I'm Still Here!

Sorry for the long silence; the main reason for that is....drumroll.....I'm pregnant!

Right now I'm 15 weeks going on 16 this Sunday, and let me agree with most mothers when they say that there should a be a 3-month leave for the 1st trimester. SO TRUE! This pregnancy was actually a surprise, and just when was getting fit, drinking my green smoothies, getting into my nutrition program, I got LASIK, and noticed while I was recovering that I was...more tired than usual and craved more meat. We took one of those home pregnancy tests, and it had a plus, but I was dubious and in denial. J wisely suggested I go to the doctor, and yep, he confirmed that I was banged up, had a bun in the oven, PREGGO.

It honestly took me a while to deal with this, add to that bone-weary fatigue and a real sensitive nose and stomach, plus my family has a different birth vision than ours. Theirs is the hospital model, whereas I want a home birth and a midwife; and J even wants a birthing pool! Both sides think theirs is the safer choice, so what to do? Eventually, we have settled into a truce of sorts. They don't want to hear much about it, but J's parents are pretty receptive, and we will be looking at a back-up hospital, just in case. Also, in doing my research, I realized that there's not really a bunch of nutrition information for moms, and I think this is so crucial! Hmm, my target market after school, perhaps?!

In the midst of all this, I was sleeping, resting....and not doing much else(!), so I got waaaaaay behind in my studies. There was a test looming, and I was so scared I wouldn't do it: I was ready to call the school and ask to be put at a later class, but classmates told me that meant starting over! Starting over?! That put me in high study-gear, with room for not much else, including my favorite mind-clearer and stress-reliever, exercise! The test opened up last week, and we also did last-minute plans (hair and make-up, music, food tasting, etc) for our wedding renewal for J's side of the world, followed by a flurry of emails on our return home. Talk about busy, and may I say accomplished! I crammed the last two modules yesterday as I felt that was the only way to get everything done in time for the test, reassuring my methodical brain that I will go back to them later....and eating horribly in the process :( So I took the test....and passed with a 90/100! Lesson learned: don't fall behind! Limit Internet time! At J's suggestion, I took the rest of the day off, but not really: I did wedding welcome paper bags to be productive and creative, which was nice: stamping and heat-embossing: it's been too long since I last did those! I was too pooped to clean up, though, so I did that this morning. Now, I'm refreshed to do more!

So...studies, and wedding plans, and exercise, which has been in the back burner, yikes! Time to get moving again: my body will thank me! Yes, I have a little belly now, but must tone that with exercise! So much to do and think about, but as we are taught in marketing class at IIN, one step at a time.

Here are some snapshots of what I did last night for the lucky people staying at the Holiday Inn for the wedding weekend! We've got other things up our sleeves, too: stay tuned! 22 days to the wedding #3: the countdown has begun!

Not My Best Day

So I had LASIK last Friday, and til this Saturday, I can't work out. So that means more time for me to study, right? And am I studying? Nooooo. Today is Day 4, post-op for LASIK and I was supposed to go see my optometrist...note the verb "was." Problem is, when I tried to start my car, it.wouldn't.start. Plus when I entered my car, it was COOL. In the heat of summer. What in blazes is going on? Needless to say, I have not been a happy camper ever since, kinda sulking my way through the day after freaking out. A friend said I could call my car insurance's 24-hour whatever service, and my husband said I could call a cab to get to the doctor's or get my car jumpstarted to get to the mechanic, but that just all seems so STRESSFUL and uncertain. Good thing this all happened in our backyard/parking lot. Aaaargh.

And yesterday, I was obsessing over my online name that would go with my planned logos through a brilliant student designer: Therese Totten or Trissa Totten? I went from one to the other CONSTANTLY, the WHOLE day. I even looked at this name site to figure out what name was more me, and yet they're BOTH me. So I went with Therese: more formal, more known. I'll figure out Trissa later. And I registered that online address, just in case.

So with that yesterday and now my car not starting today, it has been a crappy, sulky week. The weather even agrees: it's been raining on and off since Sunday: good for the plants, crappy for my mood and industriousness. I usually eat at times likes these, and I admit I did, but I can do something else not as damaging to my waistline (but to my wallet instead, ulp): online shopping: but they were admittedly on my wishlist already, anyway, so there. I still couldn't work, so I figured on journaling, hence why I am here. Plus my flow hasn't dropped: I am way overdue: maybe because of all the stress? I dunno, but the fact that it's still waiting hasn't helped.

And let me tell you, those drops I have to use on my eyes? I have 3-4: Durezol (steroidal/anti-inflammatory), Zymaxid (antibiotic), and Optive/Optive Refresh (artificial tears). They ALL give me these weird bitter aftertastes at the back of my throat, not to mention a ton of eye gunk on my lashes and around my eyes! I was hoping to tell my doctor that today, but oh well. I just hope that these drops will be worth it, and I'm doing it all right, and my corneas will behave, and won't revert (like my cousin's did, yikes).

So what to do now? Continue being lazy and maybe pop a video in, or try and work coz that's what I'm home for, dammit? This writing/unloading exercise is making me feel a bit less bottled up/stressed, at least, so we'll see.

Still Kickin'

Hello, everyone!

It has been a while, hasn't it? Well, a lot has transpired, and as you all know, life can keep us from living full out, sometimes, ironic as that may seem. On February 14, I enrolled in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, a year-long course to be a holistic health coach. Since this is me, I also went ahead and enrolled in other programs to "beef up" my resume/"marketability." As the health coach classes progressed, I got less and less involved (and admittedly quite resentful) of my school job, so I quit, in time for LASIK surgery this past Friday. I am currently recovering (and should thus get off this computer soon!), but as of Saturday, my optometrist told me I have 20-20 vision, praise God! I hope my corneas stay behaved and don't revert. As for people saying it is painless, DO NOT BELIEVE THEM. There is some pain and especially light-sensitivity the 1st 2 days. And as for working the day after? Don't do it: I recommend working (if you must) at the very earliest on the 2nd day after surgery, e.g. if you had LASIK Friday, work minimally on Sunday, and keep your eyes as protected and hydrated as possible.

So I'm studying a lot, including working on having a logo for my health coaching, as well as recovering from LASIK, and planning for wedding # 3 with J, who, thank goodness, chose the pictures from wedding #2 for the wedding album: it stressed out my OCD-perfectionist mind too much. We're also still working on our thank you cards for wedding #2 (Manila). Not fun and quite tedious, actually, but gratefulness must be practiced.

J has been hard at work planting what little land he could use from the neighbor, as we don't have our own house and yard yet. In the process, he made a friend out of our neighbor's 10-year old son, which was sweet to see. He also made a solar oven, and wine from a kit-- a nice young Bergemais red, as well as strawberry wine. He canned tomato sauce today. What a guy.

Hopefully when wedding #3 is done and I'm more settled with my various programs we'll start looking at houses again, and I may even set up "shop" as a health coach in training :) I plan on specializing in women's health, specifically skin and digestive issues, and possibly hormonal issues, as well. We are doing our best living and loving in the process.

I have a favor to ask: Can y'all help me with my brand-spankin' new business name? I already have "Happy Healthy Life Now" set aside, but I am also debating between using "Therese Totten" or "Trissa Totten." Therese is my formal name, but I grew up with Trissa. I thought to grow out of it as I got older, but I find myself returning to it now: it feels like returning to my roots, my Self. I am really leaning toward Trissa. Someone I admire told me to stick to my gut feel, my individuality, and yet a classmate is telling me to stay formal in business. So now I am conflicted. Help, please!

In any case, be happy, be healthy, and be well.

A Long Hiatus

...it has been. Sorry about that. The church wedding in Manila took a lot out of J and me, and I believe we've just really caught up now, and also digested everything. It was a beautiful ceremony, and an even more exquisite (don't you love that word?) experience. But we were super tired after. The adrenaline high, and the extreme crash after, I think more me than Jess. So we're back. And we will update soon. At the moment, I am also stamping/personalizing thank you cards, 155 and counting...yay, 52 left, unless we want to make more :/ I even stamped at a Superbowl party!...then again, my social powers fail at such occasions, so it was a win-win situation. I wonder why I'm doing it the hard way, when most people just buy the darn thing, and the recipients usually take one look, coo then dump my worked-on card. But this is what I wanted to do from the start: more personal, more crafty, even if some people might think we're too poor to buy cards when that isn't it. Oh well. Such is a crafter's struggle. In any case, stay tuned!