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Since I’ve pretty much cut out soda as a result of my efforts to avoid high amounts of sugar, artificial sweeteners, and caffeine, I’ve had to find some satisfying alternatives. Enter the juice spritzer, which simultaneously satisfies my constant cravings for juice.

For the record, this is pretty much the only craving I’ve had so far (with the exception of the Cheerios phase, but that was a wierd first trimester sickness thing). It’s not just juice, but anything sweet, cold and fruity. Sorbet does the trick too. But juice is just more accessible. It also helped me get calories into me during the aforementioned first trimester. Now that I’m trying to avoid empty calories, which I think juice would qualify as, I’ve made juice spritzers a regular part of my day. The recipe is simple. Part juice + part spritzer = juice spritzer.

On vacation I had awesome ones, with OJ, pineapple juice and cranberry juice. They totally rocked as poolside beverages. Now that I’m home, I’m sticking to simpler recipes, containing the two juices I crave most, and, oddly enough, pretty much never drank before I got pregnant. Namely limeade and grapefruit juice. Mmmmmmm. I’m drinking one now. I know limeade isn’t really a juice, but it’s the most awesome thing ever made and I love it, but if I drink a whole glass I feel sick. Not to mention ingest WAY too much sugar.

I can’t believe I just wrote more than one paragraph about juice spritzer. I really am a preggo, huh?

For the last couple of months, the healthiest breakfast I’ve been consuming has been none other than the egg sandwich. What can I say? I love them. Always have. They used to be a treat - something for a Friday or for the loose change in my car, but now they’re just pretty much part of my day. The issue is, now that I’ve been consuming them more…consistently, I’ve realized that the egg sandwiches readily available to me just don’t measure up. Within a 5 mile radius I have:

• Dunkin Donuts: There’s actually a couple of DDs near my house, right on my way to work. And I’m sure they’ve spent millions on this “oven toasted” campaign but, well, the egg sandwiches just aren’t good! Definitely not on a bagel - too dry and bland, and who knows what’s in that egg “patty.” It’s a little better on an english muffin, but they don’t always have them.
• McDonalds: I’m not gonna lie, I love a good egg mcmuffin here and there. I can’t believe I’m admitting this, but they’re kind of small! Sue me - I’m famished every day by 11 and I want something a little more satisfying. Besides, who knows what goes into the McD’s specialty. There’s also the issue that if I go to McDonald’s for breakfast, I WILL be eating a hash brown with my meal and, well, I just don’t need to be eating one of those every day.
• Jitters: This cute little coffee shop around the corner from my house makes egg sandwiches the REAL way. With a fried egg cooked fresh, yolk broken, a piece of cheese and a toasted bagel. However twice now I’ve gone and the bagel is on the stale side. I don’t know where they get them from, but I’m thinking the answer is “yesterday.”
• Uncommon Grounds: Definitely the best egg sandwich in the area. Lately it’s been an egg patty, but a better one than DD, and definitely the best bagel of all the contenders. Unfortunately this is barely within that 5 mile radius. I also have to park in downtown Saratoga and go in and order. So while this sandwhich gets a 9.5 for taste, it gets a 2 for convenience and accessibility.

So that’s my dilemma. Not to mention the obvious, I’m spending way too much money on these and consuming way too much processed food and white carbs. Sometimes I feel inspired and I make my own: a whole wheat bagel toasted to perfection, a fried egg cooked to my liking, and American cheese (hey, I’m in a hurry - no time for cheddar)! I even wrap it up in foil and slice it - then immediately take it out and eat it

How sad that I think about this so much. If you know of a good egg sandwich, or an equally satisfying (and portable!) breakfast alternative (although I’m convinced no such thing exists), please let me know!

• Tonight the Colonie team had an awesome, and very efficient practice (2 hrs including run through for a new performance opener and 4 worship songs). Probably because I made it very clear that I was treating everyone to Kurver Kreme if we made it out at a decent hour. Just like I learned in Dog School! Food works as an incentive! Worked for me too, I was like a drill sargeant…”everybody good, ok next song!”
• Speaking of Posh, for those inquiring minds out there, Posh and I decided she was learning at too rapid of a rate and her brain needed a rest, so we skipped school Monday. No child or dog should be deprived of skipping school once in life. We spent the night watching Friends reruns and cuddling. It was well worth the $15 I wasted.
• Root beer float in the freezing cold with friends = awesome.  
• Tomorrow night is Friday night and I have no plans. Maybe I will get to hang out with my husband. Sometimes I see him in the morning as we cross paths in the bathroom, or I kick him in the middle of the night. I read his blog, I think he eats my leftovers in the fridge, I see him at church, and sometimes I fall asleep in the car while he’s driving. It would be cool to go on a date or something.
• Posh is obsessed with Brian (too). When I say “where’s Daddy” she freaks out and runs to the door. It’s adorable
• Good night

(there are more questions than answers running through my mind today)

Why…

• …does Posh lick the water off my legs every day when I get out of the shower?
• …does my belly button look significantly different every morning?
• …did it take me 23 minutes to drive from exit 9 to exit 8 this morning?
• …do I even bother fighting traffic on the Northway southbound at 7:45 when I could wait 45 minutes and avoid the traffic almost completely?
• …don’t they make some identifying sign or pin for pregnant women who are in between their normal shape/size and the point of obviously showing, so they don’t feel like people think they’re just getting pudgy?
• …do I get so excited when I pick up a wireless signal?
• …do I wait until I fear my electricity will be turned off to sit down and pay bills, even when I feel so much better once I get the checkbook all balanced and the bills all paid?
• …do I have a love/hate relationship with every Facebook notification that comes through my e-mail? I can’t stand them clogging up my inbox but I HAVE to check and see who wrote what on my wall…yadda yadda
• …did Posh bark for 43 minutes at Melissa and Phil’s tonight when she was supposed to be playing with Kona like a good girl?
• …haven’t I cooked dinner since…January 25th?

Who’s got answers for me?

I know, those two words don’t seem to go together. Usually “spring” is more associated with “anticipation” in my mind. But today I started to realize that, as much as I’m excited to embrace this spring with open arms, it will throw a wrench into my daily routine. Let me explain.

Yesterday I left my scarf at the Malta Diner. So today, I went scarfless. As I was about to leave the house, I thought I should probably throw some pearls on or something. Usually I’m all wrapped up from head to toe when I leave in the morning, and when I return at night, I haven’t shed a single layer (unless I had a lunch appt that day). So losing the scarf meant my neck wasn’t completely concealed along with the rest of me, and I actually had to consider that I should make that part of me presentable. Not that we pharmaceutical reps are vain, but, well, it’s expected that we dress well on the job! So I guess we are. But for the record, so are all the people who expect us to look all nice and professional.

So the scarf incident made me realize, I’m going to have to start picking out outfits in the morning again. Right now, on days I don’t have a lunch appointment, I could wear a Barney T-shirt under my coat if I wanted to. No one would ever know. And since I rarely see the same people two days in the row, I can wear the same thing every day if I want. No one would ever notice. Getting dressed requires little to no effort.

But this Spring, it’s inevitable - the coat will have to come off eventually. I don’t even know if I have a presentable wardrobe anymore. So while I anxiously await this spring’s thaw I will savor every single day that I can wake up, put on the same pants I took off and left on the floor the day before, any clean comfortable shirt (matching or not) and no jewelry.

As I’ve started to come back to life over the last couple days I’ve realized I really miss my husband. Sure, I see him all the time, but we hadn’t hung out in forever, and to be fair to him, I’ve been somewhat of a zombie lately - and I’ve treated him like a butler at best; “I need ginger ale”…”turn the heat down”…”bring me crackers”…”you stole all the covers.” You get the idea.

Today I stopped at church on my way home to show him the car and realized I was starting to crash (as in, from exhaustion, not like in the car). He informed me that he had hardly eaten all day since he’d been running around. I remembered that although very few foods had appealed to me lately, I was really craving the new grilled twister wrap heavily advertised by KFC lately (wierd, don’t ask…I can’t keep a PB&J sandwich down, but I wanted fried chicken from KFC).

So I decided I could survive sitting in KFC for a few minutes - long enough for us to see eachother’s faces and for at least one of us to be nourished (we were at KFC, so I use that term loosely).

So we went, we ate - and we had the most fabulous date in a long time. We sat and talked, caught up, reconnected, and listened to some AWESOME tunes (seriously, KFC has one of the best mixes ever. I dared Brian to ask the staff to make him a mix tape of it). All for $8.

I sat across that booth and thought several times during the conversation “I love this guy.” He makes me laugh, he is passionate about his life and his work, he loves life, he loves me, and he makes me smile - something I haven’t done all week. And all it took was an hour with him to remind me how to.

I guess it goes to show that it doesn’t take a fancy trip, a four star restaurant, or getting all dolled up to have a great date with the one you love. I guess all that matter is that you’re with the right one.

Found a new place I really like today…Professor Java’s on Wolf Road. I’ve driven by it many a time but never knew what that little house on Wolf Road had to offer inside of it. Well today, I found out. A cozy but spacious interior with great breakfast (very reasonably priced), a huge coffee selection, lunch and “lite fare” for later, and, the piece de resistance…Free Wi-Fi. I am hooked. Brian is going to love this place and considering that work should take him down that way now and again, I’m sure he’ll be able to make use of the recommendation soon. Try it out. You won’t be disappointed.

While enjoying my time at Professor Java’s, I read some other very good news. This should be good for business. For the record, Plavix is NOT a bloodthinner…it’s an antiplatelet - DUH.

Why doesn’t going to bed early feel as good as sleeping late?

Either way, I’m turning in, because I do know that going to bed early and getting up early is better than going to bed late and getting up early. (But for the record neither one is as good as sleeping late)

A few weeks ago my sister’s twins and my cousin’s three kids had a big sleepover together and my sister sent me this picture.

From left, Madelyn, Alessandra, Lydia, Jacob, Isabella

These kids absolutely adore eachother. They always want to get together and hang out, and they were pretty much in their glory at this sleepover…even while brushing their teeth. Somewhere along the way they became old enough and were able to entertain eachother enough that when all us “grown ups” get together, they head down to the basement, we close the door, and everyone’s happy.

When I got this picture it made me think…when did I become the grown up who was happier to sit around a table upstairs than to run around like a banshee with my cousins? We have a big family; to some of you that may in fact be an understatement. My dad has 6 siblings, who are all married, and have between 2 and four children a piece. So that makes 21 first cousins…and we all grew up in the same city. We spent every holiday together, and I say holiday in the loosest sense of the term. We were hard core - every birthday, anniversary, Martin Luther King Day or just Sunday afternoon was a family get together.

Since the sheer manpower of these gatherings was overwhelming, we kids always ended up in the basement (which was usually unfinished). We ate our meals on a sheet on the concrete floor together (we considered ourselves lucky if it was a flat sheet, not a fitted one, that was a special occasion) but we didn’t care, we just hung out and had fun.

It’s pretty cool to see the next generation of cousins doing the same thing. Their basements may be sheetrocked and carpeted, and they might even get a folding table and chairs to eat on, but I hope someday they look back on these times the same way we do…as we sit upstairs around the kitchen table and listen to the pitter patter of their footsteps in the basement.