And I thought I was just being cheap

I was checking out one of my new favorite websites: TheDailyGreen.Com and I read an article about rechargeable batteries. Here is an excerpt:

Save money and resources by using widely available rechargeable batteries, many of which can be reused up to 1,000 times.

More than 15 billion batteries are thrown away each year — enough to make a column to the moon and back. That number continues to grow, as we use more and more electronic devices in our lives.

I use rechargeable batteries in my camera. Originally, I bought them because my camera sucks batteries dry in a matter of days and I was tired of having to buy batteries all of the time. I thought that I was being cheap, but really I was being green and just didn't know it!

I love rechargeable batteries because they last a long time and they save me money! I can charge the batteries at an outlet or in my car, so I don't have an excuse for them dying.

I have the energizer ones, in case you were wondering.

GO GREEN!

Changin' my own oil

I can't remember when I did this. I think it was the end of August. Anyway...I changed the oil in my car all by myself! Okay, Freddy instructed me and loosened the bolt thing, but I did the rest.

It wasn't hard at all, but I recommend getting a pan that has a lid where the oil drains from the lid in to the pan. I dropped the screw in the oil pan. Good thing it had a lid so I didn't actually have to stick my hand in to a big pool of hot oil.

It was cost-effective (half the price of getting done at the Kwik Kar) and it took less time if you count the driving and waiting. I would totally do it again.

And for good measure, I topped off my windshield wiper fluid!

Check one more task off of my Thirty By Thirty List! I am woking on a couple more:

Two photography classes down, five more to go!

I guess I have technically "started" a family, huh?

AND Freddy bought me a Daily Caholic Bible, so give me about a year and a half and I should be done.

Freddy is going to the deer lease this weekend, so I am planning to rent the first season of Sex and the City.

Chris and Michelle's Wedding

At the beginning of the month Freddy and I went to Michelle and Chris' wedding in Dallas. It was Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful! Michelle is a friend of mine from work.

Let's start with the most important part - the cakes. Chris' grandmother made them and I think they turned out great! Can you tell what Chris does for a living?

Lauren is awesome. She can tie a cherry stem in a knot with her tongue. What? You don't think that's a big deal? Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention that she can do it in TWO SECONDS! It's the fastest I have ever seen this done!

She can also fit her fist in her mouth.

Shelby and Matt. This was one of if not her very first outing since her brain surgery. You can't tell that she had brain surgery a mere month before this picture was taken, can you?! Since she is still recovering and I am preggers, we waited for the cake and then called it a night even though the reception was a lot of fun. One guy put his jacket on a table. A table with tea light candles. His jacket caught fire. At a fire fighter's wedding reception! How awesome is that?!

And finally...the happy couple. The Ticket's Own Mr. & Mrs. Chris Chiara.

Photography Class: Assignment #1

Our first assignment for photography class was to take pictures of our car, a part of our car or a picture that had our car in it somewhere. Here is what I came up with:

This one I cropped, changed to black and white and sharpened.

This one I did not edit at all.

This one I cropped and used a color focus. I took this right after I washed my car, so the windows are dirty and I don't know yet how to make that go away.

I have a long way to go, but I am proud to say that I no longer live on the auto setting!

Thanks, mommies!

Thanks to all of the mommies that posted their advice on nursery furniture. We still don't know what we are going to do, so we are exploring all of our options.

Tomorrow night we are going to a Just Between Friends Sale in North Richland Hills. Basically, it's a huge second-hand sale where mommies from all over the metroplex can bring stuff that their kids no longer use. Everything is inspected and approved, etc. I don't know what to expect.

My friend Lauren went to one when she was pregnant with her first and said that they got quite a few good deals and that there was a lot of brand new stuff.

Has anyone else ever been to a Just Between Friends Sale?

Pictures

My camera is out of the shop, so I will have pictures for you this week - I promise.

Here is what you have to look forward to:
Check another item off my Thirty by Thirty list
My fist homework assignment for my photography class (fyi - our canceled class will be made up as an unofficial field trip. Could be kind of cool).
Michelle and Chris' wedding
Pics of RHS They are building a new high school and tearing down the old Richland High as I know it. But before they demolish it, they hosted a Mega Reunion last Thursday. I went with Sarah and we toured the school. I took pictures as I went along so that I could show them at our 10 year reunion a week from this Saturday. Melanie and Courtney, have you signed up?!

Things that made me gag this week

Sadly, I think this WILL be a reoccuring post. I refilled my Zofran prescription and apparently insurance will now only pay for 9 pills in 9 days. I am supposed to take this pill every 12 hours. If you can do simple math, you can determine that I can only take one pill per day rather than the 2 pills per day that I need. So, I still have moments of gaggyness.

Here is what made me gag this week:

Idiocracy - They quote this movie on The Ticket all the time so when I saw it was on HBO, I tuned in. It was dirty. By dirty I mean I wanted to grad a bucket, a mop, some Lysol, etc. and jump in to my television set. I turned it off and I blame The Musers for the gagging episode.

Swallowing my prenatal vitamins - These things are HUGE!

Talking about gagging

Packing my lunch - I was packing left over bbq for lunch and I guess the sight of all that meat was too much. I had to sit down on the couch for a bit and I was a couple minutes late to work as a result.

Wearing both of my retainers at once - It must be too much for my little mouth and heightend gag reflex. I have to take turns. Lower retainer one night, upper retainer the next. Repeat.

WHY?!

Why is baby furniture SO EXPENSIVE?!

Seriously... Freddy and I have been to three different baby stores to look at, among many other things, furniture. 98% of the sets we looked at were more expensive than our bedroom furniture - and we have a King sized bed, two night stands, an armorie, a short dresser with a mirror and a tall dresser!

My initial thought was: Spend the money. The crib converts to a bed and this could last the kid until college!

My second, more rational thought: After baby and before high school grad comes toddler, pre-teen and teen. What are the odds of this expensive furniture making it 18 + years without a permanent marker incident? or worse?

We're still undecided on what to do. Tell me about your angelic furniture-respecting children OR about your Sharpie disasters.

Welcome to adulthood, Cheryl.

So, Wednesday evening was supposed to be my first photography class. At 6:40 I roll up to TCC Northeast and the parking lot is pretty much empty. I chalk it up to my being a little early and night classes not being that popular.

I gather my stuff (including a camera that I borrowed from my friend Sara because mine was still being repaired) and headed to the academic classrooms building.

Up pulls the TCC Ford Escape Security vehicle. Security man gets on the loud speaker (in a parking lot where there are only 2 people...within 10 feet of each other) and he announces: The campus is closed due to a problem with the air conditioning. How can the air conditioning effect the entire campus?! Turns out it was a major water main break and the campus was closed the next day, too.

So I start thinking...They probably aren't going to reschedule this class, so I am missing one entire class - two and a half hours of learning! I begin to wonder to myself if they will give me back the $13.43 that I paid for THAT class.

It was then that I realized I was a grown-up. When I was in college, would I have ever wanted a refund for a canceled class? Heck no! I would have been overjoyed at the thought of free time. Welcome to adulthood, Cheryl, where learning is no longer a requirement but a privilege.

Things that made me gag this week

This, too, could become a reoccurring post, but I hope not.

- The thought of getting my blood drawn. I actually had to ask the nurse to wait until I was ready! But...she did end up being the best blood-taker that has ever taken my blood!

- Drinking Maalox before we ate at Buffalo Wild Wings. This was a bad one.

- The smell of the restroom at BWW's. It was a nice combination of vomit and lemon-scented disinfectant. But at least I was in a good place had the gagging escalated.

- Telling long stories. When I find myself talking a lot (like when I am telling the long story of my trip to the perinatal specialist), I can feel myself wanting to gag. No comments on this one, please!

- No reason at all. I was talking to Shelby's boyfriend Matt at the wedding on Saturday and suddenly needed to gag. For no reason! No, this was not a reflection on Matt, his outfit or his breath.

Baby Confessions

I figure I will have a lot to 'fess up to over the next few months, so why not make it a reoccurring blog with a cute name?

Baby Confession #1:
This Saturday I ate McDonald's for the first time since college.

Freddy is quick to point out that I ate McDonald's a few times while we lived in Plano, but those don't count because they were salads under desperate circumstances.

We were on our way to a wedding in Dallas and I KNEW that I couldn't make it until 8 o'clock to eat, so I HAD to get something in my belly. My choices were McDonald's or Taco Cabana. I opted for the small, regular hamburger, no fries because I feared spilling nacho cheese in my lap. I experienced no gut-rot, so I count this risk-taken as a win.

Are McDonald's burgers a craving? I hope not, but that may be just wishful thinking. I used to pass McDonald's without even blinking, but now I pass the golden arches and my mouth waters at the thought of bacon egg and cheese biscuits with a hash brown OR a hamburger. I promise to keep you updated on the latest battle: McDonald's vs. my will power.

I am curious to see what other mommies ate during pregnancy that they never ate before.

Photography Classes

I have enrolled in photography classes at TCC. I go once a week for 7 weeks and the classes are a few hours long.

Of course, this is something on my Thirty by Thirty list, too. I know that by the end of it I will be begging my husband for a digital SLR. Maybe for Christmas (hint, hint Freddy!).

I will post pictures on here and you all can tell me if I wasted my money or not.

Weird Pregnancy Symptom

I have a weird pregnancy symptom. I am hoping that by sharing it here, I will get reassurance that it is at least somewhat common.

I have a heightened gag reflex. I gag every time I brush my teeth. I gag at the mere thought of grilled chicken breast. And I gag when I think/talk about gagging. There. I did it. I just gagged again.

Before I got pregnant I gagged, but it was pretty much limited to dental visits and really gross circumstances.

Please tell me that I am not alone in this. Please.

And thank you to everyone who left notes of Congratulations on my blog. I look forward to advice from all of my blog-reading mothers. And you non-mom readers, I look forward to you telling me that I don't look as far along as I say I am. =) Hi to Lauren who reads my blog now!

The Blog You've All Been Waiting For

I wish that I had a cool picture to post with this blog, but sadly I do not.

I'M PREGNANT!

FAQs:

When are you due (d.u.e. - sorry for the earlier mis-spell. Let's blame it on the pregnancy, shall we?)? March 11, so I am 13 weeks pregnant.

Were you trying? Why do people feel the need to know this? Yes, we were.

What are you having? We won't know until week 20 at the earliest.

Do you want to know what you are having? I don't, but Freddy does. Just yesterday I was talking to my best friend about this. She reminded me that Freddy isn't as involved in the whole process as I am, so if he really wants this I should probably give in. So, I am. Thanks for the good advice, Lesley.

What do you want? I always thought that I wanted a girl, but now I really don't care. Boy or girl - either one is a blessing.

Have you been sick? A little, but not as much as some women. The nausea has subsided (thank you Zofran) and I feel like I have more energy now, which is great! I'll spare you the list of symptoms but I will tell you that fatigue tops the charts.

Are you still running? Yes, but not as much as I used to. Now I only run 2 miles a day about twice a week. I think running 2 miles now is harder than running 6 miles was before I got pregnant. And pregnancy pilates is amazing!

So, there you have it - our exciting news! I will keep you all posted!

Oh, and mark one more off my Thirty by Thirty List! Start a family - Check!