I knew going into this that pregnancy was going to have its challenges. And I'm usually in better spirits. Maybe? But I feel like every step of the way has been more difficult than need be. I am not a graceful sufferer! Maybe every pregnancy is this hard and everyone else just sucks it up better than I do? Probably.
I'm getting to the end of my rope with everything! The morning sickness, fatigue, 2 infections, a cyst on my eyeball, insomnia, back pain, diabetes....our pet's heads are falling off!!! I test my blood sugar 4 times per day and am struggling with hypoglycemia. I force feed myself all day long trying to get the right amount of carbs and protein. I am tired. I am frustrated. I hate food now (if you know me then you know something is seriously wrong when I say this!) I'm still 10lbs below my pre-pregnancy weight.
Enter in a 5am wake up call with a painful charley horse. What a small thing to break the camel's back...
I am done! I have had it! I quit!
If you tell me I have 9 weeks left of this I will literally crumple up into a weeping mess.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Friday, March 1, 2013
More on Financial Fitness
I've had a lot on my mind lately and I'm hoping to do some heavy blogging to get it all sorted out. Forgive me!
I make no claims on being any sort of financial know-it-all. In fact, I consider myself a beginning level student, but I am so blown away with things that I'm learning that I. MUST. SHARE! I've mentioned before that we've been reading Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover and since then we talk about Dave like he's a close friend. "Oh Dave says...."
Luckily, Luke and I have a lot of similar desires and financial goals and we started out that way even before we were married. We believe in being debt-free and have been able to start off this way and maintain that throughout our marriage. Dave has great philosophies on buying used cars with cash, only buying what you can afford and living within your means even if it seems embarrassing. Yes, that means telling your friends "Yes we did buy a 10 year old Saturn." or "Sorry we can't go out to dinner this week because its not in the budget" or "Yes we are living in a one bedroom apartment with a baby." Have you ever heard anyone say that? Not me. Or very rarely. What's one dinner on a credit card so we can keep up with the Joneses? Snowball that mentality and you can get into real trouble.
Ok, I'm getting off topic from what I really want to talk about. Dave recommends establishing a $1000 emergency fund. And quickly! Have a garage sale, sell something, he even recommends delivering pizzas if you have to!
We've hit some heavy rainy days lately and I'll share them just to illustrate my point. Luke's car needed some repairs in order to pass smog (actually that's still a work in progress that I'm hoping the journey will end soon!) But we've had to pour over $1000 into it. My laptop has bitten the dust, my car most likely needs new clutch and we are expecting our baby in 2 months and have yet to buy any baby gear!! Yikes!! Fortunately we believe in savings and these experiences more of a nuisance and just painful to say goodbye to our hard earned dollar. (Who doesn't prefer hoarding their $ than to giving it to auto mechanics?!)
But what I've learned from Dave lately is that car repairs DO NOT equal an emergency. This blows my mind!! Apparently cars will always need repairs. Christmas happens every year at the same time. Your kids will need new clothes. Not emergencies. These should be line items in your monthly budget! Having a special car repair fund in addition to your $1000 emergency fund? Genius! I think that is very wise and can alleviate the stress of these "rainy days."
I feel very blessed and fortunate that Luke and I have employment and I can really tell you that you can find a lot of peace in your life if you aren't living paycheck to paycheck. It IS possible!!
I make no claims on being any sort of financial know-it-all. In fact, I consider myself a beginning level student, but I am so blown away with things that I'm learning that I. MUST. SHARE! I've mentioned before that we've been reading Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover and since then we talk about Dave like he's a close friend. "Oh Dave says...."
Luckily, Luke and I have a lot of similar desires and financial goals and we started out that way even before we were married. We believe in being debt-free and have been able to start off this way and maintain that throughout our marriage. Dave has great philosophies on buying used cars with cash, only buying what you can afford and living within your means even if it seems embarrassing. Yes, that means telling your friends "Yes we did buy a 10 year old Saturn." or "Sorry we can't go out to dinner this week because its not in the budget" or "Yes we are living in a one bedroom apartment with a baby." Have you ever heard anyone say that? Not me. Or very rarely. What's one dinner on a credit card so we can keep up with the Joneses? Snowball that mentality and you can get into real trouble.
Ok, I'm getting off topic from what I really want to talk about. Dave recommends establishing a $1000 emergency fund. And quickly! Have a garage sale, sell something, he even recommends delivering pizzas if you have to!
We've hit some heavy rainy days lately and I'll share them just to illustrate my point. Luke's car needed some repairs in order to pass smog (actually that's still a work in progress that I'm hoping the journey will end soon!) But we've had to pour over $1000 into it. My laptop has bitten the dust, my car most likely needs new clutch and we are expecting our baby in 2 months and have yet to buy any baby gear!! Yikes!! Fortunately we believe in savings and these experiences more of a nuisance and just painful to say goodbye to our hard earned dollar. (Who doesn't prefer hoarding their $ than to giving it to auto mechanics?!)
But what I've learned from Dave lately is that car repairs DO NOT equal an emergency. This blows my mind!! Apparently cars will always need repairs. Christmas happens every year at the same time. Your kids will need new clothes. Not emergencies. These should be line items in your monthly budget! Having a special car repair fund in addition to your $1000 emergency fund? Genius! I think that is very wise and can alleviate the stress of these "rainy days."
I feel very blessed and fortunate that Luke and I have employment and I can really tell you that you can find a lot of peace in your life if you aren't living paycheck to paycheck. It IS possible!!
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
So long 2nd Trimester!!
My 2nd trimester started just about the time I started my final preceptorship. If you aren't familiar with nursing school lingo, that means all classwork is done and I get assigned to work 1:1 with an RN in a hospital and work 11 full 12 hour shifts like I'm the real nurse. I got assigned to a Telemetry Floor which was not my 1st, 2nd, or 3rd choice. :) That's ok, it ended up being good for me. It was a very busy floor...I'd show up at about 6:30am to get report and be at a dead run the entire shift, maybe get to sit down for lunch at 4pm and leave around 7:45pm. Tack on a 45 min commute each way and I was one tired cookie!! One day, we had 4 "Code Blues" within a 2 hour time span on the floor. Crazy!! Luckily I survived and so did all my patients!
Eventually my fatigue and morning sickness abated, but I traded that for insomnia! Now, I'm a needs my sleep kind of a girl. If I don't get somewhere near 8 hours, I am a completely different person. A less fun, less nice, less rational kind of person. Night after night, spending hours laying awake in bed, listening to Luke's very distinct, very loud sleep breathing, I concluded that my only two options were divorce or murder...I joke! How mad can you get at someone who gets up at 2am to get you a cheeseburger and watch Hart of Dixie with you while you can't sleep?
Other 2nd trimester highlights:
Foods of choice: pita chips and hummus, Costco pizza, Raisin Bran (am I the only one under age 80 who loves the stuff? Luke insists that I am.)
Feeling the baby kick at about 18 weeks!! She is a nocturnal baby. She's pretty quiet in the day, but man she parties hard at night!! Hopefully we'll get a handle on that whole sleep/wake cycle thing pretty quickly.
I had heard that the 1 hour glucose test was a miserable experience. I concluded that I would just have a mind over body experience and get through it. That worked pretty well, except that I failed the test requiring the 3 hour glucose test. This one isn't for wimps, kids! 15 minutes after consuming 100 grams of glucose I vomited politely as I could in the waiting room of Quest Diagnostics, full of onlookers. How embarrassing!! I felt so shaky and lightheaded, I called my mommy to come pick me up. Talk about a throw back to elementary school! "Hi Mom....I'm sick. Can you come get me?" Not only did she take me home, but she brought me a sandwich and my car. She's the best! I've decided that when my daughter is grown up and takes her glucose test, I'm going to clear my day and do exactly what my mom did!!
Onto the 3rd trimester adventures!!!
Eventually my fatigue and morning sickness abated, but I traded that for insomnia! Now, I'm a needs my sleep kind of a girl. If I don't get somewhere near 8 hours, I am a completely different person. A less fun, less nice, less rational kind of person. Night after night, spending hours laying awake in bed, listening to Luke's very distinct, very loud sleep breathing, I concluded that my only two options were divorce or murder...I joke! How mad can you get at someone who gets up at 2am to get you a cheeseburger and watch Hart of Dixie with you while you can't sleep?
Other 2nd trimester highlights:
Foods of choice: pita chips and hummus, Costco pizza, Raisin Bran (am I the only one under age 80 who loves the stuff? Luke insists that I am.)
Feeling the baby kick at about 18 weeks!! She is a nocturnal baby. She's pretty quiet in the day, but man she parties hard at night!! Hopefully we'll get a handle on that whole sleep/wake cycle thing pretty quickly.
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| 24 weeks |
Onto the 3rd trimester adventures!!!
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Ultrasound
I had another ultrasound scheduled because I'm behind with my weight gain and the Dr. wanted to make sure the baby is growing. I wasn't too worried about it because I've got a healthy reserve of "nutrition," but then I started getting things in the mail that said I was authorized for extra ultrasounds due to my diagnosis of "Poor fetal growth." Well that just played mind games with me and kept me up at night!
I hadn't had an ultrasound in about 2.5 months, so I was so happy to see my little girl!! Everything is looking normal and healthy. The little miss is weighing in at 2.2 lbs which is a relief because she is actually a week ahead! She is just stealing all my food and putting it in her belly! She is lying in a transverse position (parallel to the ground) which I had suspected since I only feel her kicks on my right side and an occasional punch to the bladder. And get this, she has a full head of hair!! This is a shocker because I was a baldy when I was a baby. It was such a relief to know that she is gaining weight and all my efforts to shovel food in haven't gone to waste.
I also got to walk away with the first ultrasound picture where she isn't looking like a squirrel. I cannot get enough of that sweet face! Look at those lips and sweet little nose! I am one proud mama and am quickly becoming one of "those people" who feels the need to show everyone a picture of my baby! Sorry!
I really think once Hershey's egg season rolls around, I'm really going to show that scale who's boss!!
I hadn't had an ultrasound in about 2.5 months, so I was so happy to see my little girl!! Everything is looking normal and healthy. The little miss is weighing in at 2.2 lbs which is a relief because she is actually a week ahead! She is just stealing all my food and putting it in her belly! She is lying in a transverse position (parallel to the ground) which I had suspected since I only feel her kicks on my right side and an occasional punch to the bladder. And get this, she has a full head of hair!! This is a shocker because I was a baldy when I was a baby. It was such a relief to know that she is gaining weight and all my efforts to shovel food in haven't gone to waste.
I also got to walk away with the first ultrasound picture where she isn't looking like a squirrel. I cannot get enough of that sweet face! Look at those lips and sweet little nose! I am one proud mama and am quickly becoming one of "those people" who feels the need to show everyone a picture of my baby! Sorry!
 |
| Close up of the hair |
I really think once Hershey's egg season rolls around, I'm really going to show that scale who's boss!!
Lady Di
This weekend was the first weekend without any schooling obligation whatsoever! I took my state licensing exam aka the NCLEX last week (still waiting on results) so I am a free woman! I can't tell you how great it felt to be social with friends and family without worrying about the mound of reading and studying that was being neglected.
While I wait for my test results and for this baby to cook, I'm trying to keep myself occupied without going crazy. So I planned a day trip to the Queen Mary with two of my favorite ladies for the Princess Diana exhibit they have going on. Luckily Goldstar, had a deal so I was still able to maintain my frugal entertainment budget. :)
The special exhibit covered history on the Royal family starting back with the Queen Victoria Mary (who the ship is named after) and mother of King Albert or Bertie from the King's Speech. They had all kinds of handwritten letters and china, coronation jackets and newspaper articles. They even had a room on Wallis Simpson. A few of Princess Diana's gowns were on display which was fabulous! Did you know that she had 176 suits and 250 pairs of shoes in her closet in the 90s?! I died and went to heaven when there was a room dedicated to William and Kate. Kate and I both married princes and are expecting babies at the same time which practically makes us best friends!
Afterwards, we dined in the tea room and explored the engine room. One of the propellers is still intact and boy, is it massive! In World War II, the Queen Mary was used as a troop ship to transport soldiers. The exhibit had accounts from soldiers who had to endure sharing a small stateroom with 18 men and only having 2 meals per day! I wish we had more time to see the rest of the ship because it really was an interesting day!
While I wait for my test results and for this baby to cook, I'm trying to keep myself occupied without going crazy. So I planned a day trip to the Queen Mary with two of my favorite ladies for the Princess Diana exhibit they have going on. Luckily Goldstar, had a deal so I was still able to maintain my frugal entertainment budget. :)
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Afterwards, we dined in the tea room and explored the engine room. One of the propellers is still intact and boy, is it massive! In World War II, the Queen Mary was used as a troop ship to transport soldiers. The exhibit had accounts from soldiers who had to endure sharing a small stateroom with 18 men and only having 2 meals per day! I wish we had more time to see the rest of the ship because it really was an interesting day!
Sunday, January 20, 2013
1st Trimester in Review
Got to blog on the joys of pregnancy so I don't forget and get duped into doing this again!! Haha, I kid. But no really.
I don't think time passes more slowly than the first trimester of pregnancy. Trying to get through my last semester of nursing school while covertly being pregnant was definitely a challenge. I really believed that I would be lucky or that the Lord would bless me and that I would not have morning sickness (really, it needs to be called "all day sickness".) My mom didn't have morning sickness....surely I wouldn't either! Besides I'm one of those people who vomit once every 10 years. But oh how wrong I was!! Luckily it only lasted 10 or so weeks and I really didn't mind losing 15lbs without breaking a sweat.
My favorite 1st trimester sickness memory was on my way into one of my clinical rotations. From the hospital parking lot, there was a pathway into the hospital lined with trash cans every few hundred feet. As I was walking in, I went from trash can to trash can tossing my cookies. I can only imagine what the onlookers were thinking of the nurse who was walking into the hospital who looked violently ill herself.
Favorite 1st trimester food: I definitely ate a lot of Saltine crackers. I even considered naming our unborn child in their honor, but I think McDonald's Egg McMuffins wins out as my saving grace. According to my very scientific study, I was more likely to have a better day if I started out with an Egg McMuffin than if I didn't have one.
First ultrasound: My first ultrasound was at 7 weeks. I just can't even describe the feeling of happiness/joy/relief when you see your baby is alive and well in there!
First thoughts on gender: I was convinced this baby was a boy. In fact, I'm still do not believe 100% that I'm having a girl. I keep having dreams with little boy babies...even after we found out its a girl! Weird! I think I'll be reluctant to take the tags off of anything pink until she is in my arms and I can confirm she's a girl! Boy or girl, this baby will be smothered in love!!
I don't think time passes more slowly than the first trimester of pregnancy. Trying to get through my last semester of nursing school while covertly being pregnant was definitely a challenge. I really believed that I would be lucky or that the Lord would bless me and that I would not have morning sickness (really, it needs to be called "all day sickness".) My mom didn't have morning sickness....surely I wouldn't either! Besides I'm one of those people who vomit once every 10 years. But oh how wrong I was!! Luckily it only lasted 10 or so weeks and I really didn't mind losing 15lbs without breaking a sweat.
My favorite 1st trimester sickness memory was on my way into one of my clinical rotations. From the hospital parking lot, there was a pathway into the hospital lined with trash cans every few hundred feet. As I was walking in, I went from trash can to trash can tossing my cookies. I can only imagine what the onlookers were thinking of the nurse who was walking into the hospital who looked violently ill herself.
Favorite 1st trimester food: I definitely ate a lot of Saltine crackers. I even considered naming our unborn child in their honor, but I think McDonald's Egg McMuffins wins out as my saving grace. According to my very scientific study, I was more likely to have a better day if I started out with an Egg McMuffin than if I didn't have one.
First ultrasound: My first ultrasound was at 7 weeks. I just can't even describe the feeling of happiness/joy/relief when you see your baby is alive and well in there!
First thoughts on gender: I was convinced this baby was a boy. In fact, I'm still do not believe 100% that I'm having a girl. I keep having dreams with little boy babies...even after we found out its a girl! Weird! I think I'll be reluctant to take the tags off of anything pink until she is in my arms and I can confirm she's a girl! Boy or girl, this baby will be smothered in love!!
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| 8 weeks--no bump! |
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Frugal Living in 2013
One of my goals for 2013 has to do with budgeting and being more frugal. I think its a skill to do more with less. And to become skilled, one needs to practice. I'll admit, before getting married I was very wasteful with my money. I had a good job, wasn't paying rent and so all that money went to whatever whim I had. While I do miss shopping every Friday after work, manicured nails, eating out whenever I wanted and spontaneous trips, I realize I needed to grow up. Luckily, I married my complete opposite in this category and I've learned a lot about saving and making different choices with my dollar.
We are reading Dave Ramsey's Money Makeover, which is really motivating. I love his theory of "living like no one else, so you can LIVE like no one else." I have also been scouring the web for frugal living blogs or tips. Lots of small, easy changes can have a big impact. I am not an expert at all, but I want to share things that work for us as I learn along the way.
-Be a planner. Plan your budget. Plan for your big expenses and save ahead. Plan your menu/grocery list in advance, then stick to it. Plan your errands to save gas. Stay out of debt and pay bills on time. Interest and late fees are just a waste....you are giving your hard earned money away for nothing!!
-Buying secondhand- Bet you couldn't tell that 90% of our furniture etc came from Craigslist or thrift stores.
-Eat at home as much as possible. That means brown bagging it! If you spend $5-10 on lunch every work day....that adds up $25-50/WEEK!! Sometimes this one gets tough because who wants to make dinner every night? Especially if you are a tired, pregnant lady trying to get through nursing school! But I've found that if you have something easy in your freezer, its harder to rationalize going out.
-Drink water when you go out to eat. (This is still a work in progress because I count soda as my main food group, but consider paying $2-3 per person for a soda at a restaurant. Guess what guys...you can get a 2L bottle for $1.69 or even $1 if its on sale.) Also skip appetizers and desserts. No one needs that much food in one sitting.
-If you are hankering for a sweet treat or want to go out for ice cream, let me tell you about the McDonald's cone or Costco frozen yogurt. Deliciousness for less than $1.50. You can't go to Coldstone for that.
-Entertainment: This is one of my goals for for a few reasons. We have been stuck in a dinner/movie date night rut. I'd like to be more creative in this department and shake things up. There is nothing wrong with dinner and a movie, but toss in a few "free dates" per month and you will start seeing the dollars add up. So far in 2013, we had a free date to Costco. We ate samples, sat in their furniture, people watched, browsed through books and baby clothes...it ended up being pretty fun. We didn't take in a cart and we walked out spending $0. We also made hot chocolate, put it in travel mugs and went to Barnes & Noble. Luke quizzed me out of some of the NCLEX study aid books and it was fun getting out of the house. Again, $0. Other ideas: free movie check out from the library or plan a pot luck and invite your friends over.
I'm definitely not looking to be an extreme couponer or to cut spending and make life miserable, but I am having fun trying to be more creative to do more with less. Smarter spending, if you will. Any ideas, blog links or budget friendly recipes are welcome!!
We are reading Dave Ramsey's Money Makeover, which is really motivating. I love his theory of "living like no one else, so you can LIVE like no one else." I have also been scouring the web for frugal living blogs or tips. Lots of small, easy changes can have a big impact. I am not an expert at all, but I want to share things that work for us as I learn along the way.
-Be a planner. Plan your budget. Plan for your big expenses and save ahead. Plan your menu/grocery list in advance, then stick to it. Plan your errands to save gas. Stay out of debt and pay bills on time. Interest and late fees are just a waste....you are giving your hard earned money away for nothing!!
-Buying secondhand- Bet you couldn't tell that 90% of our furniture etc came from Craigslist or thrift stores.
-Eat at home as much as possible. That means brown bagging it! If you spend $5-10 on lunch every work day....that adds up $25-50/WEEK!! Sometimes this one gets tough because who wants to make dinner every night? Especially if you are a tired, pregnant lady trying to get through nursing school! But I've found that if you have something easy in your freezer, its harder to rationalize going out.
-Drink water when you go out to eat. (This is still a work in progress because I count soda as my main food group, but consider paying $2-3 per person for a soda at a restaurant. Guess what guys...you can get a 2L bottle for $1.69 or even $1 if its on sale.) Also skip appetizers and desserts. No one needs that much food in one sitting.
-If you are hankering for a sweet treat or want to go out for ice cream, let me tell you about the McDonald's cone or Costco frozen yogurt. Deliciousness for less than $1.50. You can't go to Coldstone for that.
-Entertainment: This is one of my goals for for a few reasons. We have been stuck in a dinner/movie date night rut. I'd like to be more creative in this department and shake things up. There is nothing wrong with dinner and a movie, but toss in a few "free dates" per month and you will start seeing the dollars add up. So far in 2013, we had a free date to Costco. We ate samples, sat in their furniture, people watched, browsed through books and baby clothes...it ended up being pretty fun. We didn't take in a cart and we walked out spending $0. We also made hot chocolate, put it in travel mugs and went to Barnes & Noble. Luke quizzed me out of some of the NCLEX study aid books and it was fun getting out of the house. Again, $0. Other ideas: free movie check out from the library or plan a pot luck and invite your friends over.
I'm definitely not looking to be an extreme couponer or to cut spending and make life miserable, but I am having fun trying to be more creative to do more with less. Smarter spending, if you will. Any ideas, blog links or budget friendly recipes are welcome!!
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