The best excuse for slacking EVER!

It's been a while since I last blogged...but I promise I have a really good excuse this time!

Yep! We're having a baby!

This has been me lately: Sick. Tired. Sick. Exhausted. Nauceous. Comatose. Sick. Sick. Puke. Gag. Sleepy........................

That about sums up December for me! How about you? :)

We are very very excited. Although, I have to admit, I will be MORE excited when I get to where I don't feel like I am going to puke on my shoes at any moment. This "morning" sickness is a bunch of BULLSHIT. It's not morning - it's morning, noon, night, MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, morning, noon, night.....and keep that going for weeks. It's been the hardest time of my life, I think. I really am a wuss, huh?

Pregnancy sickness to me has felt like the worst hangover in the entire world; complete with pukey gags and pounding headache - only it lasts 24/7. Just imagine a night of drinking Vodka Tonics, one after another, and passing out in your bathroom floor. (Not that I have ever done that, mind you...) Now imagine that feeling when you FIRST wake up. When you FIRST open your eyes and realize that you feel like absolute dog shit.

Welcome to my world.

BUT IT'S ALL FOR A WONDERFUL CAUSE! (That's been my mantra as I stare at myself in the public bathroom mirror at work; praying for 5pm to hurry up so I can go home and put on my pajamas and lay in the waterbed.)

Now, most of you know, I started a new job supporting a Vice President at PM. I was on my new job approximately ONE DAY before I peed on the stick and got a Big Fat Positive. Not exactly the best timing in the world. I have to admit, I feel guilty and I'm SCARED TO DEATH to tell my boss. That's right - I have not told him yet. I plan to tell him on Thursday before I leave for a week and a half vacation. :) Not that I think he'll be mean about it at all - he is an incredibly nice and soft-spoken man...and his daughters are his LIFE so I know that family is important to him. I just don't know what his reaction to me being out for 3 months is going to be...and I'm scared...but I'll burn that bridge on Thursday, I suppose.

I have told a few people at work - mainly the ladies I work closely with. They have all had children - and I felt it best that SOMEONE know what was going on with me just incase someone found me in the fetal position in the corner of the copy room crying for my Mommy. Luckily that hasn't happened yet...but there have been some close calls. Trust me.

We waited to tell our families. We only waited 3 weeks but it felt like THREE YEARS as I wanted to tell my parents SO BAD!! We wanted to surprise them for Christmas. We each made a deal to tell our siblings.

I told Kim immediately since she JUST gave birth to my neice. She's my main resource for any and all pregnancy info!

On November 28, I met Matt and Kristen at Mexico for dinner. I sat down and said "I have to tell you guys something..." and before I could say anything else, Kristen screamed and covered her mouth with her hands and stared at me, eyes big as saucers. Matt looked at her...then me....then her...then me. Like "What the hell?" Then he got it. :) I didn't have to say anything. They both seemed very very excited and Matt even said that he would have to take time off of the Warped Tour to come home for the birth - which I think is crazy! But touching that he would even want to do that! I would never ask him to...

We have since told friends and co-workers slowly over the weeks.... I didn't want to make too much of a big deal until my first appt. But that plan went down the tubes when I finally HAD to tell my parents. I was so sick - it was very hard to hide it and I didn't want to AVOID my parents.

On December 15, we had the "Taylor Family Christmas" at my parents house for me, Toby, Matt, Kristen, Mom and Dad. Instead of exhanging gifts this year, we adopted a family that was in Hurricane Katrina and we spoiled them. We got together the night of the 15th to wrap all of the gifts and have a meal together. Although I didn't get to stay for the wrapping part because nighttime is the worst for me and my "sickness." So after dinner we gave Mom and Dad a little Christmas Present to unwrap. It was the book The Gift Of Being Grand. When Dad unwrapped the book, Mom got it instantly and covered her face with her hands and started bawling and walking backwards away from us... Toby got scared and thought she was upset. Matt and I knew different because we already discussed how she was going to freak the heck out. :) Dad just looked at her like "What is your problem?" and then got it himself and looked at me and said "Really?" He said "This is awesome! We thought we were going to be 80 before we had grandkids!" Mom is still over there bawling. They gave us hugs - and I think Mom being so emotional was starting to get Toby emotional - which was sweet. He's so excited too. He's convinced it's a boy.

And for the past week, my mother, Sandie Taylor, has had to KEEP THIS A SECRET because we have not told Toby's parents or our extended families. We will be telling them on actual Christmas. I can't wait to tell my Mimi and my aunts. They are going to be so excited! We also bought books for Christmas presents to give to Toby's parents and our grandparents. I got books about Great-Grandmothers and Great-Grandfathers... We thought that was a neat way to make our announcement on Christmas.

So, now I'm just kind of anxious. I'll feel much better after I tell my boss tomorrow. And I'll feel better once ALL of our family knows and I don' t have to hide it anymore. I won't be physically ABLE to hide it much longer - I've grown out of my clothes already!

Muu-Muus here I come!!

Thanksgiving and More...

Whew!!!! Life has been a bit of a whirlwind lately with the new job and the holidays....but I THINK I feel a little bit of breathing time coming up. My new boss is at Keswick today for a meeting so it will be a tad slower.

Thanksgiving was very nice; although not without some drama. I won't go into it too much because talking about it is equivalent to ripping my guts out but basically some members of Toby's extended family (on his Dad's side) refused to come to the family meal until my sister-in-law, Kim, and my new neice, Kendall, left because they did not want to be in the presense of a SEVEN WEEK OLD BABY who's father is black. That was never actually stated OUTLOUD but was extremely obvious; and was basically confirmed the next day when Kim called up to their house and confronted them.

And that's all I'm going to say because I'm getting worked up. Here is a picture of my beautiful, adorable, wonderful neice who is VERY loved by those that matter:



After that eventful family meal at 2:30pm, Toby and I hit the road for MY family's annual gathering in Tappahannock which was wonderful, as always. We got there around 5pm and left around 7 so we were not there very long. We missed the actual MEAL but that is just fine as I truly do not need to eat two Thanksgiving Dinners in one day.

On Friday, we hit the road again for Toby's Mom's house on the Eastern Shore to spend some time with her and her boyfriend, Rick, for Thanksgiving. On Saturday, Kim and her family came and we ALL spent another night. Siano, Kim's boyfriend, has another daughter (6 yrs old) from a previous relationship and she came with them. She quickly became Toby's best friend and she quickly made ME jealous with her AMAZING head of hair!




And in the true spirit of Thanksgiving: NAPS.
I must make a good pillow!



So, Thanksgiving is over and it was back to reality. The new job is going very well and I'm catching on more and more everyday. The first few days were a little rough - for a lot of reasons that I am not talking about...yet. :) Maybe one day. But now things are starting to even out and it's all falling into place and I'm feeling settled. Working for a VP is definitely up a few notches from my previous positions...so my anxiety level is higher than normal - I'm just scared of screwing up!!! I'm looking forward to getting more comfortable and not being on "level 10" every day!

My Monday back to work after the Holiday started off in an "interesting" way with another run-in with the mean lady in the locker room. This is my SECOND encounter with this woman - and it had my blood boiling and I nearly punched her in the face; which is SO unlike me. To make a long story short, this woman is as mean as a snake and has YELLED at me in the locker room in the fitness center here at work. Let me just say that NO ONE yells at me. No one. Not even my parents yelled at me when I was bad! So to have a complete stranger at work YELL at me?!?!?! Does not go over well.

My first encounter with her was last year some time.... She yelled at me for drying my hair near the sink and "filling it with hair" and not cleaning it up and for being inconsiderate of others. Ummm. #1 Who the heck are you? #2 I did not get hair in the sink. and #3 Why the HELL are you yelling at me in public locker room in front of lots of people?

This woman also pitches a fit when someone sprays anything - like deoderant, hairspray, perfume, etc... IS THIS NOT A WOMAN'S LOCKER ROOM AT 8AM IN THE MORNING??? Anyway..................

This past Monday, I walked into the locker room to hang my suit jacket on the pole where EVERYONE hangs their clothes while they are working out. She was the only other person in there and was pulling her clothes out of her bag and onto a hanger. I placed my hanger on the pole and turned to walk out when she yelled. (And I mean YELLED...)

"I WAS PUTTING MY CLOTHES ON A HANGER TO PUT THEM RIGHT THERE COULD YOU NOT SEE THAT?!?!?!"

I just stood there stunned, stared at her, reached up and moved my hanger over about 1 inch, and walked out.

Screw her.

And now I'm getting worked up over her so I"m going to stop this conversation as well.... I'll change the subject to a couple random thoughts I had this morning:

1. Why oh why does every single house in my neighborhood insist on filling their tiny front yards with SEVERAL blow up Christmas decorations that deflate during the night and look like big piles of laundry on their front lawn as I drive by to go to work in the mornings? And why oh why does that one house on the corner have a giant inflatable SNOW GLOBE in their yard that actually blows around fake snow in it?

2. I bet the sight of me (white girl) in her soccer mom vehicle (mazda tribute) jammin to "Hoochie Mama" by 2 Live Crew at top volume on the Powhite Parkway in the mornings really makes some people happy.

3. I really love my husband. That's not random but I just wanted to say it. :)

Ummmm....

The new job is kicking my arse!!! (In a good way, I think.)

I foresee some blogging in the next couple of days... expect a full update!

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to

But I didn't cry. Surprisingly I almost did - I had that little knot start in the back of my throat and my jaw started to hurt...and I didn't expect that (obviously from my last entry!)

My boss gave the most heartfelt speech about me and it was really really special. I swear, if I could take him and my 5 managers with me wherever I go, I would. But now instead of my bosses, they will be my 6 honorary uncles...that will kick you ass if you ever mess with me.

Woo hoo! Looking forward to Monday!

Oh Happy Day!!

Incase you forgot:

TODAY IS MY LAST DAY!
I START MY NEW JOB ON MONDAY!

Moving on...

1. My first real thought this morning: Leather seats in a vehicle are really cold when it's really cold outside. Like REALLY cold.

2. I have a new obsession: Mentha Lip Tint from Bath and Body Works in tint no. 1139 by CO Bigelow Apothecaries. Ladies! Go buy some. Men! Go buy some for your ladies.

3. I managed to make the NASTIEST concoction in my crockpot yesterday and when I got home and excitedly opened the pot, the smell knocked me out and I immediately emptied it over the side of the deck and Abby ate it up. Atleast someone enjoyed it. HOW HARD IS IT TO SCREW UP A CROCKPOT RECIPE? Geez.

4. I think I have a "surprise" goodbye party happening for me here at work before 5pm (it's 3:36 now) and I'm nervous and dreading it. Does that make me a bad person? I don't think so....but going in there and screaming I'M SO GLAD TO GET OUT OF THIS DEPARTMENT may just give people that impression.

No really...I feel like I owe a disclaimer to #4.

I truly appreciate my experience in this department and the support I received from many individuals here. It is clearly just time to move on and learn new things and to be around new people and to expand my horizons. I'm glad I'm leaving now while I still have friends here and I can leave on a high note. I wish no one negativity or harm, only success and happiness in future endeavors.

In the wise words of Semisonic: "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

Insert Title Here

1. Counting calories = torture. Now I know why I have never done it. I'm back to WW points on Monday. Those only go up to 24. And someone in an adjacent cube has just brought back a big, black styrophome container of fried goodness from the cafeteria and I can smell it and now all I can think about is greasy breakfast foods and how much I WANT SOME. Doesn't quite compare to my Cottage Cheese Double that I "enjoyed" earlier.

2. Toby and I had the BRIGHT idea to make all of our Christmas gifts this year. We decided on Decoupage. Can I just say that I am damn glad we had a "practice night" last night? There will be no decoupaged coasters and lampshades in our families' futures. I hope they can contain their sadness when we tell them of the "Christmas presents that never came to be."

3. While we practiced being crafty, Toby watched "Batman Begins" and then immediately popped in "Sin City." I am now on testosterone overload and feel like I need to go get a pedicure or buy a nice new pair of heels to get my estrogen level back on track! WTF are those movies??? I know what they are: HORRIBLE.

4. I just got out of a 2 hour Records Management meeting. Now THAT is invigorating. Makes me want to get in my car and go home and take a long nap....like until tomorrow morning.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

It's Madonna Day!

Denny and I have a standing date at the record store whenever a new Madonna CD is released. It's my favorite Denny & Stephanie tradition. I just got home from making our purchases at Tower...and can I just say, I LOVE THE WOMAN. She's just so FABULOUS. Who would have guessed that Boogie Nights would be her next reinvention? Leotards???? I mean, come on!

Go ahead and snicker but I think she's a genius.

Numerical Order

I would like to announce that I am going to steal my online friend Allie's template for journaling and use numbers. I think it looks neat and will help me to organize my thoughts and make blogging easier; therefore it will be more frequent - which is the goal. And Allie doesn't know that we are friends, but I like to think we are because she is so dang cool. :)

1. There exists a "Matt Taylor Fan Club" on MySpace.com. The girls who started said club are now selling buttons that have a picture of my brother with the quote "Matt makes me sexcited" which of course makes me laugh and puke at the same time.

2. My girlfriends from DWLZ came to Richmond on Saturday and we spent 12 straight hours eating and shopping and shopping and eating. Oh yeah, and laughing. A lot. I love those girls and I'm so thankful they are in my life. On Sunday, Toby and I had lunch with my parents and it was lovely! They came to check out the fruits of our labor (newly painted walls in shades NOT white!) After a chinese buffet lunch, we went by Kim's house so that my parents could meet my new niece who is the CUTEST BABY IN THE WORLD.




3. I start my new job in 4 business days - and not an HOUR TOO SOON! The level of BS in this department is just unbelievable. I don't know how some of these people fit in their offices with their GINORMOUS egos.

4. I worked out before work this morning.

5. I WORKED OUT BEFORE WORK THIS MORNING. I felt that statement was so monumental, that it deserved 2 numbers. It was nice to get it out of the way and I have had a nice, content, sublime feeling all day - with no guilty pangs. Note to self: No Guilt = Good Feeling!! KEEP IT UP!! I also started a new food journal that makes it easy to count calories. I'm going the calorie route since the WW Points route does not seem to be working as of late. We'll see. I'm going to give it the good ol' college try. AGAIN.

Desperately Seeking Motivation

Now that I know the the e-mail thing works, I'll give it a try from my actual cube. Since I have piles of work to do. And no motivation to do it WHAT.SO.EVER. Oh my gosh. It's 4:01pm and I really have not done much today. I hate to admit that but having ONE day like this is tolerable, right? Especially when I just found out this past Monday that on November 21 I will be STARTING A NEW JOB!!!!

God Bless America! Hallelulah! Amen! Woo hoo! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!

I'm very happy incase you couldn't tell. It's a bit of a promotion and it's in a completely different department and on a completely different floor than where I am now - and THAT is what I am most excited about. New people. New energy. No more negativity. New goals. No back-stabbing. The list goes on and on. I know that EVERY work environment has it's own "challenges" but I truly feel that my current place is much more dysfunctional than most - and I'm glad to be getting the heck out!

I am confident that this change will have a domino effect on the rest of my life. When you are unhappy at work (the place where you spend MOST of your life - how sad is that?) it tends to follow you home...and into the rest of your life...and manifest itself in other ways (negative view of self, tired all the time, irritable at innocent bystanders, etc.) and I'm sick of that happening. (And so are my innocent bystanders!!)

Here's to positivity all around!!!!

So, life is good.

Toby and I will be married for 9 months on Saturday. Sometimes that feels like 9 days and sometimes that feels like 9 years. Wow. That was a deep statement. (ha!) What I'm trying to say is - Marriage is hard!!!! But oh-so-rewarding. Anything WORTH A DAMN is going to be hard. It's difficult to CONSTANTLY be working and putting effort into something and at the same time remembering to not take it for granted and appreciate it to the fullest and overcome daily obstacles...Whew!...It's EXHAUSTING. Sometimes I don't think I am strong enough to be all grown-up and married and have such responsibilities. I'm a lazy-ass at heart. But most times, the challenges we have overcome remind me that I am incredibly strong and that I am the best damn wife this side of the Mississippi!! And he is the best damn husband this side of the James River. (haha - little humor for you Richmonders) And we are building a foundation of marriage that will last for eternity.

I have come to realize that is what the first year is all about. BUILDING A FOUNDATION. Every. Single. Day. And anyone who tells you that is easy, is a big fat liar! The goal is to successfully mesh YEARS (in our case, 31 and 28 years) of 2 very different and independent lives into ONE union under the same roof to create a healthy base for a future family. That is HUGE.

I have learned that while it is incredibly rewarding and exciting in it's own unique way, the first year of marriage is not like in the movies. It's not all fairy tales and bubble baths and champagne.....

The SECOND year is.

RIGHT?!?!?!?!

1.5 Months Later...

If anyone is still out there.....My LOVELY place of employement has now blocked all journal-y type sites as well as any photo album-y type sites. That is just great since most of my time was spent in those 2 places. I guess they want me to WORK or something. But anyway, I'm testing out this "E-mail to Blog" feature to see how this works....