So I've finally recovered from the world's worst cold. I eventually broke down and saw the doctor about it, and even though I'm pretty sure he knew it was just a cold and there wasn't anything to be done, he took sympathy on my pathetic self and gave me some antibiotics. I doubt they helped (except mentally, perhaps) but regardless, I am back to my normal self. The whole time I was sick I was bummed because I had a list of things to do come November, and there I was, stuck on the couch with a tissue stuffed up my nose, accomplishing nothing. And as many of my friends know, there is nothing I love more than crossing off my to-do list. So I'm doing my best to make up for it now. Here are some of the things that have been keeping me busy:
1. Getting My Teaching Certificate!
With student teaching done, the only thing standing in the way of my teaching certificate was my certification portfolio. Basically, it was a 20 page paper describing my teaching philosophy, what I've learned, what I still want to learn, etc. Plus I had to pull one work sample from every grad class I've taken and explain why it represented my understanding of teaching. Even through my cold-induced haze I pressed on and I'm glad to say the portfolio was signed, sealed and delivered to my advisor last week. Now I just have to wait for grades to be posted, paperwork to be signed and I will officially be able to mold young minds. This was the last step in a process that started two years ago when Matt pointed out that maybe what I really wanted to be doing in life was teaching. I told him to shut up, thought about it, and admitted he was right. I took the GRE, quit my job, commuted four nights a week to Athens, and finally find myself here. It's been quite a road.
2. Discovering the Clearance Bin
Ever since this pregnancy become noticeable to the naked eye, I knew maternity clothes were inevitable. But I wanted to make it through student teaching without having to buy any, if possible. I knew that once I was done, I could live in sweatpants and Matt's t-shirts if I had to. But finally even I had to admit that some new clothes were needed. And here's the thing. I wasn't opposed to buying maternity clothes. But they are so expensive! I mean, you have to buy them and they know it. And I'm a clearance rack girl. I can't tell you the last time I paid full price for anything in my closet. So I was already dreading the sticker shock I was about to endure. I almost threw up when my $100 tab at the local maternity store netted me only a pair of jeans, a pair of leggings, and two long sleeved shirts. My five dollar sweatpants were looking better and better. But then a wonderous thing happened. Old Navy emailed me a "30 percent off your entire purchase" coupon. A quick search revealed a maternity section in the Mall of Georgia store. So off I went. Now the maternity section was a mere two racks, one shelf and half a wall of clothes. But, holy grail! There was a clearance section! This time, I proudly walked away with three dresses, two sweaters, two long sleeved shirts, a pair of jeans, a cami, pj's and a WINTER COAT, all for $175. I can't tell you how nice it feels to be able to say "hmm, what shall I wear today?" instead of "I guess I'll have to wear that shirt again". How I love those orange clearance stickers. I'd say I'm set for quite a while now.
3. Blaming it on the Boots
So I had another doctor's appointment last week. I scored the H1N1 flu shot and suffered the obligatory weigh-in. Now up until this point, there hasn't been much action on the scale. A pound here, two pounds there, this is what I've been seeing each month. At my last appointment, I had gained a grand total of 4.5 pounds. So imagine my shock when the doctor cheerfully announced my total weight gain this time was a stunning 11 pounds! Um, what? (I swear when I went to my regular doc about my cold, his scale had me at a much more acceptable eight pounds.) So I promptly blamed the extra numbers on the fact that I was wearing boots. That's fair, right? RIGHT? Yeah, that's what I thought. It's definitely not the peanut butter and banana sandwiches I've been eating every day. Or the chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. Next month I take the glucose test to determine if I've developed gestational diabetes, and after that the visits will start happening a little more frequently. I guess that means we're in the home stretch! (Also, the baby weighs about the same as a rutabaga this week. Yeah, I don't know what that is either. But it's 1.5 pounds and kicking!)
4. On the Hunt!
And in the biggest news, Matt and I started house hunting last weekend! That's right, it's time to find ourselves a little nest for this baby girl. I thought we were in a pretty good position, with zero debt and a plump down payment saved up. But there's nothing like house hunting to make you feel poor. The houses we really like are just a bit out of our price range, and the houses we can afford are older or in neighborhoods we don't love. (At this point Matt would probably want me to point out that we've only been looking for two days and it's much too early to be freaking out and getting discouraged.) The good news is that we have a wonderful agent and I plan to make house hunting my full-time job until we find the perfect place. I'm going out again tomorrow, in fact. (I'm also seriously considering applying to be on HGTV's House Hunters!) But in the meantime, if anyone wants to buy me a lottery ticket, I wouldn't turn it down.
And there you have it. Sorry this post doesn't have any pictures... they are all on the other computer and the cat has firmly taken over my lap, making it a little difficult to get at them. Besides, I'm not sure anyone really wants to keep looking at my belly. I really should take some more interesting photos - I'll work on that. Until then...
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