This past Thursday marked a major milestone for Karen and I. Sadly, that milestone was going out. Too bad I suck at going out.
Ever since our daughter (Briana) was born prematurely on St. Patty's Day, Karen and I have done nothing but shuttle ourselves to and from our house to the hospital for Briana's feeding. In between visits to the hospital, we have done nothing but eat (for Karen it's been more like eat, sleep, pump... and not necessarily in that order). And by the time we are done with our tasks at home, it's time to go back to the hospital and repeat the cycle.
Yes, it's a vicious cycle.
On Thursday, however, we decided to spice things up a little and go out in between Briana's feeding period. Granted, our going out consisted of a trip to Staples, Babies 'R Us, and dinner Not Your Average Joe's. It does seem like a lot was accomplished in such a short time frame. Luckily, two of the stores were right next to each other.
Always one for recycling, Karen and I stopped off at Staples to recycle our old Panasonic phone and a laser computer mouse. Staples took it with no problems. I love Staples for that. I wish more companies would recycle old electronic waste. In addition to the phone and mouse, Karen and I also recycled our old computer printer which Karen had gotten a long time ago while she was in college. The printer had been sitting in Briana's/my BFF's (Kerry) room for years. With the birth of Briana, we had decided that it was time to clean out the room.
And of course, with the recycling of the old printer, Karen and I decided to actually get a new printer that prints, scans, and copies. Sadly, the new printer does not fax, but since we hardly fax anything... we thought it would be okay.
As for Babies 'R Us, we stopped in to update our baby registry. The doctors and nurses at the hospital suggested that we get a car seat that can handle babies from 4 pounds (and not the standard 5 pounds) and up because Briana is... well... simply tiny. Thus, they thought that a car seat that could handle 4 pounds would be a better fit for Briana. As we had originally registered for a car seat (and stroller) that was for a 5 pound baby, we decided to pop in the store, look at the other options around, and update the registry.
And to top off the whole going out excursion, Karen and I then grabbed a bite to eat at Not Your Average Joe's located in Norwell. Having to trek back and forth to the hospital can sometimes make preparing meals difficult. So it was a nice break to actually not have to worry about making dinner and all of that for a while.
All in all, it was a good night out.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
I Suck At Blogging
It's been about a week since my last post. So I guess it's official: I suck at blogging. Over the past week, I have simply found myself with very little time.
One week ago, my daughter (Briana) was born prematurely on the great holiday known as Evacuation Day (here in Massachusetts). The rest of the world knows that day better as St. Patrick's Day. It's the luck of the Irish!
Since that time, I have pretty much been... well... tired. When Karen was pregnant with Briana, she used to always tell me how tired she was. "I'm so tired..." "Mike, I'm so tired"... "You know Mike, I'm so tired." I now know what she's talking about. And the sad thing is, our daughter is not even home yet from the hospital.
While Briana has been at the hospital, I have been trying to multitask. Unfortunately, I think the lack of sleep is catching up to me. (Luckily for me, as I write this, I have a bunch of caffeine going through my system... thanks to good o' Mountain Dew. Do the Dew!)
Opting to save my vacation time for when Briana actually comes home, I decided to work during the hours that I am not at the hospital visiting Briana. The general schedule for the day is that in the early morning, Karen and I go to the hospital to spend some time with Briana. We both come home: Karen to nap and pump; me to work. From there, Karen and I return back to the hospital to spend more time with Briana. When we get back from the second visit, Karen pumps again while I finish the rest of my working day. It makes for a very long day that way.
Unfortunately, I think I am having trouble thinking clearly when it comes to work. I've been trying to diagnose the same application error for quite some time now. My boss thinks I should simply take a couple of days off or so to recharge my batteries. I may be inclined to agree.
So to quote my wife..."I'm so tired". I may need a ghost writer for this blog. I am hoping things will get a little easier once Briana does come home from the hospital. After all, the trips back and forth to the hospital will be gone... which means there will be more time... and time is really what I need right now.
The doctors are hopeful that Briana can come home in a couple of weeks. They have not given us a date yet, but things are looking good for Briana. Apparently, Briana has my appetite, which is good for a premature baby trying to pack on the pounds. She guzzles milk like there's no tomorrow.
And in case people are interested in seeing pictures of Briana, I did manage to create a photo album for her. The link is as follows:
http://picasaweb.google.com/yee.olde.english/Briana?feat=directlink
I have been trying to update the pictures periodically with each visit at the hospital. Unfortunately, sometimes the lighting is too dark in the nursery (because babies need to sleep after all).
As much as I would have liked to have taken a picture of it, I don't have any pictures of my first diaper change with Briana... or any baby for that matter. Originally, I was hoping to change my first diaper with my son (Braden). Unfortunately, since he passed away after only one week, I had to wait a little longer.
And I must say... changing diapers is an interesting experience. Baby poop is definitely not what I expected. As I had mentioned to a few friends of mine... imagine lifting a baby's legs and getting the bum to stick up in the air. Then imagine a volcano erupting. It's almost like that... except instead of hot molten lava... you get baby poop. It's really cool!
Anyway, fatherhood has been awesome. Even though I am thoroughly exhausted, I am digging it.
One week ago, my daughter (Briana) was born prematurely on the great holiday known as Evacuation Day (here in Massachusetts). The rest of the world knows that day better as St. Patrick's Day. It's the luck of the Irish!
Since that time, I have pretty much been... well... tired. When Karen was pregnant with Briana, she used to always tell me how tired she was. "I'm so tired..." "Mike, I'm so tired"... "You know Mike, I'm so tired." I now know what she's talking about. And the sad thing is, our daughter is not even home yet from the hospital.
While Briana has been at the hospital, I have been trying to multitask. Unfortunately, I think the lack of sleep is catching up to me. (Luckily for me, as I write this, I have a bunch of caffeine going through my system... thanks to good o' Mountain Dew. Do the Dew!)
Opting to save my vacation time for when Briana actually comes home, I decided to work during the hours that I am not at the hospital visiting Briana. The general schedule for the day is that in the early morning, Karen and I go to the hospital to spend some time with Briana. We both come home: Karen to nap and pump; me to work. From there, Karen and I return back to the hospital to spend more time with Briana. When we get back from the second visit, Karen pumps again while I finish the rest of my working day. It makes for a very long day that way.
Unfortunately, I think I am having trouble thinking clearly when it comes to work. I've been trying to diagnose the same application error for quite some time now. My boss thinks I should simply take a couple of days off or so to recharge my batteries. I may be inclined to agree.
So to quote my wife..."I'm so tired". I may need a ghost writer for this blog. I am hoping things will get a little easier once Briana does come home from the hospital. After all, the trips back and forth to the hospital will be gone... which means there will be more time... and time is really what I need right now.
The doctors are hopeful that Briana can come home in a couple of weeks. They have not given us a date yet, but things are looking good for Briana. Apparently, Briana has my appetite, which is good for a premature baby trying to pack on the pounds. She guzzles milk like there's no tomorrow.
And in case people are interested in seeing pictures of Briana, I did manage to create a photo album for her. The link is as follows:
http://picasaweb.google.com/yee.olde.english/Briana?feat=directlink
I have been trying to update the pictures periodically with each visit at the hospital. Unfortunately, sometimes the lighting is too dark in the nursery (because babies need to sleep after all).
As much as I would have liked to have taken a picture of it, I don't have any pictures of my first diaper change with Briana... or any baby for that matter. Originally, I was hoping to change my first diaper with my son (Braden). Unfortunately, since he passed away after only one week, I had to wait a little longer.
And I must say... changing diapers is an interesting experience. Baby poop is definitely not what I expected. As I had mentioned to a few friends of mine... imagine lifting a baby's legs and getting the bum to stick up in the air. Then imagine a volcano erupting. It's almost like that... except instead of hot molten lava... you get baby poop. It's really cool!
Anyway, fatherhood has been awesome. Even though I am thoroughly exhausted, I am digging it.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
I Suck At Being A Parent
Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day. Happy St. Patrick's Day! As the luck of the Irish would have it, yesterday was also the day I became a the proud parent of a baby girl. Too bad I suck at being a parent.
(The picture below is my daughter, Briana. She's actually lying down in an Isolette... a.k.a. incubator in the NICU, so you may need to tilt your head to the left.)
Briana was born yesterday, March 17 2010. She weighed in at 4 pounds 14 ounces. As well, she measured 18 inches, which is pretty comparable to a full term baby. (For anyone curious, Briana was born prematurely at 33 weeks.)
Also of note is the fact that Briana received a 9.9 Apgar score. Previous to Briana's birth, I had never heard of the Apgar score. The Apgar is a health assessment test for newborns. The maximum score is 10. So apparently Briana scored extremely well considering she was premature. I was pretty impressed.
Hearing that she scored so well was definitely a relief. After everything that happened with my son (Braden) and how he was born extremely premature which unfortunately allowed him to only survive a week, the actual stress to make it through the actual birth of Briana felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. Rather than worrying about whether Karen and I would lose another child in the same fashion, we can now worry about actually taking care of our child.
Of course, Briana is not out of the woods yet. As a premature baby, she is still being monitored in the neonatal intensive care unit. Her chances of survival, however, are quite good because she was delivered further along than Braden (and she also scored so well on the Apgar.) Although Karen and I still won't be able to take her home from the hospital for several weeks, just knowing that she was born and has a great fighting chance to survive is fantastic.
But, I am hoping for the best. And I must say, Briana's birth was simply amazing. I don't mean that because she is now "Daddy's little girl". The entire experience was awesome and nothing like that movie "The Miracle of Life". After Briana's birth, I would love to be a labor coach. Of course, the other expectant mothers probably would not like that as much if I were in the room with them... but I think that would be fun.
Karen's labor was quite the ride. After her water broke, the doctor's simply kept a monitor on her to check her contractions. Since Karen was at 33 weeks, there was a decision made by the doctors to administer a steroid to help Briana's potential lung development. The steroid process consisted of two shots given 24 hours apart. (Unfortunately, Briana only received one of the two shots.)
The reason why only one steroid shot was received was because Karen started having contractions. As Karen started having contractions, the doctors soon prescribed Nubain (Nalbuphine) for the pain and discomfort. Eventually, the pain proved to be too much for Karen (even after a second dose of Nubain) and consequently, she was given her epidural.
After the epidural, it was pretty much a given that Briana would be born that day because dilation was inevitable. And so, Karen began the active portion of her labor. That was the part on television where the expecting mother generally screams and yells at the father or whoever is around because she is pushing the baby out. Interestingly enough, real life is nothing like television. Granted, Karen and I actually had dedicated hands-on training with the child birth by professionals. (We never had taken the child birthing class offered by the hospital because... well... each time we registered for the class our child was born prematurely before the class.) So nope, there was no screaming during the active labor portion.
The pushing of the baby was wild. Karen did a fantastic job. Always the curious one, I even got to see probably more than a normal person should. On television, the father generally stays by the wife's side near the top of the bed... if he doesn't pass out. At least... that's television. I got to actually help lift Karen's legs, hold her head up, hold her hands... everything.
It probably goes without saying that I enjoyed the experience thoroughly. And okay, I'll admit, I even almost teared up during the whole labor portion. After three hours of pushing, Karen was simply exhausted. She simply looked spent. I could see it on her face that she looked like she wanted to give up. It was at that point that the doctor gave a little "rah-rah" type of speech to Karen about fighting through the pain and about how if she can overcome that one moment of pain, she would be forever happy that she did so.
I have no reason why it almost made me tear up. I guess because 1) I've possibly become a softy with parenthood and 2) I think the message made sense to me on a personal level. In particular, I had thought about Braden at that moment, and how losing him was extremely painful. And then now, there was this opportunity to have the world make sense again in my life with the birth of Briana. For me, the doctor's message seemed to be not only for Karen and her labor, but for me as well. And truth be told, I think the nurse (Patty) who was there with us with Braden and now also there with us for Briana somehow sensed that too because she looked at me after the doctor said those inspiring words.
Sure enough... Karen reached down deep inside and did it. She was simply amazing. Seeing Briana's head pop right out was great. I remember at the time too that while Briana was being pulled out I had thought... wow, that's a long baby. Little did I know, she would measure 18 inches.
The NICU were also on hand during Briana's birth. After all, they were there to take Briana to the NICU as soon as possible to begin their treatment for me. As they were attending to Briana, the other doctors were helping Karen pass the placenta (and all the other after birth stuff.) Everything was pretty hectic after the actual birth.
Luckily for me, the NICU allowed me the opportunity to cut the umbilical cord. That was also a great experience. For anyone curious, cutting through the umbilical cord is like cutting through a rubber hose. Hopefully, Briana will end up with an "innie" instead of an "outie". And for those still curious, doctors have no control over that belly button feature. I asked. The way the cord eventually falls off determines that.
All in all, St. Patty's Day was a wild ride with the birth of our daughter Briana. Karen mentioned that Briana's 21st birthday will most likely be quite the party. I have not thought that far into the future yet, but it would definitely be quite the party for Briana.
Happy birthday Briana! And Braden, it looks like you now have a little sister to look after too!
(The picture below is my daughter, Briana. She's actually lying down in an Isolette... a.k.a. incubator in the NICU, so you may need to tilt your head to the left.)
Briana was born yesterday, March 17 2010. She weighed in at 4 pounds 14 ounces. As well, she measured 18 inches, which is pretty comparable to a full term baby. (For anyone curious, Briana was born prematurely at 33 weeks.)
Also of note is the fact that Briana received a 9.9 Apgar score. Previous to Briana's birth, I had never heard of the Apgar score. The Apgar is a health assessment test for newborns. The maximum score is 10. So apparently Briana scored extremely well considering she was premature. I was pretty impressed.
Hearing that she scored so well was definitely a relief. After everything that happened with my son (Braden) and how he was born extremely premature which unfortunately allowed him to only survive a week, the actual stress to make it through the actual birth of Briana felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. Rather than worrying about whether Karen and I would lose another child in the same fashion, we can now worry about actually taking care of our child.
Of course, Briana is not out of the woods yet. As a premature baby, she is still being monitored in the neonatal intensive care unit. Her chances of survival, however, are quite good because she was delivered further along than Braden (and she also scored so well on the Apgar.) Although Karen and I still won't be able to take her home from the hospital for several weeks, just knowing that she was born and has a great fighting chance to survive is fantastic.
But, I am hoping for the best. And I must say, Briana's birth was simply amazing. I don't mean that because she is now "Daddy's little girl". The entire experience was awesome and nothing like that movie "The Miracle of Life". After Briana's birth, I would love to be a labor coach. Of course, the other expectant mothers probably would not like that as much if I were in the room with them... but I think that would be fun.
Karen's labor was quite the ride. After her water broke, the doctor's simply kept a monitor on her to check her contractions. Since Karen was at 33 weeks, there was a decision made by the doctors to administer a steroid to help Briana's potential lung development. The steroid process consisted of two shots given 24 hours apart. (Unfortunately, Briana only received one of the two shots.)
The reason why only one steroid shot was received was because Karen started having contractions. As Karen started having contractions, the doctors soon prescribed Nubain (Nalbuphine) for the pain and discomfort. Eventually, the pain proved to be too much for Karen (even after a second dose of Nubain) and consequently, she was given her epidural.
After the epidural, it was pretty much a given that Briana would be born that day because dilation was inevitable. And so, Karen began the active portion of her labor. That was the part on television where the expecting mother generally screams and yells at the father or whoever is around because she is pushing the baby out. Interestingly enough, real life is nothing like television. Granted, Karen and I actually had dedicated hands-on training with the child birth by professionals. (We never had taken the child birthing class offered by the hospital because... well... each time we registered for the class our child was born prematurely before the class.) So nope, there was no screaming during the active labor portion.
The pushing of the baby was wild. Karen did a fantastic job. Always the curious one, I even got to see probably more than a normal person should. On television, the father generally stays by the wife's side near the top of the bed... if he doesn't pass out. At least... that's television. I got to actually help lift Karen's legs, hold her head up, hold her hands... everything.
It probably goes without saying that I enjoyed the experience thoroughly. And okay, I'll admit, I even almost teared up during the whole labor portion. After three hours of pushing, Karen was simply exhausted. She simply looked spent. I could see it on her face that she looked like she wanted to give up. It was at that point that the doctor gave a little "rah-rah" type of speech to Karen about fighting through the pain and about how if she can overcome that one moment of pain, she would be forever happy that she did so.
I have no reason why it almost made me tear up. I guess because 1) I've possibly become a softy with parenthood and 2) I think the message made sense to me on a personal level. In particular, I had thought about Braden at that moment, and how losing him was extremely painful. And then now, there was this opportunity to have the world make sense again in my life with the birth of Briana. For me, the doctor's message seemed to be not only for Karen and her labor, but for me as well. And truth be told, I think the nurse (Patty) who was there with us with Braden and now also there with us for Briana somehow sensed that too because she looked at me after the doctor said those inspiring words.
Sure enough... Karen reached down deep inside and did it. She was simply amazing. Seeing Briana's head pop right out was great. I remember at the time too that while Briana was being pulled out I had thought... wow, that's a long baby. Little did I know, she would measure 18 inches.
The NICU were also on hand during Briana's birth. After all, they were there to take Briana to the NICU as soon as possible to begin their treatment for me. As they were attending to Briana, the other doctors were helping Karen pass the placenta (and all the other after birth stuff.) Everything was pretty hectic after the actual birth.
Luckily for me, the NICU allowed me the opportunity to cut the umbilical cord. That was also a great experience. For anyone curious, cutting through the umbilical cord is like cutting through a rubber hose. Hopefully, Briana will end up with an "innie" instead of an "outie". And for those still curious, doctors have no control over that belly button feature. I asked. The way the cord eventually falls off determines that.
All in all, St. Patty's Day was a wild ride with the birth of our daughter Briana. Karen mentioned that Briana's 21st birthday will most likely be quite the party. I have not thought that far into the future yet, but it would definitely be quite the party for Briana.
Happy birthday Briana! And Braden, it looks like you now have a little sister to look after too!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
I Suck At Breaking Water
It seems rather fitting in a way. After a few days of torrential downpour, the sun came out today. Also breaking the water... my wife. I suck at breaking water. Unfortunately Karen... not so much.
Today, Karen had one of her many appointments with the doctors. Being 33 weeks pregnant, Karen has had many appointments with the doctors. It just so happens that today's appointment was a big one in terms of being pregnant.
As I was driving Karen to her doctor's appointment, Karen mentioned how she thought her water just broke after the train ride home. Naturally, I was quite alarmed, in part because the baby is still not full term yet. And so with reckless abandon, I drove as quick as I could to the doctor's office.
While at the doctor's office, Karen noticed more fluid. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity in which there may have been panic and anxiety over the birth of our child, the doctor came in to examine Karen. Sure enough, the doctor confirmed that indeed Karen's water broke. (For anyone curious, there is this neat test: it's a pink cotton swab... that apparently turns black when mixed with amniotic fluid. I thought that was simply amazing.)
Needless to say, the doctor told us to go home, pack some clothes, and head to the hospital because the baby is arriving soon. I may have let my guard down a little as I excitedly told Karen that we're having a baby! Up until that point, I have been a little guarded in my feelings because I did not want to get my hopes up. After all, I was pretty ecstatic when Karen was pregnant with our first child (Braden) who unfortunately was born extremely premature and passed away after living only a week.
I did not want to jinx things and have the same outcome. Hence, I tried not to get too excited about the baby this time around. As it was, I may have jinxed things last night. Last night, I got to feel the baby move around.
For awhile, Karen has been trying to have me feel the baby move. Every time the baby would move, Karen would tell me and I would place my hand on Karen's belly. Unfortunately, every time I placed my hand on her belly, the baby never moved again. I naturally assumed the baby did not like me.
Last night, however, Karen had joked that the reason why the baby did not move around when I had my hand on her belly was because the baby knew that I was not going to let our child have a video game console until later in life. In response, I caressed Karen's belly and told the baby that if he or she moved while my hand was on Karen's belly that I would rethink the whole video game console idea. Perhaps I could knock a year or two off of my age restriction. Sure enough, the baby moved... twice.
Anyway, with Karen's water breaking, I wonder in the back of my mind if the baby really wants that video game console and just can't wait to play with it. Sure, it sounds ridiculous, but when you're told that the baby is coming early... not many things make a whole lot of sense.
Needless to say, Karen and I arrived at South Shore Hospital. Karen was admitted... and we are still currently awaiting for the arrival of the baby. Knowing that there are so many things that we have still yet to do in terms of preparing our house for the baby is extremely daunting. Again, in an effort to not get our hopes up too much, we had delayed getting a lot of the necessary items required in bringing a baby home... and even taking care of a baby in general.
Our hesitation was due to possibly repeating our experience with Braden. This should go without saying: the experience with Braden was by no means totally awful. It was great to meet my son, if even only for a week. It's the incredible high of being a parent followed by the quick plummeting lows of seeing your child pass away that wrench your heart. As it was, Karen and I are canceling birthing classes again... like before with Braden... because the baby is apparently going to be born before the class. I guess we are just not meant to take a birthing class.
Despite the anxiety and panic of repeating our experience with Braden, it was nice to see some familiar faces while at the hospital. One of the nurses (Patty) came in to personally visit us, as did the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit doctor from before when we had Braden. (For anyone curious, our baby... when born after 33 weeks... will end up in the NICU and will most likely stay there until he or she is able to do certain "normal" tasks.) It was definitely calming to see them again.
Anyway, right now Karen and the baby are doing well. Karen was given a steroid shot to help the baby's lung development. Hopefully, the baby will wait a little longer before arriving so that the second steroid shot can be administered tomorrow and take effect. Prior to the steroid shot, the doctors removed the cerclage from Karen's cervix. The doctor must have thought I was crazy because I was intrigued and wanted to see the actual removal of the cerclage. (For anyone curious, I did not watch the removal. I opted to help Karen during the removal instead. And interestingly enough... the cerclage... not as big as I imagined it to be.)
Aside from that, Karen is simply resting and being monitored by the doctors. I am hoping she can get a lot of rest. Of course, I was hoping that she got a lot of rest weeks ago, but that apparently never happened. Hopefully things will turn out okay this time around. The doctors seem to think so. In fact, they have said that on paper the baby looks great. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much.
Today, Karen had one of her many appointments with the doctors. Being 33 weeks pregnant, Karen has had many appointments with the doctors. It just so happens that today's appointment was a big one in terms of being pregnant.
As I was driving Karen to her doctor's appointment, Karen mentioned how she thought her water just broke after the train ride home. Naturally, I was quite alarmed, in part because the baby is still not full term yet. And so with reckless abandon, I drove as quick as I could to the doctor's office.
While at the doctor's office, Karen noticed more fluid. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity in which there may have been panic and anxiety over the birth of our child, the doctor came in to examine Karen. Sure enough, the doctor confirmed that indeed Karen's water broke. (For anyone curious, there is this neat test: it's a pink cotton swab... that apparently turns black when mixed with amniotic fluid. I thought that was simply amazing.)
Needless to say, the doctor told us to go home, pack some clothes, and head to the hospital because the baby is arriving soon. I may have let my guard down a little as I excitedly told Karen that we're having a baby! Up until that point, I have been a little guarded in my feelings because I did not want to get my hopes up. After all, I was pretty ecstatic when Karen was pregnant with our first child (Braden) who unfortunately was born extremely premature and passed away after living only a week.
I did not want to jinx things and have the same outcome. Hence, I tried not to get too excited about the baby this time around. As it was, I may have jinxed things last night. Last night, I got to feel the baby move around.
For awhile, Karen has been trying to have me feel the baby move. Every time the baby would move, Karen would tell me and I would place my hand on Karen's belly. Unfortunately, every time I placed my hand on her belly, the baby never moved again. I naturally assumed the baby did not like me.
Last night, however, Karen had joked that the reason why the baby did not move around when I had my hand on her belly was because the baby knew that I was not going to let our child have a video game console until later in life. In response, I caressed Karen's belly and told the baby that if he or she moved while my hand was on Karen's belly that I would rethink the whole video game console idea. Perhaps I could knock a year or two off of my age restriction. Sure enough, the baby moved... twice.
Anyway, with Karen's water breaking, I wonder in the back of my mind if the baby really wants that video game console and just can't wait to play with it. Sure, it sounds ridiculous, but when you're told that the baby is coming early... not many things make a whole lot of sense.
Needless to say, Karen and I arrived at South Shore Hospital. Karen was admitted... and we are still currently awaiting for the arrival of the baby. Knowing that there are so many things that we have still yet to do in terms of preparing our house for the baby is extremely daunting. Again, in an effort to not get our hopes up too much, we had delayed getting a lot of the necessary items required in bringing a baby home... and even taking care of a baby in general.
Our hesitation was due to possibly repeating our experience with Braden. This should go without saying: the experience with Braden was by no means totally awful. It was great to meet my son, if even only for a week. It's the incredible high of being a parent followed by the quick plummeting lows of seeing your child pass away that wrench your heart. As it was, Karen and I are canceling birthing classes again... like before with Braden... because the baby is apparently going to be born before the class. I guess we are just not meant to take a birthing class.
Despite the anxiety and panic of repeating our experience with Braden, it was nice to see some familiar faces while at the hospital. One of the nurses (Patty) came in to personally visit us, as did the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit doctor from before when we had Braden. (For anyone curious, our baby... when born after 33 weeks... will end up in the NICU and will most likely stay there until he or she is able to do certain "normal" tasks.) It was definitely calming to see them again.
Anyway, right now Karen and the baby are doing well. Karen was given a steroid shot to help the baby's lung development. Hopefully, the baby will wait a little longer before arriving so that the second steroid shot can be administered tomorrow and take effect. Prior to the steroid shot, the doctors removed the cerclage from Karen's cervix. The doctor must have thought I was crazy because I was intrigued and wanted to see the actual removal of the cerclage. (For anyone curious, I did not watch the removal. I opted to help Karen during the removal instead. And interestingly enough... the cerclage... not as big as I imagined it to be.)
Aside from that, Karen is simply resting and being monitored by the doctors. I am hoping she can get a lot of rest. Of course, I was hoping that she got a lot of rest weeks ago, but that apparently never happened. Hopefully things will turn out okay this time around. The doctors seem to think so. In fact, they have said that on paper the baby looks great. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much.
I Suck At Saw VI
Last night, I watched the latest movie in Karen's Netflix queue: Saw VI. Now I suck at Saw VI. Okay, Saw VI was definitely not in Karen's queue because Karen is not a big fan of horror movies. So needless to say, the movie was more in my queue.
(The video below is a trailer for Saw VI.)
Having seen the other Saw movies, I felt that I had to watch the latest installment. After all, I like completing things even when I know I probably shouldn't (like the whole Twilight series... which I still have not made up my mind yet on whether to complete it or not).
For the Saw series, I will admit... I found the first movie rather intriguing with its concept. The subsequent sequels thereafter were decent. One of the movies even featured Donnie Wahlberg of New Kids on the Block fame. But the movies are what they are... an entertaining way to kill a couple of hours. (No pun intended.)
Saw VI is no different. I am actually quite surprised that the Saw franchise has been able to keep going. After all, the main villain of the entire series died in the third movie. Of the six movies thus far, I will probably say that Saw VI is the worst of them, but it was still entertaining.
And naturally, the movie ends with the possibility of a sequel. So we'll see if there will be a Saw VII soon.
(The video below is a trailer for Saw VI.)
Having seen the other Saw movies, I felt that I had to watch the latest installment. After all, I like completing things even when I know I probably shouldn't (like the whole Twilight series... which I still have not made up my mind yet on whether to complete it or not).
For the Saw series, I will admit... I found the first movie rather intriguing with its concept. The subsequent sequels thereafter were decent. One of the movies even featured Donnie Wahlberg of New Kids on the Block fame. But the movies are what they are... an entertaining way to kill a couple of hours. (No pun intended.)
Saw VI is no different. I am actually quite surprised that the Saw franchise has been able to keep going. After all, the main villain of the entire series died in the third movie. Of the six movies thus far, I will probably say that Saw VI is the worst of them, but it was still entertaining.
And naturally, the movie ends with the possibility of a sequel. So we'll see if there will be a Saw VII soon.
I Suck At Home Improvement
My friend (Carlos) stopped by on Saturday. Knowing that I was still in the midst of working on renovating the bathroom on the first floor, he offered to help. Naturally, I suck at home improvement. So I gladly took Carlos up on his offer.
Of course, if the home improvement project involved getting absolutely dirty, then I would most likely not take Carlos or any of my other friends up on their offers to help. I would feel pretty badly asking a friend to get covered in dirt... unless that friend were a buxom blonde and the dirt were mud. Just kidding.
In case anyone is curious, I find plumbing to be very dirty. Even when you clean the pipes to solder them together... it's dirty. Luckily for Carlos, I had finished most of the plumbing for the first floor bathroom. (I still have to tie the drain in to our existing system, which requires getting dirty in the crawlspace.)
Anyway, apparently Carlos is new to the whole working-on-the-house thing. Home renovations had never interested him. So it meant a lot to me for Carlos to offer his help for a home improvement project. Hopefully I did not scare him away from future home improvement projects.
After all, Karen... and probably some of my friends... think I'm ridiculously anal when it comes to home improvement projects. In my defense, it's not about being particular about things. Like Mike Holmes from television would say, It's about making it right the first time so that you don't have to come back and fix it at a later time.
Needless to say, with it being Carlos's first time doing a home improvement project, I had him start with the simple things: insulation. While Carlos insulated the walls with the environmentally friendly denim insulation, I was measuring and cutting the drywall boards used for the walls.
I think the highlight of the day was seeing Carlos's amazement when we actually installing the drywall. Carlos had doubts about how we would install the drywall over the plumbing pipes that stuck out from the wall. Needless to say, with some fancy math, I was able to drill precise holes for the pipes.
In my resourcefulness, I also used some makeup to help outline the location of the pipes. In case anyone is curious, the makeup was not Karen's (because she doesn't wear any). And in case anyone is still curious, the makeup was definitely not mine. The makeup was a leftover from the second photo scavenger hunt that I organized. The makeup was used to make our team look like the members of KISS. (Yes, we were part of the KISS army for one brief moment of time.)
Regardless, seeing Carlos's surprise when the piece of drywall went in was memorable. His amazement almost made me feel like I knew what I was doing. Carlos and I eventually ended up installing drywall for the entire wall.
All in all, Carlos did a good job for his first time doing a home improvement project. I'm glad that he offered to help out. I haven't really hung out much with Carlos of late, so it was definitely good to see him. Plus, it turns out that Carlos is now a big fan of Freschetta pizza after we had some during lunch. Having never had Freschetta frozen pizza beforehand, Carlos absolutely raved about the taste. Who knew?
Anyway, thanks again Carlos for the help.
Of course, if the home improvement project involved getting absolutely dirty, then I would most likely not take Carlos or any of my other friends up on their offers to help. I would feel pretty badly asking a friend to get covered in dirt... unless that friend were a buxom blonde and the dirt were mud. Just kidding.
In case anyone is curious, I find plumbing to be very dirty. Even when you clean the pipes to solder them together... it's dirty. Luckily for Carlos, I had finished most of the plumbing for the first floor bathroom. (I still have to tie the drain in to our existing system, which requires getting dirty in the crawlspace.)
Anyway, apparently Carlos is new to the whole working-on-the-house thing. Home renovations had never interested him. So it meant a lot to me for Carlos to offer his help for a home improvement project. Hopefully I did not scare him away from future home improvement projects.
After all, Karen... and probably some of my friends... think I'm ridiculously anal when it comes to home improvement projects. In my defense, it's not about being particular about things. Like Mike Holmes from television would say, It's about making it right the first time so that you don't have to come back and fix it at a later time.
Needless to say, with it being Carlos's first time doing a home improvement project, I had him start with the simple things: insulation. While Carlos insulated the walls with the environmentally friendly denim insulation, I was measuring and cutting the drywall boards used for the walls.
I think the highlight of the day was seeing Carlos's amazement when we actually installing the drywall. Carlos had doubts about how we would install the drywall over the plumbing pipes that stuck out from the wall. Needless to say, with some fancy math, I was able to drill precise holes for the pipes.
In my resourcefulness, I also used some makeup to help outline the location of the pipes. In case anyone is curious, the makeup was not Karen's (because she doesn't wear any). And in case anyone is still curious, the makeup was definitely not mine. The makeup was a leftover from the second photo scavenger hunt that I organized. The makeup was used to make our team look like the members of KISS. (Yes, we were part of the KISS army for one brief moment of time.)
Regardless, seeing Carlos's surprise when the piece of drywall went in was memorable. His amazement almost made me feel like I knew what I was doing. Carlos and I eventually ended up installing drywall for the entire wall.
All in all, Carlos did a good job for his first time doing a home improvement project. I'm glad that he offered to help out. I haven't really hung out much with Carlos of late, so it was definitely good to see him. Plus, it turns out that Carlos is now a big fan of Freschetta pizza after we had some during lunch. Having never had Freschetta frozen pizza beforehand, Carlos absolutely raved about the taste. Who knew?
Anyway, thanks again Carlos for the help.
Monday, March 15, 2010
I Suck At The Celtics Game
I had a great time Friday night.
On Friday, my friends (Cass and Marc) and I went to the Celtics game. Now, I suck at the Celtics game.
For my birthday (in December), Cass and Marc got tickets to the basketball game. In fact, they also got me tickets for a basketball game the year prior as well. So I guess you can say going to a Celtics basketball game for my birthday is almost like a tradition now.
Needless to say, the experience was great. The Celtics were playing against the Indiana Pacers. The Celtics absolutely destroyed the Pacers by a score of 122-103, which really was not much of a surprise because the Pacers are not that great of a team. Truth be told, I don't think I can even name a player on the Pacers... even after watching them on Friday night. (And as proof that the team is awful, the Pacers have about five white guys on the team...)
Anyway, it was fun just hanging out with Cass and Marc. We met up for dinner before the game at Hurricane O'Reilly's, which also seems to be a tradition now before a Celtics game. It turns out that Cass is planning to do the deck project that he has had in the works for a while this year.
Speaking of Cass, we had a little scraping of paint incident involving his car when we left the game. The incident was almost reminiscent of the time when we were in high school and a bunch of us were crammed in his car. Unable to see through the back (due to everyone being jam-packed in the car), Cass had the car in reverse. At the time, my friend (Nhut) assured Cass that everything was good while he was backing the car up, even boldy proclaiming "we'll be your eyes." Those words proved to be a memorable phrase because shortly after Nhut said them, Cass hit something.
On Friday, it was just Marc and I in the car. But Cass accidentally hit something while backing his car out of the his spot in the garage... which of course naturally made all of us think of the "we'll be your eyes" incident. Of course, the difference this time was that neither Marc nor I made that claim.
All in all, I had a blast on Friday. Thanks again Cass and Marc for the present. It was great.
On Friday, my friends (Cass and Marc) and I went to the Celtics game. Now, I suck at the Celtics game.
For my birthday (in December), Cass and Marc got tickets to the basketball game. In fact, they also got me tickets for a basketball game the year prior as well. So I guess you can say going to a Celtics basketball game for my birthday is almost like a tradition now.
Needless to say, the experience was great. The Celtics were playing against the Indiana Pacers. The Celtics absolutely destroyed the Pacers by a score of 122-103, which really was not much of a surprise because the Pacers are not that great of a team. Truth be told, I don't think I can even name a player on the Pacers... even after watching them on Friday night. (And as proof that the team is awful, the Pacers have about five white guys on the team...)
Anyway, it was fun just hanging out with Cass and Marc. We met up for dinner before the game at Hurricane O'Reilly's, which also seems to be a tradition now before a Celtics game. It turns out that Cass is planning to do the deck project that he has had in the works for a while this year.
Speaking of Cass, we had a little scraping of paint incident involving his car when we left the game. The incident was almost reminiscent of the time when we were in high school and a bunch of us were crammed in his car. Unable to see through the back (due to everyone being jam-packed in the car), Cass had the car in reverse. At the time, my friend (Nhut) assured Cass that everything was good while he was backing the car up, even boldy proclaiming "we'll be your eyes." Those words proved to be a memorable phrase because shortly after Nhut said them, Cass hit something.
On Friday, it was just Marc and I in the car. But Cass accidentally hit something while backing his car out of the his spot in the garage... which of course naturally made all of us think of the "we'll be your eyes" incident. Of course, the difference this time was that neither Marc nor I made that claim.
All in all, I had a blast on Friday. Thanks again Cass and Marc for the present. It was great.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
I Suck At Sorority Row
Today, I watched the next movie in Karen's Netflix queue: Sorority Row. All right. Technically, the movie was in my queue because Karen is not a big fan of the horror genre. Too bad I suck at Sorority Row.
(The video below is a trailer for Sorority Row.)
For anyone curious, Sorority Row is a remake of the slasher film, The House on Sorority Row. The plot is simple: a group of sorority sisters set up a prank that goes horribly wrong. The prank is so wrong that one of their own sisters winds up dead. The remaining sorority sisters keep the death a secret until graduation day, when a mysterious killer goes after them for their misdeed. Aside from Carrie Fisher (of Princess Leia fame), the movie also stars Briana Evigan (of Step Up 2 fame), Rumor Willis (the daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore), and Jamie Chung (of Real World: San Diego fame).
I'll be honest. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. And really... what's not to like about a horror movie where the victims are sorority girls? I'm not a big fan of sororities... or their male counterpart, fraternities. I tend to think of sororities and fraternities as precursors to unions... and I'm not exactly a big fan of unions either.
If you think about it, a sorority/fraternity is a group whereby seniority provides a sense of entitlement. There is a pledge (or dues) required to be in the sorority/fraternity. As well, the group seemingly protects its own members with an "us versus them" attitude.
I've never been one for being identified by labels. And I guess the concept of calling people friends just because you take a pledge to be a part of a group is a foreign to me. My friends are my friends for a reason, not because they happen to have pledged to join the same group as me. It's almost like saying the person who owns the same type of car that I do is my sister/brother. After all, it's a Saturn family, right?
Needless to say, the fact that the target of the slasher flick was a sorority may have biased my feelings toward the movie. Aside from that, I actually thought the movie was nicely done. It was a nice throwback to the old horror movies of old, much like how "Scream" was when that movie came out.
(The video below is a trailer for Sorority Row.)
For anyone curious, Sorority Row is a remake of the slasher film, The House on Sorority Row. The plot is simple: a group of sorority sisters set up a prank that goes horribly wrong. The prank is so wrong that one of their own sisters winds up dead. The remaining sorority sisters keep the death a secret until graduation day, when a mysterious killer goes after them for their misdeed. Aside from Carrie Fisher (of Princess Leia fame), the movie also stars Briana Evigan (of Step Up 2 fame), Rumor Willis (the daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore), and Jamie Chung (of Real World: San Diego fame).
I'll be honest. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. And really... what's not to like about a horror movie where the victims are sorority girls? I'm not a big fan of sororities... or their male counterpart, fraternities. I tend to think of sororities and fraternities as precursors to unions... and I'm not exactly a big fan of unions either.
If you think about it, a sorority/fraternity is a group whereby seniority provides a sense of entitlement. There is a pledge (or dues) required to be in the sorority/fraternity. As well, the group seemingly protects its own members with an "us versus them" attitude.
I've never been one for being identified by labels. And I guess the concept of calling people friends just because you take a pledge to be a part of a group is a foreign to me. My friends are my friends for a reason, not because they happen to have pledged to join the same group as me. It's almost like saying the person who owns the same type of car that I do is my sister/brother. After all, it's a Saturn family, right?
Needless to say, the fact that the target of the slasher flick was a sorority may have biased my feelings toward the movie. Aside from that, I actually thought the movie was nicely done. It was a nice throwback to the old horror movies of old, much like how "Scream" was when that movie came out.
I Suck At The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind
Occasionally, I surprise myself by reading a non-fiction book. Last night, that is what I did, having finished reading "The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind" by William Kamkwamba. Now, I suck at The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind.
The book details the story of a young man in Africa (William Kamkwamba) who perseveres through drought and famine, and the ridicule of his fellow peers as he is inspired to build a windmill. His inspiration was to use the windmill to generate energy to provide light at night... in a village where everyone basically goes to sleep when the sun goes down.
I enjoyed the book. It was definitely worth reading. And the funny thing is, the whole windmill part doesn't even factor into the story until later on in the book. The beginning of the book details the average life of a person in Malawi, how poor the people are, how many of them believe in magic, and how he came to be.
Part of what is inspiring about the book (aside from the fact that the story is true) is the situation of how William Kamkwamba came to even have the idea to build a windmill. The son of a farmer, he could not go to school because his family could not pay the fees required for schooling. So when he was not helping on the farm, he went to the public library and read books about electricity and physics. (Yet another reason why people should enjoy their libraries.) From there, he scavenged a junk yard to find parts... pieced the various parts together with the help of some friends... and voila: a windmill that generated electricity for his family.
It's pretty incredible to learn what he achieved with his limited resources. And truth be told, the story made me want to build a windmill myself. (I'd also want a whole slew of solar panels too, but I think building solar panels would be more difficult.) Unfortunately, I'm not sure what the zoning laws are in my town. So I'm not exactly sure if I could pull off the windmill even if I built one. Perhaps if I attached it to the roof...
Anyway, the story was a good read. I'd recommend the book to anyone. And according to William Kamkwamba, "If you want to make it, all you have to do is try". Those are good words to live by.
The book details the story of a young man in Africa (William Kamkwamba) who perseveres through drought and famine, and the ridicule of his fellow peers as he is inspired to build a windmill. His inspiration was to use the windmill to generate energy to provide light at night... in a village where everyone basically goes to sleep when the sun goes down.
I enjoyed the book. It was definitely worth reading. And the funny thing is, the whole windmill part doesn't even factor into the story until later on in the book. The beginning of the book details the average life of a person in Malawi, how poor the people are, how many of them believe in magic, and how he came to be.
Part of what is inspiring about the book (aside from the fact that the story is true) is the situation of how William Kamkwamba came to even have the idea to build a windmill. The son of a farmer, he could not go to school because his family could not pay the fees required for schooling. So when he was not helping on the farm, he went to the public library and read books about electricity and physics. (Yet another reason why people should enjoy their libraries.) From there, he scavenged a junk yard to find parts... pieced the various parts together with the help of some friends... and voila: a windmill that generated electricity for his family.
It's pretty incredible to learn what he achieved with his limited resources. And truth be told, the story made me want to build a windmill myself. (I'd also want a whole slew of solar panels too, but I think building solar panels would be more difficult.) Unfortunately, I'm not sure what the zoning laws are in my town. So I'm not exactly sure if I could pull off the windmill even if I built one. Perhaps if I attached it to the roof...
Anyway, the story was a good read. I'd recommend the book to anyone. And according to William Kamkwamba, "If you want to make it, all you have to do is try". Those are good words to live by.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
I Suck At Going To The Hospital
There are days where I wish life mirrored television. After all, in the television world, pregnancies look like a piece of cake. A woman gets pregnant. She has a few crazy cravings. Nine months later, the baby is born. Easy. Viewers rarely see the part where there are complications with the pregnancy. I think in the television world, dying children is taboo.
Needless to say, I wish yesterday were like television. Yesterday, my pregnant wife (Karen) and I went to the hospital. Now, I suck at going to the hospital. During the start of the afternoon, Karen called me while I was working at the office. Normally, I would probably be ecstatic to receive a call in the office from Karen. Heck, I would be ecstatic to receive any phone call in the office because no one ever calls me.
Unfortunately, this call was slightly anxiety-causing. Karen had mentioned how she needed to go to the hospital because she had noticed some bleeding... which for a pregnant person is not exactly good news. Of course, after receiving the news I quickly gathered my things and immediately left the office.
I probably gave myself an ulcer yesterday. I work in Marblehead, which is near Salem. For anyone curious, people in Marblehead (and Salem) drive like my grandmother... if I had a grandmother. I don't know why they drive very slowly, but they do. I'm sure you can imagine how frustrating it is to drive at a snail's pace when you are trying to pick up your pregnant wife to bring her to the hospital.
Needless to say, I was not too happy until I got to the highway, in which case my lead foot basically hit the pedal to the metal. Had I been driving a Toyota, I would probably have gotten into an accident. Just kidding.
Anyway, I picked up Karen at her work and the both of us then drove to the hospital. Obviously, I had to drive a little slower than Toyota-speed now that Karen and our unborn baby (currently named Jicama) were in the car.
And naturally, at the hospital we waited... and waited... and waited for what seemed like an eternity. It's funny how that works. The things that seem so imperative to you (like my pregnant wife having bleeding issues), don't often seem so imperative to others.
This is a side note. I think one of the things that our health care system lacks (across the board) is expectation setting. The same can be said of a lot of things too, like the our awful subway system, politics, whatever. You name it, there is probably a lack of expectation setting in regards to it.
When Karen went into one of the exam rooms, the nurses simply hooked her up to a monitor. They didn't mention anything else. We just sat there for a good hour or two... watching television (and for anyone curious, we watched "The Drs"... there's not a whole lot of quality television in the afternoon). All the while, I kept thinking and worrying about... well... my bleeding pregnant wife. Had someone told us that they needed to monitor Karen for an hour or so to gather data, then I might have been a little more at ease. But by not mentioning anything, I think it only added to my already high stress level because I was just left to wonder about things. That's just my opinion.
Don't get me wrong. The medical staff is courteous and they were great when it comes to answering questions. The problem is just... the actual providing of answers. Answers are only provided when asked. That's great and all, but how is someone to know which question to ask in the first place. My first inclination is not going to ask "so how long is Karen going to be strapped to this machine". That's all I'm saying... expectation setting. (It's like our awful subway system. When a train is having switching problems, don't keep me in the dark and simply tell me the train has been disabled due to switching problems. Tell me when the next train is scheduled to arrive. Expectation setting!)
Anyway, I know I'm going off on a tangent. Heck, I'm starting to sound like a grumpy-gus. I'm simply getting old and cranky these days. And truth be told, I would not be surprised if I broke down soon... both mentally and physically. I can already feel the tenseness in my neck and back which has been building for a while. My body is breaking down and I can feel the exhaustion coming.
After losing our son (Braden) some time ago, the lack of control frustrates me. With Karen's current pregnancy, I've practically taken over most of the household chores. I've given Karen all the pillows we have to help her sleep better. I sometimes just don't know what else I can do to help with our current unborn baby. It's frustrating to have Karen experience bleeding because you know there's nothing you can do about it. The helpless feeling irks me.
Regardless, the doctor did eventually come to check out Karen... naturally while I went to grab a bite to eat. But according to the doctor, Karen and the baby are fine. So that's good news. The doctor simply thinks that the cerclage may have stretched or pulled at the cervix, thereby causing the bleeding. Apparently, that was a possibility of having a cerclage done. (Again, it would have been nice to known that ahead of time... expectation setting.)
Needless to say, it was a relief to hear that everything is good. Unfortunately, I may have been a little too wiped out when I saw my friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea) later that night for our usual "Lost" gathering. While Karen rested from the ordeal (doctor's orders), I went and hung out.
Marc made chili. I think it was an Alton Brown recipe. The chili was delicious. But hanging out with them was a good way to relax and unwind for a little while.
Needless to say, I wish yesterday were like television. Yesterday, my pregnant wife (Karen) and I went to the hospital. Now, I suck at going to the hospital. During the start of the afternoon, Karen called me while I was working at the office. Normally, I would probably be ecstatic to receive a call in the office from Karen. Heck, I would be ecstatic to receive any phone call in the office because no one ever calls me.
Unfortunately, this call was slightly anxiety-causing. Karen had mentioned how she needed to go to the hospital because she had noticed some bleeding... which for a pregnant person is not exactly good news. Of course, after receiving the news I quickly gathered my things and immediately left the office.
I probably gave myself an ulcer yesterday. I work in Marblehead, which is near Salem. For anyone curious, people in Marblehead (and Salem) drive like my grandmother... if I had a grandmother. I don't know why they drive very slowly, but they do. I'm sure you can imagine how frustrating it is to drive at a snail's pace when you are trying to pick up your pregnant wife to bring her to the hospital.
Needless to say, I was not too happy until I got to the highway, in which case my lead foot basically hit the pedal to the metal. Had I been driving a Toyota, I would probably have gotten into an accident. Just kidding.
Anyway, I picked up Karen at her work and the both of us then drove to the hospital. Obviously, I had to drive a little slower than Toyota-speed now that Karen and our unborn baby (currently named Jicama) were in the car.
And naturally, at the hospital we waited... and waited... and waited for what seemed like an eternity. It's funny how that works. The things that seem so imperative to you (like my pregnant wife having bleeding issues), don't often seem so imperative to others.
This is a side note. I think one of the things that our health care system lacks (across the board) is expectation setting. The same can be said of a lot of things too, like the our awful subway system, politics, whatever. You name it, there is probably a lack of expectation setting in regards to it.
When Karen went into one of the exam rooms, the nurses simply hooked her up to a monitor. They didn't mention anything else. We just sat there for a good hour or two... watching television (and for anyone curious, we watched "The Drs"... there's not a whole lot of quality television in the afternoon). All the while, I kept thinking and worrying about... well... my bleeding pregnant wife. Had someone told us that they needed to monitor Karen for an hour or so to gather data, then I might have been a little more at ease. But by not mentioning anything, I think it only added to my already high stress level because I was just left to wonder about things. That's just my opinion.
Don't get me wrong. The medical staff is courteous and they were great when it comes to answering questions. The problem is just... the actual providing of answers. Answers are only provided when asked. That's great and all, but how is someone to know which question to ask in the first place. My first inclination is not going to ask "so how long is Karen going to be strapped to this machine". That's all I'm saying... expectation setting. (It's like our awful subway system. When a train is having switching problems, don't keep me in the dark and simply tell me the train has been disabled due to switching problems. Tell me when the next train is scheduled to arrive. Expectation setting!)
Anyway, I know I'm going off on a tangent. Heck, I'm starting to sound like a grumpy-gus. I'm simply getting old and cranky these days. And truth be told, I would not be surprised if I broke down soon... both mentally and physically. I can already feel the tenseness in my neck and back which has been building for a while. My body is breaking down and I can feel the exhaustion coming.
After losing our son (Braden) some time ago, the lack of control frustrates me. With Karen's current pregnancy, I've practically taken over most of the household chores. I've given Karen all the pillows we have to help her sleep better. I sometimes just don't know what else I can do to help with our current unborn baby. It's frustrating to have Karen experience bleeding because you know there's nothing you can do about it. The helpless feeling irks me.
Regardless, the doctor did eventually come to check out Karen... naturally while I went to grab a bite to eat. But according to the doctor, Karen and the baby are fine. So that's good news. The doctor simply thinks that the cerclage may have stretched or pulled at the cervix, thereby causing the bleeding. Apparently, that was a possibility of having a cerclage done. (Again, it would have been nice to known that ahead of time... expectation setting.)
Needless to say, it was a relief to hear that everything is good. Unfortunately, I may have been a little too wiped out when I saw my friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea) later that night for our usual "Lost" gathering. While Karen rested from the ordeal (doctor's orders), I went and hung out.
Marc made chili. I think it was an Alton Brown recipe. The chili was delicious. But hanging out with them was a good way to relax and unwind for a little while.
Monday, March 8, 2010
I Suck At Shopping
Yesterday was a rather ho-hum day for Karen and I. The highlight of the day was probably our shopping excursion. Too bad I suck at shopping.
For several years, Karen and I have had a Panasonic KT-TG5240 which we used as the home phone. The phone (although not a rotary phone) is old to say the least. The model was before phones had additional handsets and all of that. There was just one handset.
Karen and I would truck the handset with us throughout the house whenever we needed to make a call, and then return it back to its base for charging which was located in our bedroom. Some days, we would have to run around the house looking for the handset (because there was just one). Needless to say, the phone became an annoyance.
Adding to the annoyance was the fact that the battery no longer held its charge. After charging the phone for hours, you could remove the handset from the base... be 3 feet away... and the handset would not work because it needed recharging. Yes, it was annoying.
For a long while, that phone has simply been on the base "charging". We had gone away from using that phone altogether, instead opting to use the Winnie the Pooh phone located in our other room. In retrospect, it would have made sense to unplug the old Panasonic phone altogether, but then we would not have had an answering machine.
Anyway, yesterday we decided that enough was enough. Rather than buy a new battery for the phone (because it would not have made sense in terms of cost/use) we went out and purchased a new phone. We ended up getting another Panasonic phone, model KX-TG9344T, which came with four handsets.
So far, so good. Of course, neither Karen nor I have used the phone yet because we had to charge the cordless handsets... but they take up less room than the original phone did and they look nicer too. And now, we won't have to run around the house looking for the phone because there will be four of them around the house.
One of the other purchases we made during our shopping excursion was at Lowe's. I needed some additional supplies for the first floor bathroom project. And naturally, because I tend to forget things... I forgot to pick up some things for the project. Oh well. It's not like I don't go there a lot. I should buy stock in Lowe's or Home Depot.
Anyway, after our shopping excursion, I basically worked some more on the first floor bathroom renovation project. We now have copper pipes supplying water to the bathroom! Yay! Now I just need to work on the drain system to take the water away. Some day I'll finish. I am still hoping to finish the bathroom before our baby is born. And for anyone curious, the baby is known as "Jicama" this week. "Jicky" (or phonetically "Hicky") just did not sound right, so I went with the entire name of the root vegetable.
For several years, Karen and I have had a Panasonic KT-TG5240 which we used as the home phone. The phone (although not a rotary phone) is old to say the least. The model was before phones had additional handsets and all of that. There was just one handset.
Karen and I would truck the handset with us throughout the house whenever we needed to make a call, and then return it back to its base for charging which was located in our bedroom. Some days, we would have to run around the house looking for the handset (because there was just one). Needless to say, the phone became an annoyance.
Adding to the annoyance was the fact that the battery no longer held its charge. After charging the phone for hours, you could remove the handset from the base... be 3 feet away... and the handset would not work because it needed recharging. Yes, it was annoying.
For a long while, that phone has simply been on the base "charging". We had gone away from using that phone altogether, instead opting to use the Winnie the Pooh phone located in our other room. In retrospect, it would have made sense to unplug the old Panasonic phone altogether, but then we would not have had an answering machine.
Anyway, yesterday we decided that enough was enough. Rather than buy a new battery for the phone (because it would not have made sense in terms of cost/use) we went out and purchased a new phone. We ended up getting another Panasonic phone, model KX-TG9344T, which came with four handsets.
So far, so good. Of course, neither Karen nor I have used the phone yet because we had to charge the cordless handsets... but they take up less room than the original phone did and they look nicer too. And now, we won't have to run around the house looking for the phone because there will be four of them around the house.
One of the other purchases we made during our shopping excursion was at Lowe's. I needed some additional supplies for the first floor bathroom project. And naturally, because I tend to forget things... I forgot to pick up some things for the project. Oh well. It's not like I don't go there a lot. I should buy stock in Lowe's or Home Depot.
Anyway, after our shopping excursion, I basically worked some more on the first floor bathroom renovation project. We now have copper pipes supplying water to the bathroom! Yay! Now I just need to work on the drain system to take the water away. Some day I'll finish. I am still hoping to finish the bathroom before our baby is born. And for anyone curious, the baby is known as "Jicama" this week. "Jicky" (or phonetically "Hicky") just did not sound right, so I went with the entire name of the root vegetable.
I Suck At Chocolat
On Saturday, Karen and I had a little movie night. On the agenda for the night was the latest movie in her Netflix queue: Chocolat. Now, I suck at Chocolat.
(The video below is a trailer for Chocolat.)
The movie is based on the book of the same name by Joanne Harris. According to my friend Wikipedia:
"Chocolat tells the story of a young mother, played by Juliette Binoche, who arrives at the fictional, repressed French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes with her six-year-old daughter and opens La Chocolaterie Maya, a small chocolaterie. Her chocolate quickly begins to change the lives of the townspeople."
I enjoyed the movie. It was good. And interestingly enough, Johnny Depp is the movie. He plays the river rat known as Roux.
(The video below is a trailer for Chocolat.)
The movie is based on the book of the same name by Joanne Harris. According to my friend Wikipedia:
"Chocolat tells the story of a young mother, played by Juliette Binoche, who arrives at the fictional, repressed French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes with her six-year-old daughter and opens La Chocolaterie Maya, a small chocolaterie. Her chocolate quickly begins to change the lives of the townspeople."
I enjoyed the movie. It was good. And interestingly enough, Johnny Depp is the movie. He plays the river rat known as Roux.
I Suck At Oil Changes
I was in for quite a pleasant surprise on Friday.
After dropping Karen off at the train station so that she could get to work, I noticed that our car had surpassed the 3000 mile mark since the car's last oil change. So needless to say, I decided to bring the car in to the local Firestone for an oil change.
Now, I suck at oil changes. The past few times that I brought my car in for service, I have been disappointed... not by the service staff because they are great, but by the fact that the car needed fluke work performed on it.
It goes without saying then that I brought our car in for an oil change with some trepidation. I was afraid that the staff would uncover some other issue that needed to be addressed or something like that.
Well, to my surprise... there was no other issue. That was good news. Truth be told, the staff at Firestone has claimed before that our car is actually in great working shape and should last a while. Whether that's true or not, I don't really know. I'm inclined to believe them since they are more knowledgeable than me when it comes to cars.
Anyway, the best part of the experience happened when I went to pay for the oil change. The staff at Firestone simply gave me the oil change for free. I was pleasantly surprised by that nice gesture. The manager just told me not to worry about the oil change because he knew of the fluke work that we had done on the car. I was ecstatic. Sure, an oil change does not cost that much, but it was the kind gesture that I'll always remember. It was really a great way to start off my day.
Needless to say, I was in a pretty good mood for the rest of the day. Thanks again Firestone!
After dropping Karen off at the train station so that she could get to work, I noticed that our car had surpassed the 3000 mile mark since the car's last oil change. So needless to say, I decided to bring the car in to the local Firestone for an oil change.
Now, I suck at oil changes. The past few times that I brought my car in for service, I have been disappointed... not by the service staff because they are great, but by the fact that the car needed fluke work performed on it.
It goes without saying then that I brought our car in for an oil change with some trepidation. I was afraid that the staff would uncover some other issue that needed to be addressed or something like that.
Well, to my surprise... there was no other issue. That was good news. Truth be told, the staff at Firestone has claimed before that our car is actually in great working shape and should last a while. Whether that's true or not, I don't really know. I'm inclined to believe them since they are more knowledgeable than me when it comes to cars.
Anyway, the best part of the experience happened when I went to pay for the oil change. The staff at Firestone simply gave me the oil change for free. I was pleasantly surprised by that nice gesture. The manager just told me not to worry about the oil change because he knew of the fluke work that we had done on the car. I was ecstatic. Sure, an oil change does not cost that much, but it was the kind gesture that I'll always remember. It was really a great way to start off my day.
Needless to say, I was in a pretty good mood for the rest of the day. Thanks again Firestone!
Friday, March 5, 2010
I Suck At Ghost Town
With the snowfall yesterday, I decided to be daring and take the recently fixed treadmill out for a little jaunt. I thought it would be an interesting test (not just for the treadmill repair, but for me as well) since I could not make a full mile the last time I decided to run... which was well over a month ago.
Needless to say, I changed into some running clothes and just started running. To my surprise, I ran quite well. I completed a mile well under the expectation I had set for myself for not having run in some time. I was not even breaking a sweat (proof that running on a treadmill is vastly different from running on the road). Regardless, I was pleasantly surprise by the run.
Perhaps this will motivate me to run more. Even with my son (Braden), who passed away a while ago, I always had this vision in my head that I would be one of those parents who ran while pushing our baby in a jogging stroller or something like that. Unfortunately, I never had that opportunity with Braden. This time around, the thought is still a possibility. (And for anyone curious, our baby is named "Ori" this week... in honor of four navel oranges.) But we'll see how things go with Ori.
Anyway, yesterday Karen and I also watched the next movie in her Netflix queue: Ghost Town. Now I suck at Ghost Town.
(The video below is a trailer for Ghost Town.)
Apparently, we have been on a Ricky Gervais run of late (having watched "The Invention of Lying" not too long ago as well.) The movie is about a very unfriendly dentist who ends up being able to see dead people. Truth be told, I thought the movie was okay. It was entertaining.
Needless to say, I changed into some running clothes and just started running. To my surprise, I ran quite well. I completed a mile well under the expectation I had set for myself for not having run in some time. I was not even breaking a sweat (proof that running on a treadmill is vastly different from running on the road). Regardless, I was pleasantly surprise by the run.
Perhaps this will motivate me to run more. Even with my son (Braden), who passed away a while ago, I always had this vision in my head that I would be one of those parents who ran while pushing our baby in a jogging stroller or something like that. Unfortunately, I never had that opportunity with Braden. This time around, the thought is still a possibility. (And for anyone curious, our baby is named "Ori" this week... in honor of four navel oranges.) But we'll see how things go with Ori.
Anyway, yesterday Karen and I also watched the next movie in her Netflix queue: Ghost Town. Now I suck at Ghost Town.
(The video below is a trailer for Ghost Town.)
Apparently, we have been on a Ricky Gervais run of late (having watched "The Invention of Lying" not too long ago as well.) The movie is about a very unfriendly dentist who ends up being able to see dead people. Truth be told, I thought the movie was okay. It was entertaining.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
I Suck At Fixing A Treadmill
Recently, Karen and I have accumulated quite of list of broken items around the house that need repairing or replacing. Like I am apt to joke with Karen... "this is why we can't have nice things". And evidently, that statement is true because the item will most certainly end up on our list of broken items.
For quite some time now, our treadmill has been on this list of broken items. It's not that I did not want to fix the treadmill... because I suck at fixing a treadmill. It's because in this case, I did not have the parts to fix the treadmill.
A while ago, our treadmill literally died. The treadmill routinely makes a beeping noise before starting the belt. There was that one unfortunate day where the treadmill made the beeping noise... and then started to fade away. It was like one of those things you see in the movies when all the action is considerably slowed down and the frame rate decreases. Everything feels like slow motion. That was how the beeping noise sounded like before the treadmill's untimely demise.
Apparently, one of the circuit boards had fried on the treadmill. I actually got to look at the circuit board when the treadmill repairmen (Bob) installed the new circuit board and there was definitely a lot of black char. Who knew something so tiny could produce that much char?
Needless to say, the treadmill is now properly working again. I'm pretty excited about that. Sure, the repair cost an arm and leg... because treadmill repair technicians make a huge amount per hour. (I wish I had those rates, especially considering how little time it took.) But I guess the bright side is that the part itself was covered under warranty. It's a small victory, I realize.
Anyway, Karen and I can now cross the treadmill off of our broken list. Sadly, two of our computers have just been added to this list. It's a vicious cycle. This is why we can't have nice things.
For quite some time now, our treadmill has been on this list of broken items. It's not that I did not want to fix the treadmill... because I suck at fixing a treadmill. It's because in this case, I did not have the parts to fix the treadmill.
A while ago, our treadmill literally died. The treadmill routinely makes a beeping noise before starting the belt. There was that one unfortunate day where the treadmill made the beeping noise... and then started to fade away. It was like one of those things you see in the movies when all the action is considerably slowed down and the frame rate decreases. Everything feels like slow motion. That was how the beeping noise sounded like before the treadmill's untimely demise.
Apparently, one of the circuit boards had fried on the treadmill. I actually got to look at the circuit board when the treadmill repairmen (Bob) installed the new circuit board and there was definitely a lot of black char. Who knew something so tiny could produce that much char?
Needless to say, the treadmill is now properly working again. I'm pretty excited about that. Sure, the repair cost an arm and leg... because treadmill repair technicians make a huge amount per hour. (I wish I had those rates, especially considering how little time it took.) But I guess the bright side is that the part itself was covered under warranty. It's a small victory, I realize.
Anyway, Karen and I can now cross the treadmill off of our broken list. Sadly, two of our computers have just been added to this list. It's a vicious cycle. This is why we can't have nice things.
I Suck At Lost
Last night, Karen and I hung out with our friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea). On the agenda for the night: the next episode of Lost. Unfortunately, I suck at Lost.
While the four of us waited for Andrea, we decided to watch the next episode of television's greatest show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode that we watched was "Villains", whereby Willow invokes dark magic to get revenge on Warren for the death of Tara. Nothing starts off a good night like watching Warren's flesh rip off his body.
Speaking of geeks, Andrea arrived in time for our discussion about Jay Baruchel. Jay Baruchel stars in the upcoming movie "She's Out of My League", about some guy who starts dating a woman... out of his league (played by Alice Eve). The commercial for the movie came on while all of us were eating takeout from the Little Duck, located in Quincy. (I had the pad thai... delicious!)
Anyway, I thought the movie was definitely pure Hollywood because a geek would never end up dating someone out of their league unless it were pure Hollywood... or the geek were rich... or possibly the geek were a musician. After all, how many fanboys do you see walking around with models on their arms? I'm guessing not many. (It's much like the same premise of the Big Bang Theory television show.) Of course, I could be mistaken. After all, "nerd chic" is gaining momentum these days.
Oh, it turns out... I learned a new fact yesterday about Andrea. Apparently Andrea likes men with accents... preferably from Europe... or Texas. If she were to encounter a geek with an accent, I have no idea what would happen. My guess is that the geek would simply walk away due socially awkward skills.
And if things weren't non-sequitor as it is in this post, Kelly Ripa weighed anywhere from 92 to 108 pounds. Apparently in a September 15th, 2008 episode of her show she weighed in at 92 pounds. Since then, she weighed herself on David Letterman, coming in at 108 and apparently currently maintains a weight from 100 to 110 pounds. Yes, that is a very random fact... thanks to Google.
The five of us had wondered that fact after Kelley poked fun at how I commented on Kelly Ripa's defined arms. And yes, for someone of her size and stature, Kelly Ripa does have nice defined arms. (As well, Kelly Ripa will be 40 this year come October 2.)
Aside from the random discussions during out Thai takeout dinner, the latest episode of Lost was good. Of course, there are still no answers to the show, but it's still grossly entertaining. Although, viewers expecting to see Sawyer will be disappointed because he does not appear in the episode.
All in all, it was a great night hanging out with everyone.
While the four of us waited for Andrea, we decided to watch the next episode of television's greatest show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode that we watched was "Villains", whereby Willow invokes dark magic to get revenge on Warren for the death of Tara. Nothing starts off a good night like watching Warren's flesh rip off his body.
Speaking of geeks, Andrea arrived in time for our discussion about Jay Baruchel. Jay Baruchel stars in the upcoming movie "She's Out of My League", about some guy who starts dating a woman... out of his league (played by Alice Eve). The commercial for the movie came on while all of us were eating takeout from the Little Duck, located in Quincy. (I had the pad thai... delicious!)
Anyway, I thought the movie was definitely pure Hollywood because a geek would never end up dating someone out of their league unless it were pure Hollywood... or the geek were rich... or possibly the geek were a musician. After all, how many fanboys do you see walking around with models on their arms? I'm guessing not many. (It's much like the same premise of the Big Bang Theory television show.) Of course, I could be mistaken. After all, "nerd chic" is gaining momentum these days.
Oh, it turns out... I learned a new fact yesterday about Andrea. Apparently Andrea likes men with accents... preferably from Europe... or Texas. If she were to encounter a geek with an accent, I have no idea what would happen. My guess is that the geek would simply walk away due socially awkward skills.
And if things weren't non-sequitor as it is in this post, Kelly Ripa weighed anywhere from 92 to 108 pounds. Apparently in a September 15th, 2008 episode of her show she weighed in at 92 pounds. Since then, she weighed herself on David Letterman, coming in at 108 and apparently currently maintains a weight from 100 to 110 pounds. Yes, that is a very random fact... thanks to Google.
The five of us had wondered that fact after Kelley poked fun at how I commented on Kelly Ripa's defined arms. And yes, for someone of her size and stature, Kelly Ripa does have nice defined arms. (As well, Kelly Ripa will be 40 this year come October 2.)
Aside from the random discussions during out Thai takeout dinner, the latest episode of Lost was good. Of course, there are still no answers to the show, but it's still grossly entertaining. Although, viewers expecting to see Sawyer will be disappointed because he does not appear in the episode.
All in all, it was a great night hanging out with everyone.
I Suck At Whiteout
Karen had to work late Monday night. So while I waited for her at the train station, I decided to read the graphic novel, Whiteout. Now, I suck at Whiteout.
I was curious about the graphic novel after watching the movie (based on the comic book) not too long ago. And truth be told, the movie was not exactly the greatest movie I have ever seen, but it was enjoyable. So needless to say, I decided to check out the graphic novel.
The graphic novel by Greg Rucka follows the fictitious U.S. Marshall, Carrie Stetko, as she tries to solve a series of murders in Antarctica. Although the basic plot was similar, the movie version of the comic book did take some creative liberties, especially since the movie had a character that was not even in the comic book.
For anyone curious, the movie had a male character named Robert Pryce, a U.N. operative, also helping to solve the series of murders. In the comic book, the he... is a she... and her name is Lily Sharpe. Although interestingly enough, according to the comic book, one of the reasons why Stetko is in Antarctica is because of a murderer named Price. (The murderer tried to kill Stetko, but she killed him instead... resulting in a suspension... which shortly happened before her husband passed away from cancer before their first anniversary. Yes, there's surprisingly a lot of detail that can be gleaned from a comic book.)
But all in all, the graphic novel was a very fast read. I was surprised at how quickly I was able to read through it while waiting for Karen. Of course, I did not finish the entire graphic novel before Karen arrived. I continued reading the comic book after picking her up at the train station... which also included a brief rendezvous at our seemingly favorite restaurant in Norwell, Not Your Average Joe's.
For anyone curious, Not Your Average Joe's does not appear to be having $10 entrees on Monday and Tuesday anymore. That was very sad news. The food, however, is still delicious. I had the Waldorf salad. (Cue Rachael Ray's "Yum-O" sound.) And apparently, it turns out that we are starting to become recognizable regulars.
Our waitperson immediately recognized us and gave us a "passport" which is another promotion the company is currently doing. Apparently, you get a "passport" and a stamp for every entree ordered. If you total 4 entrees by the end of March, you get a gift card for $15. Essentially, it is comparable to a buy 4 get 1 free deal, which for Karen and I may make sense since we visit there a lot.
Anyway, it was a good night on Monday.
I was curious about the graphic novel after watching the movie (based on the comic book) not too long ago. And truth be told, the movie was not exactly the greatest movie I have ever seen, but it was enjoyable. So needless to say, I decided to check out the graphic novel.
The graphic novel by Greg Rucka follows the fictitious U.S. Marshall, Carrie Stetko, as she tries to solve a series of murders in Antarctica. Although the basic plot was similar, the movie version of the comic book did take some creative liberties, especially since the movie had a character that was not even in the comic book.
For anyone curious, the movie had a male character named Robert Pryce, a U.N. operative, also helping to solve the series of murders. In the comic book, the he... is a she... and her name is Lily Sharpe. Although interestingly enough, according to the comic book, one of the reasons why Stetko is in Antarctica is because of a murderer named Price. (The murderer tried to kill Stetko, but she killed him instead... resulting in a suspension... which shortly happened before her husband passed away from cancer before their first anniversary. Yes, there's surprisingly a lot of detail that can be gleaned from a comic book.)
But all in all, the graphic novel was a very fast read. I was surprised at how quickly I was able to read through it while waiting for Karen. Of course, I did not finish the entire graphic novel before Karen arrived. I continued reading the comic book after picking her up at the train station... which also included a brief rendezvous at our seemingly favorite restaurant in Norwell, Not Your Average Joe's.
For anyone curious, Not Your Average Joe's does not appear to be having $10 entrees on Monday and Tuesday anymore. That was very sad news. The food, however, is still delicious. I had the Waldorf salad. (Cue Rachael Ray's "Yum-O" sound.) And apparently, it turns out that we are starting to become recognizable regulars.
Our waitperson immediately recognized us and gave us a "passport" which is another promotion the company is currently doing. Apparently, you get a "passport" and a stamp for every entree ordered. If you total 4 entrees by the end of March, you get a gift card for $15. Essentially, it is comparable to a buy 4 get 1 free deal, which for Karen and I may make sense since we visit there a lot.
Anyway, it was a good night on Monday.
Monday, March 1, 2010
I Suck At Bride Wars
I guess there was more stress from the scavenger hunt than I realized. With the 2010 scavenger hunt in the record books, I thought it'd be blue skies from there for me. At least, I thought so... mentally. Unfortunately, my body did not seem to agree with my sentiments.
One of the qualities about me that Karen seems to enjoy is my thermal output. I guess you could say I am like a human space heater. For anyone curious, Karen gets cold easily. Thus, she likes to do things like shove her cold feet under me to warm her feet up.
Yesterday, when I woke up, I immediately realized something was off because I kept feeling chills. Regardless of how many layers of clothes I put on, I still felt the chills. I just could not get warm.
In addition to the chills, I simply felt fatigued. I had originally planned to work on the house yesterday because Karen and I did not have any plans for the day. Unfortunately, I was just too tired.
The only thing that we ended up doing together is watching the next movie in Karen's Netflix queue: Bride Wars.
(The video below if a trailer for Bride Wars.)
Now I suck at Bride Wars. For a chick flick, the movie was enjoyable. The movie is about two best friends who have their dream wedding planned on the same day due to an accidental mix-up. The movie was predictable, but good.
Anyway, after the movie, I simply crashed. And by crash, I mean I took a nap... for approximately 14 hours. I did not wake up again until today. The good news though, is that I'm feeling much better today... a little dehydrated... but much better.
Sadly, I felt I wasted all of yesterday. But I guess the fatigue was my body's way of telling me to get some rest. Oh well.
One of the qualities about me that Karen seems to enjoy is my thermal output. I guess you could say I am like a human space heater. For anyone curious, Karen gets cold easily. Thus, she likes to do things like shove her cold feet under me to warm her feet up.
Yesterday, when I woke up, I immediately realized something was off because I kept feeling chills. Regardless of how many layers of clothes I put on, I still felt the chills. I just could not get warm.
In addition to the chills, I simply felt fatigued. I had originally planned to work on the house yesterday because Karen and I did not have any plans for the day. Unfortunately, I was just too tired.
The only thing that we ended up doing together is watching the next movie in Karen's Netflix queue: Bride Wars.
(The video below if a trailer for Bride Wars.)
Now I suck at Bride Wars. For a chick flick, the movie was enjoyable. The movie is about two best friends who have their dream wedding planned on the same day due to an accidental mix-up. The movie was predictable, but good.
Anyway, after the movie, I simply crashed. And by crash, I mean I took a nap... for approximately 14 hours. I did not wake up again until today. The good news though, is that I'm feeling much better today... a little dehydrated... but much better.
Sadly, I felt I wasted all of yesterday. But I guess the fatigue was my body's way of telling me to get some rest. Oh well.
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