Cutiemom-to-be

In addition to 4/21 and 4/26, 4/28 is now overdue. 

I should have tasted the starter before.  Last time I used Danon plain and loved it.  This time I used Stonyfield Farms Organic plain- with the cream on top (I stir it in, I think it tastes nasty by itself).  I had used it for cooking and it has a really creamy texture and rich flavor I liked.  But I DON'T like the taste by itself.  ARGH!!  I had hoped to use this batch for eating outside of cooking.  Hmm, maybe if I add fruit and a bit of honey...

4/21 still overdue (!), 4/26 now overdue.  Hope they enjoy paying the $.25/day fines!  Yeah, the library here doesn't play around with overdue items...

I'm on the library waiting list for Escape by Carolyn Jessop.  I saw it on the shelf last year, but the recent raids brought it back to mind.  

It won't be out in paperback until August according to the friendly folks at B&N, and I'm not paying for hardback but I read the first few pages and now really want to read it. 

It's so deliciously full of gossip, abuse and perversion, and after reading the infuriating and mind-numbing Mansfield Park (WHY did I think that was a good idea???), my brain needs a little break.  Hey, I try not to put too much junk in there, but sometimes you just need to read some good, old-fashioned trash-talking sensationalism.

Sooo, there are around 10 copies and I've been on the wait list since 4/11, and the people ahead of me are being total dingleberries.  I was #7 in the beginning, and in about a week I jumped to #4, and since then I've only got to #3 because people are either:

1) Late in returning the book (one copy was due on 4/21)

2) Keeping their claws in their copy until the very. last. day. to. turn. it. in.

3) Letting the book languish on the hold shelf.

I wish you could email these people... 

"...Won't it be dull when we rid ourselves
Of all these demons haunting us
To keep us company

Won't it be odd to be happy like we
Always thought we're supposed to feel
But never seem to be..."

- excerpted from the song War on Drugs by Barenaked Ladies

For just the price of a pack of Pampers diapers, you can congratulate yourself on providing a child with a life-saving vaccine... so that they can survive to live in the middle of a heap of feces-incrusted diapers that continues to build.

Pampers, I hate you.  If you really gave a shit (hahaha!) you wouldn't charge people for performing charity.

Always, you are also on my list for your idiotic campaign to exploit American consumers to get S. African women hooked on your gross products.

Rant, rant, rant, haha!

My mom called me a few days ago to frantically tell me to stop using plastic.  Stop drinking out of plastic bottles, stop using plastic containers to store food, etc. because plastic is leaking BPA into our food and water.  Especially plastic #7.  It would harm my baby.

I talked with her today and assured her I'd heard all about it.  We don't heat our food in plastic containers, and we try to generally reduce our use of plastic.  However, I still carry water around in a plastic bottle and we still store leftovers in plastic containers (better than storing them in our evil, toxic nonstick pans, no???).

Well, Mom says I should definitely stop doing all of that.  I tell her no: I'm supposed to be drinking a lot of water (MW told me that low amniotic fluid in many cases can be directly linked to inadequate water consumption- besides UTIs, headaches and a host of other crap- so beware!), and I don't always have easy access to water.

Mom demands to know WHEN I would not be within 5 minutes' access to water.  Well, how about during my hour-long walks outside?  How about when I'm in Target or the grocery store or the mall and the crusty, rusted water fountains produce a mere dribble of foul, rusty-tasting "water."  And for me, going without a few gulps of water every hour or two can make me get a headache.

Mom doesn't know what to say.

I assure her that it's OK, I know about all this and she should just calm down.

Then we hang up and I get on my computer and start doing my research.

Apparently everything is toxic now, from the plastic you eat and drink out of to the plastic they use for dental retainers and fillings (though, don't get the amalgam ones, either- the mercury will leach out... though if you DON'T get any fillings whatsoever, the bacteria in your mouth will find its way into your bloodstream and eat your heart, so DO get the fillings).

And plastic is EVERYWHERE.

As I read this, the areas where my fingers and forearms contact my (plastic) computer are itching and burning- probably psychological.

Oh, and also you should never microwave anything because it releases free radicals into your food which will kill you.  And I should stop using my Brita filter because it is made of hard, clear plastic whose chemicals will leak into my water.  But I probably shouldn't drink the foul city tap water full of all kinds of chemical deliciousness and pollutants.

I'm just kind of pissed off right now.  I'm going for my walk.

Suggested by midwife, approved by doc...  I'm a very happy camper.

During the 1st trimester I was forbidden from using my Proactiv (I've had a long struggle with acne and have tried many, many things and this was the only thing that ever worked).

While only on Cetaphil face wash and moisturizer, my face looked about like the photo at right:

When I hit the 2nd trimester, doc said OK to benzoyl peroxide- so OK to Proactiv.  I asked MW for her opinion, and she suggested tea tree oil instead.

I was like, "Yeah, mmm-hmmmm, I'll go right out and get that."  *whatever*

But I did get it, and it cleared up my face in 2 days flat, better even than Proactiv.  The minute I applied it, the redness was about 80% reduced.  I've never seen anything like it, seriously.

It IS terrifyingly stinky, though (very medicinal, extremely strong), so I'm going to try different dilutions.  I was just putting it on a wet cotton pad and applying it after washing with my Cetaphil face wash, and the results were magnifique!  Didn't even need moisturizer afterward, no dry spots, no oily spots- perfect. 

However, the smell is really getting to me.

I tried mixing it with my face wash this morning, but my face felt really dry afterward (and still does now).  Next step is to try mixing it with aloe vera gel.

If anyone has any dilutions they like, please let me know.

Windex Antibacterial

Because window bacteria... is dangerous bacteria.

Seriously.

In other news, it is just too beautiful for words around here.  I took a walk this morning and was amazed at all the beautiful trees and plants in bloom: dogwoods and cherry trees, lilac, daffodils, tulips...  All the colors!!! 

And the historic neighborhood where I walk is just so picturesque- HUGE houses dating all the way back to the 1850s, just gorgeous with all the nature blooming!

Add to all this the perfect temperatures in the 60s, and it was heaven, aaaaahhh...

I just ate an entire Tombstone frozen pizza.  Yeah.  OMG.  Yeah, it's relatively small compared to a restaurant pizza but still.  72 grams of protein and 16 grams of fiber.

I do not even want to calculate the calories.  Just.  Wow.  I don't know what the hell got into me.  Maybe I'm starting to feel less nauseous and making up for the pregnancy weight I HAVEN'T gained in the past 4 months.  Mom said that would happen.

My food diaries usually read something like this:

8:00 1/2 cup milk, 1 cup Kashi cereal

10:00 1 plum, 1/2 cup yogurt

- You get the point: tiny snacks, cheese & crackers, a granola bar, a few pierogies, whatever I can choke down...

And THEN, *drum roll please,*

12:00 1 pizza

Damn.  I seem to have outdone myself.

I'd better put that fresh pineapple I bought this morning in hiding, because it's looking like a tasty snack.  Oh, not right now, not *right* after eating my entire pizza.  Just for later, you know.  But the WHOLE pineapple. 

I shouldn't do that.  I think it would burn my tongue right off.