ICE, ICE, BABY!

Crap, it's Friday afternoon, I should be already assured of my Scavenger plans. Knowing firmly what I want to post, having a post pre-made and scheduled for posting early Saturday morning, I would make the Boy Scouts proud... but I am without a plan, unsure of my options, clinging to a picture I'm not sure I can locate, sick of ice in general, and looking for some relief in the form of Spring.

Well, I have a safety. Alaska. Alaska the beautiful, ice-capped state that my husband and I visited on our honeymoon. My backup is just to post a snap from my camera phone of the craptastic Cleveland landscape.

With your indulgence, I hereby post... none of these things. In fact, let us deviate from the obvious and go straight to the alternate meaning of ice:

How could a girl say 'no' to that sparkling beauty? Also, the guy wasn't that bad. ; ) I am wearing it right now. It is also my wedding band because I don't want to make it a set. When/if my fingers get too puffy to wear it, I'll revert to a backup ring until the swelling goes down (see: joys of being pregnant). This is by far the most extravagant piece of jewelery I own. It's sort of my pride and joy. Apparently, the jeweler who custom made it from my husband's design thought so, too, because he featured on his website:

Needless to say, It reminds me of the heart of fire that keeps our love warm on these ice-capped Cleveland days. Je t'aime!

Pregnancy Dictionary, Part 2

"So, Sarah, what's it like being five months pregnant?" I hear you say. Well, I'm glad you asked! It's a lot like this:

Round ligament pain: Where your insides get to feel what a drum head feels like when it's made. I think the 'round' stands for 'round the clock', cause this dull, achiness won't quit!

Braxton Hicks Contractions: Practice for the real thing, apparently, but just feels like a cramp or as if the baby is bracing itself in the very lowest regions of your body.

Pyrosis: commonly called 'heartburn' although it has nothing to do with the heart and everything to do with your inept esophagus letting waves of burning acid into your upper digestive track.

Inferior vena cava: The vein running along your spine that makes it a no-no to sleep on your back. *grumblegrumble*

Cravings: What got you eating oreos dipped in peanut-butter without your consent. Best to be very suspiscious of these bad boys as they can have you eating ridiculous things if you let them.

Excitations!

This week's word was EXCITEMENT brought to us by Laura B. Thanks, Laura, for giving us all a word we can get excited about...

The pregnant lady pictured above appears to be thinking:

"I am entering the beautiful, unending chain of humanity, linking myself to the dance of life, becoming the most powerful being in the universe. I am the very center of life force on this planet!"

But in reality, she's actually thinking:

"Holy sh*t, I'm not even halfway?!? I'm gonna be frickin' HUGE, criss-crossed with stretch-marks like an albino watermelon! GAH!!!"

Haha, just kidding. I'm fine with this. I am SO happy, all the time! Who me, worry?? Nonsense. Hahaha! *tries to look away from first ever stretch mark*

California Dreaming

What pregnant woman wouldn't love a vacation to California in the middle of a Cleveland winter? This is the question I asked myself when my husband proposed the idea a few months ago. We'd travel separately, him for work, and me later, and meet up with three other couples in San Jose, then we'd tour wine country in Napa Valley, take a day in San Fransisco, and then fly home. It sounded perfect (if you ignore the part about not being able to actually sample any of the wine because you're pregnant).

As I left Cleveland, the weather broke into a final hissy-fit of snow as if to give me an appropriate send-off to sunnier climes. Only... they weren't sunnier climes.

Our entire visit, the temperature stayed under 55 degrees. And it rained. While this seemed like a blow to our sunny plans, the locals were overjoyed and their faces showed their delight when we brought up the weather. "I know, isn't it wonderful?" asked one vineyard grower. It's hard to give a grouchy response when he was so obviously happy. I sighed and let it go. I was unprepared for the chilly air and as a consequence developed a little cold for my trouble. It was probably Alcatraz that set me over the edge.



What Napa had to offer despite it's cold snap, was plush fertile vegetation and living beauty. While Cleveland sits for half a year under a hard casing of mud and ice, barren branches waiting for Spring, California was ripening under the soft touch of rain, cherry trees in full bloom, cyclamen lining the streets, lemons refreshing the air with their delicious clean scent. Everything was in a permanent state of Springtime. No wonder people like to live here.



We had excitement in San Francisco when we visited Alcatraz (and were even allowed to leave after).

Something about that cold, prominent rock evokes all kinds of poetry in the mind. Our boat bobbed on the waves as the island came further into view. We imagined we were being delivered here to live out the rest of our days as many men had in it's colorful history. (Below, Raymond celebrates being non-incarcerated on "The Rock.")


We were treated to a dazzling sunset behind the Golden Gate Bridge from the grounds of the prison (which is a now a National Park) then ferried back across for some hot chocolate and pizza! A good time was had by all.

To Be or Not To Be (a Girl... with Name Poll!)

The suspense is killing me! Are we having a girl or aren't we? My husband and I agreed to wait on learning gender until the birth of our child. Both of us have confessed to having a gut feeling that Squiggles is a boy... but what if Squiggles is not a boy? What if Squiggles is a girl? What if Squiggles is bringing a flood of cute pink and purple clothing and toys that will adorn every corner of our house? For years! That means Dora the Explorer on TV, My Little Ponies underfoot and Cinderella bedsheets on the bed. It means my husband will be outnumbered (at least initially) and I will be raising a little mini-me. It boggles the mind. A little girl! That would be amazing. Not sure I'm ready, but it will still be amazing.

So if it is a girl, what name(s) do you prefer:

Abril

Amara

Anabel

Angeline

Anja

Brielle

Callie

Geneva

Grace

Katya

Lily

Rose

Sophie

Tatyana

Zoe

SCAVENGER WORD PICKER UPDATE!

Since we haevn't heard from the elusive Babybull (they're dropping like flies around here), I choose Laura B. to choose the Scavenger Shot word for this Saturday. Hop to it, Laura B!

UPDATE: This week's word, chosen by Laura B., is EXCITEMENT! I'm excited to get started! : )

Thanks, Laura.

OPTIONS are a good thing

This week's Scavenger Shot Word is OPTIONS. A word I picked. Why did I pick it? Because it's good to have options. It's a wonderful thing to have choices. It is one of the things I appreciate most about this country and this life: options. This week I chose the option of posting a shot from the interweb that demonstrates options very clearly and rather humorously, I think.

Next week's picker is: Babybull! (if she's able to get up from her sickbed with her aching back to do so...: )

Here, I've taken the option of posting yet another photo from our Honeymoon. : ) I am so predictable!