Pregnancy Update: 15 weeks

At 15 weeks, I'm feeling good.  I still don't think I look pregnant.  (Whenever I look in the mirror, I have this debate about whether my lower stomach has ever actually been flat... pretty sure what I'm seeing now has always been there.)  But I'd expect in the next week or two it will become more obvious.

I am thankfully no longer nauseous; and have yet to experience food cravings.  I do feel like my eating has changed completely, though.  Prior to pregnancy, I loved eating anything.  I ate three decent meals, and if there was chocolate or dessert around, I wanted to eat it till it was gone.  Then I got sick and didn't eat anything.  I remember the first few days I started feeling better I had this urge to run around the house and eat EVERYTHING, mostly just because I could.  I probably ate more 'snack food' than 'real food'--and it was great.  But I think my stomach had already gotten smaller, and even now, I'm just eating small amounts throughout the day when I feel hungry or when something sounds good to me. I probably eat 6 times during the day (or more.)  This will probably continue until I start wanting more than I need, and gain unnecessary weight.  Sadly, a lot of foods have just lost their appeal.  Chicken (or meat in general), peanut butter, yogurt.  I don't even devour chocolate like I used to.  (Starbursts have more appeal than Snickers... weird, I know.  And as proof, there has been Easter candy uneaten on my counter for the last 3 weeks!) I can still eat all these foods, but its less exciting.  And saddest of all, the thought of Nutella kind of makes me sick.  You might be asking yourself how that's even possible.  And honestly, I am also shocked.  But its true.

I'm happy to say that the foods that sustained me through January and February are now out of rotation.  No more popcorn, plain bread, or string cheese.  Maybe in a few more months.

Currently the worst pregnancy side affect I'm experiencing is bad sleep.  During my first trimester I could close my eyes at 8 pm and not even fidget for 10 straight hours.  Now I wake up multiple times during the night, and my mind feels completely alert (even though I'm no where near getting out of bed to do something productive.  It's not that extreme!)  This morning I woke up 30 minutes before Hyrum's alarm, and didn't fall back asleep until he'd left the house.  I bet if someone observed me, I roll over at least every 20 minutes.  Because nothing is comfortable.  My lower back problems aren't helping but I finally went to see the doctor about that, and it's gotten a little better.  I'm hoping its a phase, but I'm afraid good sleep is not in my near or distant future.  Maybe by the middle of 2014??

The German Dentist

I don't know whether my strange experience at the dentist should be attributed to being german, or being small-town.  But regardless, here's why I can't decide if I liked it, hated it, or should ever go back.

-It was a 10-minute walk away.  Definite plus.
-The whole office staff was the dentist, and the receptionist lady/hygienist/assistant.  (As soon as she started grinding at my teeth, I was secretly hoping she really was a dental hygienist, not just 'helping'.)
-The dentist asked about the last time I had x-rays done. (6 months) And if they did all my teeth.  (yes)  And if they said I had any cavities. (no)  The answers all seemed good to him.  I looked around and didn't even see x-ray equipment in the office.
-He checked my teeth and asked if I felt pain.  Then said I had no cavities.
-When I told him that at my last dental visit they told me one of my sealants might be coming loose, he said OK, but nothing else.  (uh.. should that be fixed??)
-No flossing.  And more disturbing, they didn't yell at me for never flossing.  That always happens at the dentist.
-When I left they were very friendly.  "See you in 6 months! Have a great weekend!  Thanks for coming!"

I can't decide if I like the simplicity of walking to get my teeth cleaned and using pain a a judge for whether I need something fixed.  Or maybe all the years of dental scheming has brainwashed me---isn't there always something that the dentist recommends doing?  Whether its a small cavity that needs to be watched, or loose sealants, or a night guard...  (Think car mechanic.)  And even if all the technology in a dentist office is an unnecessary way to charge more to the insurance company, I do find it comforting to have them tap my teeth and tell me how strong my roots are, cause at least they're checking something.  My dentist appointment today left me a little unfulfilled.  I never thought I'd say that about the dentist, one of the places  I loath most on earth.   Maybe it's time to look for a new dentist, and hope that this type of dentistry isn't a German trend.  

(One other funny thing-- at the end of the appointment, instead of a bag of dental goodies to compensate for a painful cleaning like you usually get in the States, the 'hygienist' instead said, "here's a gift for coming!"  It was a small tube of toothpaste and.... a pen. Random.)

2009 Flashback

With Hyrum away at a training for 3 weeks, and a renewed energy, my house is finally getting more organized.  [Our things were delivered at the end of October, which left us a few weeks to unpack everything, then a whirlwind trip to Rome, another week to re-settle, and another trip to Spain.... then the lazy holidays set in where we didn't do much work around the house, then I got sick.  So although there are no boxes left -- kind of -- a few rooms still need some love.]  Today I've been tackling all the piles of "stuff" in the office.  After our last move I have a part of me that wants to become a minimalist and get rid of all my stuff.  But Hyrum is too attached, and I'd probably miss it too.  Instead, as I go through papers, notebooks, flyers, pictures, boxes, etc, I've decided if it doesn't have a place to go its getting tossed.  So at least if we have it, it will be organized!

Which brings me to 2009.  I found my old school planner, which contains my entire life from January to August 2009.  (2008 got ripped out.) I couldn't have survived without that day-planner, so its been fun to flip through and reminisce about my first semester back in the real world after my mission.  I'd like to throw it away without losing the memories, since a flip through every 10 years doesn't justify storing it.  So here's what it contains:


-several lists for grocery shopping. I obviously was still enjoying mexican food, since the lists always include lettuce, sour cream, lechera, salsa, and onion
-Homework assignments for my classes.  Somehow that semester I signed up for the "capstone" strategy class for the management program.  We were in teams using software that simulated the car industry.  We had to determine what cars to build, how many factories to have, how much to spend on marketing, etc.  And every day it told us how we were doing in the "market" compared to all the other teams.  My team was a bunch of arrogant dummies, and I was also clueless, but probably more quiet than arrogant.  It did not go well.  At the end of the project our teacher gave us an award: a figurine with a parachute attached, because it told us it'd be better for us to just jump at that point.
-I scribbled down recipes for Picaditas, tinga, and one other mexican dish.  But I can't decipher 50% of what I wrote, so I'm throwing those away, as well.  I'll have to turn to google.
-The results of the MTBI personality test.  I'm INTJ (introvert, intuitive, thinking, judging) which is one of the most unique combinations (2-3% of the population.)  That either makes me special, or weird.  I'm creative, independent, logical, confident, and critical.   I'm also impatient with other people who don't catch on quick enough and don't always take the time to communicate appreciation or encouragement to those around me.  Ha.  The test knows me pretty well!
-Notes on future job/internship opportunities.  (None of which panned out.)
-Another homework assignment for a 20-page paper on doing business in Korea.  Dumb assignment.  First because it was in a team (how to do you write a cohesive paper in a team?  I'll tell you how: everyone writes their stuff, and then I have to rewrite, I mean edit, so it all actually makes sense.)  Second reason it was dumb: I don't care about doing business in Korea.
-volunteering at the MTC
-Apparently I went running, at least a few times.

-The first Saturday after finals finished, I had an appointment at the Plasma donation center.  Why?  I didn't find a job or internship, and was sticking around Provo, and wanted to continue earning money until I found one.  I spent that week applying for jobs on campus-- the scholarship office, housing--and several other internships, most of which were unpaid.
-I got a temporary job as a secretary filling in at a law firm, and earned a few hundred dollars.  It paid rent.
-I started volunteering at a local micro-business non-profit that taught free small business classes in English and Spanish.  While unpaid, it lasted until I graduated and gave me something to talk about in job interviews.
-Had a job by the end of May.  (Fortunately/unfortunately.) I hated it.  I walked around between 9pm and 1 am checking that the doors in on-campus housing were locked.  But I got paid.
-Middle of June I also started working at the MTC.  Two part-time jobs worked out well.  One in the afternoon, and one at night.
-Started dating someone, then ended dating someone.  Not worth it even though I was bored.
-Matt came home from his mission July 29th.  (He made it to my planner!)
-Went to KY for the weekend at the end of August, then school started.

At the end in the blank pages I made several random notes.  GMAT application due date (not sure why.) Goals, including saving $, traveling, practicing Spanish  cooking, teaching, and "health"--whatever that was referring to.    And deep thoughts that were from a seminar I attended: If you weren't so focused on the future, would you live today differently?  Reach your hourly potential--what can you do with all the 'wasted' time?  Plan for tough times.  Life is hard, we don't have to make it harder.

And with that long-winded post, my BYU Academic Planner 2009 is going in the recycling bin!

Biggest lesson learned from the semester:  Stuff works out in the end.  Just probably not as originally planned.

Now on to more organizing.

Recollections of Soccer

My soccer-obsessed husband caught in the action. 

For the last few years, we've been trying to document Hyrum's childhood.  We have very few photos, no videos, and no journals.  Just his memory--which sometimes is a little rusty.  I'd like to write things down before he forgets it all.  So on our long drives to the temple we took several videos, and I'm going back trying to write them all down.  I figure this is a good place to keep them organized.  Here's a fun one about Soccer, which is kind of like a foundation of his life.  (Oh wait--that's probably the gospel, but soccer is built right on top of that.)  So in Hyrum's words with my editing:

Becoming a Fan

Hyrum wearing his Nacional pride in Chicago.  

When I was in second grade I had to walk to and from school, and I used to study in the afternoon.  When I got out of school it was around 5:30.  Around that time (in about 1989) the team Atlético Nacional was playing in Libertadores (the most important club competition in South America).  I remember walking back from school, and I stopped in a little shoe repair store where the guy was “working”.  He had a little TV on, and I stepped into his store trying to watch.  It was awesome, and I stayed there for the whole second half until I realized what time it was and I had to go home.  I think I don’t have recollections of soccer before that because I have a bad memory, and because my dad was never that into soccer. But that game is why I was “born green.”  (Nacional’s team color). The second game I watched with the guy, he already knew who I was, so he said to just come in and watch.  Before I was kind of shy—a 7 year old kid watching his TV.  I saw him commenting on games, so I kind of learned that from him.  I always watched games there, probably once a week for about 6 months.  One time my dad got mad because it was already dark and I hadn’t come back from school because I was at that shop watching soccer.

One day I discovered how deep my love was for Nacional when they were playing Millonarios.  We weren’t watching the game, but I went with my dad to the panadería (bread store) and the game was on the TV.  I started watching when the game was almost over.  Nacional lost, and I started crying. My dad said, “What in the world… stop crying!  They only lost a game.”  But I kept crying like a little girl.  My team is from Medellin, and my friends never understood why I was a fan.  They all liked teams from Bogotá.

Playing Soccer

In the first grade I studied in a private school that was a house adapted for a school.  We went to a big park to do sports, which made me not very enthusiastic about it.  Then I went to public school in second and third grade.  We played in a school tournament, with practice during gym class but games played during our mid-day break.  When I was in third grade our team won.  I remember one kid who was such a good player that they called him “Little Maradona”.  I admired him.  I didn’t realize if I was a good player when I was little.  It wasn’t until I moved to Turmequé in 4^th and 5^th grade.  Things were more competitive because the 5^th year was like being “seniors” of the school.  We had a team for the whole school and we played teams neighboring schools.  My school’s team was so bad, and I was the captain.  I think I started to have my own style of being aggressive and a leader—lion—on the field.  I was kind of on a loser team and the guys got discouraged really easy, and I learned to fight. The only thing I liked about the team were the uniforms.  They were white with the Adidas design from the 1990 World Cup with a Colombian flag. 

Playing soccer in Mexico. 

I always played defense.  That came natural to me.  The tendency of most kids is to go forward and try to score goals.  For me, it would be great to score, but I saw that if no one stayed in the back then the other team would score against us. I realized I could touch the ball a lot back there, and I received a lot of recognition for being a good defense player.  That motivated me to keep playing there.  I know myself better now, and recognize that I like to sacrifice for things.  I like to be the last guy on the defense.