Conversations. And A Reason.

Yesterday my darling husband dropped me off at the Ulta Benefit Brow Bar by our house so that I could get my complimentary birthday eyebrow shaping. 


I had made the appointment for 1:20 in the afternoon, then we got caught up in eating breakfast and finding Milo a Club Penguin toy...
I was late. So by the time I made it into the store, the eyebrow lady had taken a walk in. Totally understandable. I expected it. 


So I hovered around, looking at the Benefit products (none of which I can afford currently, haha). I've liked them for years and it was nice to be un-rushed and able to swatch some things I'd wanted to try. This also gave me an opportunity to overhear the conversation going on between the aesthetician and her client. 


I wasn't eavesdropping...we were in the same space and I really couldn't help but hear what the two women were saying. 


From what I could surmise, Client Lady had some sort of recurring health problem. She mentioned the Mayo clinic and many doctor's visits. Aesthetician Lady (an older woman) was sympathetic, empathetic and kept saying how CL was an inspiration.


I didn't listen any more closely than that. They obviously shared some sort of moment. I watched as the two women hugged each other and exchanged business cards. 


Understandably, I was curious about what type of conversation AL and I would have. Women generally talk to me about being pregnant, and men rarely talk to me at all unless they have to (i.e., I am at work). This woman was around my grandmother's age, so really...anything could've happened. I wondered how 'deep' the conversation would get. If she would mention her prior client. If she would seem sad or wistful. 


Our conversation went as many of the type do...we chatted about skincare, family, eyebrows, eyelashes...the type of thing a woman chats with her stylist/aesthetician about. 


It was the total opposite of AL's prior conversation. 


This is one of the reasons I really want to attend cosmetology school in the future. I want to be able to have such varied and interesting interactions with people. 
Plus...the beauty business is recession-proof and I think I could make a lot of money there. I wouldn't have to work retail OR wait tables!!

Before I Forget...

...what we did in Florida, I had better shake a leg and get these posts done!!!
Our second day was spent at Hollywood Studios (my favorite!)

Waiting to meet Buzz and Woody.

MuppetVision 3-D made me happy years ago, and did not disappoint this time. 

They took off right after this. 

This is apparently the truck that inspired the design of Mater. 

Shaking our fists at Evil Zurg. 

On the one day it was warm enough to go in the pool, Milo was a CHAMP! He put on that life jacket and hung out in the 'deep' end with me for an hour! He also went down the water slide all by himself. And yes, we WERE two of the palest people at the pool .

We spent our third day at Magic Kingdom, and the last morning at Animal Kingdom...the photo order gets a little messed up here. 

Tree of Life. REALLY COOL

Animal butts

We swtiched around some of our meal plan points and upgraded to a table service at Citricos, at the Grand Floridian Resort. SO amazing!!!! Brian had osso bucco and I had Madiera-braised short ribs. Then for dessert I had a tropical fruit creme brulee and Brian had a blood orange tart (that he didn't really like). But my creme brulee was phenomenal. 

Milo had some Goldfish crackers and then he made ice cream soup. Gross. 

Please ignore my weird alien hand. 

More tomorrow. Photos of not my alien hands. 

DISNEYWORLD!!!!!!!!

We left early Saturday morning. Had some pancakes at O'Hare. I had a folded egg and cheese muffin. (only one person will get THAT joke)

I was having some stuffy nose issues which made the plane ride pretty crummy for ME. But Milo was a CHAMP. That kid's resilience amazes me.

Oh, nothing, just kicking it here at 33,000 feet watching some Batman.

We stayed on the Disney property, and I must say that's the way to go. They pick you up at the airport and have shuttles to every park that run like every 15 minutes. We didn't wait longer than 20 minutes for anything. Late April is a really great time to visit!

Milo and I on the shuttle from the airport to the resort. Please excuse my crazy hair .

The first day we arrived at the resort around 4 pm, unpacked, changed clothes (airplane clothes to me are soiled..)and headed out to Epcot. 

We saw the garden and flower show and realized that the camera had no batteries once we had gotten to the park. D'oh. 

So...no photos of Epcot. We went to Japan, where Milo got a CatBus (watch Totoro). Japan has my favorite gift shop, but then I do love most things Japanese. After that, Brian wanted to head to Germany to eat. Then the rain began. We got DRENCHED before we even had a chance to blink. 

Note to my mother-in-law...I forgot the raincoats you bought us. I'm really sorry. 

Ocean at Epcot. Milo and Brian got eaten by a shark.

That's about it for now. Day #2 tomorrow. 

More changes on the horizon. 

We Have Returned!!!

Mr. Smith is sleeping upstairs and kiddo and I are chilling in the living room while I finish laundry (hah. finish. right.) and make a grocery list. 

We had a spectacular vacation and I will post photos soon. Now I'm just going to ease us back into reality. 

Right now, I am grateful for my dear friend Nicole who watched the kitties while we were away. And for the fact that my left ear finally popped after the flight. And for my Keurig and peanut butter toast. And for my washing machine, however small it may be. 

I will never fly pregnant with a sinus infection ever again. 

See you all post-photo editing!!!

And We're OFF!!!

The darling in-laws will be here in about an hour and half to bring us to the airport. 


By lunchtime we should be in the happiest place on earth (no, not a strip club, or a bar or the Playboy mansion, or Nordstrom, though I am sure those places are very nice).


I got up at 6 because I couldn't sleep. Either from excitement OR from the three snoring entities lying next to me (one feline, two human). 


Now to triple-check TSA regs so I'm not the d-bag holding up the security line. 


I PROMISE TO TAKE PHOTOS. If you are my Facebook friend I will be checking in and posting photos there. None here until we return. 


BYE!!!!

Things NOT To Say To a Pregnant Woman

1. 'Wow, you REALLY look pregnant.'
2. 'You look really tired.' EXCEPTION: if you are turning down her duvet and inviting her to sleep in the next morning while you take care of her life until she reawakens.
3. 'When are you due?' EXCEPTION: you are close and you actually KNOW she's pregnant.
4. 'You gonna breastfeed?' (its really none of your damn business)
5. 'Oh you shouldn't have coffee/sugar/lunchmeat/beef/fun/a warm shower.' unless you are her physician or doula, stfu
6. ' You gonna do all-natural childbirth?'


Believe it or not, I heard all of these during either this pregnancy or my previous one. The first time, I would actually answer questions like whether or not I planned to breastfeed or try for a drug-free childbirth...now I really do feel like it is nobody's beeswax. 

Cravings

As a pregnant woman, wants become WAAAAANNNTSSSS. 
Or more accurately...things one must have RIGHT NOW or the risk of me turning into a really upset person is rather high. 


Here are some of mine:


Long hair (not to eat, no pica here. I just am sick of my short hair)


To float in a pool (soon, Florida, soon)


Peanut butter on toast. I am unable to properly function these days without two slices of toast with Smart Balance spread and Natural Jif and a cup of coffee. 


A pedicure. Because painting your toenails while pregnant is HARD.


Ama ebi, sockeye, aji, hon maguro, and hotate gai. If you know what these things are you will know why I cannot have them and you will feel bad for me because they are delicious. 


To stop arching my back when I stand. Its really doing a number on my sacrum. 


A  (bump-friendly) dress that I can wear to a wedding shower and a wedding and any other fancy dress events I may have to attend this summer. 


A giant bottle of Thierry Mugler's Alien perfume. I do NOT like Angel, but Alien is AWESOME. 


This diaper bag. 


This co-sleeper.


This sort of turned into a christmas list. Hm. 


The end. If you have any of this stuff, please give it to me now.
HAH!

Scary Mommy Manifesto

Please solemnly recite the following before proceeding:

I shall maintain a sense of humor about all things motherhood, for without it, I recognize that I may end up institutionalized. Or, at the very least, completely miserable.

I shall not judge the mother in the grocery store who, upon entering, hits the candy aisle and doles out M&M’s to her screaming toddler. It is simply a survival mechanism.

I shall not compete with the mother who effortlessly bakes from scratch, purees her own baby food, or fashions breathtaking costumes from tissue paper. Motherhood is not a competition. The only ones who lose are the ones who race the fastest.

I shall shoot the parents of the screaming newborn on the airplane looks of compassion rather than resentment. I am fortunate to be able to ditch the kid upon landing. They, however, are not.

I shall never ask any woman whether she is, in fact, expecting. Ever.

I shall not question the mother who is wearing the same yoga pants, flip-flops, and T-shirt she wore to school pickup the day before. She has good reason.

I shall never claim to know everything about children other than my own (who still remain a mystery to me).

I shall hold the new babies belonging to friends and family, so they may shower and nap, which is all any new mother really wants.

I shall strive to pass down a healthy body image to my daughter. She deserves a mother who loves and respects herself; stretch marks, dimples, cellulite, and all.

I shall not preach the benefits of breast-feeding or circumcision or homeschooling or organic food or co-sleeping or crying it out to a fellow mother who has not asked my opinion. It’s none of my damn business.

I shall try my hardest to never say never, for I just may end up with a loud mouthed, bikini-clad, water gun–shooting toddler of my very own.

I shall remember that no mother is perfect and that my children will thrive because of, and sometimes even in spite of me.

SOURCE

Anyone?

My husband and I watch the AMC series Mad Men. The praise heaped up on this show for its writing/costuming/hotness/etc is well known and won't be repeated here. 
However. 


What I love about this show is that the characters are incredibly well developed. I have such complex reactions to them. Well, some of them. 


Brian and I have favorites. Characters that frequently make us say, 'Damn. That was awesome.'


All I'm going say is that Joan and Roger are our favorites. Right hunney?


(that was me asking my husband to agree with me via the interwebs)


We just watched this past Monday's episode and can't stop thinking about it. 


What about you? Do you watch that show? Who are your favorites, if you do watch?


Also, side note...


I grew up surrounded by...how shall I say this...not small women. Both physically and personality-wise, heh heh. 


They aren't slim, petite, slender androgynous women. All my aunts (I have five of them related by blood) are women with breasts and hips and butts. What I mean to say is that these women look like WOMEN.  The first time I ever saw a lady put something into her bra for safekeeping it was family. 


So this is the female image I grew up seeing. Thinking...do I resemble that, is that what I will look like, etc...
And I sort of didn't...I suppose? 
I wasn't ever busty, and they all mostly were. My legs didn't really look like theirs, I was taller than a lot of them...just stuff a teenage girl thinks about when her body is going through the weird shit of puberty.  I did, however get their upper arms (all Billeck women reading this SAY AMEN) and tendency for occasional passive-aggressive behavior (all the Billeck women SAY AMEN).
Har har. 
What I hadn't considered is just how much a woman's body will continue to change throughout life, especially during and after pregnancy. 
It's weird. You have to re-accept your body for what it becomes and deal with it as it is. And hopefully love it.

A Lesson Learned

I am very blessed to have more than a few very wise women in my life. I am also very blessed with a wee bit of wisdom of my own. 


I've learned a few things recently and would like to share them with you. Yes. You. 


As an empath, it is rather easy to feel guilty when you feel no empathy towards people at any given time. I have previously felt extreme guilt when I've lacked empathy. I learned recently that there ARE certain circumstances in which a person CAN act in a way that sort of...stops you from feeling empathetic. This does not make you a horrible person.


I used to think that it did. 


I no longer feel this way. 


Another lesson I have learned is that if you give people enough time, they will show you the kind of person they truly are. I am speaking about one person in particular. Someone for whom I stuck up for a long time. (She's not related to me, so I'll squash that speculation now)


I learned that while I didn't like this person, I was able to respect her. 


I no longer respect her. She has shown herself to be untrustworthy, self-centered, and false. Time and time again. I hope to soon see her departure from my life, either by her own volition or by mine. Or by the grace of God, which I suppose will happen either way. 


Final note: Zappos.com is my new favorite place to find shoes. This is not a paid endorsement, as I am not famous enough to get paid to tell ANYONE I like ANYTHING.


But. The customer service is outstanding, their help desk helpers are funny, and their shipping is really fast and FREE. Cheers to Zappos. Now go buy yourself some shoes, you adorable little thing. 

Yes, I Hear You

I just got back from an unusually successful errand run. Milo fell asleep in the car and STAYED asleep (he's sleeping on the couch right now). 


I know I have a bed to make and laundry to do, but there is someone else calling me. 


My Lord and Savior. He's all like, 
"GIRL WHERE YOU BEEN!!!! I put your kid to sleep, go get your Beth Moore book and your bible and let's HANG OUT."


So the bed will remain unmade and the laundry can wait. Because I have been blessed.
And God and I need some quiet time together. 


PEACE. 

LAST WEEK

Well that's it. This is it. My last week of being 30. 
When should I start lying about my age? I lie sometimes now, but only to sell skincare to teenagers. And I tell them I'm 63. 


I just saw a blog post in which an enterprising young lady gave herself 24 goals to reach before she turned 25...I entertained doing the same for about 16 seconds before I realized that my goals for this upcoming year would have to include things like:


- shower EVERY day


- brush your teeth EVERY night


and


- DONT CUT YOUR HAIR, STUPID


in order for me to feel like I would be able to accomplish any of them. 
After I turn 31, there will be many changes in my life. A new baby, a new home (PLEASE SWEET LITTLE INFANT BABY JESUS), a new job for my DH, kiddo's first plane trip...


Goals like: Do a vlog! and Learn to do my makeup!
just aren't very logical. 


Let's try for some realistic goals for my 31st year:


1. Lose baby weight within said year


2. DONT CUT MY HAIR, STUPID


3. Actively seek time with the Lord daily


4. Practice patience


5. Work out more often than not post-baby


6. Floss every day


7. Write letters


8. Keep toenails and feet in presentable condition


9. DONT GIVE UP


10. Keep in touch with true friends


11. Eliminate passive agressive behavior 


12. 


I'm already exhausted and I'm not even halfway there. Good Lord.