94 - Fish and chips and other adventures...

Well, I did make it to Dublin with Alex last week...and got the fish and chips which were delicious. Yes, yes - I do realize the phallic nature of the fish on the plate. HaHa. It was a nice, but quick trip.

We headed to Washington, D.C. to visit his family last Thursday and picked up Emily on Friday. We went to a museum one day, had dinner with friends/family, had a pedicure/manicure, and went to one of our favorite D.C. restaurants - Nam Viet. I absolutely love Vietnamese food. There is just something about it that is so flavorful and comforting to me. It was nice trip. We are now back hanging out in NYC. Alex was on "short call" today which means we couldn't really head into the city. So we relaxed in the crash pad today and had an authentic Italian dinner at a local joint called Vincent's. I'm eating my takeout cannoli as I type. Do you see my trend of focusing mainly on the food?

Tomorrow he will switch to "long call" which means we will be able to trek into the city. The plan is to spend the day at the met and then hopefully venture into the village for dinner. Actually, I don't know very much about New York...I just wanted to sound like I do ;-). If Alex doesn't get a trip by tomorrow night, we'll probably head back to Ann Arbor on Thursday.

As for new news in the world of pregnancy:

1) I got a public recognition at the subway last week when someone offered me their seat.
2) It doesn't matter if I have just emptied my bladder - if I sneeze, there is a 90% chance I will piss myself a little.
3) I love having boobs. Plain and simple.

93 - Will Kill for Food and Hoboken Adventures...

So, we made it to NYC yesterday. As we were driving to the airport in Detroit, I suddenly felt a sense of panic. It was 11:15ish and our flight departed at 1:30PM. I asked Alex "Can we talk about the food situation and what we are going to do about lunch?". He laughed. This is so out of character for me...I am so not HM (High Maintenance)...well that folks, is slowly a changin' ;-). We decided we would eat at the airport Chili's. I was STARVING when we arrived there about 12:15PM...and this was after consuming a Danish in the car to the airport. After what seemed like hours (but I'm sure was only like 5 minutes), a waitress stopped by and said "I'll be right with you"...more "hours" seemed to have passed. I felt like I was going to strangle her if she didn't get "us" food pronto. Seriously. There is this instinct inside of me now that makes me believe that I could really hurt somebody over food. I think Alex got scared of the smoke rising from the top of my head and my red, possessed eyes...he talked to the hostess and she took our order.

Flight was great - first class. God, I love first class. I'll admit - I am a total diva when it comes to first class travel...because with our travel benefits, it is how we travel probably 95% of the time. How spoiled am I? So much so that when we thought we were going to have to sit in coach the whole 1 1/2 hours from DTW to NYC, I bitched (Alex did too, actually). Oh no - it wasn't good enough we were flying for free. Here's an admission - sometimes, I won't go with Alex on trips across the Atlantic if there aren't 1st class seats available. I know, total diva. But this is my only diva thing...I buy clothes at thrift shops and get my hair trimmed at Fantastic Sams. Truly.

So once we arrived in NYC, we went to his "crash pad" (the place were he stays when he is in NYC waiting for trips) in Howard Beach. I'm glad I got the chance to see it - it makes me feel better about him being here as it is a nice place. Then at about 5PM we decided to do the hour and a half trek across to Hoboken. Have any of you seen the TLC show "Cake Boss"? Well, the bakery is in Hoboken. We went there. I was surprised that the bakery was pretty much empty. We bought some pastries, and as we were walking out, I asked Alex to take my picture...just as he was doing so, "Mama Maria" came out. She was so excited that we were taking a picture in front of the bakery - she struck up a conversation and got in a picture with me. As she was walking away, she said "We're on tonight -10PM, TLC". Then she proceeded to tell her friend how exciting it was that people would actually want their picture taken in front of the bakery. Ahh, sweet Mama Maria...so new to fame. Give it a couple of months...I bet her excitement will slowly ween.

We had dinner at the Sushi Lounge...vegetarian for me, of course. It was delicious. Then we met up with this girl we knew from our college who is also a pilot for Delta and had "drinks" at this very chic bar called Lua. It had such a great view of the city. Of course, my "drinks" consisted of a virgin dacari and a couple of cups of mint tea, but it was still fun. We socialized for about 3 hours, then started the trek home at about 11PM...I won't go into details, but we got home at 2AM...I'll just leave it at that. It was a great day.

So today, Alex has a trip to Dublin leaving at about 7PM. Mmmmm...Irish pubs mean fish and chips...It looks like there is a pretty good chance I'll get on (1st class, of course, in my thrift shop duds). As for today, our plans were to hang out in the city, maybe go to an art museum and have lunch in Little Italy, but it is pouring and thundering right now, so who knows.

****

In other big news...my niece is pregnant! That's right - my NIECE. So here's the scoop - my sis is 17 years older than I am and had her kids pretty young. My niece is actually 26. Did you think it was a teenage "oops" story? Nope - they (her and my nephew-in-law) will be bringing the baby into a planned and stable situation. Her due date is February 2nd (mine is now somewhere around Dec. 13th). Our kids will be very close in age...and will hopefully have a close relationship as well!

92 - NT Scan

Last Thursday was our NT Scan. Everything is fine. It is amazing how they make that determination by measuring the very small neck fold. See that bright spot at the base of the neck? They want it under 3.0mm. It was. Above 3.0mm would indicate a high probability for Down's.

Once Alex and I made the determination that we would have the test, we also had the discussion about what we would do with the information. We would do nothing except be a little more prepared for the news when the baby arrived.

Alex has a sister, Emily, who has Down's. She is one amazing human being. She gives and receives love better than most. She lives in a very nice group home with a couple other girls and a house mom. Her house is also nicer than most homes in appearance. She works at Subway - has been for several years. She loves to shop, listen to her CDs, and watch TV. She really loves to watch TV - so much so that when she was limited on her TV viewing time, she took about 15 pictures of the TV screen throughout an episode of Full House, printed them, and made a "Full House" book that she could look at when the TV was required to be off. Brilliant. She also is a supreme judge of character. If Emily is not showering someone with affection - beware - it is probably not someone who deserves it.

So for us, the decision what to do with this NT Scan information was clear. Of course we are thrilled that everything is fine, but we are also pretty convinced the world would be a better place with more Emilys.


And Emily, if you really did run for President, I would totally vote for you!

More to write...hopefully I'll fit in another post before I start traveling with Alex tomorrow.

91 - Tazmanian Devil unleashed...

Yes, the second trimester is here...and my inner Tazmanian Devil has made an appearance. I am bouncing off the walls with energy...as if I am making up for all the down time in the first trimester. Here is just a sample of one of my days lately...

6AM-10AM - Wake up bright eyed, and spend 4 hours catching up on about 30 friend emails I've neglected and submitting work-related paperwork and insurance forms.
10AM-12PM - Decide it is time to clean out the pantry, fridge, and freezer. Lay a bunch of stuff to cook on the counter.
12PM-1PM - Decide to do some touch up painting in the dining room.
1PM-1:30PM - shower, but also decide to paint my nails.
1:30-3PM - Errands, including the tailor, the post office, the grocery store, and a half hour walk around the mall for exercise.
3PM-4PM - Pick up Alex at the airport. Stop for a little ice cream treat on the way home.
4PM-6PM - Cook. Cook. Cook...all that stuff I cleaned out from the pantry. I had about 4 pots going on the stove and a couple of things in the oven. Alex walked in and his eyes got really big...he said something along the lines of "I really like the second trimester".
6PM-8PM - Went to a Women in Aviation Chapter meeting at the airport.
8PM-9:15PM - Had dinner with Alex and a fellow Women in Aviation member.
9:15-12AM - Had some friends over...actually, this family I use to babysit for from when I was 12 till when I was about 18.

Now does the above picture make sense? And this started about 3 days ago and hasn't let up...I think I am having a small taste of what it is like to be on Speed.

Lots more to write about. Yesterday, I had a meeting with the university where I teach at in regards to fall and winter semesters. I'll right more details later. And I think I am going to do some traveling with Alex in the next few weeks...and...and...and...

I trust that even Tazmanian Devils get tired at some point?