tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74536315808669266222024-03-13T00:11:56.313-04:00Visione BellaThe daily wanderings and musings of a 20-something mommy and fun-loving chick.Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-31539272698723978432010-04-06T01:43:00.002-04:002010-04-06T01:47:49.682-04:00Ants in my Pants!!Ok.... so because I am completely incapable of sitting still for more than 5 seconds (I think I probably would have done just fine as a military brat. At least I'd have had an excuse for all my social issues), I'm moving. At least I think so.<div><br /></div><div>I'm starting this out as a trial run that I rather anticipate will become a permanent move. You can find my last 3 blog posts and any others moving forward at <a href="http://www.visionebella.wordpress.com">Visione Bella</a>. Thanks for following me around! I hope you'll make the move with me!</div>Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-78973943069368543892010-04-05T16:10:00.001-04:002010-04-05T16:10:21.075-04:00Easter Baby<img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3c984HD839U/S7pDqrmBM8I/AAAAAAAAA08/1WX4hUPpen4/Easter%20Baby_img_1.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left cursor: pointer; width: 320px height: 240px; " height="240px" width="320px" /><br><br>This was the only pic I managed to get with her looking up. But I plan to restage her later. I mean, the dress is just so darn cute and the sun was in her eyes!<br />Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-85249257671276362772010-04-04T15:19:00.003-04:002010-04-04T16:18:35.865-04:00Hello, my name is Irene and I'm a barefoot, baby wearing, natural childbirth granola girl. Nice to meet you.<div><b>L&D Part One...</b></div><div><br /></div>Well, I guess that's a slight exaggeration. I really do love baby wearing, but I haven't exactly mastered the art, and Ever is so darn squiggly that she doesn't last in carriers nearly as long as I would like. BUT, I have jokingly referred to myself as some version of "granola girl," "urban hippie," etc since I was in high school. I just kinda go through phases and come back round circle to who I guess I really am at my core. And the funny thing is, it's not really how I was raised. A little bit is, a bit is just in my blood, but other things just started to resonate with me and have started to form my identity.<div><br /></div><div>I think I experienced the strongest moment of this while I was pregnant. I always knew I wanted to at least TRY natural childbirth. I HATE the idea of a needle in my back, and I wanted to be mobile. And ever since I was about.... 13 or 14, I wanted to experience a water birth. Seriously. I was watching A Baby Story one day and this lady was in labor, gave birth in her hot tub (or a birthing tub, I really don't remember), gave birth to her baby SIX minutes later, and a little later, got up and gave him a back massage!!!!! I mean, this woman was crazy cool in my book and I wanted to be just like her.</div><div><br /></div><div>My quest for natural childbirth didn't really take wing, however, until I discovered that a friend of mine from college had become a Labor and Birth Doula. I started chatting with her on Facebook and she pointed me to her website, <a href="http://www.beautifulchildbirth.com/">Beautiful Childbirth</a>. Reader, let me tell you. I started reading about the benefits of natural childbirth, and the reality of a medicated birth, and I was done. I will never have an epidural and no one can make me.... unless I'm going to actually die otherwise. The info I read that really changed my mind about everything can be found <a href="http://www.beautifulchildbirth.com/classes.aspx">here</a>, in the bottom section. Let me tell you, my dear Brooke changed my life that day. In more ways than she could have even realized at that moment.</div><div><br /></div><div>Less than 48 hours later, I'm sitting in the living room of my friend Kristy, probably about 30 weeks pregnant, and I'm telling her about all this incredible information. Now granted, she's a woman who had epidurals with both of her kids and no one could have PAID her to do it differently. BUT, she is also one of the best friends I've ever had in my life, and would let go of her love and support for anything. I'm reading her the information from the website, with so much excitement and passion, and she looks up at me and says, "Oh my gosh, Irene. You should do this. You should be a Doula."</div><div><br /></div><div>Have you ever had one of those moments when life just hits you square between the eyeballs and suddenly everything you've ever done in your life has led you up to this very moment and everything makes sense? That was my moment. So, now I'm just (im)patiently waiting to save up my spare change so that I can start my certification. This is definitely a part of my life that I can't wait to get started. To be able to see out my vision to transform women's lives in such a powerful way is more incredible than anything else I could have imagined. I guess that's what happens when God's will for your life suddenly becomes so clear.</div>Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-63317686558593613582010-04-03T14:55:00.005-04:002010-04-03T17:14:31.878-04:00Spring Cleaning... Damn.Ok.... get real time. When we moved out of the townhouse in October, I did a LOT of purging of crap. Stuff I'd had since middle school and I couldn't even begin to give you a good reason for it. "This was the box from a watch I bought once and I liked it. And the box is pink." Yeeeahhhh.... not working so well!!! So, I've been pretty proud of myself for that accomplishment. We're talking BAGS of trash that went out of that poor house. But the truth is, I knew I was in desperate need of some downsizing, especially considering that we were about to move in with family. Nobody needs THAT much crap. Seriously.<div><br /></div><div>Well, it seems that the work I did just didn't cut it. We moved in my with my parents a couple weeks ago (yep, that's move number 2 in six months. Good times.). And now, as a completely justified result of all the stuff that has bombarded my poor mother's house, she's hit me with a Come-to-Jesus talk. The result? I'm up here cleaning out some boxes trying desperately to make room for the MORE boxes that need to be unloaded.</div><div><br /></div><div>And here's the really depressing part...</div><div><br /></div><div>I HAVE A CLOSET FULL OF CLOTHES THAT DON'T FIT ME ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!</div><div><br /></div><div>If I'm really honest with myself, half this stuff hasn't fit me since I got married 5 years ago. But the unavoidable truth is that now that I officially possess the all glorified post-pardum body - spread hips, extra ba-donk-a-donk and everything, I don't have a shot in HELL that any of it will ever fit me again.</div><div><br /></div><div>I really don't want to face this, but the fact is, it's not like I have room for all these too-small clothes anyway. I just hate having to face that the chances of me getting back down to 120 (or even 130 would be cool!) and having the body of a junior are between slim and never gonna happen.</div><div><br /></div><div>Do you ever struggle with getting rid of clothes (or anything else) that you've created an emotional attachment to? "I got this T-shirt on my Honeymoon," "These were my favorite capris in college," "I refuse to believe I'll never get into those pants again. They always looked good on me!"</div><div><br /></div><div>Stacy and Clinton, rescue me from my insanity!!!!!!! GAAAAAHHHHHH!</div>Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-89958765319398601832010-04-03T01:07:00.001-04:002010-04-03T01:10:00.324-04:00Back in Action?<br>Ok, so over the past several months, it has been a little crazy for me. I had a  baby, suffered my fair bout of post pardum... or some sort of depression, and moved. Twice. Truth be told, the biggest reason I stopped posting was because I knew it would be full of nothing but my bitching and moaning. Show of hands for who wanted to read THAT mess?!  *crickets* Yeah, that's what I thought.<br /><br>Oh yeah, and did I mention I am now trying out publishing from my new Moto Droid??? This could be totally fun. Once I get it all figured out anyway...<br /><br>That said, I figured a sabatical was probably best. Regretibly, perhaps, you've missed out on a lot. Actually, I need to go back in the archives and see just how much I told you all in the first place! Jiminey!<br /><br>Well for starters, we had a little girl and named her Ever Joelle. It was our version of his family's tradition of naming a child after the two grandfathers. Edward and Joseph. Really, we fell across the name Ever and absolutely fell in love with it. It's unique without being too weird, and has a romantic feel to it. She was a massive 8 lbs, 7.5 oz. Don't think that's big?? YOU try pushing that out and tell me it ain't big!! The whole story was pretty crazy, and rather entertaining, I'm told. I think that'll be my next post. You ready for that, y'all??<br /><br>Since having Ever, we've moved twice and poor Scott has had 3 different jobs. I think he finally landed in a keeper, so we're both pretty happy to be settled for a while. Now if we can just get all our freaking bills paid!<br><br /><br />Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-62989184854803546672009-11-04T22:35:00.006-05:002009-11-04T23:33:24.272-05:00Stepping back in...<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Post Number 40! You know, that really shouldn't feel like a milestone, but somehow it does. I think it's because towards the end of my pregnancy, and over the last 3 months, blogging hasn't been very easy for me to fall back into. I have a GORGEOUS baby girl named Ever Joelle and believe me when I say that many days, she's the only thing keeping me sane.<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNGBwRtW6-TTgLwyw-2H_i5b-RzcqjR6DbUHH48ObFE2w5LYBSZREi-FzZBBqAShkZDN7pBvRQoUDxR6lQ6J8NpnFRe5APf_TctCSQhzaoV9ouchHwHNX8u7EOzqvedh7JFcsk_dhNt1YH/s320/Ever_Dedication.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 279px; height: 320px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400459345842743122" /></div><div style="text-align: left;">SEE????? I told you she's gorgeous! And really, that doesn't even show you how great she looks in person. If Scott and I were better photographers, maybe we could really capture some of her more priceless looks. Not to sound vain, but that child needs to be in magazines.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So... I guess the best way to get things back off the ground again is to say that, well, it's been a tough few months. To sum up and not dwell, here's just the facts, ma'am. I had Ever in what some have considered an epic birthing story... maybe I'll post it on here, but I haven't yet mastered the ability to tell the tale without the TMI details. A week or so before giving birth, they took my dog walks away for fear I would end up going into labor in the middle of the sidewalk. In all fairness, that would not have been good for the company. BUT, they did let me keep my petsits, which ended JUST in time. Literally, I had my last petsit on the day I went to the hospital!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And so, from all that and the hell that is recovering after natural childbirth, I didn't go back to work. I'm way past ready to start doing some <a href="http://www.liasophia.com/sites/irene">lia sophia</a> shows again, but so far, nothing big is on my calendar. Any takers??? After more months than we really should have held on, we finally let go, and gave up the townhouse we'd been living in this year. Money just wasn't adding up and we couldn't hold on any longer. It's been a really painful transition for me, moving back in with family after 3 years on our own AND now having just had a new baby. It's not exactly how I pictured my life right now. Nevertheless, it's where I am, and as my mom loves to say ALL the time, "Oops is not in God's vocabulary."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">My very good friend over at <a href="http://wearingmascara.com/">Wearing Mascara</a> has inspired me a little to focus more on <a href="http://wearingmascara.com/index.php/2009/11/i-am-thankful/">things I'm thankful for...</a> I have to be honest, this is something I have NOT done in a long time. If I'm honest, I've actually been pretty stinking ungrateful for the blessings God has placed in my life because I've been so bogged down in what's been going wrong. To that end, here goes... a list of things I am grateful for (and I'm forcing myself to list them simply, not allowing for explanations or exceptions because that's not really being grateful now, is it?)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul><li>I am INCREDIBLY blessed beyond imagination to have such a beautiful baby girl who brings me smiles upon smiles every day, and is trying her darndest to turn me into more of a morning person (she's not doing too badly either!!)</li><li>I have a husband who loves me and is committed to going to work every day, loving his job, and working incredibly hard to make sure we're able to pay down the debt we've come into so we can work towards getting back out on our own</li><li>I have a family that loves me and wants desperately to support us and help us get to a better place in our lives</li><li>I have very generous and inviting friends who have helped to make my transition to mommyhood much smoother than it would have been otherwise</li><li>A week or so ago, I was at Wegman's to pick up a couple small things and realized I forgot my wallet at home. There was a girl behind me in line, Anna Maria, who saw what I was getting and said, "You're not getting much and you shouldn't have to drive all the way home and back with a baby." She paid for my groceries.</li></ul><div>There are other things, of course, but I think that's a pretty good start. Hopefully I'll start getting a little better about this whole blog thing an you'll see me on here more often. See you soon!!</div><div><br /></div><div>Irene</div></div>Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-40005716212239867552009-07-28T18:45:00.003-04:002009-07-28T18:53:45.138-04:00Fabulous Giveaway for Mommies with Babies!Hey Moms (and friends of moms!!)<br /><br />I just discovered a GREAT giveaway today on a very cool mommy blog called <a href="http://blog.momsneedanswers.com/my_weblog/">Moms Need Answers</a>. They're giving away a Beeba Babycook, but you can only enter through July 31! Send your mommy friends to the blog for their <a href="http://blog.momsneedanswers.com/my_weblog/2009/07/july-give-away.html">July Giveaway</a>. Good luck everyone!!!Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-82589249876411900822009-07-06T19:36:00.006-04:002009-07-06T19:49:08.372-04:00How are you "guys" today?Ok everyone.... issue of mild controversy here. I've been having an argument with the hubbs about the social acceptability of referring to a mixed group of people as "guys," particularly by restaurant staff to the table they're serving/seating/etc. My personal opinion, largely gained from the years of influence from the matriarchs of my family (often referred to by myself as "we Dobbins ladies"), is that it's rude. And while I recognize that it is a common practice, especially in the midwest, north (maybe?) and nowhere-land of Northern VA, I think it's lazy, informal, and far too personal for a group of people you don't know, especially not on a first name basis. The worst offense, to me, is when a waiter comes up to a group of all females and says, "How are you guys doing today?" At that point, I'm ready for a clobber fest. And seriously, don't even get my grandmother started. I've seen her almost walk out of a restaurant for such an offense.<br /><br />Hubbs on the other hand, thinks it's absolutely proper because that's just what everyone does. It's accepted as common practice, so there's no reason to change it! No really, we argue about this. He retorts to me that I'm saying it's WRONG to do so. No, I'm not saying it's wrong, I'm saying it's all the things I mentioned before. But we can get into a discussion of right versus wrong later. You just say the word.<br /><br />So, I've been doing a little research on the topic and honestly not much can be easily found, much to my disappointment. However, my mom found a very thought provoking blog/article on the subject back from 2007 that I enjoyed reading. I thought about pasting the whole darned thing here for you to read, but I've decided I'm lazy, so instead, here's the link. Please click over and read the article. And if you don't often comment, please do so here!!! I want some feedback on this topic! Thanks, kids!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.alternet.org/story/48527/?page=1">I'll be serving you guys this evening...</a>Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-58799467897246207952009-07-04T11:53:00.003-04:002009-07-04T12:20:25.493-04:00What Exactly IS Free?So I've been reading a lot of what people have been saying today on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Facebook</span> in regards to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Independence</span> Day. Some have some good things to say, some people are being just plain asinine - like one kid who commented "Happy white people's <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Independence</span> Day." As if the wars that have been fought for this country's freedom over the years, starting with the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Revolutionary</span> War couldn't possibly in any way affect a black kid in the DC area. I guess that's a big F-you to the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Tuskegee</span> Airmen too. Way to go, genius.<br /><br />I'm really tempted to go into a rant about how much a lot of black people piss me off with that kind of attitude, and how disgusted I am that now history books are being rewritten to apologize for slavery and to equate it to the Jewish Holocaust, but I'll just leave my opinion with that sentence for now and maybe I'll go off about it at a later date. Suffice to say, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">racism</span> goes in ALL directions, and if you want everyone to be equal, you have to actually treat EVERYONE as, oh, I don't know, EQUAL??? You are me and I am you, and that's the only way we can thrive in this world.<br /><br />What I really want to focus on today is the fact that we all have to remember that freedom isn't really free, and we've all had a hand in fighting to keep it over the decades - black, white, red, yellow, green with purple polka-dots..... If not for the wars that have been waged, we wouldn't have freedom, we wouldn't have a chance for it at all. So, as much as war sucks while it's going on, I'm grateful for it. This is hardly a platform for or against the war we are currently in, I'm not going there. But <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Revolutionary</span> War, Civil War, World Wars I & II, etc... they all had a REASON for being fought. There was something to be gained or protected and most of the time, it came back to why Thomas Jefferson wrote his Declaration in the first place. We must remember that, no matter what. If you lose sight of what's at the core of our freedoms, you lose sight of being able to even come close to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">understanding</span> what it means to be an American.<br /><br />Reader, I want to challenge you to something today... it's something that impacted me profoundly at the beginning of 2008 and started my journey to where I am today... a better wife, someone who can be a good mother, a better friend, daughter, listener, and leader and follower when the situation calls for either. Declare your <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">independence</span>. I can't tell you what it's from, only you can say what it is. For me, it was declaring <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">independence</span> from myself. And it was the hardest thing I've ever done. I still fight it every day.<br /><br />But in order to REALLY grasp what this means, you need to completely get what those men did back in 1776. They were wealthy, intelligent, popular, powerful men. And they signed it all away. They found a problem that was worthy of their entire lives, families, fortunes, <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">comforts</span></span> (I think that's the most important one for us to grasp today), and material possessions. They knew, COMPLETELY, that signing that document was the beginning of the end for them. But it didn't matter because they knew in their hearts what was coming after. Because freedom, TRUE freedom, is worth any cost. It's worth death. It's worth losing everything. And I believe that mentality comes directly from <span style="font-weight: bold;">Matthew 16:26 </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">"For what will it profit a man if he </span><span style="font-weight: bold;" class="search-term-1">gains</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;" class="search-term-2">the</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> whole </span><span style="font-weight: bold;" class="search-term-3">world</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?"</span><br /><br />What are you enslaved by today that you need to declare freedom from? For me it was my constant criticism of myself, holding myself back, doubting my abilities and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">capabilities</span>. Declare your <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">independence</span> today and step forward into a future of your own creation. Remember: <span style="font-weight: bold;">"All truth comes in three stages. First, it is mocked, then it is violently opposed, and finally it is self-evident."</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span>Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-74029696989683766712009-06-29T15:51:00.003-04:002009-06-29T16:16:50.871-04:00One Good Mechanic Can Make a DifferenceOk, in all fairness, I need to give you an update on how things ended with the Jiffy Lube fiasco. The short answer is: MUCH better than I expected it to. Things were not nearly as bad as I originally suspected. Praise God!!!!! Now for the story...<br /><br />So, I called JL again this morning around 9:30, to be told they hadn't even checked their voice mails yet. <span style="font-style: italic;">Sorry, what?! So, when does that kind of thing generally happen? After you close for the week?</span> Anyhoo... so I told the guy on the phone the story again, he went back and looked at the video, and sent someone from the Woodbridge store down to check out what was going on with my car. They arrived, and found that my engine was TOO full of oil! See, as it turns out, 10:30 at night with no flashlight and bad lighting from streetlamps and headlights still don't do much for you. My darling hubby checked the wrong dipstick and thought my oil was empty, when he was really looking at the transmission fluid which is barely visible at night. I'll spare him the embarassment and just say simply, he doesn't know Hondas very well. *wink*<br /><br />The JL manager from Woodbridge was very understanding, completely getting why we would have made that mistake, and took the time to check everything else to see what the problem was. Turned out, the engine light came on because of a tube that connects the engine to the air filter (or something like that). When they finished my service, a supervisor went back and inspected all the work, and checked off on it.... but the cap was sitting there, unhooked for all the world to see! That means my engine was taking in extra air which, while not mechanically fatal, wasn't good either. It was basically one of those stupid careless mistakes that take your math test grade from an A to a B+ because you just weren't paying attention. Plus, they didn't wash my exterior windows like they said they did, which kind of annoyed me, but either way...<br /><br />So, at the end of the day, my car was drained of the extra oil, which was put back into the bottles to be used at a later date, the hose-thingy was reconnected, and my engine light was reset so everything is now good to go. I got an apology from BOTH store managers for the error, the supervisor who signed off on my car was "taken care of" (whatever that means), and I got a card for a free oil change next time I go in! I still kinda feel like the Burke store should be doing something extra, since they're the ones who half-assed the job in the first place, but I think I'll let it go, just to be a nice person.Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-16293792575917931182009-06-28T23:40:00.005-04:002009-06-29T00:30:46.113-04:00Sunday Night TwoferOk, so apparently I unintentionally lied. I didn't repost yesterday. Sooooo, here's a little double whammy for you tonight! And please, stay tuned for the second part of this post. It's a REEEAL doozy.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">BABY HEALTH UPDATE</span></span><br /><br />Ok, so I realized I hadn't kept you updated on how things went for me after my 3-hour glucose test. Honestly, it's because after I heard back about the results, there wasn't a whole lot to tell. My levels were as follows: Fasting (94), Hour One (148), Hour Two (146), Hour Three (98). Translation, I really only technically failed one of the 3 sugar tests, BUT the way the sugars processed means something was still a little off. I drew my own conclusions on what this meant, but still waited the 2 weeks to see my doctor and get her final thoughts on it. Turned out she agreed with me completely. Yay! I'm smart!!!<br /><br />My final and official diagnosis, which in all fairness I just got on Wednesday, is that I have a Glucose Intolerance. I had just been referring to it as "Borderline" Gestational Diabetes. All it means is that my body is currently not processing sugars as quickly as it's supposed to, so I have to watch my sugar and carb intake, drink lots of water, and keep exercising (aka, walking dogs). This has been mostly pretty easy for me, though, especially since figuring out that if I get a sweets craving, I can chow down on some fresh fruit and it completely takes care of the craving! Besides, it's a way better and healthier way to munch. Ta-dah!<br /><br />Baby is still developing very nicely, and they are very happy with the way she seems to be coming along. I'm more convinced than ever that she's been transverse this entire time, but it's starting to feel like she might be turning and getting into her final birthing position. Gosh, I hope so!!! I can't wait to meet my little gummy bear!!!!<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">STUPIDITY REALLY HAS NO LIMITS!!!</span></span><br /><br />So I went to Jiffy Lube today to get an oil change. I've heard some sketchy things about some locations, but I've never had a bad experience myself, so I guess fair's fair either way. But, what happened to me today was absolutely BEYOND insane. Ok.... so, here's the pop quiz of the day... when you go to get an oil change what is THE most obvious thing that needs to be done? Hint: it's so blatently obvious that you're probably sitting there saying to yourself, "no, that can't be it, that's just too easy!" I'll give you three guesses. I promise you won't get it.<br /><br />Give up? Well, here's a thought, after you've drained the oil out and put in a new filter, AND replugged the opening, <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">how about putting the NEW OIL in my car?!?!?!?!?!</span> Seriously!!! And here's the best part... I drove from Burke, where I had my oil changed, all the way up to Potomac Falls (Great Falls side of Sterling) for a friend's party this afternoon, and then back down to Lorton to see my hubby at work. All the while, I was completely unaware that my car had absolutely NO oil in it!!! As I'm leaving the restaurant around 10:30, my "Malfunction Indicator Light" comes on. Now, admittedly, I'm no mechanical genius, but I know a lot of the lights that come on in your car for different reasons. I've never seen this one before.<br /><br />Sooo, I turn around and park again in front of the restaurant, get my husband to turn around before he's too far gone, and he comes back and checks on my car for me. We double check the gas cap and all other caps, etc, as recommended in my Owner's Manual. Everything checks out just fine. Then, Scott pulls my dipstick out of the oil reserve. Bone. Effing. Dry. Seriously. Are you kidding me?! You mean I just drove over 55 miles with NO oil in my car?! Thank GOD my engine didn't completely sieze up on me!<br /><br />Let's just say... whatever poor sap is opening up Jiffy Lube in the morning is really in for quite the voice mail message. If I don't have a phone call by the time I wake up in the morning, they're getting another phone call. Plus, I expect a full refund, a re-embursement of the money I had to pay for NEW oil, AND, if there's any lasting damage to my car, they're paying for all the repairs. I almost hope I need a new engine. And boy, oh boy, they'd better not try to pin this on me. This is too big an error to pass off on the customer. Heads will roll, baby. Just you wait.Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-19515587307147503922009-06-27T12:38:00.006-04:002009-06-27T12:54:00.096-04:00Summer Chill and DownloadsI am realizing, dear friends, that I have not been holding up my end of the deal and keeping you updated with things! I'm sorry! I've been a little out of it lately, and this week I've been battling an unfortunate head and chest cold that's got me all sinusy and hacking up a lung. This afternoon, I'm SUPPOSED to be going to the annual company picnic for my Dog Walking job, but I'm thinking infecting people and their young children with my untreated germs probably isn't the best way to spend my afternoon. Plus, yesterday didn't turn out so well for me.<br /><br />Imagine if you will, this lovely combo: 88 degree weather with what felt like 80% humidity. Eight months pregnant, massive summer cold, and out walking dogs/doing pet sits, driving around town for say... 5 hours in and out of the car in all that heat. My stomach was hurting all day because of (1) I swear I have a knee shoved in there lately, (2) all the coughing and (3) drainage. By 4:00, I had reached my limit and had to rush home from my neighbor's house to get back to my A/C and almost throw up in the kitchen sink. (This of course was really not helped by the smell of eggs from breakfast that had not been cleaned up yet... ugh!!)<br /><br />Translation, I was much busier yesterday than my body could handle and I paid dearly for it. That pretty well solidified my choice to stay away from the party today. I just don't especially want to have a repeat performance. I'm much more content staying home and watching movies on my laptop... while scanning and cleaning up my computer from a Trojan Virus I accidentally downloaded last night. Frick!!! I should have known better - I DID know better - and I went against my better judgment and didn't scan the blasted file before running it. Genius, I know.<br /><br />For the sake of keeping this post reasonibly short, I'll end here and save the rest of my info for a later post. And yes, I <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">promise</span></span> I will post later today. See you soon, lovelies!Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-58748944292888458832009-06-09T12:47:00.004-04:002009-06-09T13:14:40.966-04:00Sugar: To Eat or Not to EatIt really is kind of a tough question! Since last Thursday, I've been facing the possibility of having Gestational Diabetes. Wednesday, June 3, I took my standard one-hour glucose tolerance test. It was a bad day, which pretty well screwed me up for the rest of the week because I never really got a good chance to recover from the initial experience. I failed pretty badly. To give you an idea, a person taking a GTT has a normal reading if showing 95-140 in their blood sugar levels. My blood sugar was at 180. Not good. Especially considering that while not required, I fasted because it was just easier for me than trying to figure out what I could or couldn't eat the morning of my test. I had a small glass of milk, which would have had SOME effect on my levels, but certainly not THAT much.<br /><br />When you fail the first test you are required to go back into the doctor to take a more involved 3-hour test. Mine was yesterday. This time, I was required to fast before hand. I arrived just after 9:00am, already feeling a little queasy because my stomach had been empty for over 12 hours. They drew my blood to find my fasting blood sugar, and then I had to drink a bottle of orange flavored glucose (100g concentrated). YUM!! *twitch* FYI, the bottle I drank for the 1-hour test was 50g of glucose.<br /><br />After only half an hour, I was ready to die. I was dizzy, nauseous, and pretty much just wanted to kill the obnoxious family yacking away sitting on the other side of the waiting room from me. They wouldn't go away!!!!! Tell me, really, who the heck needs to take the entire family with you - old parents, sister, and little girl - just to go have your yearly checkup?! Good gravy!<br /><br />Fortunately, the staff at my doctor's office is really sweet and accomidating and they checked one me to see how I was doing - I'm pretty sure one of the front desk girls saw me getting up to move to another seat (after the Clampets left, we took over their station right by a plug so Scott and I could watch a movie on his laptop) and she had a nurse come see how I was feeling. I lasted in the waiting room for the remainder of my first hour, and then they took me back into my own private exam room to sit out the remainder of the test. Then, they sent Scott back after my second blood draw of the day. He finished the movie, I slept. Believe me, being able to lie down and fall asleep made the entire experience a LOT more endurable. After some napping, and two more blood draws, we went home and I was feeling quite a bit more recovered than after the last ordeal. That could be a good or it could mean nothing. At this juncture, I feel like my body IS processing the sugars, just a lot more slowly than it really should.<br /><br />So now I wait... and while I've been waiting, I've been doing my research. Call me a little bit of a data freak if you want. I'm a researcher. I like to be able to understand what my body is doing, what it's going through, and when family or friends of mine get conditions I don't understand as well as I'd like to (Chronic Lyme's Disease, Celiac, Diabetes), I do some research so I can have a better picture of what they're dealing with. So I Googled. I found a great article on the <a href="http://www.diabetes.org/gestational-diabetes.jsp">American Diabetes Association website</a> that gave me some good information for what I may be potentially facing. Follow the link for more info, but here are the basics:<br /><br />Gestational Diabetes affects about 4% of pregnant women, about 135,000 cases each year. So, while it's not a common problem to have, it's common enough that they certainly don't want to make the mistake of overlooking it. GD works in your body similarly to the way that Type 2 Diabetes would affect you. Because of the hormones in your body as a result of the placenta feeding and growing your baby, the insulin the pancreas is creating isn't able to adequately do its job to break down sugars. This is a pregnant woman's special version of Insulin Resistance. Since it's happening as a direct result of the pregnancy, it will go away after delivery and BS levels should return to normal. Occasionally, having GD can uncover Type 1 or 2 Diabetes in the mom, although it's not very common for that to happen. What IS common, however, is for mom to get GD in subsequent pregnancies (about 75% chance), and of developing Type 2 years down the road.<br /><br />The biggest concern of GD is how it affects your developing baby. Most commonly, when not treated properly, GD will result in Macrosomia, or "fat baby." Since the placenta is absorbing nutrients from you to feed and develop baby, if you have access sugars in your body, so does your baby. You both have a pancreas going into overdrive trying to combat the excess sugars, causing abnormal weight gain. Babies with Macrosomia are much more likely to have heart problems, weight problems, etc,. later in life. What's good to know, however, is that large baby doesn't necessarily mean GD. It just means it's one possible cause. Big babies are born all the time to perfectly healthy moms with no complications to speak of.<br /><br />So there you have it, now we're both a little more educated, and I've beaten a little more time while waiting to hear from the doctor or not, about how my blood test turned out. If I don't hear from them, we're good!! I'll keep you posted. ;-)Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-62225903109631459202009-05-21T13:26:00.002-04:002009-05-21T13:32:22.069-04:00Hold My HeartOk, so yes, I do generally try to steer clear of downer posts... I know, no one REALLY wants to read about that, even if you are my friends and care about how I'm doing. For that, I'm very grateful. Suffice to say, this is just kind of where I am in my life right now, and today's been especially tough. No specifics needed, those who need to know already do. For the rest of you, I appreciate your good thoughts and prayers. In the meantime, here's a fan-made music video of a song that pretty well speaks to where I am these days. Lyrics (though not 100% correct) are in the vid. Enjoy, perhaps it'll speak to you as well.<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WifScmrU6CI&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WifScmrU6CI&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />And a special thanks to Jen at <a href="http://www.cakewrecks.blogspot.com/">Cake Wrecks</a>. I saved up reading posts from the last few weeks and well worth it. I was in need of some extra laughs today. Thanks!!Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-27942545200422870822009-05-16T06:50:00.004-04:002009-05-16T07:19:23.693-04:00Leg Cramps in PregnancyIt's not very often I experience something so painful it's actually worth blogging about. But if you've ever had a <a href="http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/sprainsstrains/a/legcramp.htm">Charley Horse Cramp</a>, you know exactly what I'm talking about. For those of you not fortunate enough to have already experienced the "joys" of pregnancy (no, I'm honestly not complaining, I'm just not one who has found pregnancy to be a particularly joyful experience and I'm just being authentic about that), let me tell you, they happen a LOT!<br /><br />Now granted, this is also coming from a woman who has yet to actually experience the pain of labor and delivery, but up to this point, I think a Charley Horse is easily the most painful thing I have ever experienced in my life. Anything that wakes you up to the point that you're crying out in VERY unexpected pain, sometimes to the point of tears, pretty well takes the cake in my book. I think, before the fact, that the one thing that would make a bad leg cramp trump labor/delivery pain is that at least with delivery you KNOW it's coming. You're awake, and aware, and you can feel the pain coming on. You may not realize <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">just</span></span> how bad it's going to be, but at least it doesn't completely blindside you in your sleep.<br /><br />Over the past 2 months or so, waking up with a mild cramp in my calf has become a daily commonplace. They're not so bad I can't handle it. They don't feel great, but they're not the worst thing either. I stretch my leg out, flex my foot, and it's gone. And I go back to sleep. Twice in the past 3-4 days, however, I've been rudely awakened by a cramp SO bad that I can't keep it to myself. This morning, I was nearly in tears. That makes the fourth time in my life I've experienced a leg cramp to that severity.<br /><br />Ironically, leg cramps were the <a href="http://www.parentingweekly.com/pregnancy/pregnancy_information/leg_cramps.htm">topic of the week </a>for me in my Pregnancy Weekly emails (I am now 27 weeks along!) and some tips were helpful and some weren't so much. For example, they recommend sleeping on your side to prevent the cramping. Unfortunately for me, I do always sleep on my side, with a <a href="http://shopboppy.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=16">Boppy pregnancy pillow</a>, and my knees bent. In my opinion, the bent knees only add to the risk of cramping. Also, while I already knew that a Charley Horse often comes as the result of a calcium deficiency or imbalance, I finally got confirmation that the problem could also be with potassium (time to eat more yogurt, I guess). Dehydration is also a culprit, and likely my big enemy in this situation. Staying hydrated, drinking enough fluids has always been a difficult thing for me, no matter what tips and tricks I've tried. I keep trying, and some days I'm a lot better than others.<br /><br />So, to all you pregnant ladies, be warned, but also be comforted. You're not the only one, this too shall pass.... eventually. Now, I'm off to price things for a yard sale I'm already late to. Fun times! Hopefully I can use my fabulous new camera that I got for Mother's Day (!!!!!) and take some fun photos to share.Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-16634680454143576612009-05-08T10:46:00.005-04:002009-05-08T11:00:44.514-04:00Another Cake Wrecks PostOk, yeah, I get it, I think I mention or blog about <a href="http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/">Cake Wrecks </a>than anything else in here. But well, truth is, kids, I've been in a tough spot lately and believe you me, I just don't think you want to hear about my woes. And honestly, I'm not so sure how keen I am on writing about them at the moment. So instead I get my daily does of hilarity from <a href="http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/">Cake Wrecks </a>and I realize that perhaps my life isn't so bad... or at least I get to forget about the stuff going on for a few minutes. That said, I just HAD to share with you a little of the <a href="http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2009/05/multiple-choices-for-mom.html">Mother's Day homage </a>going on down in cakeland. Enjoy.<br /><br />Now, just to highlight my 2 favorite cakes on here today...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUC9P4EIPYeEsDkgWAHT5aHBAE2zymK6JVRyXmnd0MNU5fViN5rn4q_xJnJ6hXdXNywoCCjFWkKAKvLJmu0LyOFLBTY1KsxnGpjhkacn0gOhiTuFIEiozbpk1m1UXEkvZF6jci-s9UQL0w/s1600-h/Mother's+day+CCC.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 280px; height: 209px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUC9P4EIPYeEsDkgWAHT5aHBAE2zymK6JVRyXmnd0MNU5fViN5rn4q_xJnJ6hXdXNywoCCjFWkKAKvLJmu0LyOFLBTY1KsxnGpjhkacn0gOhiTuFIEiozbpk1m1UXEkvZF6jci-s9UQL0w/s200/Mother's+day+CCC.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333465887184795554" border="0" /></a><br />Just when you thought CCCs couldn't get any worse, they go and turn them into three piece monstrocities! What is this thing?! I think my favorite theory is "bear arms." I mean, wouldn't you totally be in the market for albino bear arms attacking a rose bush to honor your mother on this one day of the year that she gets a little credit for all her hard work and lack of sleep? Oh yes, this does it for sure.<br /><br />And my favorite for the day....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjutSeBax7Gq_kZF1EkXSalRxB5fLonQNgGlx8CRzmp8rHiz4H_fPDhWuTyCStq2ofkkZPAV8kIBvCJ_NEBLN5d4GulfTMuk5tvvuM0kzVvyeYSxCq4cLXWS2Dr5D2oZEuBf39otMfMXCCY/s1600-h/Muppet+Mom.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjutSeBax7Gq_kZF1EkXSalRxB5fLonQNgGlx8CRzmp8rHiz4H_fPDhWuTyCStq2ofkkZPAV8kIBvCJ_NEBLN5d4GulfTMuk5tvvuM0kzVvyeYSxCq4cLXWS2Dr5D2oZEuBf39otMfMXCCY/s320/Muppet+Mom.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333466622268656898" border="0" /></a><br />Ohhhhhhh! I get it! So THIS is what Kermit and Miss Piggy's love child looks like. I always wondered. Dear God, help us all... but really, I just can't help but <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTXyXuqfBLA">burst into song </a>when I see this one. Heh!Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-66063325405542230062009-04-20T22:58:00.003-04:002009-04-20T23:01:03.449-04:00WM Smashbox Giveaway!!!Hey ladies! My fabulous friend Julie over at Wearing Mascara is having one heck of a giveaway (and if she knows what's good for her, she'll let me win!! Haha!!!)<br /><br />As I am, she is a biiiiig fan of the makeup - hence her blog name - and in celebration of quite a few blogging milestones she is giving away some really fantastic Smashbox goodies. Check out <a href="http://wearingmascara.com/index.php/2009/04/smashbox-giveaway/">her blog</a> for your own chance to win!<br /><br />Good luck! (But not too much because, seriously, I'd better win.)Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-53136902698557636362009-04-18T11:46:00.007-04:002009-04-18T14:08:50.941-04:00It's Called Motherhood. Google It.Ok, something has just finally gotten to me, and I think it's time to have a mini gripe fest about it. I don't mean this towards any person in particular, but more against a mindset that, in my opinion, is all too popular among "seasoned" parents towards first time pregnant women and moms. And by "seasoned," I generally mean those who have one, maybe 2 kids under the age of 3.<br /><br />What is it about a women in her first pregnancy making a comment about how she's tired, not sleeping well, or up earlier than she'd really like to be, that makes you think you should immediately respond with sardonic laughter and an "Oh, you just wait. Once that baby comes, you'll really know what no sleep is like." <span style="font-style: italic;">Who the heck asked you?!?!?! And what gives you the right to be anything but happy for someone expecting her first child?</span><br /><br />I realize that there are SOME unsuspecting, clueless poor saps out there who somehow have created the mindset that motherhood, especially EARLY motherhood is somehow simple and that all babies do is eat, sleep, and poop. Oh, and I guess they're supposed to eat only between the hours of 8:00am and 10:00pm so Mommy can get her beauty rest. Any takers on that theory? No???? I didn't think so.<br /><br />Believe it or not, THIS IS WHAT I SIGNED UP FOR!!!!!!! I already <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">know</span></span> that I won't be getting any sleep once this little girl comes, that she's going to be needing me at her every beck and call, and that I will literally get <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">nothing</span></span> accomplished for at least the first 4 months of her life. And you know what? I'm ok with it! I actually <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">want</span></span> what comes with a newborn, and those crazy, terrifying first steps into parenthood. None of this comes as any big surprise to me.<br /><br />Thing is, right now, I don't <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">have</span></span> a little baby screaming for me at 3:30 in the morning, 20 minutes after I finally got her back to sleep. I don't <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">have</span></span> the inability to shower for 5 days at a time, to never eat (the REAL reason why breastfeeding mothers can lose weight so fast, for anyone who was wondering), and to probably be disolved in tears at least half the time my child is. I'm not saying that I'm completely prepared for it psycologically and emotionally, but I do know what's coming.<br /><br />I'm almost 6 months pregnant, I'm tired, I'm not sleeping well when I do sleep, I wake up at 5:30 in the morning with indigestion that lasts until I finally get to sleep at midnight. Right now, I'm working a job that has me up and out at 7:00am, driving around town all day, chasing after diabetic cats (more on that later this weekend), and IF I have any energy, doing whatever I can and need to around the house during the day before going back out for my final visits at or after 9:00pm.<br /><br />I enjoy my job, but it's not easy. The schedule is rough some days and I don't always have it in me to run around with what ends up being a 14 hour day when I can't get myself to sleep for a nap during the day. If I'm tired, and want to whine just a little bit about about how I'm not happy to be up before 9:00am, I think I've earned the right. I'm pretty darn confident that any other pregnant women out there felt the exact same way their first time around.<br /><br />It doesn't take much to either not say anything, or to say, "Sorry you're not sleeping well. I went through that too. I know it's rough." Is that so hard??? What is it about other moms that completely leeches them of any sense of empathy, any sense of happiness on the part of a new mom coming into this weird new world where we could use all the help and encouragement we can get? Saying crap like, "Oh, just you wait," just gets old and after a while, it just pisses us off. Do you not realize how much we're looking to you for guidance? You've walked this path before. You know what's ahead with better awareness than we do. We have a respect for you that can only pass between a first-time pregnant woman and a mother. Do us a kindness and return the favor a little. And don't be such a pain in the ass about it.Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-51693476046447564152009-03-18T21:54:00.002-04:002009-03-18T21:56:29.503-04:00Funniest Blog I've EVER Seen!I just could NOT pass up the opportunities to share this blog I just discovered with you fabulous people. I was cracking up laughing the whole time I was reading. My husband actually had to come upstairs to see what all the fuss was about.<br /><br />That said, please enjoy <a href="http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/">Cake Wrecks </a>to your heart's content. Cheers!Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-70362529126241517582009-03-18T14:33:00.002-04:002009-03-18T14:41:23.396-04:00A Little BreatherAfter the hellish day of pain I had yesterday, I am pleased to report that I am doing MUCH better today. The cramping has been basically non-existent all day and my baby girl has been popping and kicking around all afternoon. She is going to be the cutest thing on this planet, I SWEAR!!!<br /><br />We've finally settled on her first name, which we are keeping mostly a secret for the time being, but now we're tossing back and forth on her middle name. The original option is an archaic, Shakespearean name I've loved for several years, but I also thought of the idea recently to use her middle name as a way to sort of name her after my hubby's dad, who passed away 6 years ago.<br /><br />For those of you with kids, how did you make the choices on how to name your children? Was it a hard choice for you, or did you and your spouse know right away? Did you end up using names you liked most of your life, or did those names go right out the window when you got pregnant and started REALLY thinking of names?Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-17887483679616985742009-03-17T15:15:00.003-04:002009-03-17T15:51:57.362-04:00The Saga Continues... unfortunately.Ok, now for the update I was alluding to in that last post. As I posted before, I've been starting to have some cramping in my lower abdomen the last few weeks. You can catch up on the details from that in <a href="http://visionebella.blogspot.com/2009/03/earliest-ive-been-awake-to-date.html">this post</a>, <a href="http://visionebella.blogspot.com/2009/03/yesterday-revisited.html">this one</a>, and the <a href="http://visionebella.blogspot.com/2009/03/its.html">final one here</a>.<br /><br />Ok, so, for today's news, I went out on my dog walk, and I LOVE these 2 dogs. They're freaking adorable. Unfortunately the puppy must not be feeling so hot because he had an awful case of the runs. Poor thing. Since it was right in someone's front yard, I kinda felt like I couldn't just leave it, so I did my best to clean up the mess, but unfortunately, that turned into me whirling around and emptying the contents of my stomach (which weren't really ANYTHING at the time) into the grass on the other side of the sidewalk. Awesome.<br /><br />After I finished their walk, I ate a granola bar to re-settle myself, and went home rather than spend more time out marketing like I had really wanted to. Then the cramping got REALLY bad. It wasn't fabulous this morning, but it was bearable. But then it just kept going, and wasn't getting any better. Finally, about noon-ish, I decided that was quite enough of that, and I was going to bed.<br /><br />I am so grateful for facebook because I was able to post what's been going on and got some really great comfort and advice from lots of friends who have been there, done that, and have the confidence that what I'm experiencing is probably very normal and that I don't need to panic. Based on my intuition and the confirmation from a friend and my mom, I've put myself on bedrest for the remainder of today and probably the rest of the week except for a couple times I know I'll need to leave the house. I already have a standing appointment to see my doctor on Friday and if things don't improve on their own I'm definitely calling them early to give them a heads up of what I'm experiencing and what I'm doing about it.<br /><br />For the remainder of today, I'll be lying right here, reading, surfing the web, and watching some movies on my laptop, with my pregnancy tea with raspberry leaf in hand. Just say a prayer for me and my little girl that everything is indeed as it should be.<br /><br />Take care!Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-89563476430782175492009-03-17T14:14:00.005-04:002009-03-17T14:51:57.824-04:00Erin Go Braugh!Greetings, my dears, and a very Happy St. Patty's day to ye! I hope ye all be wearing your <span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">green</span> and/or <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">orange</span>, whichever be your preference.<br /><br />I was wearing a green sweater earlier today, but have changed back into blacks and grays (as happens to be the color of my current lounging attire) because I've put myself on bedrest for the day. More on that in my next post. I want to keep this one to just one topic.<br /><br />Today I bring you news from the land of my dear Mr. Brown over at <a href="http://getawaylaughing.blogspot.com/2009/03/100th-post-giveaway.html?showComment=1237313520001#c5482445227411623820">Laughing Soul </a>(no, that's not really his name, but he'll get the joke if he sees this) - I hope that I shall always be the Queen of Your Hearts!! In celebration of his 100th post (WAHOO!!!) he is hosting a fabulous giveaway. Enter to win and you will be in the running for either some fabulous loose teas or terrific offerings from Best Buy.<br /><br />Amble on over by way of the rainbow to the pot o' gold he has waiting for ye. And watch out for them leprechauns! They be full of the blarney, the do!Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-48344290198760106012009-03-12T09:40:00.005-04:002009-03-12T10:02:52.514-04:00Kelly's BABY BUMP?!So apparently today, Kelly Clarkson's performance on American Idol last night is the MOST Googled thing on the internet today! There are rumors flying around that the first Idol is PREGNANT, despite consistent claims from her for a long time that she's not in a relationship. Check out the article <a href="http://www.wowowow.com/entertainment/kelly-clarkson-pregnant-american-idol-video-photo-235570">here for more info</a>.<br /><br />Seriously, folks?! From one pregnant woman to the general public, that is NOT what a baby bump looks like. I mean... did no one else notice the weight she put on while she was on AI? Granted, it's not the same, but seriously! Good grief, Charlie Brown. And for you doubters, here's a picture to compare.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu6NOTLeLjbokDQm7hsvkuGYwy8Jkwp4qaQpV9qO7aVfu-bOSJcKEEp76m7EJCL0FlB6-CkG1mcpSxrtzCttCO2Jhez3MDqP_lvUsU7rGfDGG8hTO0ejbudkJ3Luw6pm65CCqVDRqbXdjH/s1600-h/Kelly+Clarkson+Compare.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 211px; height: 165px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu6NOTLeLjbokDQm7hsvkuGYwy8Jkwp4qaQpV9qO7aVfu-bOSJcKEEp76m7EJCL0FlB6-CkG1mcpSxrtzCttCO2Jhez3MDqP_lvUsU7rGfDGG8hTO0ejbudkJ3Luw6pm65CCqVDRqbXdjH/s320/Kelly+Clarkson+Compare.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312300827523363378" border="0" /></a>The weight she has put on is evenly distributed and perfectly flattering. That outfit, however, is not doing its job to make her look amazing. If she was a skinny-minnie with no curves, maybe. I'm hardly someone who is Kelly-Obsessed, but I believe in shooting stupid rumors in the foot when I see them. Good luck, Kelly! You did a fabulous job as ususal!Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-72684670143072899482009-03-12T09:04:00.002-04:002009-03-12T09:26:14.558-04:00What was I so worried about anyway???Well, simple fact, I knew my interview went well with the dog walking place. My interviewer and I have had too many fabulous conversations for it to have gone otherwise! Of course I was worried and freaked out for nothing because she hadn't called me when she said she would. <br /><blockquote>(a) I do still feel that wasn't the best way for her to handle things, especially with someone so new to dealing with their company, and with the front desk girl not having all the information.<br />(b) She explained VERY well to me what happened and why I hadn't heard from her until late Tuesday afternoon (instead of "by noon on Monday."</blockquote>All that said, I got the job!!!! I went in yesterday for orientation, filling out paperwork, etc, and a couple hours following someone on 3 of her walks. It was good to be able to observe some specific processes, get some reminders on some common sense things, and to see someone with a different style of handling rambunctious big dogs than I would.<br /><br />My office manager and I had a good laugh about that later, as my style is much closer to hers than to my trainer. Amazingly enough, the trainer reported back that she was concerned at HOW disciplined I am with dogs! Her style is some of "let 'em do whatever they want, we're here to show them a good time." My style is more "Let's have fun, get the dogs some exercise, but they need to know that when I'm here, I'm the boss. NOT them!"<br /><br />I generally prescribe to the <a href="http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/">Cesar Milan </a>method of dog handling. It's all about human training, not dog training, and the dog just has a clear understanding that you are the Alpha-Dog and "Pack Leader," as Cesar would say. When a dog knows who is in charge, they happily comply (typically) and are much more content with knowing that they're being given clear orders. My version of it is basically, "You do what I want you to do, and then we can do what you want to do!"<br /><br />Well, now I'm off to day two of training!!! I'm told if I can be half the pet care professional this woman is, I will be doing fabulously in this business. Sweet!!! People need to learn those kinds of comments just make me want to jump higher!Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7453631580866926622.post-84756587251279792952009-03-10T10:12:00.001-04:002009-03-10T10:14:31.643-04:00Am I getting Dear John'd?Ok, so I interviewed last Wed for a position dogwalking right here in my zipcode. It would be the perfect job for me right now while I'm pregnant. After my interview, which I thought went EXCEPTIONALLY well, the Manager told me I should call her Monday (yesterday) morning and if she hadn't heard from me by noon she would call me.<br /><br />I call at 9:30 and was told she's in a meeting. I let them know I have a sonogram but will call back if I don't hear from her.<br /><br />I call at 2:30. Front Desk Girl: "She's unavailable. As far as I know, all the positions are filled. I'll have her call you ONLY if she's interested and we'll keep your resume on file." She refused to let me talk to the Mgr, who I was under the impression would call me regardless.<br /><br />Orientation is today and still no word. Should I call one more time, or just let it go?Visione Bellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04354357585808281433noreply@blogger.com0