Preparing for da baby

According to the doc this morning, I currently weigh 142 pounds and my tummy is 36 centimeters from the top (just below my chest) to the bottom of my belly. So, basically, I'm huge and pointy, per Trung. Oh, and apparently when your water breaks, the "water" just keeps flowing until delivery. I was concerned that since I've been swimming so much, that my water would break and I wouldn't even know it, but my doc assured me that as soon as I got out of the pool that I would know. Ugh.

Okay, so I've been reading more stuff on "Dancing with the Stars", and I don't believe William Hung will be in the third installment. Sucks. This doesn't mean that I'm not going to watch though, I'm just a little less intrigued. hee hee.

*Sigh*, just three days left of work and I'm totally outtie. What will I ever do with myself with all that time? Well, before Lydia arrives, I need to catch up on my baby book and magazine readings. The baby room is pretty much done, I just need to hang up the Paloma shelves. Oh, and of course, I need to prepare mentally...I'm about to have a baby! My life will never be the same ever again! *breathe* Can't wait, any day now! :)

My last week of work

Wow, I can't believe I've made it to my final week of work. Watch it be really slow this week too! Argh! Well, if that's the case, I'll probably be blogging every day since stacking hasn't been too busy lately. Oh, most importantly...I've officially reached full term in my pregnancy today, which basically means I've hit my 37 weeks mark and that the baby is developmentally ready to handle life outside the womb. YEAH! So, no more pre-term labor jokes. :)

We didn't do much this past weekend. Friday night I had the breastfeeding class, which was very informative. We even got to have plastic babies to practice our breastfeeding holds. Trung picked out the baby...he wanted to get me the colored one, but instead got me a blue-eyed one. What about the one with the Asian eyes? Oh well. Okay, then Saturday I did four loads of laundry, which took all morning because it takes FOREVER to fold little baby clothes. I met up with Joy for a 2:30 showing of Step Up, which I'm sure you can tell is my cup of tea (seeing that I'm all about them dancing shows). :P After a quick swim, Trung and I met with friends at Mandarin House for some authentic Chinese food. Then we headed home for some much needed zzz's since we were up pretty early that morning for Trung's work.

Sunday...a couple more loads of laundry. We dropped off Kelly's bridal shower gift at the shower before heading to a tour of our hospital, Seton Northwest. A rather entertaining male registered nurse gave us more information (and opinions) than we would ever need to know about the hospital and child-birthing. We got to see the delivery and recovery rooms, which seemed more comfortable than I imagined, which is definitely a plus. Ok, now I'm totally ready to have this baby!

Laurie dropped off my fitness ball at work today, so that I can use it as a birthing ball when I go into labor. She said that it looked like my belly has dropped, which explains why I haven't had to go to the bathroom as much lately and possibly that the baby is coming soon. The first baby is usually late, but who knows. Also, according to baby websites, Lydia should be around 6 pounds at this point and measuring between 19 and 20 inches, head to heel. A bunch of ladies have told me that I'm pretty small for how far along I am, and that the baby won't be more than 7 pounds at delivery. This is all talk for now, we'll see soon enough!

Sasha

I dedicate today's post to the best pet ever...my cat Sasha. A pet who can sleep anywhere...who will eat anything (and throw it up later)...who will play with anything...who is never afraid to speak her mind...and who will always be there with you to the end.

Lydia has a great big sister!

Stuff, stuff, and more stuff

Yeah, so we sold the ping pong table and it's cleared up a lot of space in Trung's office. We are going to hang up our diplomas and probably Trung's framed patent certificates to take up some wall room. Now all we've got left to sell are the ink cartidges...anyone got an Epson? :P

Okay, I think that Travis will win in "So You Think You Can Dance". Why? Well, mainly because he was the only who received positive critiques from the judges for all his routines and because according to the judges, he was a "stand out" in the group routine. On the other hand, he is awfully young compared to the other contestants at a mere 18 (Benji 22, Heidi 24, and Donyelle 26). Hmmm. Well, I think that Travis would be a better fit in Cirque du Soleil since he specializes in contemporary dance anyways. Benji and Heidi are great, Donyelle not so much these last couple of weeks, but still good...it'll be a tough call. Stay tuned Wednesday night for the big finale. I wonder what Cat will be wearing?

Tonight I've got my breastfeeding class at Round Rock Medical Center. Should be interesting, oh, and of course, I'm dragging the hubby along for moral support. Oh, oh, and last night, I washed my first full load of baby clothes. Man, it took me thirty minutes to match up and fold all those little pieces of clothing, but they were oh so soft, cause I used that special Dreft laundry detergent. I've still got at least a couple more loads to do for the darks and comforters, which I'll probably do this weekend. That's all, folks!

Odds and Ends

Yet another uneventful day. I was hoping that work would be busy so that these last couple weeks would go by faster, but that definitely hasn't been the case so far. Well, at least I've got good ole blogger.com to keep me busy and I've been forwarding all my e-mails over to my personal e-mail account. Once I finish with that, I'll create an e-mail list of my friends for when I officially stop using my work e-mail and a call list of "have to call" people when I go into labor. I'm all about the lists, baby! :)

I've been using recipes from Food & Wine magazine lately, and I have yet to be disappointed. Too bad this month will be my last free issue because I didn't subscribe, thinking that my Cooking Light magazine would be good enough. Hmmm, I haven't gotten the "last call" postcard yet, so maybe I will get the magazine after all. So far this week, I've made Thai Bean Coconut Curry (with grilled chicken, green beans and corn) and Spicy Pork Lettuce Wraps and both have been yummy, at least Trung thought so too. Trung had started a list with all the good recipes awhile back; we really should get that updated because now I've got tons of cooking magazines and I don't remember which recipes were good. Argh!

YEAH!! Someone e-mailed me last night about the ping pong table. Hopefully we've got a buyer! He just called to get directions to the house, so I'm thinking this is a done deal. I did adjust the ad to read "price is negotiable", but I hope he doesn't try to negotiate too too much; after all, I've got a baby coming!

Random Ramblings

I had my 36 weeks doctor's appointment this morning; I'll have one every week until the baby gets here. Everything went well, though I had an unexpected swab test that the doctor had to do on me. Right now, I am at 140.5 pounds, which will probably go up a few more pounds before I deliver, but at least I won't weigh as much as the hubby this time around. :) The baby gains about half a pound every week from now until birth, so that means that I'll be gaining weight exponentially from now til then. Trung and I think that Lydia will be born before her due date of September 4th since she's been developing pretty quickly. Plus, she's been kicking me like she wants out. The doctor said to hang in there at least one more week and we are good to go. I've got my breastfeeding class Friday night and the hospital tour Sunday afternoon, then I'll definitely be ready. Hang in there, kiddo!

Okay, so we have a new girl at work to replace me when I go on "maternity leave". Jim, our gay underwriter, found it quite amusing that she too was Asian; kinda like replacing one with another. Anyhow, her name is Sayble, which I found to be a rather interesting name for anyone, much less an Asian person (she's Vietnamese, by the way). Well, I was in the break room with her and I asked her how she got her name. Apparently, she got to name herself when she came to the States. Then she asked me how I got my name because she had never heard it before. Needless to say, I was shocked! After all, I had just seen The Grace Lee Project and I know tons of Graces. How many Graces do you know? Hmmm?

Now, time for the random: 1) I finally chose a mutual fund and purchased it Sunday night. YEAH! Let's hope my numbers start growing now cause right now nothing's movin'. 2) The items I posted on Craig's List are a ping pong table, an electric griddle, and ink cartidges. I haven't gotten any hits on any of them, but Jim bought my griddle the other day, so one down and two more to go. I'll probably lower the asking prices on the table and cartridges by the end of the week. :( 3) Work is slow again, so hence, all the long and frequent posts. 4) I almost tumbled down the conveyor belt-like machine at Whole Foods...this front heavy thing really catches me off guard. 5) Here's the latest news on my other favorite show..."Season 3 of Dancing with the Stars will begin on September 12, 2006 at 8pm with a two hour season premiere, airing on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Rumor has it that Sara Evans, Melissa Joan Hart, David Carradine, Masiela Lusha, Mario Lopez, Vivica A. Fox, Jerry Springer, William Hung, Harry Hamlin, Shanna Moakler, Emitt Smith, and Joey Lawrence will be among the stars participating this season. "

Here's an update on the Lee fam...my Dad is currently in Amsterdam, after having visited my brother Mike in Dubai and traveling to Jordan alone. My Mom is still working at New Era Life Insurance Companies, where I interned for five summers (age 17-21) and is doing just fine. Mike came home on Thursday and will be in Katy for two weeks, trying to find a place and a job for when he moves back to the States in October. My brother Jimmy and his family just closed on their new house on Friday and are in the process of moving in; they will live 5-10 minutes away from our parents' house. So, as you can see, the baby is not the only exciting thing happening these days. It's crazy!

Wendy Weekend

Friday evening was Wendy's bachelorette party. About twelve of us had dinner at Siena Ristorante and gave Wendy sexy, yet tasteful lingerie for her honeymoon. Here's what I got her:The group of gals; I'm on the far right if you couldn't tell by the belly. :) The food was pretty good, though the service...um, not so much. It took awhile for the meals to come out, but at least we had plenty of people to talk to and things to talk about; plus, we had yummy rolls to nibble on. Also, at the end of the meal when it was time to pay the bill, we were under on the total. Apparently, the waiter charged everyone for the "secondo" (aka the larger portion), while all the girls ordered (or thought they ordered) the "primo"; thus, creating a slight shortage in funds. But finally everything was figured out, the waiter was happy, we were happy and finally on our merry old way. Afterwards, the majority of the girls went to karoke to meet up with the guys, but I'm a pregnant party pooper, so I headed home. After all, the last time I went to karoke was in May and Lydia was already kicking me because of the loud music. Imagine what she would do now. Not to mention the whole pre-term labor thing, but we won't go there.

Saturday, Trung was up at 6 for his 6-4 shift. His department is launching a new product this month and rather than having to go to Raleigh, NC and leave me, he's taken the early shift; at least I like to look at it that way. I worked on a bunch of odds and ends around the house while he worked, and then we went out for a late lunch. Trung caught up with the bachelor party at Hooter's for dinner, while I met up with Wendy, Maggie and Yuri at the Whole Foods downtown. Wow, that place is NICE! I seriously wouldn't mind shopping there for groceries every week if not for the high prices and the location. I had a lovely smoked salmon and corn chowder and a roll for dinner, and later a red bean milk icy for dessert at Tapioca House (where they use real red beans unlike another place I know). So I went home afterwards, posted some stuff on Craig's List, and went to sleep. Trung came home around 1:00 AM after having "tied" in his poker game with Wendy's little brother, ate some cereal, worked a little bit more, and got some shut eye.

Sunday, Trung was up again at 6. Fortunately, it wasn't too busy, so we had time to meet with "the gang" at Marco Polo for dimsum. Hopefully I can get my man, Jason, to send me some pics that he took of the group and of "hands on my belly", if they turned out okay. Here they are...thanks, Jason!We made a quick stop at Fry's later to check out some computer stuff and to buy "V for Vendetta" for me; cause I think V is hot in his lil mask. Oh, I also got "Princess Bride", cause I love me some Princess Buttercup and Wesley. Then around 6 PM we went to our wedding photographers to experiment on maternity pictures. I'll post some pictures if I don't feel too exposed. Otherwise, you'll have to specially request them from me and I may or may not let you see them. :P

Mutual Funds

What do you know, I've completed all the "busy work" assignments that CW and G & V have attempted to burden me with. Okay, stacking really isn't all that bad. I guess when the workload is spread among three people, it goes by much faster. Now I have time to blog...plus I'm taking a break from researching mutual funds. Boy are there tons of mutual funds to choose from...AND, Trung won't let me get the same one he did. He's already got two weeks under his "mutual fund" belt, so I've got to find a really good mutual fund to catch up with him. :P

Two more weeks and I'm outta here!!! Yippee!!!

Okay, so last night on "So You Think You Can Dance"...I was totally right on! Go me! It was sad to see Natalie and Ivan go, but they left graciously. As for who I think will win, um, probably Benji. I really wanted to see the top ten on their tour, but they aren't even coming to Texas, much less Austin. :(

Front heavy

Tuesday night on our way to the pool, I suddenly remembered that the HOA (homeowner's association) was having a pizza party at the pool that day. We didn't RSVP for it nor did we bring a dessert, so we thought that we would swim quickly and jet. Well, by the time we finished, one of our neighbors had arrived and the host lady was insisting that we grab some food. So, we did. :) Our neighbor JT was there with his wife and one year old daughter, Lily. Well, as Trung was helping JT grab a table and chairs, I bent down to play with Lily or what have you, and I just toppled right over...skinned both my knees. Geez, I didn't realize how out of balance my body was nowadays.

Okay, my choices for the dancers being voted off on "So You Think You Can Dance", if they are not obvious enough, are Natalie and Ivan. The other bottom two will be a toughy, but I think that they will be Donyelle and Benji, though I think Benji could easily win the whole thing too. OH, I DUNNO!

Today I went to Half Price Books for the first time ever and got a couple of books for Trung and myself. Trung has been reading the "Otherland" series and needed books 3 and 4; I was just looking for the best-sellers "Memoirs of a Geisha" and "The Devil Wears Prada" to read during my upcoming free time. I only found Otherland book 4 and Memoirs, so I bought Trung's book 3 on amazon. Now my lunch break is coming to an end, so laters!

Letters and stacking

Sunday, I spent the afternoon putting the letters together for Lydia's room. I painted two coats of paint on the wooden "frames" and the letters after sanding them down a bit, stapled the ribbons to the frames, and then carpenter glued the letters to the frames. I let the glue set overnight, so hopefully the whole thing won't fall apart right away. Anyhow, here's the finished product!So, today we officially learned how to stack files at work, which means we have to start a'stackin. Now I'm REALLY feeling an itch to leave earlier. Hmmm, I am thinking that maybe I'll make a compromise with my corporate office; I'll stay until the 18th if I don't have to stack files, but if they are going to make me stack, then I'll leave, um, say, tomorrow! It's gotta be dramatic to get any kind of reaction, let me tell ya. I mean, I sent a supervisory person an e-mail last week about my anniversary (I can't believe I've been with this firm for two years!), which was on July 24th, and 1) I haven't heard back and 2) there's still no wage adjustment on my paychecks, so what the hay! Anyhow, so the blogs are not going to be as frequent, so I'll be missing ya. We'll keep in touch though, ok? *muah*