Adventures in Third Trimester

OK, so it's been a rough few weeks as I've hit 3rd trimester. Several things happened all at once:

First of all, I started having episodes of racing heart and feeling very light-headed/faint. Fortunately, I had an episode right when my OB walked into the room and he was able to observe my heart rate go from 158 to 77 within the space of about a minute. He referred me to a cardiologist who then took an EKG and put me on a heart monitor for 24 hours. I was hooked up to 5 electrodes and had a pager-like thing that I had to sleep with. Of course, I did not have a major episode while the monitor was on, so this week I'll go pick up a 30 day monitor that I will activate when I start having an episode. They believe I have something called SVT that is a type of arrhythmia. It's not life-threatening, but can be serious, because if it lasts for more than 10-15 min. the baby wouldn't be getting enough blood.

Second, I failed my one-hr. glucose test which meant I had to do the three-hr. glucose test to determine whether or not I have gestational diabetes. I HATE NEEDLES. I mean, HATE. So, I was pretty nervous since they do 4 blood draws in the space of 3 hours. The Lord really gave me peace and I did pretty well at staying calm. They let me have a room and just lay down the entire time and listen to my iPod. Currie also came along and kept me company. The good news is: I passed!! Hallelujah. I didn't even want to think about having to check my blood sugar four times a day (like my co-worker who has GD).

Third, I am pretty sure I am having panic attacks. I think this has been brought on by the racing heart episodes, and the fear that it will happen when I'm driving, etc. So, Thurs. morning on my way to work I had to pull over twice onto the shoulder and lower my seat so that I wouldn't pass out. I walked straight to the nurse's station once I got to school and I was white as a ghost. My pulse and blood pressure were normal and she said it sounded like it was brought on by anxiety (I'd had a good breakfast, all my tests had come back normal, etc.). Since then I've had several other episodes of feeling pressure in my chest, like I can't get my breath, and like things are just closing in on me. At this point I don't know if the heart thing causes the anxiety or the anxiety causes the heart thing! I don't feel like I'm worried about things, but when I sit back and think about the major changes that have happened in our lives since Aug. they are pretty significant (new house, still settling in, TONS of projects to be done, unknown future plans if Currie doesn't get into the PhD program, new baby, etc.)!

Anyhoo, I got a much-needed break this weekend. I flew down to FL to see my fam and boy did I get the royal treatment! My aunt arranged for my 2nd cousin (a massage therapist who specializes in prenatal massage) to come to our house and give me a massage. My mom treated me to a pedicure (only the 2nd one I've ever had in my life). I got to go to the beach each day, we ate out, visited, and shopped. Here's some pictures of my "solo babymoon". :)

4 generations (one in utero) together

Breakfast at IHOP

The beach was SUPER windy each day, but to me it was heaven.
The picture is so foggy 'cause of the salt on the camera lens.
Whale at the beach...

This weekend I took a S24O (Sub-24 hour Overnight--See Grant Petersen's article "S24Os" in Adventure Cyclist January 2007) trip (but on a motorcycle) to Pere Marquette State Park to figure out motorcycle camping. I had more stuff than need as I brought a small library to work on a paper--but despite all this junk, the bike still got better than 74 MPG!

Halloween Par-tay

This is probably the first Halloween that Currie hasn't dressed up in either a kilt or a cloak. :) However, in true Currie-fashion, he had to be authentic, right down to shaving the beard so he'd look younger (I've only ever seen him w/o a beard like 3 times in my life). Anyhow, we had fun and got lots of compliments. :)

I made a "pumpkin" cheese ball and my friend and I made Marshmallow Witches together.
(Check out tasteofhome.com for the recipes.)

The mean ole' gas monopoly

Is there a way that word of mouth can effect irresponsible merchants when they aren't competing for your business? Here's hoping:

Our gas company--Laclede Gas of St. Louis--ignored our request to cancel service at our old apartment and over-billed as a result. After paying more than the portion we owed and spending more than four hours on the phone and writing letters explaining our case they just sent us a very rude final collection notice for the remainder of the illicit bill. Since I don't have time to fight them, I have to just pay it.

I'd like to change to a competitor but the only way to do that would be to change out all our appliances for electric; highly impractical and I know from other people's experiences that the electric company is no better.

It seems that on some level, though, negative public sentiment towards irresponsible utility monopolies must have an effect on the company--but does it?

I like big bellies and I cannot lie...

26 weeks

Joel Salatin at Webster U.

I got to hear Joel Salatin (of Polyface Farm) speak at Webster University on Monday night. It was an amazing experience. His insights seem so right on, and his presentation style is masterful. Salatin uses his passion for the topic to energize the audience. He is a good speech constructor (His speech followed the Polyface Farm's work cycle as an organizing principle to move through the topics he wanted to address). But the magic is that he can say whatever he wants because he’s doing what he does so well. For example: he described his operation as a land-healing “ministry” (by which it was clear he meant it was a religious action), talked about the ecosystem as God-designed, spoke of the importance of moral philosophy over science, etc. in a very diverse context and received outburst after outburst of spontaneous applause. The audience giving those ovations ranged from the very conservative homeschool family I stood beside in the book line, to the feminist professor of sexuality I passed in the lobby, to the Mennonite family I walked to my car behind, to the tie-dye clad, throw-back hippie students I sat beside during the talk. His style works because he himself is living proof of what he's saying. He isn't just suggesting theories, he's proving his method rigorously, practically and holistically (by which I mean the opposite of simplistically). People want to hear what he has to say, and will take whatever it is and however it challenges their paradigm and offer a standing ovation because he is doing it well!

This sounds like a very cool company (and a very cool product). They're holding a special - link to their site, and click on the link, and you get entered in their contest to win an urban utility bike given away every week! (so yes, this link counts as my entry, even though you could say my bicycle "quiver is full" - it's just such a cool concept!)