I love the idea behind these magnets…
But I’m not sure if I’ll have the patience to neatly arrange them into letters to form cute, quirky messages on the fridge.
$16 ($14.40 for members) for a set of 22 magnets at the MOMA Store.
Via Beter Living Through Design.
“You’re so huge!” is a common phrase I hear these days. Just what is it about the general public (especially old ladies) that makes them think they have the right to comment on just how fat a pregnant woman is getting?
Well, I think I have given them more ammunition…
Because holy growth spurt, Batman! Take a look at how much my belly has ballooned in just a week:
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My weight is gain at a hefty 23 pounds now. I had been hoping to keep it at 30 lbs for the entire pregnancy, but with 17 weeks left I have a feeling I’ll go way over.
For the first time ever, my waist size is now larger than my husband’s. Luckily, I still have 20 more pounds before I overtake him on the weight front, and I’m seriously hoping that this will never happen. After all, I have just started to feel the top of my thighs rubbing together as I walk. Sigh.
And meanwhile, the pregnancy boards are abuzz with women bragging about how they’ve only gained 3 lbs so far. Bitches.
The baby now weighs over a pound (yes, only one pound, which leaves the remaining 22 to my arms, boobs, and ass) and measures over a foot long. She is starting to get STRONG — the other night, I actually saw my belly jump — through my shirt, no less — as she delivered a particularly powerful kick.
My sister asked me the other day what baby kicks feel like. At first, it literally felt like butterflies fluttering in my stomach. Then it progressed to large bubbles popping inside my belly, and now it feels like muscle twitches and spasms. I know that as she grows larger and stronger, it will become more apparent that I have a squirming human inside of me…and that her movements might even hurt. I’m not sure how I’ll handle these, because baby girl is definitely a night owl and she’s already keeping me awake at night! Being a super-light sleeper certainly doesn’t help in pregnancy.
A few days ago, a woman in one of my pregnancy boards went into premature labor at 23 weeks. This isn’t an uncommon occurrence; I would say that we lose at least one woman per week from pregnancy complications. However, this time, the baby survived. Sure, he is severely underweight, hooked up to tons of machines and will most likely spend months in the NICU, but he’s alive.
In just one week my baby will be considered viable by the medical community. Be that as it may, I still have nightmares about losing this baby, about going into premature labor, about delivering a stillborn, and about the baby just suddenly dying in my womb without my knowing. But reading this story gave me renewed hope. She’s getting there.
I am an Asian and I suck at math.
There, I said it.
I’m the only Asian I know who did better on the verbal section of the SATs. (Any other Asians out there on this boat?) Even my basic arithmetic has gotten so bad — blame it on the calculators on my computer desktop, cell phone, bedside table, etc — that J does not trust me to teach simple math to our children.
So maybe some of my more mathematically-inclined readers can chime in here…
This simple theory, based on angles, seems to make a lot of sense:
Sure, there is more than one way to write certain numbers (and the way they portrayed the 7 and 9 seem a bit far-fetched). But just based on what is shown, the theory certainly seems to have merit.
So am I just gullible? Can anyone disprove this theory aside from certain numbers being written differently?
Next month, Nintendo will be releasing three sets of Super Mario playing cards in Japan. The three choices consist of: 2D illustrations, 3D CGI versions, and old-school 8-bit renderings that are sure to bring back fond memories.
Why are all the cool products only released in Japan? Hopefully these will become available to the rest of us plebeians via eBay or a collectibles site.
Via Technabob.
I am proud to say that I had full knowledge of most of the people on this chart! (Click to see large)
Via Smashing Magazine.
I loved my wedding dress. It was slightly under budget, easy to alter, and it was the first dress I tried on that made me feel like a bride.
Yes, it was bashed on a public, then-popular wedding blog (which I won’t link to here but if you want to read it, shoot me a message) and when I asked them, nicely, why they felt the need to use an actual picture of me from my wedding day without my consent or even making any attempt to anonymize me, and pointed out that they should have at least credited my photographer, they called me a “whiny-assed needy fucking insecure bride who OBVS won’t stay married for long” and took down the photo…wait, I’m getting off topic.
Anyways…
As much as I loved my dress, I know that I will never wear it again. (And if my weight gain continues on its path, I doubt that I can fit into it again.)
I am sure that I am not the only woman whose wedding dress sits untouched since her wedding day.
But unlike the majority of these women, I have an additional dress I wore on my wedding day that I will most likely never wear again…
My in-laws gifted me with a custom-made qipao (or cheongsam) to wear for our Chinese Tea Ceremony. And while I usually hate wearing skin-tight dresses — nevermind one that made walking difficult — I had to admit that having a dress made to custom-fit your body really made a difference in helping me feel less insecure about baring my silhouette in its entirety.
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| all photos by Danny Weiss | |
We had chosen a traditional Chinese wedding fabric for the qipao: red, which is a lucky color and thus the color most associated with weddings, and a dragon & phoenix pattern which symbolize the groom and bride.
The fabric was a thick, luxurious satin and the pattern beautifully embroidered. And while you can’t really tell from far away, the embroidery held little patches of deep purples, blues, and greens (you can see a hint of the different colors in the top right photo of my sleeve) which made the material multi-dimensional.
Today, I read an interesting article about the Chinese qipao that prompted me to dig into the back corner of my closet to admire the dress. But because my qipao is so obviously one that is meant to be worn by a bride on her wedding day, I seriously doubt that I will wear it again.
Have you, or do you plan on wearing your wedding dress again? Do you have any articles of clothing in your closet that hold special memories, but would never wear again?
Once again, I am late with this update as I am closer to 23 Weeks now. There have been some big (well, at least to me) developments between weeks 21-22, so I feel that this is long overdue.
First, the obligatory belly shot:
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There isn’t much change there, but I did pack on a couple of pounds in the past week or so because my appetite’s been insatiable. Doh! Time to cut back on the snacks!
You know how many pregnant women have the “pregnant glow”? Well, there is a reason for it: with pregnancy comes increased circulation and increased bloodflow equals nice, rosy cheeks.
However, increased bloodflow also means other things…
Nosebleeds
I hardly ever get nosebleeds, and even if I do, it’s only some bloody boogers here and there.
But this past week I got my first-ever, GUSHING FROM MY NOSE nosebleed for perhaps the first time in over a decade.
The nosebleed couldn’t have happened at a better time [sarcasm]: I was putting on makeup to go out and was nearing the end of my routine when I noticed some red in one nostril…and then a full on outpouring of blood.
For some reason, I was more annoyed at the fact that I had to wash my face and start over, and that I got some bloodstains on my shirt, than be concerned at the cause for the nosebleed. I blame it on pregnancy hormones.
After I was all cleaned up, I calmly did a web search for “nosebleeds and pregnancy” and there it was. Hello, new symptom!
The freeflowing blood only happened that one time (as of now), but I have had bloody snots and boogers regularly since that day. I no longer cringe or flinch in surprise when I see a bloody mess after blowing my nose.
Pain and Pressure…DOWN THERE
Increased bloodflow means increased bloodflow everywhere, including my cooch.
Why else do you think so many women LOVE pregnancy sex?
I admit that I liked it too. Everything was more sensitive and sensual…and if J weren’t so busy with work I would have been jumping him every chance I got.
But sometime between weeks 21 and 22, the pressure increased —
— to the point where it HURT.
Like, walking around can be painful hurt.
I have found that there is a cure for the pain, albeit temporary. The cure involves a release, and I think my readers are mature enough to figure out what that means.
Luckily, the pain is not ongoing. But when there is no pain, there is pressure. The kind that makes me wonder if baby girl is on her way out. But I know she’s not. Because it is concentrated more in the front.
Other than those two new symptoms, everything else has been smooth-sailing. I am now in my sixth month of pregnancy (and last month of the 2nd trimester), but it feels like I’ve been pregnant forever. I realized earlier today that if you count my previous pregnancy, I have been pregnant for 10 months in the past year…it’s no wonder I feel this way!
I have read (and heard from moms) that if we plan on doing anything major to the nursery, we should start it now before I get too uncomfortable. I had assumed that all we need to do is move out the queen-size bed and order the crib, but J is intent on painting, decorating, and making this room pretty and welcoming for our little girl.
“You know she won’t know the difference between an ugly room that barely passes for a nursery and a full-on, wonderfully furnished and decorated nursery,” I protested.
“But don’t you want to make things pretty for our daughter?”
I know he’s going to spoil her rotten. I just know it.
So I guess we will be making a stop by Home Depot in the near future. (“And maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don’t know, I don’t know if we’ll have enough time.” 5 points for anyone who knows where that’s from!)
On July 1, LeBron James will officially become a free agent.
Will he stay in Cleveland? Or do the rumors of Chicago have merit?
I thought that my hopes of New York gaining the two-time MVP had long dissipated, but the city has made it clear that we’re not out of the running yet.
Along with a C’mon LeBron website, a Facebook page and a Twitter hashtag, the Big Apple is making an all-out effort to convince King James to come join the Knicks.
The city has even released a video, featuring Mayor Michael Bloomberg!
Did Bloomberg just quote the Bible? Oh, no he didn’t!
He may be a multi-billionaire with a media empire, but I always knew he has a good sense of humor.
(And I know this from reliable sources, because J was in the same fraternity as him. Apparently, the last time Bloomberg attended Homecoming, he made sure to stop by the fraternity house where he had been Chapter President in 1964. The brothers knew of his visit in advance and so made sure to stock up on good beer and some high-end liquor, but Bloomberg proceeded to enter the house with a six-pack of Miller Lite and drank only that. I can’t say much for his taste in beer, but according to J, he’s a “chill dude.”)
Via Gothamist.
If It Was My Home is a simple website that overlays the BP oil spill over any location on earth. Its default setting centers in on your location based on your IP address, so the devastation really hits home.
I see, read, and hear about the tragic spill every day but never quite realized the immensity of its spread until now. It’s scary knowing that the area it covers is now bigger than some U.S. states.
Via Flowing Data.
P.S. — Not to make light of the situation, but does anyone else think the spread of the oil looks like Yoshi?
I like books, gadgets, spicy food, and art. I dislike shopping, hot weather, and the laws of entropy. Although I am a self-proclaimed computer nerd, I still have a love for handbags and makeup... and I am always teetering on high heels. To learn more about me, visit the "About" page.
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