A Nice Day In Texas

Texas would like you to know that they are America.













This is a bunch of cotton bales. I like them because they have color covers.













Cotton. Up Close and Personal in the loading truck.













This Trucker wants to know Your name!

I'm Not Down, Yo.

I've been sick on my couch for the past three days, coughing and now sneezing every five minutes. Gross amounts of snot. I'm not sure how one can even produce so much. However, due to the Seahorse, I can't take any meds besides Tylenol and Sudafed. So lots of water and a large box of Kleenex. It's not been fun. I pretty much haven't moved since Tuesday morning. I don't even know if I'll try to go to work tomorrow. I don't think they need me, and I don't know if I'll be recovered enough to spend a day at school. Taking a shower made me tired today.

While I've been home, I've had the chance to observe the new neighbors and I do not like them, I do not. First of all, I don't think any of them do anything. They are home all day. One guy leaves every few hours but returns in about ten minutes. Another dude sits out in the car occasionally, in the passenger seat with his cell phone. I'm not sure if a woman lives there, but I am assuming so because they have a minivan and someone is often cleaning, or scraping the walls? Scrubbing the tub? I have no idea, but it's not a silent chore. I'm shocked by this interruption of noise because our last neighbors were almost like ghosts. They even had a child. Yet, I never heard them. It's very odd, and I would like them to come back or maybe the new folk to leave. I like my apartment not to sound like there is someone tromping overhead in my bedroom.

My New Toy

This is my most favorite Christmas present. It's a Nikon D40x and it's awesome. I can never look at those little digital cameras the same way again because this is how taking photos should be. Not only does it have super fast shutter speed, great pixels, and the option to blur the background, but you can also see it right after you take it! Sure, it's expensive. But isn't it worth it? It's not like Jayden will be three forever. What if she loses her red hair (Heaven forbid)? I want to be able to pull out a photo and say "This is what you looked like. And that Mama Duck does sing Figero!"

Let the Assvice begin!

Alright! I think I've gotten the "all clear" to begin writing. I know I made a great statement about posting more often, writing, blah, blah, blah. But then I realized that until I told everyone in the need to know, I couldn't bring myself to push through posts when I really wanted to talk about the fact that I'm going to be having a baby in 8 months.

I guess I'm joining the ranks of the mommy-to-be bloggers. Although, according to my doctor I'm only 7 weeks along and that's about halfway through the first trimester so I'm trying, trying not to be overly confident because I don't have that "All Clear" yet. Maybe I shouldn't be telling the internet yet, but that's just my cautious side.

I wasn't really expecting to get pregnant on the first month off the pill, did you know only 25% of couples do? I took a test on the 18th but it came back negative so we left for Christmas sans the other test and I wasn't going to go out and buy a new one. Those tests aren't cheap, people! And I can wait for a week to get to the one I have in New Mexico! I took the test the night I got back to Hobbs, right before bed. After the pee on stick part, I put the cap on and proceeded to watch a bunch of lines appear. Except I forgot what lines I needed so I had to dig the instructions out of the box and look over them. It took me about a minute to figure out that the "Not Pregnant" involved one less line than I had. I went back into the bedroom and announced to an almost sleeping CS that "I'm pregnant." "No shit" was his response, I think. We went back to look that the test and I took out my contacts with very shaky hands. We didn't sleep much that night.

It's hard to believe that I found out on the 2nd of January because that feels ages behind me but it's really only two and a half weeks. I think time will move so slowly for the next 8 months. I've been to a doctor, and their computer program declares that August 26th is the due date but I think it lies. Partially because of the negative test in December and partially because I want a September baby. Not an August one. I don't want to share my birthday! Plus, September has a better birthstone.

I haven't felt too badly, a little more tired at times and sometimes a little nauseous. I can still eat, but I'm always thirsty. I don't look different, and I've actually lost a pound since Christmas.

I'm not sure if I want to continue with traditional "health care" options because my Doctor has already told me no weight lifting, no skiing, no alcohol. Not that I'm about to go drink a bunch of wine, I just know that it's not the end of the world if you have a small glass of wine. It's ok to lift weights in moderation, and if you know how to ski it's not like you will seriously damage yourself. I don't want a doctor who wants to induce me if I go past my due date one day. There are so many rules that pregnant women have to follow and I can't help but think it's a problem we've created. I'm not even supposed to eat Deli meat unless I microwave it first? I get the raw fish thing, but really? How far do we have to go?

I'm thinking about hiring a midwife and having some granola, hippy birth plan.

Now, to the real reason behind this post. The Assvice. I believe this term was coined by Amalah and it's completely true. I had a phone call from someone this week, and her excellent advice was that I can't vacuum or sweep the floor anymore. I'm pretty sure that if I'm not giving up daily workouts, then I'm not going to allow a dirty house because "sweeping and vacuuming uses stomach muscles and that's not good." CS said I should get a tattoo with "No Touching" on my belly. I think it's a good idea.

Resolution.

I have one! It's amazing because usually I find that my life has very little that can be fixed by a New Year's Resolution. I already eat healthy, work out, a wonderful boyfriend, have a job I enjoy, a Chocolate Lab, and an ipod. Not to say I'm perfect in all ways, by all means. But I am content enough that I don't feel compelled to change my life based on a new year.

However. I do lack in one area. One I would like to commit myself to. WRITING.

So four days into the new year I have decided to alert you! Hi! Happy Christmas and Merry Year! (As JBelle might have said.)

My Christmas vacation was awesome. The guys did end up with time off, from the 22nd to the 28th so I was able to spend Christmas with CS and my family. We left Hobbs early enough on the 22nd to get to my house before JBelle went to bed. She was so excited to see me that she opened the front door, screamed "Jess", slammed the door, ran back to Gramma and said "Hunter is gorgeous!" before I got into the house. She's quite the character. Later that night, way past her bedtime, she started crying that she couldn't go to sleep because Hunter stinks and she needs to throw up. She proceeded to run to the bathroom, rip her shirt off, and lean her little body over the toilet bowl. She did not throw up.

I went a little over board on christmas gifts for her. I got them all on ebay, and I'm ok with that. Maybe you think that's cheap but I have my reasons. I used to play with Littlest Pet Shop toys when I was younger and the brand has made a revival. Except they are scary. Where my old LPS was proportional, cute and realistic, the new ones are bobble-headed and bug eyed. I am not down. So I bought two huge sets from ebay. I spent less than $100 on it all, and I got my money worth. Tons of accessories, lots of animals, and a slew of habitats. I love them all. JBelle likes three of them. A hamster, a horse, and a mermaid cat with jewel eyes that isn't even LPS. I, of course, am baffled and I couldn't have predicted that one. My mom got her a modern LPS house for the animals and we spend many an evening in front of it with the three favorites. I was commandeered to play "the daddy horse" a nice dark brown Paint pony with a purple saddle. Needless to say, it's a good thing she doesn't understand all the things I say when I play the "daddy horse."

My Christmas gifts were quite unexpected. CS went Above and Beyond anything I expected when I opened a brand new Nikon D40. LOAVE. It's the most amazing camera I have ever taken pictures with and I can never ever go back to normal digital. I don't have to use flash in the evening anymore! No more flash! Maybe EVER! It takes instant pictures with amazing clarity. I just love it. I can't wait to figure it all out. Things like shutter speed and aperture still don't mean a whole lot to me.

My mother gave me new bedding, including a fabulous new duvet cover. CS claims that the 3-D-ness of it hurts his eyes, but I love it. Black and White is my new theme. Now I just need some sheets. And pillows for the shams.

In a semi-gift to myself, I switched to Verizon over the break. I succeeded in getting out of my horrid, sucky, evil contract with AT&T and into a plan with my new favorite wireless provider. I actually had a problem when I got back to Hobbs area with not being able to send texts. So I called and talked to a few nice people and they actually fixed the problem. Oh My Gosh. That's incredible! A wireless provider that doesn't give up? Verizon? Where have you been all my cell phone life?