Life in Greenvull

That's right, you thought we were living in Greenville. You're wrong. It's Greenvull, according to the people who live here. Life is starting to flow pretty well. The first few days were hard with absolutely nowhere to sit, other than the futon (which doubled as our bed) and I felt a lot more homesick than I thought I would. But, it's a wonder what having furniture and things unpacked can do. Our home is really neat. It's 3 bedrooms and double the size of our last home. It's huge!!! Well, huge for us. It's also amazing because the sixth hole of the local public golf course is our backyard. I keep thinking that maybe I'll pull out my clubs at night and hit some....

but that is illegal. More importantly, though, it is too ridiculously humid out here to play. It's been almost 100 everyday with outrageous humidity. All this humidity and heat has introduced us to really weird new bugs that neither of us has ever seen before. Yesterday, I killed a bug that look like half bee half cricket. It was all black and we have no idea what it was. Whatever it was, it made Julie scream like a little girl and made me shout like a slightly older girl.

The town is fun. It's very much a college town. Lots of the stores have Pirates flags waving in them and have purple and "gold" all over them ("gold" meaning yellow). It seems like almost everyone we meet has some sort of ECU apparel on their person or on their cars. It's really fun, I think. I went to their bookstore, today, and it was huge how many different Pirates things they had. We are enjoying life here, so far, other than that Julie is not a big fan of this guy who she finds creepy....

 

Some Observations Driving Through the Country

My Mom and I have finally pulled into North Carolina. We're here at our hotel waiting for Julie's flight to come in so I can pick her up. Driving all the way from Salt Lake City, we have been through much of the country. We drove through Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina. Here are some observations and highlights.

• I found out in Kearney, NE (pronounced Carney) that my Mom snores. Bad. 
• Wyoming looks the same from the start of 1-80 until you get to Nebraska. 
• I love miles and miles of cornfields. For whatever reason, it's beautiful to me. 
• We had to take the scenic route through Kansas because of flooding. It looked like Smallville in the Superman comics, still. Which was awesome. 
• Kansas City was ghastly hot. It was 114 degrees when we drove through it. And my Mom learned that it's difficult to take pictures with her phone, especially when the car is moving fast. You should see the pictures she took of "the Royals stadium." 
• Indiana and Kentucky both consider themselves to be the land of Lincoln. I'm going to have to give the nod to Indiana of the two because the Louisville Cardinals basketball stadium is named the KFC "YUM!" Center. Not even kidding. 
• West Virginia is one of the most scenic places to drive through in all of the world. It was comparable to Scotland and England to me. However, we were not aware that Huntington, WV is where Evangelicals flock to for their EFY-esque camps. There was not a single room open. We were the Mormons with no place in the inns for us. 
• I'm still very much a mama's boy. It was a grand time driving for 36 hours with her throughout this great country of ours. She makes me laugh lots and my parents have been awesome to me. 
• We were only in Virginia temporarily and it cost us a small fortune in tolls. But, it was pretty, as well. 
• North Carolina is going to be awesome. How could it not be? They have chocolate covered bacon shakes! 

Embracing Da Souf

I have a confession: I have NEVER, EVER had any desire to live in the South. When I think of the South I think of the Confederate Flag (which I compared to the Nazi swastika in an English paper), Jim Crowe laws, ridiculous humidity, burning crosses, Big Dan T from "O, Brother Where Art Thou?" and NASCAR. I do have to hand it to them that they have introduced Coke and Dr. Pepper into the world. However, those drinks are so deliciously addictive that they have single-handedly caused me to get fat (well, and not working out). I swore in my youthful ignorance I would never end up there.

However, life has humbled me and I have received fantastic opportunities from a college there. So, since I am moving down there, I am trying to get rid of all my old biases and have decided to have a good attitude about our move there. I want to keep an open mind, just like I hope people would do when moving to my beloved state of Utah (where most people think of polygamy and boredom). So, I have decided to try my best to make friends, enjoy the uniqueness of the experience and to be happy in the journey.

With that said, I hope you enjoy these clips.

Top 10 Surprising Things So Far in Pregnancy

(In no particular order)

1. No real cravings. Besides Sonic Slushes during happy hour (or any time)...but honestly, that's not something due to pregnancy.
2. The first stranger to comment on my pregnancy was a little Korean woman at a nail salon in San Clemente. Honestly, just someone noticing made me SO happy. Finally, I don't just look fat!
3. What's the point in creating a baby registry if you're having a baby girl? I mean, really, who can resist buying cute little pink outfits? We really have hardly anything for her but pretty little clothes, stuffed animals, and a few books. Practicality? What's that?
4. How early I was showing. And how wrong most books about the topic of body types/when you'll probably show are. If you're slightly overweight and not super short, they say you'll probably show later. WRONG. I had a nice bump going from 13-ish weeks, on. Been wearing maternity pants since shortly after I found out I was pregnant.
5. Not just mood swings, but deep depressed feelings that hit me from out of nowhere. Always leaves me feeling terrible for not being overjoyed all the time that I'm carrying this little munchkin.
6. How mild my morning sickness was. I fully expected to be on my death bed for much of the first part of this pregnancy, but I can say the only time I ever threw up (like, really threw up, not just in the back of my mouth) was when I had the stomach flu. I feel SO ridiculously lucky, because I know it could have been much worse. Of course, I blame part of that luck on my complete and utter dread of throwing up, and my strong-headedness :)
7. SWELLING! I mean, I had cankles before I got pregnant (always have, just look at pictures of me in junior high/high school), but MAN, my calves are gigantic these days. Not only that, but the most surprising part is my forearms. They have been swollen since the end of the first trimester, and there's no end in sight.
8. Things you should not believe from pregnancy books and apps: I can't tell you how many times I've read stuff like "You'll soon have people dumping their used baby clothes and items off on your doorstep faster than you can sort through them." They really shouldn't say that -- most people I know aren't done having kids, or gave away their baby clothes long ago.
9. I know this could have (sort of) been controlled, but the timing of everything with baby and moving has really been a MESS. Trying to figure out healthcare after my insurance runs out and before we establish residency to qualify for Medicaid, not to mention how we can't really find a midwife until we get there. I just didn't anticipate it being this complicated...but I guess health insurance always is.
10. Not really missing my figure. This was helped by the fact that I never really stopped gaining pregnancy weight after the miscarriage last summer (my body kept packing it on like I was trying to feed a little one, too), but I really just am SO excited every time I notice my bump is bigger. I thought I would miss all my old clothes, but I do love lots of my maternity clothes. (Of course, this depends on the day. Last Saturday? You couldn't have convinced me clothes looked anything but frumpy on me)

O, Captain, My Captain

Yesterday, Derek Jeter became the first Yankee to ever get to the very rare 3,000 hits for a career milestone. Only 27 players in baseball HISTORY have done this. As such, I thought I would write him a little ode entitled "O, Captain, My Captain" (as he is the Yankees captain).

O, Captain, My Captain,
Hitter of singles, doubles, triples and the home run,
How great thy career hath been,
Whether at home or on the road, to you it is all one.

Wearer of 5 World Series rings,
Dater of beautiful women,
Every game you give everything, 
Hopefully you play long enough to get 10. 

Some say that you are overrated,
Your range is "lacking," your teams too "good," you've "lost speed,"
On talk shows your greatness is debated,
A girlfriend and a life is what they need. 

So, my Captain, my Captain,
Thank you for all the memories,
There are still more to come before you art done, 
And through it all, I'll be your fan, not an enemy.