Last night, the first 15 minutes of my drive home were harrowing.   Rain was coming down in sheets.  I'd get a glimpse of road, then WHAM another gust of wind and obliterating sheet of rain.  There were points in time where I could barely see the road.  In front of me was some poor guy on a motorcycle without a helmet.  I prayed he didn't wipe in the rain.  Finally, just as I got about a quarter mile from the interstate, the skies broke.  I did not want to travel the busy interstate which is under construction, during a storm like that.  It's dangerous enough with all the idiot drivers on a good day.
  After a couple of miles I noticed a gorgeous low, wide-arcing rainbow in my rearview mirror.  I felt as though I had been given a gift.  I told hubby about it as I was saying goodbye this morning and he had seen it on his way to class last night.

 
***

The body pillow I bought this weekend is awesome.  I've been sleeping much better at night and having less back pain.  I was worried about it since it was cheap and all the others I had seen online were pricey and fancy with J-shapes or big U-shapes to cradle the body.  Hubby likes it, too.  I put it down the middle of the bed (which also has the benefit of preventing his groping me while he's asleep).  He can cuddle up to it, too and is enjoying it.  Even the cats are in on the pillow action.  They can lie on it and knead it all they want without a ruthless human shoving them off.   Let me tell you, having an 18 pound cat sit on your belly, boobs or genitals (if you happen to be hubby) and kneading is not comfortable.

Yesterday was another OB appointment.  I'm 17 weeks now, and so far everything looks good.  Hubby came with me so he could hear the heartbeat since he didn't make it last time.  We had a few tense moments as the doctor tried to locate the baby, then all of a sudden there it was, loud and clear!  We decided to go ahead and have the optional ultrasound to find out the baby's sex.  I'd still like to be surprised, but we'd really like the second ultrasound.  We'd eventually find out the sex anyway, so it'll be sooner rather than later.

***

This past weekend wasn't bad, but it was one of those with a bunch of little annoyances that added up.  Hubby has been in classes after work, so we don't see each other Monday-Thursday.   I'm asleep by the time he gets home, and he's sleeping in each morning. 

Friday, on his way home he received a call from the lieutenant wanting to call him out.  Someone else is on call this week, and hubby hadn't been home before 10:30 all week.  LT decided not to call him out right then, but warned he might call back later.

Saturday morning, LT called again wanting hubby to translate.  Hubby was out of the county at the time (a good hour drive away) and is not fluent in Spanish.  He speaks enough to get basic information, but he's not qualified to take an official statement, which is what they needed.  So LT put him on stand-by (which basically means on call but without the pay).  After several hours of sweating it out, hubby called back only to discover they had tracked down someone already on duty who is fluent.

In the meantime we went to a mall that has an Old Navy with maternity clothes...our pathetic mall only has a regular Old Navy.  Both of us forgot that this week is tax exempt on clothing and school supplies, so the mall was insane.  We avoided several accidents in the parking lot, then had to dodge people in the mall.  I did get some cute clothes and a body pillow, but it was a lot of stress in the getting.  **Don't buy the trendy under-the-belly lowrise maternity pants.  I bought one pair thinking they were really cute and had to hitch them back up all day long.  I'm so not into the gangsta-undies-hanging-out look.**

Sunday we drove 30 minutes to the birthing class.  The classes actually started last week even though we had told the instuctor that we'd be out of town that weekend and she said postpone the start date by a week.  Of course, that never happened.   When we arrived, several very pregnant women were already there with their partners.  I got a little worried.  When the instructor opened the door, she told us we had missed our class.  Apparently the folks we saw were on their last class of the series, so the instructor had moved our classes up 2 hours for the first 2 weeks due to the overlap.  She supposedly sent out an e-mail notifying us of this, but I never received it.  She then said that she had some trouble sending the e-mail out (I guess a phone call would've been too much trouble.)  She said not to worry, that new couples were still coming in, but now we've missed the first two classes, and next week I'll most likely go alone since hubby will be on call.  I'll be the loser who missed two classes and is without a partner.

 

Hubby and I had a great time this past weekend on our mini-vacation.  The weather was great most of the time, with a few little showers, but nothing bad.  Our main reason for going was so hubby could attend a seminar at the martial arts school he used to train at.  He had a wonderful time and was promoted by his old instructor.  He's now 1 level away from a black belt.

I'm going to be snotty now.  The style he studies is not one with all the showy spinning high kicks and 50 different belt colors.  Those styles have their purpose, and I could totally get my little ass kicked by someone who studies them, but the style hubby studes is truly hard core.  Low kicks, grappling, lots of bone breaking techniches, and lots of soft tissue and joint techniques.  The style also teaches use of weapons ranging from traditional swords and chains to knives and handguns.   With very little effort, he can lay on a big hurt.  I've been practiced on enough to know.  And I've been able to use some of them very effectively on hubby - who's twice my weight and a lot more skilled than I am.   I'm very proud of him - he's been at this on and off for about 15 years now.  It's not a popular style, so he's often lived far from a school and gone for spells without training.  He's really pumped now, knowing he's almost a black belt, and knowing there's a lot more to learn.

I had a great time with his mom and sister while he was away at the seminar.  We tooled around town and hung out with SIL's little girl (who is adorable and cracks me up).  A family member has a horse pastured above MIL's house, and little girl would yell for the horse, and the horse would canter right on over to the fence.   Little girl would point and giggle.

We went out to a Mexican restaurant for dinner with FIL, stepmom, and the sisters-in-law.  That was an interesting experience.  I keep forgetting that anything other than country-style home cookin' is fairly new to them.  Hubby and I started dating long before that restaurant even opened.  So hubby had to order for his parents as they had no clue  to what anything was.  Luckily theyenjoyed the meal.

We also discovered that hubby is going to be deeded 3 acres of his mom's property.  We knew she was divvying it up among the kids, but had no idea she had such a chunk.  Someday we'd love to put a cabin there for a weekend/retirement home.   I can imagine a veggie garden, a few chickens, and a goat to keep the weeds down.  And of course, a pumpkin patch.

One can dream!

Last night I received a surprise phone call from one of my high school friends (she's one of the group of 3 I've mentioned before).  It was such a nice surprise - we see each other once or twice a year and probably talk on the phone about that often.  Most of our contact is through e-mails, so phone calls are a special treat.

She wanted to know about the pregnancy and how hubby and I are.  She's doing well.  She's in the throes of planning her wedding (very exciting) and is doing a lot of cool freelance work on the side.  Her "real" job isn't going so hot, so I won't even go there.   Her fiance's business is also doing well.  He's an amazingly hard worker, and it's paying off for him.

I asked her about our other friend, the one who I knew was having fertility problems (this info had come from the 3rd friend).  Our friend is still unable to conceive, has gone through 2 IUIs and 2 or 3 cycles of IVF.  I feel horrible and it's been weighing on my mind.  I want to talk to friend about it and tell her I think about her often, but she wasn't the one who told me, so I'm not sure she even wants me to know.  Her dad doesn't even know what she's going through - she only told her mom.  She's very private about personal things and I don't want to overstep our friendship, so I won't say anything unless she offers the information to me.   I also know that with me being pregnant, it adds a whole new level of discomfort to the situation.  I wish I knew what to say to let her know I care and am praying they get pregnant.  If any couple should have a baby, it's them.

Hubby and I are leaving tonight for a long weekend to visit his family. I'm looking forward to the chance to relax and to the change of scenery. His family lives in a gorgeous area in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

***

I saw on last night's news that 2 of the 4 men seen taking the girl from the mall this week were arrested. They were charged with something along the lines of interfering with a custodial parent and with sexual battery. The second charge sadly came as no surprise to me. I'm still very angry about the whole incident. What kind of shitbag lures a retarded young woman away from safety and rapes her? I hope there's a special place in hell for all who commit sexual assault.

Last night hubby and I had dinner with friends. Friend's wife and I joke that hubby and friend are boyfriends because they go out to the movies and for drinks and are always calling each other on their cells. They're a really nice couple and I really couldn't ask for a better "boyfriend" for hubby. We always have a good time and joke a lot when with them.

Somehow, the dinner conversation got onto missionaries/volunteers from friend's old church who used to go to Appalachia during the summers to build churches and whatnot. Friend, who himself is southern and has a very colorful family, stated something to the effect of them going along roads and removing the doors from dump-off refrigerators in order to save the poor redneck children from suffocating. This led to hubby reminisicing about catching a refrigerator on fire with a magnifying glass and sunlight. Yes, the fridge was on his porch. And, no, it didn't work.

Hubby was quite the firebug as a little kid. He got the fridge flaming enough that he had to use the hose to put it out. The inner plastic lining and underlying insulation are VERY flammable. This was the second or third time he caught the porch on fire. One previous incident involved a homemade flamethrower made from a can of hairspray and a match - an effective way off killing those pesky wasps. Unfortunately screening also burns. Another time he nearly burned down the woods behind the house. His dad had put a used propane cannister in the burn barrel without telling hubby. When hubby lit the trash, the cannister exploded, shot up into the air, and caught a pine tree on fire. Again, he was able to get things under control with the water hose.

Lord help me, I hope the peanut doesn't have daddy's pyro tendencies. Otherwise I'm sure hubby will use the same ineffective deterrant his mom used: "Don't play with fire or you'll pee your bed!"

Last night hubby and I went to a local mall to pick up a b-day gift for my stepmom and to finally buy the treadmill we've been hemming and hawing over. I always hate to spend a big chunk o'change on something I feel is a frivolous buy, but let's face it, we live in Florida and it's just too damn hot to exercise outside. Hubby's been complaining about wanting to lose weight ever since he re-gained the 30+ pounds he lost a couple of years ago. He worries about getting fat and I know he worries that I'll think he's fat, which is silly, because I love him no matter what. I also could use to get my pregnant butt off the recliner a bit more and the heat has just been unbearable for me. By the time it's a reasonable temperature outsite, the mosquitoes are in full force. I normally don't like to use bug spray and am paranoid about it now, and we've already had a couple confirmed cases of West Nile in the state. So, a treadmill it is.

While at the mall, we saw a slew of cops. Finally as we were getting ready to leave, hubby went up to one he recognized and asked if everything was 77 (that's copspeak for "is everything OK") and it wasn't. A mentally challenged teenager had gotten separated from her family and was missing. Cops were searching the mall and guarding each exit hoping to find her.

Today on the news I heard that the girl was found this morning wandering in a neighborhood an hour or so away, after an anonymous tip was called in. Later yesterday a security tape was discovered showing her leaving the mall with 4 unknown men, one leading her by the hand. Of course, the men were nowhere around when she was found.

I got so angry. How could anyone do such a fucking horrible thing? The men must have known that she was challenged and took advantage of it. The news report stated she was in good health and at a hospital for observation, but I wonder what the men did to her.

The bathrooms at work have been a big issue of mine lately. The closest to my lab has been closed for the past couple of weeks for renovations. They've been so thorough on redoing the bathrooms, that the tiled OVER the old tile walls. Nothing was wrong with the bathrooms (except the horrible ventilation which means when someone stinks up the joint it stays stinky) but our department sold a chunk of property a few years back and the money has to be spend on buildings/facilities or it will be reabsorbed by the state. I'm happy to see the ugly peachy-fleshtone tiles go, but I'm impatient to get the damn bathroom back. I still have to pee all the time and am tired of hiking all over the building.

We have some very nasty, dirty women at work. Twice when I went to use the potty the other day, it had shit smears on the seat. I understand that accidents or explosive diarrhea can happen, but come on. Can't people clean up after themselves? Our bathrooms aren't high volume, so there's no excuse. There's plenty of tp and kill-all alcohol spray in the bathroom, so cleaning up is far from impossible.