Reader Poll

So, I have a question.  If you could have one thing from Harry Potter, what would it be?

Personally, I think I would like a house elf.  Someone to do the dishes and laundry and general household chores that I very much dislike.  And since it would be my house elf, it would put things away where I want them to go, instead of in the wrong place. 

Although, the ability to do Mrs. Weasley's spells that cause the dishes to wash themselves, food to cook itself, the knitting to knit itself, et cetera would also be pretty awesome. 

Hmm...difficult choice.

What would you choose?

I Might Be Turning Into a Vampire...

But not a sparkly one.  Because vampires don't sparkle.  Or glitter, or whatever.

Okay, so maybe that's not true.  The part about me turning into a vampire.  The other part is definitely true.  Vampires don't sparkle.  But, I don't seem to be able to sleep at night anymore.  I sleep mostly from sometime early in the morning, until as late as I can manage.  On the weekend that seems to be between 10:00 and 10:30.  On the days when Michael works, I have to be up by 9:00 because I have to give my goats hay and unfrozen water.  While 9:00 or 10:00 might sound luxuriously late to you, please bear in mind that I often don't go to sleep until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, and then I tend to wake up between 6:00 and 7:00 for a while, just for fun.  Whether I nap during the day or not makes no difference.  Yesterday I took a mid-afternoon nap, and I had a really hard time going to sleep.  Today I did not take a nap at all, and I still am having a hard time going to sleep.  Normally I'd have taken something by now (lying awake in bed for four hours isn't my idea of a fun time), but since I'm pregnant, I can't.  Well, I suppose I technically could, but I shouldn't.  Either way, the result is the same.  Me awake at 1:30 in the morning.

Also, my baby apparently likes midnight snacks.  Maybe that's why I can't go to sleep any earlier than I do.  I have to awake for snack time.  Tonight I decided I would try warm milk.  Except I don't really like plain warm milk, so I made hot cocoa instead.  Yes, I use milk to make hot cocoa, because it's delicious.  I also use a Starbucks cocoa mix that my mom got me that only has cocoa, sugar, and vanilla and if you try to use water it doesn't taste good (or so I'm told).  Before I got that, I would just use my own cocoa, sugar, and vanilla, but the premixed kind is nice, because I only have to measure one thing instead of three. 

So, I think I'm getting tired enough to go back to bed now. 

Thoughts on Pregnancy

So, I'm still in the tired phase of being pregnant.  I've had my first prenatal appointment with my midwife last week.  I really like her.  Michael came with me and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat via doppler.  That made it feel much more real.  Prior to that it seemed really surreal.  It still does to a certain extent, but not quite as much.

Mostly it's just weird to me to think that this time next year I'll have a baby.  Since I've never had one before, I have difficulty imagining what life will be like.  I mean, I read things, and have friends with kids, but still...it's hard to imagine.  I suppose that's totally normal.

Today I was thinking about the fact that I'll be able to twist their sense of humor to match my own.  I know it's a while down the road, but it'll be fun to have someone laugh at the same crazy stuff I find funny.  Michael finds some of the same stuff funny as I do, but he doesn't have the dark twist to his humor that I have.  Sometimes I miss having someone with my penchant for dark humor around.

Anyway, so that's what I'm thinking so far.

Why I Like Baths

So, I really like taking baths.  Especially when I'm tired or don't feel great, which, lately, seems to be all the time.  Part of it's that whole first trimester of pregnancy thing and part of it's that I'm sick.  So, I seem to be taking a lot more baths than showers, especially this week.  I know some people think that baths are for children or that you can't get as clean in a bath as in a shower.  Both of these thoughts are completely untrue.  First, I have a very large bathtub.  Way too big for a small child when filled up completely.  This bath is obviously intended for adults.  Second, if the nasty, filthy, smelly raw wool can get clean from being soaked in hot soapy water, I see no reason why I can't.  I'm much less dirty and smelly than raw wool.  So, here is a list of the reasons I like to take a bath:

1. You can lie down in the bath.  I suppose you could lie down in the shower, but then you'd have water hitting you in the face, which is not very nice.
2. You're completely surrounded by warm water.
3. It's relaxing.
4. You can watch a movie, read a book, or play games on your iPhone (as long as you keep your hands out of the water) while in the bath.  I wouldn't try any of those things in the shower.  
5. If someone calls while you're in the bath that you want or need to talk to, it's much less awkward to answer the phone than if you were in the shower. 
6. You don't have to stand up.

When showering seems like a monumental amount of effort, a bath is a nice alternative.