I'm Baaaaack!!!

Hello? Is anyone out there? I would completely understand if all of my faithful readers abandoned me (all five of you). After all, it has been over two months since I posted last. I apologize.

Wait, you know what, I DON'T apologize. A lot has been going on in those two months. I mean, A LOT. Life has been crazy. Hectic. Turned upside down. I shouldn't have to apologize for that should I???

So let's see. What has happened since we last spoke, er, I last typed. I survived session! It's over once again. And once again I am sitting here anxiously waiting to see if Governor Crist will show some love to the state employee and veto the nasty little bill making us pay for our health insurance. I know, I know - "You should have to pay for your health insurance like everyone else does" - I've heard it all. And it's not necessarily the cost. Because let's face it, the amount they are going to charge state employees for health insurance is negligible compared to what many people pay. It's actually a really good deal. BUT that is NOT the point. I repeat: NOT THE POINT. The point is that we are state workers, getting beat up on every single session. We haven't gotten a raise in 5+ years (nor a cost of living increase mind you) and trust me, inflation hasn't stopped. So while things have continued to get more expensive, we've continued to get the same lousy paycheck we've gotten in the past. And I say lousy because state workers are not paid well. That's why the benefits HAVE to be good; otherwise, who would bother to work for the state??? In fact, Florida has the lowest paid state workers in the entire nation. THE ENTIRE NATION PEOPLE! And yet, we are one of the top 5 biggest states. It's utterly ridiculous. And insulting. And to add salt to that wound, they are now saying they are taking away one of the great benefits to being a state worker with a crappy salary by making us pay for our health insurance. Dear Jesus, let Crist veto that crap bill!

[stepping off my soap box and cooling down]

Ok, I'm back. Aside from the crap mentioned above, session was extra tough this year because we lost an attorney in our office the first week of session. Tracy moved on to bigger and better things over at the Department of Agriculture approving or denying people's firearm registrations. And because we are a small office and need to get along with whoever we hire (and more so because of Eric's intense and time-consuming interviewing process) we decided against hiring someone in the middle of session and figured we'd wait until the interim. So we went through session with just two attorneys this year, which put an extra burden on everyone.

Then to top it all off, I found out I was pregnant! There ya go. Those are the big beans I needed to spill. Whew! It's nice to have that off my chest! So on top of session and being down an attorney, I also wasn't feeling well. I was exhausted all the time, nauseas, and had this kill-me-now-and-put-me-out-of-my-misery headaches. Yah, fun.

So now you see why I'm not going to apologize for letting two months go by since writing last.

Oh and in honor of announcing the pregnancy on the blog, I am going to follow in Betsy's footsteps (check it out here) and do an occassional survey to let everyone know how things are going. So here goes the first one:

How far along? 13 weeks today baby!

Total weight gain/loss? Well, since I have decent news right now, I will share this information. But I'm sure as I get farther along, I will become more and more secretive. I have gained 2 pounds. But 0 pounds between my first and second appointment! That made me somewhat happy.

Maternity clothes? Call it pregnancy, call it I ate too much during session, who knows. But my pants definitely started feeling tighter a few weeks ago. And you know how I feel about tight things around my waist! So I bought a pair of black maternity slacks from the Gap (wearing them today in fact!) and a pair of maternity jeans from Old Navy. I know, I know - I could have bought a belly (bella?) band, but I was desperate to have something more comfortable and I had no clue where to get one of those bands and I couldn't ask because none of my friends knew about the pregnancy. Hence the maternity pants.

Stretch marks? No new ones....

Sleep? Well up until two nights ago I've been sleeping like a baby. Absolutely wonderful, minus the getting up to pee. But honestly, that's normal. I have a bladder the size of a pea, so this pregnancy is going to be a blast!

Best moment this week? Betsy's reaction when I told her about the pregnancy!

Movement? Yah, all the time. Oh wait, that's just indigestion. Nope, no movement yet.

Food cravings? Let's see, FRUIT. All I've wanted to eat is fruit. Oh and fruit smoothies. Those are my new fav. And I'm sort of embarrassed to admit this one, but Taco Bell. I totally crave some soft taco supremes. Yum! I've also eaten a ton of yogurt and cereal. Oh, and keep me the hell away from meat. PUKE! The thought of meat in large forms (aka, steak or chicken breasts by themselves) makes me sick.

Labor signs? Are you kidding me people?? Seriously. No.

Belly button in or out? How about M.I.A.?? Yah, I've always had a belly button caught between two love handles [sigh. :-( ] But it's become even less noticeable since the pregnancy. I'm interested to see what happens to it as I get bigger and start showing!

What I miss? Feeling normal - aka, not feeling like I want to throw up all the time or put my head in a vice to relieve the headache.

What I'm looking forward to? Starting to show!

Milestone? Well, I just entered my second trimester.....

And there you have it. Stay tuned for more updates!!