On the Agenda

I have random things on my mind, so I'm going to share them with the world. After, I'll probably read a blog post by one of those great reformed pastors with PhDs who talk about how blogging is a waste of time unless you have something meaningful to say and you shouldn't even have comment bars or something and how Facebook creates false community and instead you should REALLY be sitting in a coffee house on a plaza, building relationships or something like that. I might feel guilty then, but right now I am very content to be on my couch, while the kids have quiet time, checking Facebook, and blogging instead of driving twenty-five miles into Jackson so I can sit in a coffee house and build relationships while I sip expensive coffee and my children run wild. There. I could stop there.

But I won't.

On pregnancy. The third time around is so different than the first and second. With the previous children, I would have these crazy mood swings where I would cry like a maniac, get so angry I would scream and in general deal with crazy impulses (e.g., "I hate these TV trays. They are in the way. Throwing them out the window would be a great solution.") Then, I was totally unaware of the irrationality of those times. I felt perfectly rational and justified in these hormonal urges.

This time around, I am more cognizant of my irrationality. It's kind of like at the end of A Beautiful Mind where Russell Crowe's character still can see the visions but he knows they aren't real. The worst one so far involved me, anger and a Baptist preacher and I didn't care one bit if I had ruined my witness towards him. ("He's a Christian," I thought, "I don't need to witness to him.") I suppose I should have clarified--mostly under control. Out have gone the pregnancy books (not one peek). I suppose I'm too busy with other things these days.

The biggest difference with this pregnancy compared to the others is the lack of sugar cravings. I've been absolutely unconcerned with sweets. It took three days to eat a milk shake Tuan brought home for me and I never finished it. We've had a small pint of Hagen Daz in the fridge for weeks scarcely touched. While I've not turned them down, what I've really wanted are savory things: cheese, Tacos from Taco Bell, cheese on saltines, grilled cheese, cheeze-its, pimiento cheese, bacon, and meditteranean and asian food.

I didn't grocery shop last week because I wanted to use up what we had. We got pretty close to the bottom of the barrel. The saved money went towards Mistletoe and it left us on Sunday night staring at the pantry, longing for something to eat. I wanted Vietnamese food so badly that had it not been Sunday night at 10:00, I would have sent Tuan for Saigon. Instead, I read our Vietnamese cookbook. I read it Sunday night and Monday morning and after that it was all downhill. I made my meal-plan for the week (all Vietnamese!) and last night we went to the Asian Market on Spillway and to to the I-55 Kroger for all the Ingredients we needed. I'm really looking forward to this week's food. For lunch we had a cabbage salad with pork and veggies with the most "remarkable" (quote, Tuan, a compliment) lime dressing. Kind of a Vietnamese coleslaw. Tonight we are making Banh Xeo--rice flour crepes filled with pork, mushrooms, onions, green onions, then wrapped with mustard greens and dipped into Nuoc Mam--Heaven!

There are five + more dishes to go after that. And, they are all mostly nourishing! Whoo--hoo.

I could blog on and on, but I will end with this: Hello Stalkers Who Don't Comment. I know you're out there--mainly 'cause you tell me you are. That's okay. I stalk blogs, too.

I think it's time for some cheese.