Slush

The four inches of slush on the ground is my reminder to buy some winter boots.

Vomity morning today, not fun especially when there's nothing in your belly to come up. It is a strange sensation to be simultaneously hungry and sick to your stomach. I am feeling more and more pressure to return to work full-time. My disability coverage ran out on November 15, and our savings is running out now. I'm lucky to have had time off, especially since this job is only a few months old. I just wish I felt better.

My single, childless friends don't seem to know how to handle this pregnancy concept, and certainly not feeling sick. One of them keeps asking when I'm going to go out. Not anywhere near in the mood for bars and smoke and late nights, thank you! I'm not sure what they don't understand about the phrase constant vomiting, but I wish they'd hurry up and understand. I feel guilty, like I'm ruining friendships by being sick. I know I shouldn't, but I do. I guess I feel the same about my job.

My parent-friends, however, seem even more excited than I do sometimes. As one of my co-workers wrote in a congratulatory note, "Welcome to the club!"

A little more snow and a thick layer of ice has covered over the slush from Sunday/Monday. It has made for some weird car sounds outside my window. I'm not sure what it's like to walk in, being sick, but it certainly looks dangerous. So far most of the neighbors haven't cleared their sidewalks at all. I wonder if that's another symptom of this Boston rudeness. I live on a fairly steep hill and will have to walk it to get to the bus ... scary for a pregnant woman due to the risk of falling. Not looking forward to that.

Back to my previous post on sprawl ... wondering how to avoid moving further out. There isn't anything to really downsize or sell ... I've always paid attention to urban design and affordable housing issues, but it seems that having an article addressing that the issue of families moving out of the urban center is as far as they get. I still think moving to a cheaper city is the best solution so far, but will have to wait at least a year for that. I'm not planning to spend buckets of money on the baby like the industry would prefer (I've always been of the mind that a good child's toy is an empty pot to bang on or some trees to swing from), but I still realize we'll need a little more moola. Hell, even now we're spending a bit more money simply because I'm hungrier, doctor co-pays, etc.

Speaking of frugal and simple lifestyles, there's the issue of a baby shower. My mom didn't realize that oftentimes it's in her corner, but now that she has, she's talking about a shower near my IL hometown. Problem is, I don't know if I actually want all that stuff. I do need basic items, yes, but not necessarily new ones. Also, I've been to enough baby showers to realize that you don't really get the things you actually need (diaper wipes, breast cream), you get the things that are fun to buy (elaborate outfits, plastic toys with flashing lights that probably cause ADHD). Although I'd like to celebrate the baby coming, I'm not sure I want to contribute to all that buy-buy-buy overconsumption, let alone travel across the country to do so.

I should probably tell my mom this soon - before she invites all her friends I've never met.