Are You Crying?

In the past few months Garrett and I have discovered I am, in many ways, a stereotypical pregnant woman (basically like the ones portrayed on TV).  The sickness part I talked about already, so today is about crying.  Everyone, I cry at the drop of a hat.  I cry at things that are absolutely not things one would cry about; thus, things that would be worth crying about, I lose it--bawling like a little baby.

For the most part, my leaking face isn't a big deal.  Being part-time, I spend most of my crying episodes at home, alone on my couch.  However, when I am out and about, I have to try not to make a spectacle of myself.  For instance, I'm at the gym doing my thing, watching HGTV, maybe a little MTV if it's worth it, or TLC when the swelling up of my chest and red eyes begin: the tenants have fallen in love with the latest remodel of their living room, the newlyweds got that perfect First Place, Timbaland's son got the Sweet 16 party he's been dreaming about for literally days, or new parents welcome to the world their brand new baby girl (Note: I have made myself watch A Baby Story several times for what I feel is good prep for our new arrival.  Not sure about my decisions, but I do know I cry and/or cringe in every episode).  With every show I end up watching, some piece of it makes me emotional, granted this could be a commercial.  (Have you seen the latest Chevy commercials! I mean come on, a girl doesn't stand a chance.)  Crying isn't a normal gym habit (unless you're on The Biggest Loser), so I do my usual suck it up facial maneuver, and look around to make sure no one thinks I'm crazy.  I am crazy though....no, I my hormones are crazy.

So, my latest crying session occurred today when I was finishing up the latest episode of Parenthood (great show by the way).  Toward the end of the show, Brittney chatted me on Gmail to say that she had updated her blog.  SO, on the next commercial break, I brought it up and started reading while the commercial played in the background.  AH!  Tears start welling up in my eyes.  Her post is so sweet.  It's about her making the invitations for my baby shower and how she's looking forward to being an aunt.  Here it is for those that want to read it (Read it now!): Brittney's Blog.  Wasn't that sweet!  Did it make you cry?  Well, I did of course.  No need to hold back the tears on this one though; I'm at home chillin' while Garrett's at some math meeting.  Ah, so sweet.  I miss my sister....now I may make myself cry.  Silly, emotional me.

This is for Brittney; we're cute.  I love her.  

Welcome Back

It has officially been three months and one day since my last blog post.  As with many things I start, when I get distracted and off track it's hard to get back on (shout out to all my past diets, workout routines, and "hobbies").  Thus, this is my attempt to get back in the game.  Enough said.

First on the list today, update on Ohio living.  Now that I've been in Ohio for a touch over 1/3 of a year (that's 4 months for those that don't like fractions), I can honestly say life is different here than in the south. For those that read my husband's blog, you're fully up to speed on these differences.  Sometimes I feel like living in Ohio is a bad joke that I'm the butt of.  People here are definitely not as friendly as those in the south (they don't even try to fake it).  Garrett and I will try to be friendly and joke with people, and they literally just stare at us, confused.  Oh, and no one waves.  An observation: when you let someone cross/turn/walk in front of while you're driving, you give a wave and they give one in return--it's only polite; well, not in Ohio it isn't.  When I wave, or give the polite nod, people give me that "what are you looking at" stare.  Thus, one of my goals while living here is to not lose my sense of humor and love of life.  Because the economy woes have hit this part of the country so hard (over many years of decline, not just the recent crisis), everyone lives like they're waiting for the next bad thing to happen; they expect disappointment and are unable to dream of a life better than the one they're currently living (I even see this in my students, crazy!).  It's sad; I almost want to give people hugs and say, "don't lose hope!"  But I don't.  I wonder what they'd do if I did?  My guess is give me, what I shall now call the "northern stare."  With all that said, I don't hate my life.  I just often feel disconnected and alone.

There have been some bright spots to life in Ohio though.  Garrett and I both love working at the University of Findlay.  We really like the people we work with, and I LOVE only teaching two classes.  My Precalculus class is really fun, most of the time (we all have our moments).  They have already added to my list of "Funny/odd things my students say and ask me."  This list consists of questions and statements such as, "Mrs. Rea, I'm hungry; do you have any chips?" and "Sorry I missed class, I have been sleeping in my car because my wife got a restraining order for spousal abuse."  Now I have the gems "Do you smell bananas?" and "What size shirt are you wearing?"

Another exciting thing that's going on with me is that I'm pregnant (the announcement was made on Facebook, as most official announcements should be)!  Garrett and I took the whole pee-on-a-stick-test the day we were finishing our drive into Ohio.  After being married for almost 6 years, we've had our share of "are we pregnant" moments with a negative result every time, so when the test was positive, I was really surprised to see a positive result.  Garrett was totally calm and I was freaked out (not in a bad way, it was a "is this real" freak out).  Anyway, after a few moments of letting reality sink in I was fine.  We are super excited to start this whole new phase of our married life.

Pregnancy is an interesting ride.  It seems like everyone has the same and different experience, if that's possible.  At the beginning of my pregnancy I was soooo nauseous.  I never got to throw up (yes, I said got to), but I felt sick all the time.  Some women feel this for a little while and it goes away, some feel it the entire time, and some never feel sick at all (lucky).  At 18 weeks, I'm currently in between the first two scenarios.  I feel fine most of the time, then it'll just hit me and all I want to do is lay on my couch.  For the most part, I'm enjoying being pregnant.  Until recently, I haven't gotten to feel any of the "perks" of pregnancy (besides getting a lot of attention from everyone who knows, which is sometimes fun and sometimes annoying).  Before I just felt fat and had nothing to show for it (that is other than a sneaky suspension that my students think I don't do laundry because I wear the only pair of pants that fit everyday), BUT now I'm actually starting to show a tiny bit and I'm pretty sure that I have felt the baby move several times.

My next ultrasound is on November 25, and this is when we'll find out the sex of our baby.  I'm super excited about this.  My parents and sister will be in town for Thanksgiving when we find out, so that means shopping!  Garrett and I have done zero shopping for this baby (mostly because, other than Walmart, there are no good places to shop in Findlay), so our ultrasound will be a good excuse to get out and spend some money.  Plus, shopping for baby will be so much more fun with others than by myself (another down side to life in Ohio).  We currently have four items for our little one, all of which have been gifts: an adorable cow pillow pal (his name is Max), a baby sock monkey, a sock monkey bib (both gift from our wonderful friends, Jake and Lacee), and a bib my sister got when she was in Europe.  I wish I had pictures of all of these adorable items, but alas, I only have one of the silly bib that was a gift from my sister.  Enjoy!

It has sleeves!  So cute.

Ok, all I'm spent.  I plan to write again before another three months passes.  Until next time, enjoy the lovely fall weather!

Food Mission!

We're on a mission!  A mission to find good food in Findlay, Ohio.  Is it possible?  Can Findlay stack up to the culinary mecca that is Rogers, AR?!!  We shall see.

When Garrett and I first moved to Fayetteville from Fort Smith (back in the day) we were so excited about the number of cool places to eat we were going to discover.  Alas, that never happened.  We found a couple of places that we liked, then settled in.  Thus, with this move to Ohio, we are determined to explore all the different restaurants here.

So far, we've done well at covering all of our restaurants bases.  We've eaten at a diverse group of places--everything from Thai to burgers.  Because of our food mission (and to the desire to stay healthy, blah blah blah), we have been working out almost everyday.  So, no worries for those that are waiting to see the new pictures of Garrett and Brooke 50 pounds later.

Here are our favorites so far:

Jack & Jin's Thai:  What a treat!  I was so excited to see that our new town had Thai food, and it ended up being good Thai food!  Because they are cheap and accessible (unlike good Thai is in Rogers), we don't feel pressure to get the same thing every time.  Thus, we've tried the following items: Pad Thai (duh!) with chicken and tofu, Pad Kee Mow, Pad See Ew, Red Curry, and the Thai fried rice.  We've tried a couple of appetizers as well, the fresh spring rolls and crab rangoons, delicious!  All of the main dishes have been fantastic.  If we had to choose our least favorite, it'd be the Pad See Ew; this dish can't withstand the more tempting and flavorful Pad Thai and Pad Kee Mow.  I'm just saying.  For those who have never had Thai food, Run!  Run to the nearest Thai place and eat up!  It's wonderful.  (For those in Northwest AR, I recommend Thep Thai in Fayetteville; it's my favorite.)  Here are a couple of pictures of the food at Jack & Jin's; try not to drool all over your computer.  (Forgive the quality of the pictures.  It's hard to not look goofy while taking pictures of your food; thus, I have to go with the quick sneak shot on my phone.)

Front: Fried Rice w/Chicken
Back: Pad See Ew w/Chicken

Front: Pad Thai w/Fried Tofu
Back: Red Curry w/Chicken (Garrett's favorite dish so far)

Jac & Do's Pizza:  This pizza joint is definitely a local dive.  It's a shack-like building that doesn't look appealing from the street.  We decided to try Jac & Do's because some local told us they had the best pizza in town.  Well, they were right!  What a gem.  Jac & Do's has been around since the 60's, so that's a testament right there.  Our first encounter with Jac & Do's included their cheesy bread sticks and a large chicken, bacon, ranch pizza (though large doesn't describe the size of this massive pizza).  We never order things like bread sticks, but felt compelled to this time; boy am I glad we did!  They were fluffy and light, like nothing I've ever had.  I wish I had one right now, mmmmmmm......  I don't have a picture of these bread sticks at this time, but I vow to go back and get them again so that I can provide you all with a picture of these magical cheese delivery objects (I'm just that giving).  Back to the pizza.  Their pizza comes on a nice thin crust, which we prefer.  The chicken, bacon, ranch pizza was an unusual order for us; we're more pepperoni or supreme kind of people normally.  The ranch pizza was fantastic though, and we have ordered it again since our first visit.  No single ingredient overpowers the pizza; it's a perfect blend of chicken, bacon, and ranch.  Because of the success of ranch pizza, I'm excited to try another kind.  Here's a lack luster picture taken of the chicken, bacon, ranch pizza.

Wilson's Sandwich Shop:  Don't be confused by the name of this little local favorite.  It is by no means a shop that sells sandwiches.  They sell a frosty-like ice cream concoction, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, coneys, and a pulled pork sandwich (ok, so there's a sandwich, but who orders that here?).  In the last ten years they added two new items to their menu: french fries and onion rings (stepping out).  If you're looking for a gourmet burger, go somewhere else.  If you're looking to feed a family of ten for until $10, then this is the place (ok, a little exaggeration there, but it is super cheap)!  We love this place because it's so simple and so affordable.  The burgers and fresh and delicious; oh, and did I mention cheap.  Our our first visit to Wilson's we got two cheeseburgers, fries, and an order of onion rings; the bill came to be $7.00.  $7.00!  Our stomachs and our wallets were very happy.  The fries and onion rings were good too, but nothing special.  The burgers are what to get when you come here.  We haven't tried the frosty malts (the ice cream thing), but we notice that everyone gets one with his/her meal.  That's a goal for next time.  Here's a picture of our first find at Wilson's.

Said fries, onion rings, and cheeseburgers.

Yummy!

Ok, that's enough for now.  I'd hate to bombard you with too much yumminess.  I'll continue with the Food Mission posts and leave you with something to look forward to.

First Day Back

I want to start by apologizing for not writing in so long.  I have had a hard time balancing my move, prepping for school, and blogging.  I miss the summer (the time, not the hot weather--it needed to be said). SO, I'm sorry to all that follow my blog and might feel disappointed in my lack of attention....

Ok, back to business.  Today was the first day back to school after the long months of summer.  I woke up with my normal "first day of school" jitters.  Even though I have been teaching for eight years, I still get nervous on the first day.  I think part of it is my people pleasing disfunction.  I care way too much about what people think of me; thus, I care way too much about what my students think of me.  Well, despite my nervousness, and my self-inflicted lack of preparation, my first day went well.  Being from Arkansas and now in the north, gives me a whole new bag of material to pull from when I see my students starting to leave me mentally.  Throw a little y'all their way, and I've got em.

For the past four years, I have taught an enormous course load, anywhere from 17 to 21 hours a semester.  This has had its ups and downs: extra money=good, extra work and always playing catch up=not as good.  This kind of schedule has left me a little burnt out.  I chose it though, so I'm not complaining.  With that said, when I had the chance to go part-time this semester in Findlay, I jumped for joy.  So, this semester I am teaching seven hours (two classes).  Yes,  you read that correctly: 7 hours!  I didn't have any idea what this would be like until today.  Today my class met at 11am.  I didn't have to be at school until 11am, and that's just the beginning.  My class was over at 11:50am, then I was done.  Yes, done!  After class, while I was walking back to the Math House, I was mentally organizing what was next and what I had to do to hurry for my next class, then I realized, "I have no next class."  A calm and peace came over me that I haven't felt in a long time.  I felt space to go and relax and not have to worry about school; something I only feel when I'm on Christmas or summer break.  It was wonderful.  I think this is going to be a good semester.

Procrastination

What a long week we had last week, and this one has started out the same.  Garrett started his week-o-meetings yesterday.  As a new faculty member, he has a slew of meetings he has to attend.  I went to the math department meeting yesterday morning, so my commitment is now fulfilled.  It's strange not being full time; I feel like I should be doing more, participating more.

Even though I'm not going to meetings and being a part of the "meet and greet"s, I do feel a little overwhelmed by the start of this semester.  I have so much to do and so much to learn about this new school.  I haven't done much preparation for my classes, that start on Monday, due to the move and my summer courses.  I have to get on that.  I'm not very motivated unfortunately.  What I'm "working on" now is a class called Applied Mathematical Analysis.  It's a combination of a couple of classes that I've taught before; thus, making it harder to prepare for.  It's easy to leave it be and look at it as I go.  So, to keep from working, I'm writing to you all while at a local coffee shop (no internet at home yet, blah)!

Here's my unopened text book with a neat cup Garrett got in one of his meetings.  Yeah for free stuff!