantly mellowing at home. The weather turned suddenly wintery. Luckily, my fleece and winter coat arrived just in time. Colorado being so high, you can be shivering and sweating in the same breath. The air is icy but the sun is hot. I’m very pleased with my purchases though. It’s nice to know I have some room, because right now they’re still pretty big in the belly. And the coat is heavier than I thought it would be (in a good way) and a very cute blue and black plaid.

I’ve been a bit of a mess lately. I can’t get comfortable at night and when I wake up I generally feel as if I’d taken a beating overnight. Last night I woke up twice. And on Saturday and Sunday I woke up early in the morning, around 5:30, and just couldn’t get back to sleep. I’m pale as paper anyway, and haven’t spent much time in the sun lately as it is, so a lack of sleep really makes the circles under my eyes pop. I’ve always had them, even when I was little, but they seem to be so much worse lately. I also thought I might be getting a UTI, but I wasn’t sure, having never had one in my life, but it seems to have cleared up on its own if that’s what it was in the first place. On top of that, I’ve gotten a cold sore. Considering how compromised the immune system is during pregnancy, it’s surprising that this is the first one I’ve gotten since well before I got pregnant. It’s probably thanks to the sudden change in the weather or an oncoming cold. I’m lucky that only ever get them in the very center of my lower lip, so they’re less noticeable.

I do find it pretty ironic that I engaged in some of the riskiest behavior in college (including an ill-advised flashing incident that I’m sure will come back to haunt me one day LOL) and somehow stayed perfectly healthy, but I get cold sores from Alan. Go figure.

We had our first snow fall on Saturday morning. It went from sleet to snow to freezing rain and back to snow. Fortunately, it cleared up in the afternoon and got very pretty out, or the driving would have been utterly miserable. Colorado doesn’t maintain its roads well in nasty weather (or even in good weather) so driving is legitimately dangerous when it gets snowy and icy. They also don’t believe in salting the roads. They sand them for traction instead, which is great for your car’s body work, but not so great for keeping your car on the road. Maybe that’s why there are so many old cars with very little rust but lots of dents.

I’m feeling more confident about this pregnancy. I still worry a lot that something will happen and I’ll lose the baby, but there’s still absolutely no reason for me to feel that way. I’ve been feeling lots of little flutters lately, much more consistently than before. And my belly is definitely growing. I still think I just look fat, but it’s uncomfortable to button my jeans now. When Alan gets paid again I’m going to order a couple of Bella Bands so I can keep my pants up. I’ve also noticed that it’s harder to bend at the waist now, which makes things awkward. I can’t wait to try and get out of the big squashy sofa at Lisa’s house over Christmas when I’m 29 weeks pregnant. I figure I’ll just find a comfy spot and make people bring me things. LOL

My goals are coming along nicely. Most of them are "in progress" and require a bit of time. I laid out the money to make a nice roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, spinach, and glazed carrots from the Harry Potter cookbook. I was so voraciously hungry by the time it was ready that I was almost nauseated and ate like a horse. It was all so tasty! I also attempted to make crumpets, which came out terribly, and made caramel apples, which are delicious despite the level of stickiness involved.

I did run into a bit of a snag with one of my goals. I wanted to finish the Rosetta Stone German course, which the Army has free for soldiers online. But when I went to log on this morning I found that it’s no longer available. Now it’s some kind of Defense Foreign Language Instruction Course. If I can, I suppose I’ll just take that instead, since Rosetta Stone is ridiculously expensive. I’ll have Alan figure it out for me later tonight because I do still want to learn.

He’s also being so kind as to get some books out from the library for me today. I’m almost done with Little Women and I finished Gone With the Wind last week. So there’s two books on the list. I’m not going to worry so much about not reading books I’ve already read this time. It occurred to me that GWTW isn’t really a story about Scarlett. I mean, look at the frame of the story. It starts on the very day that Melanie arrives at Twelve Oaks and ends the day she dies. It’s far more about how important Melanie is to the world and the many people whose lives she touches. At any rate, the three books he’s getting for me today will all contribute to the advancement of my goals. So yay.

And this coming weekend we’re going up to Anderson Farms. They have a pretty epic corn maze and there’s pumpkin picking, so that’s another two goals off my list.

My plans for the day are very simple. I’m going to take a shower and then clean the bathroom. I’m going to measure the window in the second bedroom and start cutting the fabric for curtains in there. Alan’s going to build a custom shelving unit so I can have the storage I want but also the height and width that seems unavailable in the units that are out there. I want to be able to put a changing pad on top, but most of the low shelves out there aren’t deep enough and are too low for me to use them comfortably. I’m also planning to find the glue, wherever it’s gotten to, and fix a couple things. I really have to do something productive and not just watch TV or read all day, even though that’s what I’d like to do. Oh well.

Time to start the day.

~Liz