While I can absolutely agree with a wonderful cousin-in-law of mine in stating that I am much more prone to grumpiness, by way of limiting snarky comments I tend to go for humor. Thus it is born: my newest mystery to unravel!
Dust off your "little gray cells" my friends, it is time for....
Sherlock Mom and the Case of the Disappearing Due Date
It was a sunny day. The woman had just confirmed the most exciting news that year: she was definitely pregnant. She left the 32nd Avenue building, crossed the parking lot and stepped up into her parked SUV. "I don't actually remember the first day of my last period..." she thought to herself "but no matter, I know when I got pregnant I think, and I know technology these days, I'm sure this won't pose a problem to the OBGYN". Confident, she drove off home to relax.
Three months later, she walked in to Sherlock Mom's new office. "Sherlock Mom! I need your help!" She gasped "They've lost it! They're not sure!"
"Slow down there, dear, who has lost what"
"The OB! They've lost my due date! They have no idea how far along I am, and don't admit anything about what they have told me in the past could have been at all accurate. I'm lost! I don't know if my baby is the size of a turnip or a cabbage, or even a tomatillo!"
"Ah, not to worry dearie. The little gray cells, they will tell us."
"Oh.." the woman sobbed, "but mine are all gone!"
"Ah I see," said SM, "Well, luckily, my little gray cells are now at your service. To begin with, do you remember when you had your last period?"
"No.. but I do think I know when we could have become pregnant.."
"See! It unravels already. What did the OB tell you about your due date"
"Well, first, the urgent care said i was around 4 weeks at the end of August. Then, the Doc I had for my first prenatal visit told me I looked about 14-15 weeks in October. Then, she measured the baby's femur and said it was more like exactly 11.5 weeks at the same visit... This last visit the new Doc told me my chart said I was 20 weeks, that was 3 days ago, and when I mentioned the other visits, he told me those were ultrasounds just for fun and to try and date a pregnancy at this time was too inaccurate to even attempt and a waste of time. But, I thought they normally could tell the sex of a baby at 20 weeks.. do you think I'll ever find my official due date Sherlock Mom?"
"Hmm, I can understand your dilemma my dear." SM closed her eyes, and appeared to fall asleep. She began to snore. She sat up with a jerk. "Sorry, my dear, it's these hormones, you know, I'm just so tired all the time... But, I think the answer to your question will be found when you think back... you had three confirmations - your own personal idea, the first urgent care ultrasound, and the unofficial femur measurement, while none of these were recorded on a doctor chart, they all point to being about 16.5 weeks right now. Go with that, and who knows? If you give birth earlier than you think you should, and the baby is healthy, then you have only saved yourself months of discomfort."
"Oh Sherlock Mom! You are incredible! Your reputation is so right! I feel so much better. Nuts to those other doctors! I'll consult you and Doctor Mom, your counterpart, only from now on!"
The End
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Lianna Baggins, of Bag End
Diary of a Pregnant Woman
In honor of the magic bean now slowly growing into an alien inside my uterus, I decided I might have something that would interest others to post about now.
Also, the time star is in the house of energy, which means astrologically I am aligned to do something other than sleep! Today is a good day for me. I was up before 8 am (which is about when the sun comes up this time of year here in Fargo), I had enough energy to do lots of things before my nap time at 12:30! And, I may even do more yet.
Today I know I'm pregnant. Either that or I should change my name to Lianna Baggins.
The last week I have been eating Breakfast, Second Breakfast, Elevensies, Lunch, 2pm Tea Time (Minus the tea), Dinner, Supper, and Dessert (yes, it is it's own meal in this house). Also, usually a Mid-Night snack.
I'm not talking about the snacking I do in between. These are legitimate meals.
Plus, I think my hair is getting thicker and darker... though it hasn't grown on the bottoms of my feet yet.
In honor of the Shire, on weekends I take my responsibilities as a resident of Bag End to a new level. Not only do I have at least 7 mealtimes, but I also have several naptimes. It starts with a 10-13 hour sleep at night, (with the usual Mid-night snack thrown in.. and the 4 poddy breaks..) I then have Siesta at around noon, Break at around 3 pm, Nap at 4:30 (sometimes Break and Nap run into one another, they're good friends, they are.) then Bedtime at 9:30.
As a side note, when I got sick a few weeks ago, the Dr. stated "well, you can't take much medicine, so just rest a lot and drink lots of water." My thought was, ok, challenge, how much more frequently CAN I sleep and still eat at all my regular times, go to work, and shower once in a while? Answer? sleep whenever I wasn't actively eating, working, or showering. My husband started to call it my "awake" schedule instead of my "sleep" schedule.
It has, however, been so worth it (and really, is it a sacrifice to sleep more often and eat more food? It's really more of a perk).... after all, this is the reward!
In honor of the magic bean now slowly growing into an alien inside my uterus, I decided I might have something that would interest others to post about now.
Also, the time star is in the house of energy, which means astrologically I am aligned to do something other than sleep! Today is a good day for me. I was up before 8 am (which is about when the sun comes up this time of year here in Fargo), I had enough energy to do lots of things before my nap time at 12:30! And, I may even do more yet.
Today I know I'm pregnant. Either that or I should change my name to Lianna Baggins.
The last week I have been eating Breakfast, Second Breakfast, Elevensies, Lunch, 2pm Tea Time (Minus the tea), Dinner, Supper, and Dessert (yes, it is it's own meal in this house). Also, usually a Mid-Night snack.
I'm not talking about the snacking I do in between. These are legitimate meals.
Plus, I think my hair is getting thicker and darker... though it hasn't grown on the bottoms of my feet yet.
In honor of the Shire, on weekends I take my responsibilities as a resident of Bag End to a new level. Not only do I have at least 7 mealtimes, but I also have several naptimes. It starts with a 10-13 hour sleep at night, (with the usual Mid-night snack thrown in.. and the 4 poddy breaks..) I then have Siesta at around noon, Break at around 3 pm, Nap at 4:30 (sometimes Break and Nap run into one another, they're good friends, they are.) then Bedtime at 9:30.
As a side note, when I got sick a few weeks ago, the Dr. stated "well, you can't take much medicine, so just rest a lot and drink lots of water." My thought was, ok, challenge, how much more frequently CAN I sleep and still eat at all my regular times, go to work, and shower once in a while? Answer? sleep whenever I wasn't actively eating, working, or showering. My husband started to call it my "awake" schedule instead of my "sleep" schedule.
It has, however, been so worth it (and really, is it a sacrifice to sleep more often and eat more food? It's really more of a perk).... after all, this is the reward!
Sunday, July 29, 2012
To Blog Or Not To Blog.
I have a blog. Do I blog? Not really. Mostly because I feel that my life isn't that interesting. (FYI it's because it isn't). However, I have had several requests to.... restart my blogging. So I will. For a time.... a little.....maybe. (Does this count as blogging?)
Sunday, March 4, 2012
spring in Fargo
Before I arrived here, people told me "It snows more in Colorado than Fargo, but it just never melts in Fargo."
They were wrong. Possibly it snows more in Aspen and Vail than in Fargo. Probably not. And this is a crazy mild never-before-seen-good-weather winter. Winter? Isn't it March? O yes, Spring other places, Winter here.
That said, the snowing feels more mild than Colorado. It snows most days, but never more than a couple inches at a time. The lower altitude makes a huge difference; the 14 degree sunny day we had yesterday felt like 25-ish to me. I went to the bank without a coat - in 14 degrees. The weather doesn't fluctuate like crazy here, so the barometer generally stays peaceful. Also, my knees never complain. TOTAL SCORE. If you've never had joint pain due to intense cold weather, feel lucky.
This feeling of invincibility to the cold had me under-dressed at the dog park. Not so fun. My little cotton gloves froze and flaked all over the place when I rubbed my hands together to warm up. But, Teo had a GREAT time, and we met some other dogs plus owners. Particularly there was this crazy springer puppy. Teo chased his ball around the park, the springer chased its breath. Yup its own breath. It ran up, I breathed fog into the air, it jumped, and chased (when I say chased, imagine more like a series of jumps taking it in a huge loop) its own breath ecstatically around the whole enclosure... then came back for me to breathe again. It got tons of exercise, and no one had to do much but breathe, which we had to do anyway.
Verdict? I like the weather here. I love the sunshine we get in our apartment. Check weather off my list of worries about Fargo.
They were wrong. Possibly it snows more in Aspen and Vail than in Fargo. Probably not. And this is a crazy mild never-before-seen-good-weather winter. Winter? Isn't it March? O yes, Spring other places, Winter here.
That said, the snowing feels more mild than Colorado. It snows most days, but never more than a couple inches at a time. The lower altitude makes a huge difference; the 14 degree sunny day we had yesterday felt like 25-ish to me. I went to the bank without a coat - in 14 degrees. The weather doesn't fluctuate like crazy here, so the barometer generally stays peaceful. Also, my knees never complain. TOTAL SCORE. If you've never had joint pain due to intense cold weather, feel lucky.
This feeling of invincibility to the cold had me under-dressed at the dog park. Not so fun. My little cotton gloves froze and flaked all over the place when I rubbed my hands together to warm up. But, Teo had a GREAT time, and we met some other dogs plus owners. Particularly there was this crazy springer puppy. Teo chased his ball around the park, the springer chased its breath. Yup its own breath. It ran up, I breathed fog into the air, it jumped, and chased (when I say chased, imagine more like a series of jumps taking it in a huge loop) its own breath ecstatically around the whole enclosure... then came back for me to breathe again. It got tons of exercise, and no one had to do much but breathe, which we had to do anyway.
Verdict? I like the weather here. I love the sunshine we get in our apartment. Check weather off my list of worries about Fargo.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
North Dakota
So Katie emailed me and asked me a bunch of questions that, quite frankly, I think you all would like to know. So, I will post them on my blog. Overall, I am very happy with Fargo. When you hear of Fargo, you think of some podunk (sp?) town. But it really is an up and coming place. We are quite centrally located to pretty much anything we could want. To illustrate this, there is a Mongolian BBQ restaurant right across the street from where we live... MONGOLIAN. Ya, you wouldn't think so hu? I really like out apartment for several reasons. It is on the third floor, so we don't have people banging around above us. Also, all the windows face south, which means we get sun all day long (maybe Lianna will stop killing all the house plants and claim its because of lack of sun =D ) That also means we will be able to house several plants on our balcony that will grow well. Our apartment is much bigger than anything we've lived in so far (excepting mom and dad's house). I am really liking my job, but it still can get confusing at times. Lots of hoops to jump through to please insurance companies and odd state laws. And yes, it is super cold up here. Like, when you walk out in the morning and inhale the mucus membranes inside your nose freeze (weird feeling!) and when you exhale they thaw out. Yesterday, it was -7 degrees. But they way I see it, below 30 degrees its cold and it will kill you anyway. I don't feel much of a difference between -7 and 30 degrees because I'm always wearing clothes. So that is Fargo in a nutshell. So now for some pictures! Granted, these were taken with my blackberry (hatehate) so they aren't great quality, but you'll get the picture.
So I had to chuckle about some of North Dakota's advertising lures. Since the entire is state is pretty much growing like a deacon hitting his growth spurt, they advertise the life here, and they LOVE billboards. Tons, everywhere. Anyway, here is one of them.
However, I think these next few are more accurate (at least right now)
That is fog. Actual fog, and not snow fog (I know right? I didn't even know snow fog existed... but it does. It looks really similar too, but its just snow blowing so much that it's, well, foggy.)
It's not super common that we have that dense fog, but it does amazing things to the landscape. I have only seen snow flocked trees a few times in CO, but here it is understandably much more common. Here are some that I snapped with my dumb phone.
Once the fog lifts and if the sun comes out, the effect is absolutely stunning (I have yet to capture this on camera). It is like each tree is covered in a million little crystals.
With all that said. I like Fargo. Sure, the floods haven't hit yet and they have experienced an extremely rare mild winter, but we will likely be moving more into Minnesota so floods won't be too much of a concern for us. So there you have it. Now all that's missing is my wonderful wife, without whom, I realized, means I am a very lame person. I can't wait to be with her again.
So I had to chuckle about some of North Dakota's advertising lures. Since the entire is state is pretty much growing like a deacon hitting his growth spurt, they advertise the life here, and they LOVE billboards. Tons, everywhere. Anyway, here is one of them.
However, I think these next few are more accurate (at least right now)
That is fog. Actual fog, and not snow fog (I know right? I didn't even know snow fog existed... but it does. It looks really similar too, but its just snow blowing so much that it's, well, foggy.)
It's not super common that we have that dense fog, but it does amazing things to the landscape. I have only seen snow flocked trees a few times in CO, but here it is understandably much more common. Here are some that I snapped with my dumb phone.
Once the fog lifts and if the sun comes out, the effect is absolutely stunning (I have yet to capture this on camera). It is like each tree is covered in a million little crystals.
With all that said. I like Fargo. Sure, the floods haven't hit yet and they have experienced an extremely rare mild winter, but we will likely be moving more into Minnesota so floods won't be too much of a concern for us. So there you have it. Now all that's missing is my wonderful wife, without whom, I realized, means I am a very lame person. I can't wait to be with her again.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
I can't keep quiet
Theres a viral video going around posted by a very talented poet who loves Christ and believes firmly in Him. The video itself is immensely popular, being featured on CNN.com and has over 16 million views on youtube. It's called "Why I hate religion, but love Jesus." I believe that it's popularity stems from two things... the fact that it is expertly worded, and secondly because at first, it sounds like it makes sense. When I first heard it, I was fascinated by the young man's talents, but at the same time, it made me sick. It literally made me nauseous. It was so full of misconceptions and half truths, ignorant claims, and illogical conclusions that when combined together, seemed to make sense. It wasn't before I actually broke down what he said sentence by sentence that I realized just how misguided he was. I started a post a response, breaking down each sentence and explaining why it was wrong, unfounded, illogical, or just simply wrong. But it just didn't feel right. So I'll post a simple(r) response to it.
I think that the main misconception the young man had was that if you called it religion, it is religion. True religion, or pure religion as James describes it in the bible, is "... To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." James 1:27. It could also be more simply put in the words of Christ himself. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and will thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself." Matt. 22:37-39.
The poet also said "The problem with religion is that it never gets to the core. Its just behavior modification, like a long list of chores." I want to say that religion is truly at my very core. It is all that I am, all that I do. I am who I am because of religion. See religion is a path, a way of life, not just an idea. I sincerely believe Christ when he said "Not everyone that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Matt 7: 21. Now I know that I am nothing, that without Christ I would be lost, no matter how righteous tried to be. But I also know that Christ said I am the way. He didn't say I'm the get in free pass. He showed us the way by living a perfect life. He, knowing that all humanity couldn't be watching is every move, told us the way, and did so through commandments. You say chores? I say freedom. Keeping the commandments has set me more free and kept me more safe than anything else I could do. I will always be grateful for my religion, because it has led me to God. I hope it will for you too.
I think that the main misconception the young man had was that if you called it religion, it is religion. True religion, or pure religion as James describes it in the bible, is "... To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." James 1:27. It could also be more simply put in the words of Christ himself. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and will thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself." Matt. 22:37-39.
The poet also said "The problem with religion is that it never gets to the core. Its just behavior modification, like a long list of chores." I want to say that religion is truly at my very core. It is all that I am, all that I do. I am who I am because of religion. See religion is a path, a way of life, not just an idea. I sincerely believe Christ when he said "Not everyone that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Matt 7: 21. Now I know that I am nothing, that without Christ I would be lost, no matter how righteous tried to be. But I also know that Christ said I am the way. He didn't say I'm the get in free pass. He showed us the way by living a perfect life. He, knowing that all humanity couldn't be watching is every move, told us the way, and did so through commandments. You say chores? I say freedom. Keeping the commandments has set me more free and kept me more safe than anything else I could do. I will always be grateful for my religion, because it has led me to God. I hope it will for you too.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
What to do...
So what do you do when you have no friends, no family, no wife with you, and you live in Fargo ND, where its 5 degrees out and snowy? Nothing. Yup, that's me. I contemplate going to Walmart just to be around people. But alas, I can survive.
So what do I do in my loads of spare time? Stay at home and watch the 10 movies I brought with me, do some home projects, and BLOG! Yes, its been a while, and so I figure I'll keep you all appraised of my ridiculously exciting life up here in Fargo.
So, I decided I wanted a spice rack. So I looked at all of the different types, and frankly, I didn't like what they were. So expensive for sub-par styles. I remembered that Lianna's cousin had an awesome one... It was magnetic. So I got google and found out how to make one.
These are the tins with the magnets gorilla glued to the back.
That is where I mounted it to the wall.
Close up picture #1
and #2.
I made it for less than the other spice racks cost. Now, I can make as many as I want, always upgradeable if I end up needing more tins (Just buy a bigger steel sheet). Sure, I only have 6 spices now, but the rest are in CO with my sweet wife. So there you have it. This is what I do in good old Fargo ND.
if you're interested in doing this yourself, I got the tins HERE and the magnets HERE. You can get the sheet metal at any home depot, and the glue I used was gorilla glue. If you don't have some, you MUST get it. It is amazing, I daresay better than duct tape!
So what do I do in my loads of spare time? Stay at home and watch the 10 movies I brought with me, do some home projects, and BLOG! Yes, its been a while, and so I figure I'll keep you all appraised of my ridiculously exciting life up here in Fargo.
So, I decided I wanted a spice rack. So I looked at all of the different types, and frankly, I didn't like what they were. So expensive for sub-par styles. I remembered that Lianna's cousin had an awesome one... It was magnetic. So I got google and found out how to make one.
I made it for less than the other spice racks cost. Now, I can make as many as I want, always upgradeable if I end up needing more tins (Just buy a bigger steel sheet). Sure, I only have 6 spices now, but the rest are in CO with my sweet wife. So there you have it. This is what I do in good old Fargo ND.
if you're interested in doing this yourself, I got the tins HERE and the magnets HERE. You can get the sheet metal at any home depot, and the glue I used was gorilla glue. If you don't have some, you MUST get it. It is amazing, I daresay better than duct tape!
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