Visiting the Ole Alma Mater

Last weekend, my husband and I took a trip to Indiana for his sister’s wedding. We had some time to visit where he went to undergrad: Depauw University. We caught up with a couple of his favorite professors and wandered around his old haunts.

It was a beautiful day for it. Very fall, very collegiate-feeling. We were both struck by how long it’s been since we were undergrads, how young all the students looked, and what they must think of us old folks.

Current Fixations #2

Anuschka Handbags (If you bought me any/all of them, I wouldn’t be mad)

Holiday Gift Sets!

Neko Atsume

Snoogle (This has become essential in being able to get to sleep. Turns out being totally exhausted isn’t enough to overcome the awkwardness of having a small person attached to you)

Ingrid (I have been wanting this shade for nearly a year and finally got it. Can’t. Stop. Wearing. It.)

September Goals Update

Post to the blog at least twice a week

—>The month got off to a slow start, I’ll admit. But I’m trying to work ahead of myself and I think I’m in a good place. October should be better.

More music: listen to more music generally, try out at least one new artist every month

—>Artists discovered:

Laura Marling
The Staves

Knit more, at least 20 minutes a week

—>Alas, no real progress here. Trying not to get too freaked out about that. Telling myself that if I finish the booties, that’s a really good thing. The hat would be a bonus.

Bake more, at least twice a month

—>Nothing new to report here. More muffins.

Do more signature things, for parties and holidays and birthdays and so forth; more thoughtful gestures

—>At this point, I think we should all just move on.

Go exploring more, at least twice a month

—>This has become something of a joke. My ability to walk around has become drastically limited. Well, I can still go exploring, I suppose, if I’m cool with panting for long stretches of time and crashing hard afterward.

Exercise every day, at least a little

—>While I’m keeping up my yoga, exercising every day has gotten tougher. Not so much because the actual exercises are harder (though they are…I weigh so much!) but because I spend so much more time resting. Either sleeping longer or chilling on the couch or trying to figure out how to manage my persistent backache and heartburn.

Take better care of my skin: take off makeup regularly; mask at least once a week

—>There are good stretches and bad stretches. Trying to get back into doing masks as well.

Take better care of my body: drink more water and eat more produce

—>Heartburn has complicated this somewhat. I can’t drink the vast quantities of water I used to and my appetite is adversely affected by particular bad bouts…which, if we’re being honest, is pretty much all the time.

Keep in better contact with people, regular emails and phone calls sort of thing

—>Doing a little better on this front. Sort of awkwardly, this is facilitated by my not having very much to do at work. So I write long emails when I’m bored.

Read more, at least two books a month

—>Books read:

Orthodoxy
Your Amazing Newborn
Our Bodies, Ourselves: Pregnancy & Childbirth

Books started:

Childbirth Without Fear
Breastfeeding Made Simple

Keep home tidy every day

—>I’d like to think of it as the calm before the storm. Things are coming together…slowly. We even got a steam cleaner thingy for the floors. But we’re no less busy than ever, so progress is intermittent and interrupted. It’s a livable space, don’t get me wrong. But it will definitely benefit from some professional attention.

More reflection/journalling

—>This has become spottier. I can only blame fatigue. It feels like I have less to say, generally. And less energy to say it with.

Look for and keep track of sources of inspiration, big and small

—>Man…I continue to not have any real idea of what I meant by this. I think this goal has been kind of a dud.

Get and stay organized

—>Jewelry is pending. I’m still waiting for a few things to arrive from Etsy, but I’ve made some solid progress on the clothing front. Pictures and details will come in a later post.

Set schedules/routines and stick to them

—>I managed to work out a sort of schedule. It’s a bunch of time blocks, basically. I break my day out into roughly three hour chunks and slot activities by categories:

6-9am Personal Time
- Exercises
- Breakfast
- Tea
- Reading
9am-12pm Body care
- Snack
- Yoga/Belly Dancing
- Shower
12-3pm Mind care
- Blog posts
- Reading
- Nap
3-5pm Home care
- Tidying
- Dishes
- Baking
6-8 Bonus time
- Snack
- Reading
- Cooking
- Yoga/Belly dancing
- Manicure

I don’t follow it strictly on every home day, but it’s a useful guide. I can definitely say that I’m more productive now than I was before.

The Countdown Begins

I’m over it. I’ve had enough. I feel like I’ve been saying that the whole time, but I mean it more now?

Whereas previously, I was not particularly fussed about being pregnant. Why get excited about something that’s neutral at best? Now…it actively sucks (again). My back hurts all the time. I can barely eat for all the heartburn. And doing pretty much anything other than lying down (including sitting up) results in heavy panting. Turns out making a small human takes a lot out of a person.

And then there’s the other side of it. How excited my husband and I are to meet this little person. Get to know him/her in real life. Instead of extrapolating from all the rolls and kicks and hiccups (which are pretty much non stop). By this point, we’ve each got the delusional notion that the child will come out walking and talking and basically fully baked. After taking so long to come out, it seems the only possibility.

So, no matter how you slice it, I’m impatient. It’s a march to the end. Normally, in a situation like this, I’d do a countdown. To my birthday. To a big trip. To moving house. But those things have clearly defined endpoints. I’m not really sure what to countdown to here. Sure, there are allegedly seven weeks left. But that’s a guess at best. It’s really up to the baby (and my doctor?) when the little thing is ready to come out. And, as I mentioned above, I’m rather at a loss to figure how to ask when that is and be able to understand the response.

But I’ve got to do something, right? So, I’m telling myself there are roughly 45 days left. 45 days to do what feels like all the things ever. Even when I talk myself through it and it’s like ten things tops. 45 days. I got this.

Seattle: Bainbridge Island/Underground Tour

On our last day, we had the whole day to play, so we took a ferry and went exploring on Bainbridge Island.

Afterwards, we went on the Seattle Underground Tour.

Seattle: Pike Place Market

On our second day in Seattle, we started with a delicious breakfast at Toulouse Petit before wandering around Pike Place Market.

Seattle: Fremont/Ballard

Over Labor Day weekend, my husband and I went to Seattle for a friend’s wedding. We had some time around the event itself, so we saw some of the sites.

On our first day, we explored a bit of Fremont and stopped for dinner at Delancey after drinks at Essex (I couldn’t miss the chance after following Orangette for years). The cocktails were really good, unusual flavor combinations that I was really digging.

Baby Shower, Indian Style

At the beginning of August (I know, I know…more than a month ago now), my husband and I went to New Jersey to visit family and have a sheemantham/valaikappu performed. This is sort of the South Indian equivalent of a baby shower. My dad timed his visit to the US (my parents moved to India a few years ago) so that he could attend, and we had set up a web streaming account so that my mom and other relatives abroad could witness the festivities.

To give you a bit of context, I Googled the ceremonies and put together the following primer.

Sheemantham

Literal meaning: hair parting just above the eyebrow, where it is said that Lakshmi (goddess of wealth) resides
Originally done for each child, now just the first one
Typically done by husband’s parents
Meant to ask for good health for mother and child
Done in the last few months of pregnancy to ensure that the baby can hear the chanting of the prayers
Crushed banyan flowers are smelled by the mother to protect the mother and baby and make for an easier delivery
Pregnant woman is presented with a new sari

Valaikappu

Women from the community gather to place bangles on the pregnant woman’s arms
Glass bangles – the sound is meant to be particularly good/engaging/appealing for the baby; entices the senses
Non-religious, cultural tradition
Typically done by the mother’s parents (which, when combined with the sheemantham could get confusing, I should think)

And here’s what it looked like:

August Goals Update

Post to the blog at least twice a week

—>This was going better. I was even scheduling posts! Then work chaos slowed things down. But I’m back on track…I think. More or less.

More music: listen to more music generally, try out at least one new artist every month

—>Artists discovered:

Watkins Family Hour
Lianna La Havas (not really a new artist to me but a new album)

Knit more, at least 20 minutes a week

—>Work complicates everything, doesn’t it. I haven’t had nearly as much down time this month as I’ve gotten used to. So knitting progress has been slow. Naturally, since my current projects are baby-related, this has resulted in some small amount of anxiety.

Bake more, at least twice a month

—>This is going pretty much as it has been recently. Baking around once a week. Found an awesome recipe for zucchini bran muffins that’s become a staple.

Do more signature things, for parties and holidays and birthdays and so forth; more thoughtful gestures

—>Yeah…this is not really happening.

Go exploring more, at least twice a month

—>Again, a lot of non-local travel has pushed this down on the priority list. Should probably act fast on this as I’m getting bigger and the weather should be getting cooler.

Exercise every day, at least a little

—>So I’ve been really good about this (if I do say so myself). I do a wall sit, a forearm plank, a side plank on each side, and triceps dips every day (or pretty damn close, anyway). I go to prenatal yoga 2-3 times a week. I go to regular yoga 3-4 times a week. And I’m still hanging on at ballet once a week, though this may not last much longer.

Take better care of my skin: take off makeup regularly; mask at least once a week

—>I’m getting better at taking makeup off. Not great, but better. Created a HabitRPG habit which has helped a bit. Masks are still rather catch as catch can. Part of the challenge of this stuff is not having consistent routines. While life has only been moderately crazy, pregnancy stretches out my recovery time.

Take better care of my body: drink more water and eat more produce

—>Still keeping up drinking lots of water and having fruits and veggies almost every day

Keep in better contact with people, regular emails and phone calls sort of thing

—>Ehh…not really. Procrastination and social avoidance have come back in full force, which has adversely affected this sort of thing.

Read more, at least two books a month

—>I started a lot of books that I ended up setting aside:

Books read:

Keep home tidy every day

—>Would you take every couple days? This was going all right until my husband and I got swamped at work. Now it’s all we can do to keep up cooking regularly. On top of that, you want us to keep things neat? Pshaw!

More reflection/journalling

—>I’m back on the journalling wagon. It’s been nice. The credit is due to my reviving HabitRPG, but it’s been nice reflecting on things. Especially as my head has been going a million miles. It’s really the only way I can keep track of things.

Look for and keep track of sources of inspiration, big and small

—>Uhh…does reading all the pregnancy and childbirth books ever count?

Get and stay organized

—>Made a bit of progress here. Did a first pass at the room that will become the nursery. I got a unit from IKEA to store my makeup in.

This is progress, I swear (hence the mood lighting, covers up some of the sin).

Set schedules/routines and stick to them

—>This is getting kind of bad. For a while, I was coasting on my new and improved internal clock. I woke up every day around 5:30am and couldn’t get back to sleep so I just got up. Now…I wake up early enough but fall back to sleep quite easily. On more than one occasion, I have lazed the morning away as a result. Step one has been to determine that I want to be up by 6am every day. I think the next step will be defining chunks of time and using them for specific activities.

Summer in the City

…means cleavage, cleavage, cleavage.

A couple weeks ago, my husband and I took a road trip to New Jersey to visit family. While we were there, we spent a day in New York City. We kept things simple and stuck to seeing the Met and going on a Statue of Liberty cruise.

It was gorgeous weather for it. Sunny and warm, but not sweltering or at all humid. Completely uncharacteristic for August in New York.

I had been wanting to go see the China: Through the Looking Glass exhibit at the Met for a while now. Since we were going to be around while it was still open, it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.

I’m really glad we went to see it. It was gorgeous and fascinating. Everything was breathtaking, and the approach to the pieces was really interesting. I definitely recommend checking it out if you get the chance. It’s been extended through September 7, so act while you still can.

(While we were there, I couldn’t resist taking a picture of Bill Clinton’s uber patriotic saxophone.)

Then we made our way south to take the Ellis Island cruise.

It was one of the most touristy things I’ve ever done, but we had a deal and thought, “Why not?” It turned out to be a lot of fun. The naive enthusiasm of the other tourists on the boat was catching and the views were undeniably gorgeous.