First Pregnancy Post!

Okay, so, since this blog was not really intended to be a pregnancy blog, I'm going to limit the amount of these posts that I do. I will still probably do one a week (we'll see...), but if I do that, then I will be sure to also write a blog that week about something meaningful and not pregnancy related. So, here is my first pregnancy post! I hope you like it!

How far along? I am 10 weeks along yesterday!

Total weight gain/loss? Since my last doctor's appointment, I've gained about 2 pounds. But, overall since I've known I was pregnant, I think I've gained about 4 or 5 pounds.

Maternity clothes? I wish! No bump yet. I went shopping with my Mother-in-law yesterday and was telling her about how I want to buy maternity clothes, but I'm nervous because I don't know how anything will fit. Plus, since I don't look pregnant, I feel like nobody believes me when I tell them!

Stretch marks? Since my baby bump is pretty much non-existent except to me, I won't expect there will be any of these for awhile!

Best moment of this week? Eating. All the time! I just want to eat! We just finished eating lunch about an hour or 2 ago and even though I still feel full, I'm hungry again!!

Miss anything? This is going to make me sound like a terrible person, but alcohol. It was National Margarita Day sometime this week and I couldn't participate!

Movement? I know my little jelly bean is moving up a storm, but I can't feel a thing.

Food cravings? In general, all food just sounds amazing. But, it's mainly just whatever I feel like having at the moment. The other night I wanted spinach leaves and baby carrots (delicious), but, like normal, most of the time what I'm craving is sweet and bad for me!

Anything making you queasy or sick? I have only been sick twice so far and both instances it was because I was tired and didn't eat well (and one time also because of motion sickness and nerves), but, for the most part, nothing has made me feel sick or queasy. Early on, I could not eat or even think of chicken, and even still I would prefer not to eat it, but it has never really made me sick.

Have you started to show yet? I think I have, but since the definition of "show" implies that someone else can see it, maybe not. I know that I've gotten bigger, but nobody else can see it (though last night Josh did admit that he thought I looked bigger! I was thrilled!!).

Gender prediction? I really want a boy for some reason, but Josh thinks it will be a girl.

Belly button in or out? Since I'm not showing, I basically look the same! Just a little rounder in my tummy area!

Wedding rings on or off? On. And I predict I will be able to wear them throughout the entire pregnancy. My rings are a little big anyway, so maybe they'll actually fit!

Happy or moody most of the time? I tell Josh all the time that I feel grumpy and moody. At first he would say that he didn't see it, but after snapping at him a few times when I've been hungry and literally just telling him that it didn't matter what he did he was annoying (not my proudest moment. I still feel like a horrible person!), I feel like he's understanding that I'm a little more irritable than normal.

Looking forward to? Having a baby bump! I just want the world to see how chubby and pregnant I am!!!

Anything else? My next doctor's appointment is March 20th and I'll get the results of my blood work and urine sample, plus they will also have to check to see if I am showing possible signs of preeclampsia and gestational diabetes. So, we would really appreciate prayers for that time and in the mean time!! Thank you!

Into the Desert

Happy Ash Wednesday, everybody! So, I know that these past few months I have been pretty much non-existent in my blogging. I'm terribly sorry about that, especially for all of those people who continuously told me to keep blogging! I kind of feel like I let you down.
The really hard part about blogging, and blogging well, I think, is that it's really hard to come up with substantial topics that my brain can work through enough to write about EVERY WEEK. But, as part of my Lenten challenge, I am going to blog every week. I can't promise that every post will be inspirational, uplifting, or even that it will make sense, but, I feel like I should not be so scared that I will write something ridiculous that I just don't even write anything at all. So, here goes the first of many more blog posts to come, my friends!

You will find that this succinct, truthful little phrase will basically be the summary of today's blog post, but, just in case you fancy a long read about my opinions and thoughts, I've decided to write anyway!

Let me start my giving you a head's up about every Lent I've ever tried participating in EVER. (Literally, every.single.year.)
One of two things will happen: a) I will have about 10 REALLY AMAZING ideas for what to do for Lent, and starting Ash Wednesday, I'll be super pumped about what those things are and I will start cutting out sugar, or meat, or sugar and meat and I'll promise to pray the rosary every day and to also start volunteering more, and I'll also decide that my attitude is way too pessimistic and so I'll promise to smile at every single person I encounter and to never act angry to anyone, ever and I'll be the perfect version of myself that is in my head that I'm always striving to be. OR b) I will think of at least 10 OKAY ideas for what to do for Lent, and then on Ash Wednesday I will decide that none of them are good enough and I'll just tell myself not to worry about it because, obviously, I'll think of a really good one that day to start. 
The moral of this ridiculous [real life] story is that, either way, I always fail BIG TIME. If I think of a million awesome things to do, it always becomes overwhelming and I end up handing in the towel within the first week of Lent, and if I think my ideas aren't good enough, I end up never being able to find one that is "just right" and I end up never even giving anything up!

I feel like the main reason that I never do Lent right is not necessarily because I've looked at it as a "diet", but instead, and this is what I feel the heart of the matter is with this statement, I've looked at Lent as a New Year's resolution, a personal goal that is aimed at making ME better. Every Lent, even if I thought my heart was in the right place, my real intent was to better myself for my own selfish reasons.

Now, I'm not saying that giving up sodas or junk food or promising to work-out every week is a BAD idea for Lent. Certainly, it is an awesome thing to do for your personal well-being. But, remember WHY you are giving those things up. It is not so that you can lose weight, it is not so you can have a hot bod. You should be giving those things up because they are DISTRACTIONS that are shifting your focus from God to worldly things. If we look at Lent as a re-do for our New Year's resolutions, than we are not even getting close to the potential that Lent could have for us. Instead of getting closer to God, we will just be feeding those distractions that take us away from God more.

I don't know about you, but I want to get this Lent right. I want to take these 40 days to truly wander into the desert with my Lord and I want Him to show me the things that have been distracting me from Him. I want Him to show me how to be a better servant for Him. The crazy (and kind of amazing thing) is that He is showing me all of that stuff EVERY DAY. It's just now that I am truly trying to get rid of those distractions and see it.