Still here, still pregnant

    I realize (also, Joey just reminded me) that is has been quite a while since I gave an update. That's because for some reason I somehow got it into my head that I have too much time on my hands and volunteered myself for a couple of side projects (you know, other than teaching yoga, working on a PhD, putting in my GA hours and growing a kid). But the semester if finally starting to wrap up, so I figured I better check in.
    Quick side note- the next person who asks me if I'm "sick of being pregnant yet?" is getting at best a crude hand gesture. Why do people ask that question? If the answer was yes, what do you hope to have accomplished by bringing it to my attention? Yep, it sucks and I still have 6-10 more weeks to go! Thanks for reminding me! I have known some women who had some really rough pregnancies. I can't imagine that they a) had forgotten for one second how much they wanted to not be pregnant or b) enjoy hearing you reiterate the idea. I'm guessing a "you are doing such a good job with that baby!" or "he/she is going to be so healthy; you're body is so amazing to be creating something so awesome!" would be much more appreciated and constructive. If in fact the women is looking for a little commiseration, I'm guessing she'll start out the conversation with "oh my God, I'm so sick of being pregnant."
    And sorry to disappoint, but no, I'm not sick of being pregnant. This entire pregnancy has been a cake walk. I would say I love being pregnant, but it feels so normal at this point that it's almost unremarkable. I mean, I guess there are some symptoms or whatever that might bug some people- my feet and hands swell, I get leg cramps, my back aches when I sit for too long, heartburn, and the fact Raptor likes to play my ribs like a xylophone....But none of them really bother me that bad. If something comes up, I deal, and then go about the rest of my day. But I can see how if a person went into pregnancy thinking it was going to be horrible, or had people constantly telling her how horrible their pregnancy was, it might seem like a pain. But no, I figure this is probably one of the most amazing things I'll accomplish in my life, so the little quirks really don't bother me at all and I'm more than happy to keep going until Raptor decides the show is over.
   Which will bring us to the grande finale. That's another question I hear a lot..."are you getting nervous?" or "are you scared?" No way. Not even a little bit. And I'm not making it up. I'm getting a little anxious and excited but only because I want to meet this kid. He/she seems to have a pretty rad personality (seriously, sometimes I'm not sure if I'm looking at my belly or a rabid cat in a pillow case). But I'm also really looking forward to bringing this baby earthside. Once again, it will probably be up there on my list of top stuff I accomplish in this lifetime. My body is going to do some pretty amazing things and I can't wait to feel and experience all of them- even the parts that are uncomfortable.
     So that's all that is really going on now. Just wrapping up school and this whole "creating life" gig. Perhaps I will have more interesting things to say once the semester is officially done?

Consummatum Est

   We did it! We made it to the end of the semester. As of Thursday evening, Joey and I were both completely done. It feels good. There are moments when I sit on the couch and sip my hot tea without simultaneously trying to type or do advanced math.We sleep in until 8 o'clock.  It is strange and beautiful. I would love to come up with a wonderful ode to all we have learned and accomplished over the past few months, but I used up all of my brain cells on my papers and stats final (mostly the stats final).  But now we have a few magical weeks do some more exploring around the area, catch up on some house projects we have been neglecting (who needs insulation, am I right?), and getting ready to make a trip back to Memphis to visit friends and family. And grow a baby.

  But as you can see, Joey and Jiminy are already getting settled into Christmas break. Fender is asleep on the bed, because let's face it his entire life is Christmas break. And I'm curled up at the other end, sipping my tea and reading the Hobbit for the first time before we go see the movie. I'm sorry to say, Tolkien fans, I'm over a third of the way through and not that impressed. I also don't see how they are going to make this book last three movies. However, I am excited about the new Les Miserables movie that comes out Christmas day. I'm sure I just committed some type of fantasy literature mortal sin. Oh well. But that is my report for the entire semester. We survived. The end.

And when he is not beasting his way through Uncharted 3, Jiminy has found a new, second favorite hobby.

I have very little faith that the tree will be standing when we get back in town.

And they asked, heyayayayay, heyayay, what's goin' on?

    We get this question every time some one calls. I always feel guilty because my answer is never very interesting. School. That's it. No really. It's not that I don't want to talk or that I'm trying to dodge more in-depth conversation. That is really all we do for the most part. We go to school. We come home.We read stuff. We write about the stuff we read. We go back to school. We talk about the stuff we read. Lather, rinse, repeat. It's not very exciting. But I feel obligated to let all of you know that we are alive and well. And I thought long and hard about some at least semi-interesting things I could post about. So here you go:

1. We went to a concert. On of the radio stations here put on an outdoor one day music fest at the Padre's stadium. It was a hodge-podge of bands, but we got to see All That Remains, Corey Taylor, and the Offspring. It was a good show and we had a lot of fun. 

2. Our garden is doing fairly well. My beans, tomatoes, and zucchini are doing awesome. The eggplant, brusselsprouts, chives, cauliflower, spinach, and carrots are coming along as well. We'll see if the cooler weather helps them out at all.

3. We put in a mini cactus bed in the front yard. So far my bird of paradise bush isn't doing too hot. I hope it's just getting used to its new home and not completely dying. 

4. They are opening a Camp Bow Wow in Tucson. For those of you unaware of Fender's affinity for the doggie day-care chain, this is a huge blessing in terms of having somewhere to store our 150lb. Great Dane when we go out of town.

5. We booked our flights for Christmas. We will be in Memphis from Dec. 19th- 28th. 

6. We bought some rugs (can you tell how desperate I am for interesting information?). We got a nice big area rug in the living room and some smaller ones around the house. 

Of course now morning naps are a battle for the sunny spot on the office rug.

7. I'm teaching three yoga classes a week at the studio I work at, which is a nice distraction as well as extra cash in my pocket. 

8. We decorated for Halloween. Our neighbors seem to be into it, so we figured we would join in a put a few things up. I'm not sure what the trick-or-treater volume is like, but we plan on passing out candy and chilling at the house this year. 

9.   And we finally made it up to Mt. Lemmon for some hiking around. 

So that's it. That is all that you have been missing out on. I told you, we just don't do much. Occassionally we try a new restaurant or go the park or something. But for the most part, our lives revolve around school.