Things I am happy about:

- The cute pink enamel flower earrings from Target (only $8!)
- Hardwood floor in Marco’s room is finally finished!
- I think Tim and I are going to plant some flowers and vines this week in our backyard
- Massages at Spa Solage with Adrienne on Saturday!! I can’t wait!
- I’m 29 weeks pregnant today;  just 11 weeks until my due date. WHOA.
- I’m very much enjoying A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood. Recommend.

Things I’m annoyed at:

- My belly button will be an outie in just a few weeks, I suspect. UGH.
- We still need to paint Marco’s room, and we won’t have time for several weeks. We bought the paint, but it’s sitting in the can waiting to be used.
- All the pretty clothes I bought last Spring won’t be making an appearance this year

Things I am considering:

- Skechers Shape-ups? I’ve talked to a few people that have them (including a stranger at Target today, I saw she was wearing them and I asked if they were comfortable) and read some reviews; might be a good idea to help keep me in shape during pregnancy. I could wear them when I take walks with Chloe and work out. Also, they are supposed to help ease back and leg pains. Anyone have thoughts?
- Cutting out chicken from my diet after I stop breast feeding (likely when Marco is 6 months old). I think I might go full-out vegetarian, instead of what Tim calls a “chick-a-tarian”. I’d have to be really dilligent about taking daily vitamins, BUT, it might not be a bad idea. Have to think more on this.

Just finished The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.  I wasn’t really a fan.

Here’s what’s on my list of books to read:

A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood *Started this one today*
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth, M.D.
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James    *Everything by Henry James is wonderful*
Tipping the Velvet by Sara Waters  *Fingersmith was REALLY good, FYI!!*

What are you reading? Have a recommendation?

“Fun” symptoms I’ve been experiencing since becoming pregnant:

-extreme exhaustion
-sore breasts (especially when its cold!)
-bloody noses in the morning
-gums bleeding every time I floss and brush
-excessive burping
-weight gain (yeah, I know its only been a few pounds so far, but its only downhill from here)
-frequent urination! I’m one of those commercials, “Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go right now!” I stop drinking liquids two hours before I go to bed, and I still have to get up 7 or 8 times.

Any woman who says pregnancy is beautiful and awesome is deranged. The aftermath of this is probably awesome (here’s hoping), but the actual gestation period? No.

Here are some things about motherhood that I am looking forward to:

-teaching Marco to read, and his first trip to the library
-seeing what he looks like, and who he most resembles
-visiting Disneyland! Its going to be a blast with a kid!
-cuddling in the mornings

Now, here are some of the things that I am dreading:

-what if I am a REALLY BAD mom!?
-breastfeeding when he starts to get a tooth or two. UGH.
-diaper duty
-screaming at night (and all the other times, too)
-if he decides to play sports, what if he comes home bloody, bruised or broken after practices/games?
-Marco hitting puberty
-his first girlfriend (probably won’t like her)

Adrienne posted a list of 29 things she’d like to do before she turns 30. I’m a little bored and possibly loopy from the Flexeril so I decided to make my own list. I am not too nervous about 30, so here’s a list of things I’d like to do by age 35 (my scary age, at least at this point). No specific number, we’ll see how many wishes I come up with.

1. I would like to have read 1000 books. I keep a list of every book I’ve read (that I can remember, I may be missing a few). I am at 430 right now; I’ll have to read about 57 books a year from now until 2019.
2. I would like to have a child, but I would like this to happen before I turn 30.
3. I’d love to visit Belgium. Waffles and chocolate for me, beer for Tim! The Belgian cuisine is apparently even better than the French, and the country itself is one of the most beautiful in the world. Not sure how I’ll do with all the seafood but I don’t mind eating chocolate every day.
4. Tim and I should have another dog and cat. Preferably a Pug, and either a ginger or a little black kitty. Chloe and Stabler are so perfect that it will be hard to find animals as good as they are but I’d love to try.
5. Replace my Nikon speedlight flash (its officially dead).
6. Talk to my Mom about the things that really bother me, without letting her change the story or the subject.
7. Learn how to crochet like my grandma.
8. Attend the opera.
9. Have a meal with Tim at Per Se in New York.

That’s all I can think of right now, which probably means I’ll make stuff up if I try to keep going.

I have a terrible pain in my back; its been there for two days. Anytime I try to move my neck to the left (to the left, everything you own in a box to the left) this spasm appears in my right shoulder, and my neck has four pea sized knots taking over. I’ve tried heating pads, Advil and I took a Flexeril about 40 minutes ago. I feel sleepy, but my back still hurts. BLAH!

5. Under the Lemon Trees by Bhira Backhaus
4. The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike
3. The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie
2. Annette Vallon by James Tipton
1. The Object of My Affection by Stephen McCauley

Just started ‘Veronica’ by Mary Gaitskill… so far ok.