Monthly Archives: December 2011

breathe

Posted on December 31, 2011 by nakia | Leave a comment

my tangible reminder.

breathe {breeth}
: to pause and rest before continuing
: to feel free of restraint
: to inhale and exhale freely

My inspiration for this year’s word came to me by way of Kaleb. He has a calming mantra that he recites from time to time…

side to side.
side to side.
breathe in.
breathe out.
side to side.

It has occurred to me recently that this is exactly what I should be doing. Breathing in. Breathing out.
Taking the time to take in the positive: love, happiness, joy and expelling the negative: worry, annoyance, sadness.

I often find myself worrying over small things, big things, insignificant things to the point of not being able to focus on much else. Keeping breathe at the forefront of my mind this year will remind me to focus on the important things: my family and to stop sweating everything else.

2011 was a year of change and 2012 will be my year to take it all in and just breathe.

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Category Inspirations, Musings | Tagged breathe, one little word

week thirty-one

Posted on December 30, 2011 by nakia | 1 Comment

We’re in the single digits now and time is flying.

Flying I tell you. Because, seriously, we’re going to have a baby in nine weeks? Get the hell out!

Not that I didn’t know we’d one day be this close. But being at the beginning of a pregnancy and seeing months of gestating still ahead of you is completely different from working on birth plans, touring hospitals and looking at crib mattresses because OHMYGOD there is going to be a baby here soon.

We made it through Christmas in one piece. Although for a few minutes there I was a little worried and started having scary preterm labor flashbacks. Methinks too much excitement on Christmas Eve + a very tired mama x lower back pain from hell = those kind of Braxton Hicks that are so much like real contractions, you’ve almost got yourself convinced that’s what they are.

But baby is still firmly in place and baking away. Dr Castillo confirmed it this week and so did the ultrasound tech. Because after reminding the good ol’ doc about pre-term labor issues with Kaleb she wrote up the order for an ultrasound. More baby pictures? Yes please!

Baby is of course looking fine and dandy and did quite a bit of performing for us today. And it was confirmed (again) that in addition to being an exhibitionist, Baby is indeed a boy. Go Team Blue! I’m glad because while a girl would be fun too, having to go back to the drawing board and come up with a girl name would probably be the death of my sanity.

The cravings this week have been all over the place. Junk food, fresh fruit, Roy Rogers, milk. Pure crazy because craving milk is just…weird.

A couple of nights ago, I dragged Kaleb out in the cold to do a fresh produce run at the grocery store. Blueberries and grapes. Tasty, tasty, tasty.

Something happens when Harry isn’t shopping with us. We had a little hand basket stocked with fresh fruit but we got waylaid while trying to get to the register. The chip aisle was calling me. So I answered. Because nothing says yum like blueberries and spicy nacho Doritos, right?

While scanning the aisle for artificial cheesy goodness, I saw a little boy not much younger than Kaleb. Cute kid. But he was standing there with this weird slack-jawed look of horror. Weird, but whatever. I was getting my chips then we were leaving.

But the little boy kept staring. And I realized he was staring at me. Or at my very swollen and (unbeknownst to me) exposed belly. At some point while reaching above my head to grab the bag of chips off the top shelf, my shirt rolled up without me noticing.

*shrugs* Whatever. I had my chips. I horrified a child. My work for the day was done.

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Category Belly | Tagged contractions, Miles, pregnancy, ultrasound

2011 reading wrap-up

Posted on December 30, 2011 by nakia | 3 Comments

At the beginning of the year, I challenged myself to read 50 books. I didn’t quite hit that goal but I got close – last night I started my 48th book of the year (although I haven’t quite finished book 47). My book list for the year was pretty wide ranging as far as genres go. Romance to historical fiction to dystopian fiction(my favorite of the bunch) to paranormal to contemporary to chick lit. I was all over the place.

My favorite books of the year were:

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins- I blasted through this trilogy in less than two weeks. Seriously, if you haven’t read this book or any in this genre before, you are doing yourself a great disservice. Hands down, this was my absolute favorite of the year. Its been made into a movie that is due out in March. Guess what my serious first post-baby outing is going to be?

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley- An epically long book but a worthwhile read. This book has me more curious than ever about the legends of Avalon, Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

Shiver by Maggie Steifvater – I think Amazon recommended this to me based on the fact that I’d read the Twilight trilogy. Don’t hate on me, but I enjoyed this so much better. Maggie Steifvater’s writing is beautiful. Read this book!

Divergent by Veronica Roth – The dystopian fiction genre really sucked me in this year. Divergent is another that was high on my list. Great writing, lots of action. I’m waiting impatiently for the sequel.

Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn – In my opinion, anything depicting Ancient Rome is worth reading. I loved that this book was written from various character viewpoints rather than the all-seeing narrator. Another one to add to your must-read list.

For 2012, I’m cutting myself down to a realistic expectation of reading 30 books. We’ll see just how realistic that number is when I’ve got a newborn strapped to my chest while trying to keep up with a seven-year old. Maybe reading will be my lock-myself-in-the-bathroom-to-get-some-peace time. I’m also toying around with the idea of trying to round up reader friends who would be interested in starting a book club. Maybe having some accountability and people to chat about my reads with will keep me motivated despite the sleep deprivation.

**PSA** For those of you who haven’t made the switch over to an e-reader yet:

I to was one of those people who stood back and snottily said “I like the way real books smell. I like the way they feel. I will never own an ereader.”

Then my Nana bought a Nook for me for my birthday. And I love it. There is something wonderful about being able to have every book you’ve read recently or plan to read readily available at the touch of a finger. And if you are a book hoarder like I was, owning an ereader will help you purge those books you’ve been stacking against the footboard of your bed. You’ll discover all kinds of new floor space.

I spent an hour last night reading through book descriptions and picking my first reads for 2012. Have you started planning your 2012 TBR list? Comment below with some of your top picks.

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Category Reads | Tagged 2011 wrap-up, books, classic, dystopian, fantasy, fiction, goodreads, historical, paranormal, reading

week thirty

Posted on December 28, 2011 by nakia | Leave a comment

{this week’s photo shoot brought to you courtesy of Kaleb Kammerzell}

Merry Post Christmas and Happy Late Holidays, friends!

Not that you’re probably keeping track, but yes – this post is obscenely late. I am now more than halfway through week thirty-one. Nevermind that though. I’m pregnant and get to run on my own schedule. March to the beat of my own drum and all that.

According to TheBump, Baby is the size of a squash this week. A squash that has a foot permanently jammed into my bladder all the time now. Which is fine. Its done all in love, I”m sure.

The craziness of the holidays kicked in last week and overwhelmed me which in turn made me dig in my heels and refuse to do almost anything. Such as cooking. Or cleaning the house beyond absolutely necessary duties. Seriously. I was even that person who put off wrapping gifts until Christmas Eve this year.

The intensity of my cravings has been increasing daily. During an absolutely lovely afternoon siesta, I dreamt of laying in the back of a pickup truck full of Cheetos and stuffing my face. Something that would never happen in real life because A) that would just be bad and B) I hate getting food on my fingers. Can you imagine me covered in messy orange spray-on cheesy crap? Ick.

I made some of these the other day and Holy Chocolate. They were yummy but by the time they were done being baked and frosted, this preggo was so sick to death of chocolate smell that I could only eat one. Now that we’re days past the Chocolate Overload, I’ve been eying the ones we have left and I’m pretty sure I can manage to devour a couple (or four). You should definitely make them. Be sure to have milk on hand though.

{ I won’t be wearing those jeans anymore, lol }

I’m having trouble fitting in my pants. And when I can get them on, they won’t stay up. Those secret fit belly pants are fantastic until your stomach is actually sticking out twice as far as your butt. Knowledge to file away and share with any friends who may be considering getting pregnant in the near future. I’m sticking to leggings, maternity hose and dresses-as-tunics. More more comfy and alot more stretchy.

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