Latent Talent?

I made a discovery a few weeks ago, a latent talent that is only doable during pregnancy...

I used to have a great belly - seriously, I loved it. Before Maiby was born, it was tiny and toned and I had a great innie/outie belly button. When I was pregnant with Maiby and my belly grew, my belly button never stuck out, but it did get as flat as it possibly could. It was a little strange looking. And as soon as she was born, it became an innie that never again saw the light of day.

Until I became pregnant again. Now, at 7 months, it is not flat yet or sticking out, but it's getting there. Back to the talent - the other day I was looking at my belly in the mirror and tried to see how far I could suck in my baby belly (last time no one knew I was expecting until 22 weeks because I didn't show much and could suck in what did show). And then I decided to try to push out my belly as far as I could, to see how big I could get.

Low and behold, I developed an outie! What did I do? Tried it again and then ran and found James to show him my new trick.

So now I can have a pregnant outie, but only occasionally; we'll see if it stands the last bit.

Feeling Great

Today I attended my first prenatal water aerobics class. It was so fun! I loved it! And it's not very pricey, either, which is great. If you're pregnant and live in the Moscow area, you should come. It's $25.50/month for 2 classes a week, 4-5 pm at the Gritman Wellness Center. I thought that I would be exhausted tonight, but I am actually feeling really good and am looking forward to Thursday's class.

Classic Books in 2009

I forgot about updating my book list on here, and I hunted it down this morning so I could post all the ones I read from it last year. It's mainly for my brother who gave me the list.

Mansfield Park -- Jane Austen
Northanger Abbey -- Jane Austen
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall -- Anne Bronte
Wuthering Heights -- Emily Bronte
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland -- Lewis Carroll
Through the Looking Glass & What Alice Found There -- Lewis Carroll
The Professor's House -- Willa Cather
Frankenstein -- Mary Shelley
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn -- Mark Twain
The Island of Dr Moreau -- H G Wells
A Christmas Carol -- Charles Dickens
Madame Bovary -- Gustave Flaubert
The Wind in the Willows -- Kenneth Grahame
The Scarlett Letter -- Nathaniel Hawthorne

and I attempted Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce, but it was TOUGH going, so I gave it up...it's written in a strange style and I had no idea what was going on after 30 pages. I will try it again someday.

So for some reason I was nominated for the Kreativ Blogger award from How to Become a Zombie in Two Easy Steps (thanks, Sun!); I'll tell you right now I feel she has earned the honor more than me. And as part of accepting the award, I am about to reveal 7 things you probably don't know about me.

1. I have learned to play many instruments in my life: alto sax, bassoon, clarinet, piano, organ, a little bit of guitar and flute.

2. I have had a variety of hair colors in the last 10 years. Anything from bleach blonde, orange, about 15-20 shades of red, pink, blue, green (when the blue was fading), and several shades of brown.

3. I have cut my own hair twice. From longer-than-my-shoulder to less than 4 inches. It's surprisingly freeing.

4. Cake dough is one of my favorite foods of all time; when I am not pregnant (because my husband gets mad about the raw eggs when I am), I tend to reserve almost 1 cup of dough to slurp in the 30 seconds after putting the cake in the oven.

5. I enjoy video games; I have beaten Super Mario Bros 3 on the regular nintendo (I didn't own one until I got married, so it's a relatively new feat), and have been thoroughly enjoying the New Super Mario Bros. for the Wii in the last month.

6. My second toe is longer than my big toe on each foot. It has always really bothered James. And to try to convince him that it was a positive feature about me, I made a powerpoint presentation soon after we started dating. It was about 10 slides long and full of pictures of my feet and other feet I found online that looked like mine. Great fun.

7. I have a master's degree. And the proof can be found on my diploma, which is hidden away in a box somewhere in our house; the plan is to frame it someday...

Now for my nominations (these are some of my favorite blogs), in no particular order:
1. K8 at the Foutch Coutch
2. Jade at Stellmon-sters
3. Jennifer The Craft Patch
4. Melissa at A Kiwi & an Eagle
5. Maaike at The Sixty Minky
6. Keri & crew at Sew Incredibly Crafty
7. Leslie & crew at Side Notes

And the rules for the seven of you are as follows:
1. Thank the person giving the award
2. Copy the award to your blog
3. Place a link to their blog
4. Name 7 things people don't know about you
5. Nominate 7 bloggers
6. Place a link to those blogs
7. Leave a comment letting them know about the award

Coincidence or Conspiracy?

When we got married, we were given a set of measuring spoons from two people. They were both nice and we liked the look of them, so we kept both. After realizing how convenient it was to use more than one set at a time after needing some from the sink, I opened the second one.

It wasn't long after that when I needed a Tablespoon for a recipe and grabbed one. It was bent at the handle, so I decided to gently bend it back. Unfortunately, as soon as I put a minor bit of pressure on the handle, it snapped off. Irreparably.

But we had a second set, so no big deal, right? Right. Until a few months after that we lost the other Tablespoon in an unfortunate incident with a disposal. Tragedy.

So we bought another set of measuring spoons, even though I know that 3 tsp = 1 Tbls, but it's so much easier to pour liquid from a big container (think milk or oil). And right before Christmas, our last Tablespoon attempted suicide. Luckily, James rescued it from the imminent disaster when he noticed something down the disposal. Take that rotten fate! We'll see if it survives the move in a few months...

Twiggle Box

Anyone interested in some inexpensive goodies for your little girls? Check out a new website:
www.twigglebox.com
They have tutus, headbands, hats, clips, and much more! The prices are amazing, and so are the owners.

Copy Cat

Maiby is getting really good at mimicking. A couple of days ago, James was rubbing my shoulders and since she wants to be involved in everything, Maiby came up and started rubbing my elbow with both hands. It was so sweet. And she's getting so much better at talking, too - it's so neat to hear a tiny little voice say "I love you" and to understand that she still doesn't get the difference between me/you when she talks. She is always saying "carry you?" when she wants me to pick her up.

Are You Prepared?

One of my favorite preparedness blogs is having a giveaway, and it is pretty good. If you are interested in getting your things in order in case of an emergency, check her out. She has easy-to-follow plans and ideas that take things just one step at at time. At the very least, head on over and enter the giveaway...

Totally Ready