And the list goes on

One month and 4 days ago we moved from our cozy little home in San Pedro to our now, much larger, almost cozy, soon-to-feel-like-home in fancy pants Carson.  I'm using the term "fancy-pants" sarcastically for those of you not familiar with the outskirts of the Harbor Cities.  We still have boxes strewn about the place and a good number of items that still don't have a permanent hiding spot, but it's getting there... slowly.  My goal (and I haven't had too many goals since getting pregnant-- pregnancy makes me too tired for goals) is to have our place all gussied up by the second week of March.  We'll see how that goes.

In the last month, though, I have managed to accomplish the following:

• Expand my diet beyond pizza, fried chicken, & french fries
• Go grocery shopping without vomiting at the smell of rotisserie chicken
• Become a pancake cooking master
• Wash multiple loads of dishes without flinching at the site of partially eaten food
• Cook a meal that's main protein was not battered and fried
• Fully alphabetize and shelve 740+ DVDS (we could open up our own rental business)

I'm pretty proud of that list.  It's the little things that keep me going these days.

One thing that I am desperately trying to cross off is how to kick a cold without taking any medication while pregnant.  It's been a month that I've been festering nastiness in my body that manifests itself in some form of congestion, cough, or increased mucous production.  Yeah, I know... it's gross.  I took for granted all those times that I was able to easily shoot back 2 full teaspoons of some menthol-flavored elixir, pass out for a full-night's rest, and wake up with the slightest glimmer of a sniffle.  Nowadays, I find myself barely remembering what it felt like to have two working nostrils and a voice that didn't sound like I was speaking to everyone with my face submerged in water. 

The entrepreneurial nature in me wants to take advantage of this affliction and come up with some miracle drug that cures the common cold in pregnant women.  There's a million dollar business in this somewhere.  Having a cold while you're pregnant is the worst! In my desperation yesterday I even called my doctor's office pleading for some relief and she okay'd the use of regular strength Tylenol Cold.  I practically ran to the Target pharmacy to get my hands on it only to find the shelves empty.  I put on my best sick as a dog face and went to ask the pharmacist if she could recommend anything comparable in my pregnant state.  I ruined it for myself.  She refused to tell me anything and kept repeating that since I'm pregnant there is nothing I can do but go home, rest, and use a saline sinus rinse.

Now, I won't go into the ugly details that were my last experience with sinus rinsing, but let's just say it didn't end well.  I never had any problems with it until about 3 weeks ago when I proved to myself that sinus rinsing can rinse out not just your nasal passage but your last meal.  *shiver*  Needless to say, I won't be sinus rinsing for a long time.

Today, I discovered Puffs Plus tissues with Vicks! You can smell these fluffy, white rags from a mile away, but they do give me some form of relief.  The relief lasts only minutes, but boy do I cherish those minutes.  Do I care that I smell like a retirement home's gathering hall?  No siree.  I will proudly be toting these menthol-potent babies with me until I kick this cold to the curb.  I may even sneak some into my pockets while I lead worship tomorrow morning.  I'm sure God will love my Vicks Vapo smellin' voice.

Lastly, here's the first of many BabyBery Bump Shots.  It looks like I'm pushing my belly out, but I assure you I'm not.  I have a tiny, compact torso and that baby belly is bumpin'.  I'm still getting used to the fact that it's not hard, jiggles, and just looks like I had a HUGE lunch (which, maybe I did. It was probably delicious).  I'll be 15 weeks on Monday, but I'm just too lazy to take photos each week.  Here's 13 weeks for those curious about my progress to fat penguin status.

13 weeks