Thankful Thursday!

Here we are again that moment of the week to stop and just be thankful for something, even if it seems like there is nothing possible to be thankful for.  There is always something!

Silence -  I cannot even tell you how thankful I am for the overwhelming silence that all of you gave me in the last two days.  I am sure I sound sarcastic but I am being sincere.  I hate when things go wrong or not my way, like most of you do, but what I hate even more is when I am forced to talk about it.  Although the news from Baltimore wasn't bad, it wasn't good either. I only posted when I got home because there are so many of you who care about Pip and I and want to know what is going on so I owed it to you to fill you in.  When I woke up the next morning I was ready for an overabundance of concern and maybe even "I'm sorry" here and there.  I'm just not that kind of person.  Onward and upwards is what I say!  So thank you to all of you who read (and I can't get over how many of you did) and just gave me time to process the fact that I am still a mystery.  Thank you.

Thoughtfulness of Others - One of my Beatles buddies, Linda, sent me a book this week by Anne Lamott called Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year. I just started the book today and I am only about 40 pages in but let me tell you this book is one of the most authentic books I have ever read. It is funny, comforting, and heart wrenching already because I GET IT! But I think even if you aren't pregnant or do not have any children that it is still accessible.   I recommend it.  Thank you, Linda. Your thoughtful gift arrived just when I needed it as most things in life do! :)

A Beautiful Wedding - My brother finally tied the knot last weekend and it was a wonderful day with wonderful weather and wonderful family and friends.   Everything came together flawlessly and I am so very grateful for that!

That I Was Able to Record Pip's Heartbeat - I am naturally happy that I was able to record the sound of his heartbeat but I want to tell you about a particular instance in which I was grateful for today.  I received an email today that I would indeed have to drive back to Baltimore tomorrow (I should be sleeping!) for a 45 minute appointment due to the incompetency of *someone* not me.  To say I was annoyed was an understatement. I was on the phone complaining to my mother that I had to drive down there for the second time this week when a text came through.  I couldn't hear anything of what my mother was saying because his heartbeat was beating so loud in my ear.  I closed my eyes and listened to the sound, as I often do, and I was reminded that in the end all of these drives will be worth it.  That this is about something, someone, bigger than a 3 1/2 hour drive or just draining my bank account with gas money and co-pays, this is about a little guy who is counting on me to pull through for him. So I will go to the ends of the earth if I have to for this little baby of mine.


What are you thankful for?

Thankful Thursday!

Hello Wonderful Folks of CyberCity! I hope you are well.  I know I am slacking on the posting but I'll confess as to why:  It hurts my back to sit on this for too long, no matter how I sit or lay it hurts.  But I will must through it because this week I need to express gratitude.

The Brilliance of Medical Advances -  Even though they aren't that advance in the big picture.  On Monday, for the first time ever, I was able to hear Pip's heartbeat!  I couldn't get over the sound of his little heart beating so fast and strong.  He was kicking around, naturally, but I was more amazed by the sound of his heart.  The woman didn't know that I hadn't heard his heartbeat (alliteration) yet, she showed me his heart beating but then she turned the sound up (I'm a worry wart and she probably saw it on my face) and there it was!  I started to cry immediately (and I cried again the next day when I heard it). He's just so perfect already and I am so thankful I got to finally hear his heartbeat.

My Family (and Friends) Are Safe and Sound -  The ridiculous, cowardly, and unthinkable act of violence that happened in Boston terrified me.  I have friends and family up there and I am so very happy that they are safe.   A friend of mine was actually running the marathon and left twenty minutes before the explosion.  I can't even think of the luck that she has and I am so grateful for it. My heart goes out to all of those affected by the senseless act of violence.  Another note, although it isn't a act of terror or violence, it already appears to be more fatal and harmful than Boston, is the explosion in Texas.  My friend has family and in-laws in the immediate area.  So far they are safe and I would like to thank the universe in advance for it's cooperation in making sure that there aren't any more fatalities in this matter!

I'm in Pain -  I mean I am not happy I am in pain but in my mind I tell myself that I am in pain so that must mean Pip will not be in pain and is not in pain.  I'd rather be in unmeasurable amounts of pain than for Pip to feel any.  So I will take it.

The Weather is Finally Warm and Sunny! -  There is no need to explain my gratitude for this one.

Ice Packs -  They aren't that helpful in the big picture but a little relief is okay.   So for those icy packs of goodness, thank you.



What are you thankful for?

Thankful Thursday - Weekend Edition :)

This past week as been quite busy for me!  But it has also been filled with good news which I am grateful for. I hope that you have had a great spring break and now that we are pretty much all in sunshine, except for the scousers, I suppose we can get back in the swing of things!

This week I am thankful for...


Krissy -  I know I've been thankful for her before as I have expressed gratitude for other friends more than once but over the last two weeks Krissy has lit a fire under my butt and got things going for me, even when I am the most discouraged.   Of course I am thankful for all of my friends but Krissy is the one of the people going out of her way and then just telling me what to do or not to do.  Ha! For once she gets to tell me what to do.  She prances to appointments with me, prints papers that I need printed, or just finds phone numbers that I can't seem to find to save my life. Also because she is figuratively and literally my closest friend who has been pregnant before I can ask her all kinds of questions at all hours of the night.  And when I am freaking out that I think there is something wrong with Pip she tells me to knock it off and offers to run and get a prenatal heart monitor thingy with me.  So I must express my gratitude for her again.  Turns out I am the bigger pain out of the two of us for the next few months :)

The Optimistic Outlook My Doctor Has for Pip - Not that I don't care about my own health, of course I do, but Pip's health and quality of life is most important to me from now until the end of time.  I cannot even share how excited I am that the odds are in his favor.  I know that 1 in 400 isn't really that fantastic but it's better than 1 in 2. I am incredibly thankful for the good news that was shared with me this week.

All of the Love that Pip is Given Already -  From well wishes to belly rubs and gifts, Pip is already an international superstar! All of the good thoughts and positive vibes and prayers that are coming our way are remarkable!  Thank you.

That Kanye West Isn't My Baby Daddy -  Every time I see Kim kardashian I just want to know how the heck she got mixed in with the likes of Mr. West.  I really dislike that man.  He is up there with Nicolas Cage, Chad Kroger, and Alec Baldwin! I thank my lucky stars that Dann is Pip's Papa and not one of those creeps.

That I am Finally Able to Sleep Like a Normal Human Being -  It is so nice!  I am no longer up all night wishing I could sleep. And my mood swings have stopped (for the most part). Now if I can just work on this back pain to get lost we'd be good. :)

What are you thankful for?

Thankful Thursday! The Last UK Edition!

And here we are at the end of the road   The last week of TT from the UK.  Who would have ever thought that this day would come so quickly and with so many surprises along the way! 

While I've been busy packing and unpacking, donating and keeping, griping and complaining, I've also been thinking of all I should be thankful for in my life.

The Beatles -  I don't think I've ever actually expressed my gratitude for the group's existence.  But I am grateful.  If it weren't for them I would have no reason to travel to Liverpool in the first place. When I consider everything that has happened as a result of my desire to come to Liverpool because of the Beatles it sort of takes my breath way (but not in a cheesy 80's song way). So, yeah, Universe thanks for forming that little band from Liverpool.  It did me a world of difference.

My Acceptance into Liverpool Hope - My professor handpicks his students.  The year I started he accepted 14, this year 12 and if it was up to him he would only accept 7.  I actually know of one person who applied and didn't get in.  I don't know what in the heck made him pick me. We all know I am the worst student in the world but that essay I wrote was pretty stellar.  You know the saying "if you can't blind them will brilliance baffle them with bullshoot?"  I suppose that's what I did!

Dann's Father - He is kind enough to take us to the airport to pick up Lolly and then to bring us back to Liverpool to take some of my crap and then take us to the airport when I leave.   That's a lot of hassle.  However, I do have his grandkid in my belly so I guess that gives me a bit of an advantage!

The Ability to Email - Sometimes you can run up a phone bill pretty stinkin' high when you're calling doctors all of the time.   My doctor in Baltimore corresponds by email for most things and that makes things much easier than calling the office a million times trying to arrange appointments.   I'm happy that the email function of life has come into existence.

The Pilot and Co-Pilot of my Mom's Flight -  They are going to be super aware and pay 150% attention while transporting my mother from Philadelphia to Manchester.  I am quite glad for this and I'd like to thank them in advance for their complete cooperation!


What are you thankful for?

Thankful Thursday!

Hello there, friends.  It's that time of the week again! I hope that you have found many things to be grateful for this week.  I am in a rather good mood at the moment so let's type away! The video is from the CMAs 2009, it's Kenny Chensey featuring Dave Matthews "I'm Alive."  I don't care if you don't like country (I don care if you don't like Dave), you need to listen to it and embrace this song.  Now.

The things I am thankful for this week are...

A Few Hours Free of Pain - As I believed I mentioned last week I've been having terrible pain in my leg from my sciatic nerve. I've been dealing with it on both sides for at least ten years but lately it's been a terrible, every motion occurrence. On Sunday night at about eleven o'clock, after an absolute day of agony it just stopped hurting.  I did not even know what to do with myself!  I was afraid that any move I made would trigger it again but that didn't happen for a good 12+ hours!  I am so thankful for the little relief I had.  Of course, I'd like it to go away entirely but beggars cannot be choosers, my friends!

We Have Decided on a Girl's Name (We Think) - I know that this might be a silly reason to be thankful but to me it isn't.  In order to stop bad thoughts from crawling into my head at night, I try to picture Dann (and my mom) in the room with me when I meet the baby for the first time. However, I couldn't settle on a girl's name when I pictured a girl.  For some reason I have terrible anxiety when I pictured a girl. Given my past you'd have to understand the fears I have of creating a human that will be absolutely healthy.   When I pictured a girl (whose name didn't sit right) I just saw oxygen tubes and IVs and it just got worse.  But then this name came to my head and there wasn't any of that nonsense going through my head.  So I am incredibly thankful that I found some peace there.

That the Second Trimester Fairy Will Arrive Promptly  in Three Hours -  This is just a thank you in advance for her cooperation :)

The Good Day that Dann and I Had on Tuesday  -  As some of you may know I haven't been feeling the best in the last few weeks and Tuesday was an okay day.  There was sunny sunny sunshine all day.  Dann and I went to town and pranced about looking at baby clothes etc.  We used our points earned in the last year to go to the movies for free (Wreck-It Ralph) and it was just n-i-c-e. He's a good guy :-)

I Slept for Ten Hours Straight at a Normal Time -  OhMyLanta!  How excited was I to fall asleep at 12:30 and wake up at 10:14?!  I didn't even know what to do with myself! The daylight and the sunshine!  Woot!  I mean, it hasn't happened since but whateves. :)  You take what you can get, know what I mean?

An extra special TT-

     Today is my "little" sister's birthday!  I am very thankful that she has had a healthy and happy (albeit full of surprises) year!  Happy Birthday, Christa!





What are you thankful for?




Listen to that song!

Thankful Thursday!

Hello world! I am sorry for the skipping of the TT last week but truth be told it wasn't a good week.  Not that I didn't have things to be thankful for but I just didn't want to pester you with my misery.  This week has been a bit better, minus the 24 hour headache that has finally stopped. Nevertheless, life goes on and so must

 the gratitude.

This week's winners are...

Food From Home - I can tell you that I do not have an appetite for anything over here but the second I think of DeeJay's pizza or soup from Fratelli's my mouth starts to water.  I hope that my appetite is out of this world when I go home and that the thought of food in my mouth no longer turns my stomach.  And stuffing! OMG, stuffing!

My Sense of Humor -  If you can't laugh at yourself then you are in pretty rough shape for really tough times.   This isn't even a really tough time in the grand scheme of things, I know.  But right now, it is really difficult and complex.  As soon as one thing stops to hurt another thing starts. (STOPS TO HURT?  WHAT??!)   As soon as one thing stops hurting another thing starts.   I mean I laugh at myself all of the time but when my sciatic nerve began to bother me on both sides, I just lost it.  Of course this kid of mine would aggravate the biggest nerve in the body. By the way, Pip is only the size of a quarter! How could something so small cause so much chaos?! I think he/she will be the first baby grounded from the get go :)

Daily Deals from the Scranton Times - Or other companies like that.   A few weeks ago Fratelli's was on offer.  So it's like you pay $10 for a $20 gift certificate to Fratelli's.  My brother got me some and I cannot wait to gobble that up.

Gingerbread Men -  So it is true, ginger does help an upset belly.  Mint has failed me and a whole bunch of other things as given no relief but Dann found cute little bite-sized gingerbread men that hit the spot.  Yep, I keep them on the side of my bed and much on them during the night. The funny part is that I hate ginger.  I think it burns my tongue.  Well, now ginger and I are best friends.     Ha. I had a dog named Ginger.  She was my best friend!

Apple Care -  So Dann and I have this habit of kicking each other's laptops off of the bed. I've learned to not leave mine on the bed and until last week Dann liked to put his laptop wherever my feet were.  Late last Wednesday night it just went sailing off of the bed.  Since it happens all of the time we didn't really think anything of it.  He picked up his laptop about 45 minutes after the incident and the screen wouldn't turn on.  It was terrible.  As if either one of us have the money replace anything on a mac. I cried my little eyes out. He did buy the three year warranty but when I asked him when he got it he wasn't sure and it made me cry harder. There wasn't an appointment at the Genius Bar for a week so I had to wait a whole week in hopes that they would be able to fix it.     And they were able to fix it for free!!  Oh thank goodness!  It would have cost us 450 POUNDS to fix that.  If you convert that to dollars, I could buy a whole new laptop and a half.  I'm a good shopper. :)


What are you thankful for?

Thankful Thursday ( Insomnia Edition)

Be thankful for all that you have, because you never know what will happen next. - Unknown (and I cannot Google it right now)

So here we are at the end (beginning) of another week. I'd like to tell you that it has been a fantastic week but it has not been and I cannot lie. Nevertheless, we must be grateful for this IS life.

(Ugh! I just realized no boldface this week because I'm blogging from my phone!)

This week I am thankful for...

My Friend Not Having Cancer - Almost two weeks ago my friend sent me a message saying that she had some problems with her lady parts and her doctor was concerned that it might be cancer. I'm very grateful that cancer it is not and her problems will be wrapped up momentarily!

Subway Restaurant - There are some days that I have no appetite at all and then I think of theeeeee delectable ranch dressing that subway offers me and I want to eat! You'd swear their food is made of gold if you could see how fast I devour it! I suppose gold isn't the best thing say because I have no interest in gold.


Donna - I've known Donna since middle school and I'm her son's godmother. This week was her bday and she was kind enough to run to Target for me to pick up an über sale of "Hotel Transylvania" for me. I'm very happy about this because I hate missing sales and I hate paying a trillion dollars for movies!

Jacob Still Wanted Me To Be His Valentine - I couldn't be happier about this. Although he is not too thrilled on Pip's arrival he did tell me that he will protect Pip (if Pip is a girl, if Pip is a boy then Jake's going to wrestle with Pip when Pip's five). He agreed that he would be my big helper over the summer, as long as he can still get DS games. So it appears that he and I both need time to get used to Pip's arrival. However... when I asked him, anxiously, who his valentine was he smiled and said it was me (and his mom but whateves)! Goodness, at least I didn't lose that spot!

My Valentine, Daniel - So he's a big help these days. I mean he usually always is but the last three weeks it's been Dann that has been doing everything from cooking and cleaning to rubbing my feet. I mean in all reality he should be doing something while I'm growing a human that is half him but I must say that I am pretty lucky to have this guy. Even when I'm a grumpy bear and being unacceptably mean (it happens, folks), he is patient and doesn't hold it against me at the end of the day when I am putting on the charm asking him to tickle my back. I'm sure there are many ladies out there who have a much harder time than I do and do not have someone like Dann. He was so stinkin' cute on VDay, and sneaky as well, which was much appreciated because it was nice to not think, "OH MY GOD! THERE'S A HUMAN GROWING INSIDE OF ME!" While I handle other obstacles with grace and humor, Pip is getting the best of me. I'm happy to know that Dann is here to catch me if I fall, joke around when I'm sad and make me food at four in the morning because my body goes through energy like Taylor Swift goes through boyfriends. So looking on the bright side, I find myself grateful that I'm not having a baby with some bloke who'd rather be at the bar meeting new ladies instead of doing all he can to help. Or just staying clear of this lady who reminds him every second that everything is his fault because he's the reason she's pregnant in the first place. Yeah, I'd be at the bar if I was him or you know trying to throw myself in prison. :)

So, dear friends, what are you thankful for?


Sorry about the lack of formatting. I am blogging from my phone in my bed wishing that I could just sleeeeeep.