dragonjuniper

So, I've been in the process of dying my hair and about a week ago I got to where I want. It took a couple months to get it bleached light enough to dye, and then I tested out the colors I wanted by dying my bangs and a layer on the bottom. I decided to go with Special Effects dye since it had better reviews for lasting than manic panic. So, here's a picture of my finished hair using the colors Fishbowl and Atomic Pink.

A new year of NaNoWriMo has begun and I'm participating this year. I had planned on it last year, but moving interfered. So, the daily goal to meet the 50k finish is 1,667 words a day. My current progress: 0. >_< I'll probably have a better chance when Ray gets home and I don't have to worry so much about keeping Aria happy.

So, I usually enjoy going to the dentist, but not today. We had appointments this morning and I found out quite a few things. All four of my wisdom teeth are impacted and need to be removed soon, as they are pushing into my other molars. I have one of those old mercury fillings in my mouth that is cracking and I am getting that replaced on Thursday. I have a couple other issues that developed in the last few months of pregnancy and I now have to use an electronic brush, floss, and mouth wash 2-3 times a day. I also get to go back in 4 months instead of 6.

On a happier note, we're back home and had a fun time visiting with everyone. We got a Wii while in Orlando, so we'll be spending a lot of time playing. If you have one, send your Wii code so I can add you to the address book.

Since Aria's getting her ears pierced on Wednesday, Ray and I decided we'd get some piercings as well. On Saturday, we went over to Vibes in Redwood city to get them done. Ray's been wanting an Industrial for awhile and since his work has no problems with piercings he got that. I got my nose pierced. I had fun and it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected it would be. I have a nose screw in right now, but when I can change it in 2 months, I think I'll get a seamless ring. There's some pictures at flickr if you want to see. Now that Ray's had a taste of piercing, he's thinking of getting more later on. I've wanted to get my lip pierced for about 5 years now, but he wasn't too keen about me getting it done. Maybe if he thinks of getting one later I can make a deal with him to get mine too. ^_^

It's quite liberating to not be in an environment where you have to follow dress codes anymore. I'm also past the post-pregnancy healing phase, so I can go back to doing what I want like I did before I started working. My next plan of action: Atomic Turquoise (second on the left). I've been wanting to do that color since high school, but it was the one color my mom refused to do. After that I was working and I didn't think it would be the best color for interviews. My hair's getting pretty long now, so I might shorten it a bit too. I'll be waiting to do this until I can change my ring out.

We're taking a two-week trip this summer to visit family and friends. August 24-30 we'll be in New England and August 31-September 8 we'll be in Florida. We'll probably only be in Orlando a couple of days during Labor Day weekend and the rest of the time we'll be in South Florida. So if anyone wants to get together while we're in the area, let me know. If there's a SHiFT in Orlando on the 31st, we'll be going to that.

Friday, we went to Aria's one month check-up. She got a shot (which she really did not enjoy), was measured and weighed, and I had some questions answered. She is now 9 lbs. 12 ounces and 21.5 inches. She's gained about 1 1/2 lbs. and 2.5 inches in three weeks. She was at the 25th percentile for height and 50th percentile for weight and now she's at 50-75% for both. The doctor was quite surprised. I asked about travel and the doctor gave us the go ahead, so I'll be looking at plane tickets this week. I also asked about her thoughts on ear piercing and she likes to do it early, so we'll probably be making an appointment when Aria is 3-4 months.

We went to a party last night with some of Ray's co-workers and I had a good time. It's been a while since I've done anything with people besides family members, so it was nice.

It's been 3 weeks since Aria was born. Things are going pretty well. She's eating a lot, gaining weight, and getting bigger. We have her 1 month check-up on Friday, so I'll post official figures then, but I think she'll be close to 10 pounds and around 21 inches. She's really well behaved and sleeps pretty well at night, but that may be since she spends most of the day awake. She's started to get a little fussy in the evening, but I guess that's normal starting at 3 weeks and lasting until 12 weeks.

I still have 3 weeks before my checkup. I hope all of my stitches will be dissolved and that everything else will be fine. I was back down to my pre-pregnancy weight the weekend after we came home and I've lost another 4 pounds on top of the 23 I gained. I can fit into my regular clothing again, but my tummy's still floppy. >_< I'm gonna start trying some small exercises on those muscles, but I'll have to wait until my doctor clears me for anything more.  It's weird how you get 9 months to get used to the new body shape, but only a couple of weeks for the muscles to move back to where they were before. It's a little hard to adjust, but I'm glad that I don't look pregnant any more (I think I look like a big blob in those first pictures home >_<).

We've been trying to figure out when we're going to Florida and it looks like it'll be late July. We haven't decided on the dates yet, but we should be planning that after Aria's checkup. We're planning on a two-week trip since we've got to visit both the Miami and Orlando areas. So once we know for sure, I'll post the dates and we can try to make some plans with people. ^_^

I'm home from the hospital now. Aria was born on May 24th at 5:13 p.m. She's 8 lbs. and 18 1/2 inches long. More pictures can be found at my gallery. I'm feeling pretty good, but a little tired. I'll post more later.

Well, I'm officially one week past my due date. We went to the doctor's today and I have an appointment at the hospital for 8 tonight to begin an induction. So, the baby should be here soon. The doctor thinks the baby will be at least 8 pounds, so I hope she'll still fit. I think I'll bring Ray's laptop to the hospital, so if they have wireless, I'll post updates.

So, with a little less than 2 weeks until my due date, I'm just waiting for the baby to be ready to come. Tuesday was a good day for us: our house in Florida finally sold! It's such a relief to not have that to deal with anymore, especially since we've been in California for six months. We ordered a cloth diaper package a couple weeks ago and it should be here on Tuesday. One of the items in the package was out of stock, so we had to wait a little longer than normal.

Ray's parents will be here next weekend and my parents will be showing up sometime between the 11th and 20th. My sister has her exam play on the 11th and her graduation on the 20th, so both of my parents arranged vacations during that time to see her and then come up to see us. I feel a bit overwhelmed that we're going to have so many visitors, but things should work out.

I wish that you could know when you're going to go into labor. I've been so excited that my patience for things to happen is quickly wearing thin during these last weeks. Also, I'd really like to not go past my due date. Most doctors don't like you to go too far over and it sounds like induction can cause quite a few problems that I'd like to avoid.

I'm now in the last month of pregnancy. There's four weeks until my due date, but at this point if i was to go into labor, they'd do nothing to stop it (nothing to help either). Next week the baby will be considered full term, so I've gotten everything I need for the hospital because it could be any day at that point. This is about the time where the baby should be dropping which take pressure off the lungs and stomach a bit. The baby's always been a bit low, so I wasn't sure if I'd be able to see the difference, but I was looking forward to being able to breathe easier. I found out at my appointment yesterday that she's already dropped. >_< Oh, well. At least she won't be turning around at this point. She's head down, so no worries there. I guess she's either streched out or very long since I'm still feeling pressure on my lungs.

We found out that my doctor is a big Nine Inch Nails fan yesterday. I wanted her to write down the name of this weird reaction I have (Vasovagal - hope it won't cause any problems during labor - passing out would not be fun) and we had her write it on my list of things to get to finish my hospital bag. When she saw that I had "NIN's Year Zero" on the list, she asked if we liked them. Of course we said yes, and then she went on to tell us how she liked them and has gone to lots of their concerts. Ray and I were surprised, but find it cool. So, now I don't have to worry about having them on my playlist at the hospital. I guess we'll all be enjoying the music. ^_^

It's interesting that when you're 8 months pregnant, you have 8 weeks left. I'm excited and anxious. My appointments are now every two weeks, so that should help things to move faster. The doctor did another ultrasound yesterday. The baby's turned around. Yay! The doctor still thinks we'll be having a girl (baby's still not giving us a good view). I've got to work on my hospital bag still. I've also got to put together a good playlist for labor. I'm leaning towards lots of NIN. ^_^

I think we're going to have a lot of visitors here for the baby's first few weeks. Ray's parents are planning on coming out around the 12th of May so they can be here for the birth (as long as baby doesn't decide to make an early entrance). My sister graduates on the 20th, so both her and my mom will probably be showing up sometime after that. I think my dad will also come up to see us sometime during May as well. We've started making some tentative travel plans for this summer. We're thinking we'll make a trip to Florida in July and a trip to Massachusetts in August. If anyone has any specific times they'd like us to try to make, let us know. Also, if anyone's coming to the Bay Area, we can always come by and visit (or you can visit us).

Ray and I have been watching CSI. I'm addicted; it's such a good show. We watch all the shows, so that means three new episodes a week. We've been renting the original series from our local video store and we're just finishing the third season. After we catch up, we'll probably start getting the Miami series and then the NY series. I'm hoping we get Miami soon so that I can bring it to the hospital with me. We're making good time on catching up. We started watching the original series a few weeks ago and we're probably averaging 4 discs a weekend. >_

My belly is mad itchy and it's driving me crazy. No matter how much belly lotion I put on, the itchiness doesn't stop. >_< I hope it's not going to be this bad through these last couple months.

This weekend we're going to take a tour of the hospital's birth center. In a few weeks, I'm going to pack my hospital bag, but I've still got to buy a few things for it.

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12 weeks left to go. Why does it feel like time's moving slower now?

So, we had another appointment today and the doctor did another ultrasound. She's 80% sure that we're going to have a girl. ^_^ Exciting. Our little one is still in breech position, so the doctor's going to check a little later on to make sure little boy parts don't magically appear. We've got a name picked out already: Aria. Now, I get to go pick out cute little outfits that aren't gender neutral or boring. ^_^

Three months to go! I'm getting anxious.

I've found a neat perk to living next to a big city: you get to see cool movies sooner. We went to see Pan's Labyrinth last night. It was amazing. I'd been waiting a few months to see this, but was disappointed when I found out it would only be a limited release. Luckily, San Francisco was one of the first cities it was released in and two weeks later theatres in the area were playing it. It's one of the best movies I've seen in a while. There were a couple parts in the movie that were a little gruesome (it definitely lives up to that R rating), but overall, it was a truly beautiful film. I'm also glad to say that I wasn't the only person to cry during the movie. So, for all of you that can see the movie while it's in theatres: Go! For those of you who can't: see it when it comes out on DVD!

We finally got our furniture in a couple days before Christmas. Christmas was a nice break from all the craziness and stress that'd been going on. Ray's parents sent us a lot of stuff for the baby. We've now got the Pack 'n Play, stroller, car seat, diaper bag, a couple of blankets, a newborn outfit, scrapbook, picture book, memory book, handprint kit, and Winnie the Pooh. We still have a bit to get before the apartment will be ready for baby, but most of the big stuff is out of the way. I had my level 2 ultrasound on Dec. 28th, but they couldn't figure out if we're having a boy or a girl. Baby spent the entire hour and a half sitting on his/her butt and would not co-operate at all. So, maybe baby's stubborn, but I'm guessing more sleepy/shy.

I'm getting bigger now even though I haven't gained much weight. I'm always sleepy and walking makes me tired and sore. Baby gets a little more active as the weeks go by, so I'm hoping soon Ray will be able to feel the kicks on the outside. Most of what I feel is just baby moving around and not really kicks. Every once in a while, I'll get a kick which will startle me since it feels odd compared to the movement I'm used to. I've got about 18 weeks left to go and hopefully in that time baby will turn around from the breech position. I'm going to see my doctor tomorrow and find out her policy on breech positions, but from reading online it looks like it's a mandatory c-section if you're having your first. >_< I'm planning on going as natural as possible, especially avoiding an epidural (which they would give if I have a c-section).

In happier news, I've decided to knit a baby blanket to keep me busy. There's a cool little knitting store in downtown San Mateo that we went to yesterday. They helped me pick out the yarn I would need for my pattern and told me that if I have any problems with it to go back to the store and they'll help me with it. My mom has a lot of needles and a couple of crochet afghan kits, so she's going to send some of those to me. It looks like I've finally found a hobby, which is good because I was really starting to get bored and late night insomnia really sucks. I started on my project last night and Ray was interested enough that now he wants to try. ^_^

I hope everyone had a good holiday season and for those who had a sucky last year, I hope this one will be better. ^_^

Went to the doctors today. My new doctor is awesome. Since we hadn't had an ultrasound yet, she did a quick one in the office and printed some pictures for us. I'll have my official 19-20 week ultrasound in a couple weeks, so I should have more pictures then. The baby is currently in breech position and was a little diagonal, so we don't know the sex yet.  I've uploaded the pictures; they're not the best quality since we don't have a scanner here and I had to use the camera. ^_^

So, I'm in California now. The hotel we're staying in has free wireless, so yay! I got a call this morning that my car is here, so that was a lot faster than I thought. It wasn't supposed to be here until the 13th. I guess I'm lucky. ^_^ The flight here was long and the seating was cramped. By the time we got to sleep on Saturday night, we had been up for over 20 hours. Needless to say, I woke up with a headache yesterday morning. All the stress was dispersed last night by dinner. We went to Japantown in San Jose to eat at Okayama. It was awesome; I felt like I was in Japan and the food was authentic and delicious. I had Katsudon last night and ended up ordering Katsu Curry to go for my lunch today; I'm looking forward to eating it. We're going to go back to Japantown on Saturday to look at the shops and go to Clover Bakery (I want Curry Pan!). Sunday, we're going to go up to San Francisco, since all I've seen so far is the airport. We started looking at apartments yesterday and we're going to try to finish and decide on one this week. It's all very exciting.

For all friends located in Orlando: Ray and I would like to get together for lunch on Friday, 11am at Olive Garden. I don't have everyone's email, so taibhrigh, yzztik, and digiroo, if you three could pass this information along to your work groups, that'd be great. ^_^ If people can't show up exactly at 11, that's fine; we've got about a half hour planned for leway. Please let me know if you can/can't make it. I'm aiming to get a headcount by Thursday so I can give Olive Garden a heads up.