MinJungKim.com

(In the tradition of past breakup posts – See 2007 2006 2005, 2004, 2003)

Dear 2008,

What can I say.  I’m just. *sigh*

I’m so tired of you.

You’ve been a year of really unfortunate events that have worn me down, beat me up, kicked me in the teeth and disappointed me

You’ve really hurt. And it wasn’t for lack of my hoping. My optimism. Or my intentions.

I just.

I’m done.

It’s over.

And I have no words left.

2009 will be better. It has no choice.

Seriously.

WTF is happening to my belly button.

Now I’m ok with the fact that I’ve got a slightly new weight distribution and center of gravity.

That’s perfectly fine.

And the fact that I can cradle the belly overall with my hand. That’s fine too.

And the general obsession I’ve had with my belly and taking warm plates out of  the dishwasher to overall warm my belly, well that’s a pleasure I haven’t indulged in a bit but I’m sure that Giggle would have no objection to that given the opportunity.

But the belly button itself.

It’s gotten… well… the inny has opened up.

I can fit my whole thumb in it now.

Were I being pleasant I’d dare say it’s blooming like a rose.

But it’s weird. I wonder at times if I should do something like stick an olive or grape in there to see if it would fit.

I imagine a goodly sized concord might find itself quite cozy there.

Ok. I admitted that in public.

That’s weird.

If you wanna contribute to my baby’s diaper fund, feel free.

 

Right at this moment, my hubbcakes is sleeping gently next to me.

His hand is on my belly and his fingers, I imagine, span across Giggle.

It’s as if in sleep he’s trying to reach out to our kid already and let Giggle know that we’re here for forever to keep them safe and loved.

So due to some transitional health insurance delays between Blueshield CA & Blueshield WA, Jason and I flew in to SF for a quick overnight trip and check in with the OBGYN.

The folks at UCSF are awesome and our midwife that we met with today was nothing but competent and calming.

First things first, apparently I’ve miscounted the weeks and Giggle is currently 17 1/2 weeks now.

Which means, according to WTEWYAE (What to expect when you’re expecting) that he’s probably about the size of a peach. Week over week it seems like this book and every website measures our kid by graduating degrees of fruit size.  Blueberry, Cherry,Plum,Tangerine, Peach.

A little bit of me fears the impending days  of the kid’s graduation into fruit descriptors like Pomelo, Pineapple, and Watermellon.

Second thing and the most amazing was that with the Doppler we were able to hear Giggle kick and his heartbeat.

Like a steadfast puppy barking strong and clear.

I looked at  Jason and we were both grinning like fools.

The heartbeat  was strong and steady. Clear. Undeniable. Magical. Wonder.

One of the most amazing feelings in the world of … I don’t know… “Motherliness” has been overwhelming me all day since hearing that steady beat.

Yay.

We still don’t know if Giggle’s a boy or girl yet. We’ll find out next visit (and flyby trip to SF again in about 2 weeks) when we have a full ultrasound. But in the meantime, that heart beat is more than enough to make us both feel so giddy and excited I can barely contain myself.

Yay.

If you wanna contribute to my baby’s diaper fund, feel free.

 

Timeline:  Week 16

Bump:Noticeable

Giggle Activity: No definite punches or kicks as yet but I can definitely feel some light activity when I shift from side to side in my sleep.

Cravings: None. No taco or kimchi cravings. Though occasionally I am utterly satisfied eating a small bowl of rice with a tiny bit of leftovers and a squirt of Japanese Mayo.  If there  comes a time when I poke Hubbycakes outta bed and make him go out and get me a bucket of fried chicken, soba noodles, and a jar of pickle relish, I’ll be sure to let you know. As yet that hasn’t happened.

Digestion:

• Still relatively constipated. Why. Why. Why?  At least it’s not distressingly painful any more.
• Gassy and gurgly.  I am always outdone by my hubbycakes though. So I guess I don’t feel too bad then.Win!
• I’m drinking loads of water which appears to help and have managed to finally pass the phase of relatively persistent nausea to just the occasional violet vomiting after eating a bite too much. This happens every couple of days now vs. every day twice or three times a day. So yay! Progress!
• Hubbycakes and I, for example, went out to eat at Crow on Saturday to celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary with a night out.  Hubbycakes ordered everything I couldn’t. A froufrou cocktail, a glass of wine, a gorgeous plate of beautiful seared scallops. I had noshed on a load of bread, the Mediterranean appetizer platter which included a whole roasted olive oil baked garlic bulb, tapenade, hummus, bread, feta cheese, etc  and then my main course was the brown butter gnocchi with butternut squash with a cup of hot water with lemon.  It was fabulous.  Then I started coughing lightly and excused myself to the bathroom.  Where then it *all* came back up in a rather embarrassingly loud display.   The other two women in the restroom in the other stalls excused themselves out of the bathroom with extreme haste and didn’t even wash their hands.  They may be grossed out by my upchucking but frankly, I always wash my hands after peeing. You. Dirty. Nasty. Bitches.
• So I’m eating about 2 small meals a day which manage to stay down. If I eat a bite or two too much, it all comes up and then I have to have a piece of pumpkin pie at night.

Playtime:

• As an event, this is on an accelerated pace as it requires completion before any repetitive motion triggers a nausea attack. Well. It’s efficient at  least.

Sleep:

•  I’m fortunate to have the luxury of no pressing morning concerns. My sleep has become more solid and has been much easier when I’m sleeping on my side, cradling the belly with Giggle and with a pillow between my knees.  My hips for a week or two had a mild ache and my knees felt weirdly uncomfortable knocking against each other.  The pillow helps.

Miscellaneous:

• Panties. All my cute flirty panties are on sabattical.  Without needing to transition to full on super supporto-band pregger panties I’ve found some really cute boyshort cut panties that dont’ make me feel like a waterbuffalo and fit nicely. Gawd bless Hanes.
• Pregnancy books consumed:
  • What to Expect when You’re Expecting
  • The Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy
  • Skinny Bitch Bun in the Oven   This book has the best breakdown I’ve seen on pregger lady weightgain and what it means.
    • Baby 6-8 Lbs
    • Placenta 1-2 Lbs
    • Fluids in Maternal Tissue: 2-4 Lbs
    • Uterus: 2 Lbs
    • Boobs: 1-2 Lbs
    • Blood Volume: 3-4 Lbs
    • Amniotic Fluid: 2 Lbs
    • Fat and Nutrient Stores: 4-7Lbs

Mood/Psychology:

• I’m feely pretty mellow and good and I’m getting pretty excited about how this, every day, is beginning to feel more real and super exciting.

Overall Grade:B+

If you wanna contribute to my baby’s diaper fund, feel free.

 

WOTLK Gemcut Naming Conventions

I’ve been playing World of Warcraft for a couple of years now and have been a compulsive crafter in my chosen profession of Jewelcrafting.

With WOTLK there has been an introduction of a whole slew of new gemcut names whose rhyme and reason is altogether confusing.

So of course I had to nerd out and create a cross reference document for myself.

I concede that folks concerned about my WOW habit may have some valid thoughts on the matter, but frankly, even in my gaming, I like a litte logic.