A series of unfortunate events

Have you ever found yourself in a "funk"? I think that I'm in one right now, prompted by my vacation in Florida last week. Can you believe my funk was caused by a vacation?? It all started when my friends and I took an ill-fated boat ride with Capt. Bill. Here's a pic of me, Katie, Krissy and Eric on the USS Minnow-jk. On the ride back, we got splashed and then my really expensive, awesome camera , which happens to be one of my favorite possessions stopped working. Needless to say, I've been a little stressed since then. My husband is pretty mad about it and I'm pretty mad too, but mostly at myself for bringing the camera on the trip. I've been trying to look at the bright side of the situation, but it just doesn't seem that rosy right now. Sean can't find the receipt, so I'm hoping that they will still accept our warranty claim:)

But, since this is a blog about being thankful for things, I will say that I am really glad that I saw a wild manatee upclose! It was pretty darn cool, but my stomach just hurts when I look at the pictures! I didn't take this one, Eric did, so it's not quite as much salt in the wound:)

The rest of my series of unfortunate events probably aren't as unfortunate as they seem to me right now, but I've been so bummed about the camera, my whole perspective has been skewed. But to continue the story, we were visiting Florida for a friend's wedding (which I sadly have no pics of). I thought that we ticked off my friend the night before the wedding so much that she was going to uninvite us. The story behind that is not really very exciting, so I'll chalk that up to nerves and stress. Luckily, she forgave us by the next day. We showed up to the wedding without being escorted away:) It was a beautiful evening wedding on the beach and my friend looked so beautiful and happy. I'm so glad for her! Hopefully, I'll get some pics of the wedding soon! (Hint, Hint: Krissy and Katie share your pics with me)

However, while standing on the beach after the ceremony, I've realized that my varicose vein (compliments of pregnancy) has started to creep up my leg and making its way across my thigh. Pretty sweet, huh? Actually, I think that I've had a pretty easy pregnancy so far, so I don't want to complain too much. However, this varicose vein isn't just unsightly, it makes my leg ache and I'm not too thrilled about that, but I'll deal for the next 16 weeks. If anyone has any advice for avoiding/stopping them, shoot it my way! My internet research hasn't yielded any hot tips, but the good news is that it's really likely that it will go away after delivery-yay!

The day after the wedding, I had to take an online final to finish up my food science class (the very one that has kept me from you, blog). Well, since most of my studying occurred in Florida, I didn't have the best result...I ended up missing an "A" in the class by 5 points. In reality, this isn't a huge deal, but it just burns me, b/c I busted my butt in the class. I had the top test on the midterm and one of the 5 best research papers in the class, so if only I would have studied a little more! I know, it's a stupid thing to worry about, but these types of things really bother me.

On the plane ride home, I realized that I've gotten to the part of pregnancy where I just can't hold it anymore. I annoyed the old lady sitting next to me something terrible when I had to get up to go to the bathrooom twice during the flight. Oh well, nothing I can do, it probably would have been more annoying if I would have peed in my seat.

When I got home, I found ants in our pantry and the crab grass overtook my garden. Then, Sean found out that he has to travel this week, probably until Thursday. It's only been 3 weeks since he got back from his 7 week stint in Illinois and one of those weeks we were on separate vacations:) Oh well, I guess our chores can always be pushed off until later. At least the bug spray people are coming on Wednesday and I don't have to bake cakes this week, so I'll have time to go out and pull the crabgrass.

Today, to top it off, I'm in for a fight with my insurance company, doctor's office over an ultrasound. I can hardly wait for the phone calls!

But, like I said earlier, this blog is about being thankful! Everyone has times that just get them down. Most of the time, annoying stuff like bills and ants and crabgrass aren't a big deal. But, it's hard to keep them in perspective when other things have gone wrong. This has always been a challenge for me, so I'm glad that I have this blog so that I can publicly keep these problems in perspective. In reality, this is the small stuff, even my camera isn't that big of a deal, it's fixable and/or replaceable. I love that thing and it's worth the cost to fix (maybe I just won't tell Sean how much it costs). Even if that ultrasound costs me $231, it was a huge relief to see our baby on that screen. She's so beautiful and amazing, definitely worth $231 to know she's snug and happy inside my belly. We probably just won't see her again until it's in person:) (I could go on and on about the healthcare system here, but I'll leave it at don't trust your doctor's office to tell you that something won't be covered!) I'm thankful that I learned that lesson. Oh, I can't forget to be thankful that I don't have a bake anything this week!!!!!

It's been a long time...my friend

Oh blog, I've missed you so and I'm sorry I haven't written in such a long time.
I just finished 6 weeks of class and now I finally have some time to write and I am excited. I have 2 more classes over the next 6 weeks, but hopefully they won't require me to cook/bake for 10 hours a week!
I have one great topic that I'd like to write about since I had to do a lot of traveling this spring. That topic is airport bathrooms. When you travel alone, you come to appreciate thoughtful design of an airport bathroom. First, you really do need a stall that is bigger than a normal stall. Kudos to you, Detroit airport designers. You successfully created a stall where carry-on luggage can be manuevered into the stall without having to stand on the toilet. Both me, my bladder, and my luggage appreciated the ease of entry and exit of your stalls. You even took it up a notch by having the door open out, instead of in, and I will give you a big, fat kiss if we ever meet in person. There are many airport bathrooms that don't live up to your quality, there is nothing more terrible than having a door that opens in, inside a stall that is already too small for a person and her carry-on and backpack.
The second most important thing is having enough stalls in the bathroom to handle the traffic. Three stalls doesn't cut it, Portland, ME, it just doesn't cut it. When you're pregnant, you appreciate bathrooms that allow you to walk right in and do your business without waiting in line.
So, I'd just like to say, take connecting flights through Detroit if you are looking for great bathrooms and a weird, trippy tunnel that might remind you of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.