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On Friday I was watching the Today Show in which they did a segment on this newly growing trend called “Wombtubing”, where moms-to-be are peeing on a stick and sharing their reactions as they learn they’re pregnant on film, then posting on YouTube. (Note: I’m assuming you don’t actually see the act of peeing in these vids!!) The news segment showed a few example clips and then the topic moved into whether you should blog throughout your pregnancy or keep it private. Of course my opinion on this topic is pretty clear – LIVE OUT LOUD LADIES!!
Well, this is just what I’ve chosen to do and it’s not for everyone. Of course I didn’t film my reaction as I picked up the EPT stick to find the word ‘PREGNANT’ staring back at me. But I always knew that when the day came that I found out I’m pregnant, I’d blog the whole way through. That’s just me – I like to share. First and foremost, I live a million miles away from my family and longtime friends, so blogging my pregnancy is a way to keep them up to date with how I’m doing. And from what I hear, they all seem to really enjoy following along. Secondly, it’s about building a community of like-minded people – most of which, I don’t know. People want to know that what they’re going through is similar to what others are going through, or they want to seek or give advice, and blogging is a great way to do that. I’ve followed blogs where the blogger wasn’t pregnant, just a funnyass blogger, and then she got pregnant, and now she’s had the baby and I’m chomping at the bit to see what she and the baby are doing next. You might be thinking to yourself; Why? She’s a stranger! …Welllllllll, because I’m going to be there soon and it helps to know what to expect from someone who is just a few steps ahead of me, that’s why!
Is blogging about my weight gain, pregnancy acne, back pain, and the size of my baby bump TMI? Personally, I don’t think so. I mean, if you don’t care, all you have to do is never come back to my blog! But one thing I don’t necessarily agree with is this idea that you should keep your pregnancy private because it’s “personal”. That seems like kind of a throwback notion to me. Like I should wear baggy matronly clothes to try to conceal the baby bump as best I can. Heck no! It seems like women these days are wearing their baby bumps with pride, dawning cute, fitted tops and skinny jeans, wearing bikinis at the beach, and sharing their pregnancy details with the help of social media.
Being pregnant is such a magical experience and I don’t know how you can not want to talk about it and show it off! I’m beaming with pride at my little dancing munchkin in my tummy! I may not be the first person in the world to experience pregnancy, but it’s the first time I’VE experienced pregnancy, so I want to tell the world how amazing it is, and maybe also complain about the not so amazing parts, but hey, it’s all part of the experience! And plus, I just like the idea of being able to look back on these blogs years down the road and smile at how I felt or the funny things I said, or the stuff I worried about that maybe my future self knows was no big deal. Using technology to document your pregnancy is a great way to build memories for you and your child, so I say blog and vid away ladies! Capture life as it’s happening!
Baby bump watch continues – week 27!
Pardon this sleepy look, jeez! I totally forgot about my baby bump pic last night and was in my PJ’s with my hair pulled back in a messy ponytail and headband when I remembered to take the picture. You’d think after 15 consecutive weeks of doing this I’d never forget. *Pregnancy Brain*
Now the baby is about 2 lbs. and 14.5 inches long, like the size of a head of cauliflower, according to Babycenter.com. She’s sleeping and waking in regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and even sucking her fingers! Babycenter warns me that hiccups will become a regular occurrence from here on out. Good grief, this little one is a mover and a shaker already! She’s even becoming distracting in meetings! It’s fun when I wake up in the mornings because it’s like she wakes the same time I do, and I just lay in bed and watch the movements she’s making that are visible on the outside now, like kicks and waves of movement from one place to another. It’s fascinating!
The further along I get, the longer the Babycenter weekly emails are with lists like “Symptoms you should never ignore” and how life is changing for me, ticking off the various pains I’m likely feeling. I’ve got one more week and I’m in the final lap of this pregnancy – the third trimester! Is there a fast forward button on this process? Or maybe a pause? (Oops, baby just kicked me hard when I typed that!! Sorry girlfriend, I was kidding!)
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It’s been a while since I’ve uttered the phrase: “God, I miss college.” You know the phrase. You’ve said it yourself, I’m sure. I probably said it for the first two to three years post college after my first initial brushes with the real world, such as bad bosses, working for eight (plus) hours in a day, paying rent, etc. Although I’m over it now, I did have a nostalgic fueled Sunday this past weekend as I attended an Indiana University alumni sponsored send off event for local San Francisco Bay Area students.
As I was asked to speak in front of the group on the benefits of being in the Greek system, a wave of emotion came over me. I don’t know if it was 100% genuine nostalgia, or if it was 30% beer, but somewhere between “I’ve made my best friends to this day in my sorority”, and “Turning 30 in Cabo with my besties”, I felt a little lump forming, clogging up the airways…and then that old feeling came over me that said: God, I miss college.
In talking with the incoming freshman and hearing things such as “orientation” and “dorm selection”, I had shooting images in my head of my own first steps as an official student on the beautiful Indiana University campus. It was actually a really muggy day and somewhat overcast, but nothing could dampen my enthusiasm. You see, I wanted nothing more in my life up until that point than to go to IU. Being a huge basketball fan growing up, and having majah crushes on old greats such as Steve Alfred and Damon Bailey, I fantasized about what it would be like to actually be a student there, going to games…dating a star player…
And there I was – 11 years later – telling someone (who probably looks at me like an old lady) to appreciate every moment they have at IU. I reminded them of what they’ve probably been told a million times; “These four years will fly by.” I even found myself giving advice that I wish I’d been given as an incoming student. Like, if you love something, major in it – take as many classes in the subject as possible. Don’t think the only options are the big three: doctor, lawyer or business person. One guy I met was going to IU to study acting – how cool is that? If I had said that’s what I wanted to do back in the day, I think people would’ve laughed at me and said “Get suuuuurious”.
One freshman said she was a Journalism major and enjoyed writing, so I encouraged her to start a blog. It could be in the subject she intends to have a career in (such as political writing), or it could be about chronicling her college experience. The point I was making to her is that this is writing experience. And most of the time when we leave college all we have are a couple boring essay papers that no potential boss is ever going to read. She seemed genuinely intrigued by the idea of blogging and thankful for the suggestion, and that made me feel good!
Sorority girl revived
As I get older, I notice that I’m less and less of a schmoozer. I can’t stand waltzing around at company events snapping my fingers and chatting up people that I barely know. I know I should do this, but I just don’t like small talk. It’s boring and uncomfortable for the most part. But at this event, it’s like my good ‘ole sorority “rushing” persona came right back and suddenly I was working the room with the biggest smile and the most enthusiastic questions. This too, brought me back to that little sorority girl I once was.
I no longer wish I was back in college sweatin’ over a biology test or partying until 3am in bars with women’s bras and panties stapled to the ceiling. I’m over it. But then again, there’s just something about seeing the excitement and wonder in those little people’s faces and knowing what they’re about to embark on that makes me think; man, I really do miss college.
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Did you miss me?
I thought I’d check in during my blogging hiatus and let you know what I’ve been up to. Yes, I know blogging during my “blogging hiatus” sort of defeats the purpose, but it’s what I want. . .
So, I just watched the season 3 premiere of “True Blood” and it was ok. I mean, I was kind of confused the whole time, like I had no idea what was going on.
I’m re-reading “Twilight Saga: Eclipse” before the movie comes out in two weeks so that I can be really annoying and point out every single detail of the movie that doesn’t match the book.
I re-joined Weight Watchers because guuuurl, my pants are TIGHT. I’m a pro at WW. The first time I did it I was super motivated because I had a wedding dress to fit into 9 months down the road. But now I do it because another day in this fat suit is going to make me wanna jump. Ok, I’m not really fat. But I’m really hating on these rolls around my waistline that I’ve recently acquired. I blame my chunkiness on turning 30. My metabolism hit a brick wall. See how easy it is to not take responsibility?
I just dropped a small fortune at the GAP because they were having a big sale and if you used your GAP card, you’d get an additional 25% off. Let’s hope I don’t lose too much weight or else these ill-fitting purchases will really piss me off.
I rode 22 miles on my bike this past Saturday with my cycling group. After one hour and 45 minutes in 85 degree weather, I was so ready to get off that mutherfucker. How I ever did a 5-hour 65 mile bike marathon back in April, I’ll never know.
You can blame my bloggy hiatus on my recent 10-day trip back home to Indiana. I was on the go so freaking much that I never had time to sit down and veg in front of the computer. On the one hand, I was itching to blog as soon as the opportunity presented itself. But on the other, I kind of welcomed the break. Blogging can be such a therapeutic way to purge and cleanse, but it can also drive you mad and make you feel incompetent and uninteresting if your blogs suck enough to not elicit a single comment from readers.
I’m also driving myself crazy contemplating a blog name change. I don’t really like “Life at Thirysomething” anymore. I named the blog before turning 30, when I thought it was going to be this big deal. Now that I’m 30, I know that it ‘aint no thang and so the blog title no longer fits my focus. Problem is; I can’t think of anything cool that’s not already snatched up by some other douche blogger. I’d ask for readers to post new blog name ideas in the comments section, but I have this terrible fear of blogging rejection in the form of “0” comments when I ask the question, therefore, I won’t ask. But if you want to offer a suggestion despite me not asking for your opinion, go ahead. I won’t stop you.
Part of the reason I thought about taking a blogging hiatus is that I think I need to focus on things such as getting more sleep, spending more time in the gym, cleaning my house, and spending time with my husband. You see, all these things suffer when you have a blog. They almost die when you have TWO BLOGS! So I thought perhaps I’d step away for a bit, work on being a little less selfish with my time, and then after a month hiatus or so, I can come back with fresh new topics!! I can already see this going down the path of my Lent sacrifices. I give up a bad habit for 40 days and then indulge in said habit with 10 times the fervor when the sacrifice time table is up! But I’ll try not to let blogging re-take over my life again like Diet Pepsi did.
This blog feels more like an email…
Alright, I’m going to get back to my blogging hiatus. I just wanted to say “hi” and give you a bunch of really random bullshit so that you didn’t totally forget about me.
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I like Facebook. I mean, how cool is micro-blogging? It’s a fantastic idea. You can post interesting commentary about what you did each day, like going to the bank or the laundry mat. And you can cyber stalk people for hours and they’d never even know it! But mainly, it’s a nice little way to catch up with people so that you don’t have to worry about calling them anymore. I had a friend tell me once that although we hadn’t spoken over the phone in forever, she felt like she was up-to-date on my life because of my Facebook status updates. Fair enough. I’m lazy too.
But what’s interesting about Facebook is the abundance of high school people that come out of the woodworks and suddenly want to be “friends”. I would say a huge percentage of my Facebook friends are people that I haven’t actually seen since 1998. Hell, a few of them were probably former frenemies back in the day too! (But now they’re nice.) Half the time I just accept any old classmate that says Penn High School in their bio. I figure; if they want to glean about my “Twilight” and Adam Lambert obsessions and read my latest blog posts – they must be awesome. Click, Accept!
But what do you do when you get that random friend request from someone you really did not like, such as your class’ biggest bully? Do you take the high road and accept? Or do you ignore – no – DECLINE friendship? Today, this happened to me. This particular person was like, the biggest dickhead on the planet and super mean to me in high school, so why does he want to know what’s up with my life now? Is it because his went nowhere? (Oops!) I just don’t get it. I’m not holding grudges or anything. I could really care less to be honest. Just curious what others do in this type of sitch.
And what about the complete strangers that send you a friend request? At first, I never accepted anyone I didn’t know. I mean, I was guarded about who knew what TV shows I was watching and what books I was reading. But now, I’m kind of like, whatever. Do they look like an axe murderer? No? Click, accept. In my mind, more friends equal more potential blog readers! Yes, I’m a shameless self-promoter.
But I really think that anyone who has over 400 friends must be an “accepting whore” because nobody knows that many people. That’s the limit. And then there’re people like my brother who have over 700 Facebook friends. Impossible! But don’t think I haven’t asked him to pimp my blog linkies on his wall! Shameless, I know.
General thoughts
Aside from the odd friend requests, there are a few other things about Facebook that will cause an automatic eye roll. For example…
Whatever you do, don’t tag me in pictures when I look really drunk or chunky. I have one friend in particular that has been guilty of this on numerous occasions. (Ya, I’m lookin’ at you, Stuz!)
Absolutely under no circumstance should you post bikini pics of me! Unless it’s from 2006 and then it’s ok.
Truthfully, I’m not really a fan of the instant messaging. So no offense if I log off right when you IM me.
Farmville. Enough said.
Overall, Facebook is a glorious waste of time. When I come home from work I have a nightly online ritual. I check Facebook, Twitter, my blogs and other blogs I follow, and then Facebook again. Did anyone “like” my latest status update? Did anyone respond? No? Click, refresh – how about now? What a time suck.
So tell me; do you accept pretty much anyone on Facebook that seeks you out? Should I take the high road or smugly ignore the aforementioned dickhead? What else do you love/hate about The ‘Book? (Farmville, anyone?)
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Ok, I know I may be a bit biased, but I really think you’re the best mom in the whole wide world. I don’t even know where to begin in describing how amazing you are as a mother; and how much I just really, really like you! But I’ll do my best…
Growing up, I always looked up to you. I know you’re my mom and that’s kind of natural. But it was a little more than that. I remember thinking it was so cool seeing you dressed up in suits going off to work every day. You always looked so pretty and sophisticated! I mean, truth be told, I was always jealous of my friends who had stay-at-home moms. But seeing you striving for success and being good at what you do, yet being home by the time I got home from school, being a phenomenal cook, AND making all of my basketball games was quite the example of a woman “doing it all”. And you showed me that I could too.
Can’t nobody get you down!
I wasn’t always in awe though. Sometimes you did drive me nuts! For one, you were a little too positive! That sounds funny, but you were like, over the top about it! Driving around in the burgundy Ford Taurus listening to positive affirmation tapes is where I draw the line! But, even when I didn’t realize it, your positivity was pulling me through some of my down times as a kid. When I was a chunky middle-schooler, crying about the fact that I couldn’t see my toes when I looked down, you told me to tell myself that I was the most beautiful girl in school – and one day I would be! And although I wasn’t the most beautiful girl in school, I definitely grew from the chubby short girl to the tall athletic one. Off came the braces, straight went the perm, a fashion sense developed – and suddenly, I wasn’t doing so bad!
Geez Court, you're making me wish she was MY mom too...
In fact, however annoying this; “I think I can, I think I can” attitude of yours was to my bratty teenage self, it somehow rubbed off on me. And today, I’m a bouncy ball of optimism! I’m never down for long before I bounce right back up and keep on going! And once again, this has pulled me through some of my tougher times as a young woman trying to establish and grow my career.
I’ve never met a more driven and hard working person than you, Mom. In sales, you were always finding new ways to market yourself and your business. And in the past several years, you took that drive and innovative spirit and taught yourself all about this new world of social media and blogging. In fact, you’re the one who got me started on this whole blogging thing and you encouraged me until I finally broke down and tried it out. Now a year later, I’ve developed a deep passion for writing and creating this little space that is all my own. And I have you to thank for opening up this whole new world of ideas and opportunities for me, and if nothing else – an extremely addicting hobby!
Mostly, I want to thank you for being the most supportive person in my life for the past 30 years. You’ve made me feel like I can do anything I set my mind to – no matter what. You listen and you don’t judge when I admit failures and cases of poor judgment. And most recently, in the days when I annoyed everyone in my immediate circle with my “Twilight” obsession, you listened to me! You let me go on and on – and you even read the books and fell in love right along with me! Ahhhh, now that’s love!
So on this Mother’s Day, I just wanted to say thanks for being my mom; my biggest cheerleader, and my shining example of what a mother should be. Oh and, thanks for being the best best friend I’ve ever had!
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Sometimes, I wish I was an anonymous blogger. I want a license to spew unapologetically on my blog. I want to be the most immature person on earth when I feel like it – and the most refined advice giver you’ve ever met as well. In essence, I want to go filter free.
But, you see…I can’t. Why you ask? Well for one, my mother-in-law reads my blog (Hi Patty!). Really though, I’m not as concerned with her as I am about oh, I don’t know…MY BOSS! In fact, I’m not convinced that he hasn’t Googled me at some point, which is a bit unsettling. And then there’s my dad. My poor dad cannot adjust to the fact that I’m now a 30-year old woman who just so happens to cuss like a sailor. In the times that he does read my blog, his first comment is always something about me being a “potty mouth”. (Dad, really?). And then he’ll say he liked everything else about the blog post.
Why not just go anonymous?
One problem with anonymity: I’m an attention monger. I think intrinsically, bloggers are attention seekers. They like to bitch about what they hate and wax poetic about what they love – and they think the world should care (or at least they hope). I for one, fall very much into this category. I’ve always been kind of an attention whore. I’ve been like this all my life. My older brother is the biggest attention hoe-bag on the planet and my husband runs a close second. You must be thinking; how do you get a word in edgewise? Well, I blog. I get to say whatever I want here! Er…at least I try to.
And lately, I’ve been having some oh-so-funny experiences that I’d LOVE to blog about. It’d be a freakin’ riot to write about these little adventures! But damn it, I’m too big of a puss about whose going to read it! GAH!
Anonymous bloggers have more fun
I follow a handful of bloggers who have chosen to conceal their identity and clearly, they have A LOT more fun saying what’s on their mind – unfiltered style. You’ve got the thirtysomething chicks over at “Twitarded” who have their fingers on the pulse of what goes on deep into the psyche of Twilight obsessed woman everywhere. I doubt you’ll find a couple of cruder beyotches in the blogosphere, but hell, I love ‘em! They feed my immature, nasty imagination. Recently, “Latchkey Wife” joined the girls of “Twitarded” to triple the shock value. And ‘course, reading their blogs not only makes me “LOL”, but it gives me a major case of the jealousies (noun meaning: the feeling you get when you read something and you’re all, “shit why didn’t I write that?” Noun courtesy of Jamie Varon).
Anonymity isn’t just for the likes of Twitards that write endlessly about jumping Robert Pattinson’s bones or pooping in his trailer. I’ve read Mommy blogs in which even they don’t want you to know who they are. Why? Because they too have a strong affinity for four letter words that start with EFF.
Damn, you're in a pickle girl...
So what do I do? Throw caution to the wind and just blog away, free-style? Well, not sure about that either. I’ve read about bloggers getting the big heave-ho from work after blogging about co-workers, for example. But cool enough, this particular blogger got the last laugh because she’s now a profesh blogger who makes loads of $$$ off her F-bombs. Once again: jealous.
Ok, how about I change things up on Life at Thirtysomething? What if I get a new, cheekier name? Any suggestions? Whoever has the coolest one wins! (Don’t ask what). The easiest thing I could do is remove my picture and any mention of my name. But then, can I still post my blogs on Facebook – where everyone knows it’s me? Of course we run into the little problem of being an attention monger who loves your praise in the form of comments and pats on the back in person. Oh lord. Some people stress about their jobs, or world wars. I stress about my blogs. Tomate-O, tomat-O.
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Right now I feel torn. I feel spread too thin, exhausted, and apathetic. It’s not about work. It’s not about friends or family. It’s about………wait for it.………blogging. And I’m being serious!
I’ve been experiencing writer’s block lately. And it’s SO frustrating because I don’t have time to have writer’s block! This nasty little problem has been sneaking up on me ever since I started this second blog, Life at Thirtysomething (LAT). I was so blissfully happy blogging away onPop Culture Junkie (PCJ) – my first REAL hobby since childhood – that having a second blog on “life” sounded two times as wonderful! I thought; instead of living vicariously through other people’s lives (solely), I could start living MINE to the fullest – and blog about it. Excellent idea, right? Well…in actuality, having two blogs is starting to feel more like work than a hobby. And I’m feeling torn over which blog to spend more time on – my first child, or my brand new baby. Mama feels torn!
Try not to snicker too much out there real moms, but this is as far as my experience with motherhood has taken me. It’s what I imagine it must be like when you have one kid and you add to your brood. You instinctively want to spend as much time as possible with your new baby; helping her to grow and learn new things – all while showing her off to the world. But you can’t forget about your first baby! After all, if you ignore her – you’ll stunt her growth! Though she may crawl, she needs to learn how to walk on her own, and in order to do that – she needs your help. I’ve left PCJ to crawl too long while I show off LAT. And now, PCJ is regressing. And I feel guilty about it.
Why did I do this to myself?
Somewhere along the line I started feeling like my own internal musings on life would make a good blog. I mean, I crack my ass up all the time in my head – so why not share with others? I also saw this blog as a great way to be held accountable for the things I say I’m going to do. Because how stupes would I look if I say I’m going to do something, people read about it, and then I puss out?
So far, I’ve really enjoyed blogging on Life at Thirtysomething. I’ve had a nice response from it and I feel like there will be more and more things to blog about as I continue to take on new adventures and eventually have a real kid. I mean, can you imagine those preggo blogs? Like; “Help! I have stretch marks, hemorrhoids, AND I’m losing my hair!!” Or, “If my husband takes another drink of that goddamn beer while I drink milk I’m gonna SCREAM!” Those will be fun!
But for now, I’m just getting worn out with two blogs, a full-time job, a husband, dog, and a house to maintain! Something’s gotta give! I’m still trying to figure out what that is. Maybe Jeff can go live……JUST KIDDING! I don’t know. I may combine the two blogs someday. We’ll see. That would be a lot of work. And there we are again – WORK! Ugh!
What happened to my happy, fulfilling, make me feel young hobby? Help! I need advice! Being the mama that does it all is hard work. There’s that word again! AHHHHH!
On Friday I was watching the Today Show in which they did a segment on this newly growing trend called “Wombtubing”, where moms-to-be are peeing on a stick and sharing their reactions as they learn they’re pregnant on film, then posting on YouTube. (Note: I’m assuming you don’t actually see the act of peeing in these vids!!) The news segment showed a few example clips and then the topic moved into whether you should blog throughout your pregnancy or keep it private. Of course my opinion on this topic is pretty clear – LIVE OUT LOUD LADIES!!
Pardon this sleepy look, jeez! I totally forgot about my baby bump pic last night and was in my PJ’s with my hair pulled back in a messy ponytail and headband when I remembered to take the picture. You’d think after 15 consecutive weeks of doing this I’d never forget. *Pregnancy Brain*
