I’m fairly certain that little Sprout has started some very early training to be a professional kickboxer!

…probably…

We have a doctor’s appointment in 4 hours. We hope to find out if we are having a little boy or girl. I can’t wait! I can’t believe, we are half-way there. It’s funny because looking back, it seems like it was just yesterday when I was running up those stair, scream-whispering for my husband to wake up and see the result of the home pregnancy test. On the other hand, looking forward, the birth still seems so far away. Heck, I could sware we’ve been waiting for 3 years just for today’s doctors appointment.

I haven’t been giving you many updates on development because it is all about growth from here on out. From what I’ve been reading, I can tell you that Sprout is about 10 inches from head to toe and weighs almost a pound. Funny how the baby is only a pound, yet I’ve gained almost 10 lbs. I’ve also read that 10 lbs is normal weight gain for this stage, but it is definitely hard to grasp for someone who has always struggled with her weight. I just feel fat.

It is bizarre, because I can recall being frustrated w/ pregnant friends who talked about feeling fat. I would think that they were beautiful and their bodies were doing something even more beautiful. I’ve often said that there isn’t anything more beautiful than a pregnant woman…but something changes when it happens to you. When your last pair of jeans quit fitting…it is frustrating and after years of conditioning it is hard not to feel bad about the weight gain. It takes a great deal of effort to remember why this is happening and that it isn’t a failure on my part.

Well, I suppose I better get to work, although I’m not sure how productive I can be when all I can think about is this afternoon’s appointment!

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these…please bare with me. I can’t tell you too much on this one, because it is a Stephen King. The way a King movie works, you get all these little pieces and at some point you pull them together and start following the movie. I wouldn’t want to give away any of the pieces, but I will tell you that I did enjoy this one.

Okay, okay, there was definitely some bodily function based humor as well as many unnecessary “F-bombs” but it sill had a very interesting story underneath the farts and the f–ks.

There was an excellent display of talent even though much of the cast seemed like low-budget names that no one had heard of. I’d like to especially point out the work of Andrew Robb & Donnie Wahlberg, who played the character of Duddits. Duddits was mentally handicapped. They never specifically said what was wrong, but he was obviously slow. When my husband pointed out that it was Donnie Wahlberg, I was shocked. It didn’t look like him, sound like him…he really got into this character. I like to see that.

Okay, I really don’t want to give away this story, because the bizarre weirdness of Stephen King needs to be realized as King intended…but I will say that you should rent this DVD. No folks, not the VHS…don’t wait for cable…you need to rent the DVD.

Why, you ask? In the deleted scenes, the very last cut scene on the list is a “must see”! I promise, even if you don’t enjoy the movie, you will enjoy this deleted scene and it will all be worth it.

Note: You need to watch the entire movie and then watch the deleted scene. It won’t have the same impact if you watch the cut scene first.

I had a Mah Jongg party at my house on Saturday and it was lovely! I was a little worried, because my body just doesn’t hold up like it used to. After getting up early to buy groceries, make several batches of candied bacon, several trips to the basement and back to do laundry and a half-hearted attempt at sorting my AVON order, I was exhausted. I had about 1 1/2 hours before friends started to arrive and I was dead to the world.

While I still tied on a good helping of “tired” for the rest of the evening, I made it through the party and had a really good time. We did more socializing than game playing. Sometimes we’ll end up with two games going and all we really do is play hard core and sometimes, we get a few games in and spend the rest of the night munching and chatting.

The rule is that everyone brings an appetizer or dessert to share and your own beverages. It’s fun to see and taste what everyone brings. We had candied bacon (my dish), two different pizza dips, pizza, deviled eggs, cookies, tiramisu and OF COURSE…Mah Jongg night wouldn’t be Mah Jongg night without Brenda’s delicious wrapped pickles. Who would have thought that cream cheese, pickles and dried beef could taste so good together!

Hopefully, my lovely and very thin friend will post her digital pictures!