We had a nice, low-key Christmas here. Jon loved the presents I got him, including a 20GB iPod (he stayed up 'til 2:00 a.m. Christmas night putting music on it) and a DVD of one of his favorite movies ("Better Off Dead" with John Cusack). Also, as a non-planned but fun gift, when we were out doing last-minute family Christmas shopping on Thursday night, we found men's suits majorly on sale in Macy's. He got a beautiful pin-striped Kenneth Cole suit for 50% off, and I used my Christmas bonus to pay for it (the bonus covered it all except $75--not bad). This is his first real suit. Jon got me a beautiful light blue wool/cashmere pea coat (I LOVE it), a DVD ("Ever After"--love that movie!), and he's taking me shopping for a new pair of shoes. OH!--and my parents got us a digital video camera!

After we opened our gifts to each other, we went over to Jon's parents' house for the rest of the day (around 10:00). I brought potato casserole and helped Colleen with some of the rest: barbecued green beans (a good recipe!), sweet potatoes, ham, rolls, and pumpkin pie. We all exchanged gifts and then ate around 3:00. Jon spent much of the day testing out the new video camera and iPod, watching the Miama Heat beat the Lakers, and catnapping. He and I went back home around 7:30 and watched Spider-Man 2 (a gift from Jennifer).

Now it's back to the real world... but at least it's just a 4-day week (Friday off).

In pregnancy news: I feel like I have gained about 80 pounds. I think it's closer to 15, but still...

I think I felt the baby move today! I can't be positive that's what it was, but still, I'm pretty sure. I was in bed this morning, having hit the snooze button a couple of times. I rolled over on my side and was still, and then, blip! a little tappy sort of bubble. It was a couple of inches below my belly button and a bit to the left. I waited for a few minutes to see if I felt anything else, but nothing felt as strong (and anything else I felt might have been a mind psych-out). Cool!

I'm going to sit still for a few minutes after I eat lunch today to see if I feel anything. ;)

Pregnancy update
Well, there isn't much to update. None of my clothes fit me, and I feel plump, especially in areas that I didn't think needed to get any bigger... This is all for a reason, so I'm not going to obsess too much! I still haven't felt Baby move, but I've been trying to pay attention. I think sitting still after I eat is a good time to feel movement.

My grandparents gave us the stroller/car seat system I found and love for Christmas. Yay! Also, I bid on a nice, gently used white crib on Ebay and was the high bidder, but apparently I didn't meet the reserve price. I didn't want to go above my bid anyway, though, so perhaps the seller will contact me. It's a local pickup arrangement in Del Mar--would be worth it for the money saved.

In other news, I have Friday off from work and am hopeful that they'll let us go early tomorrow too. I'm not taking any paid time off this week or next week in order to save the PTO for later in the pregnancy if I want to take it then. Also, I already used several hours here and there throughout December. That's it!

Blogs I've been reading
I don't have a blogroll on my blog because the purpose of my blog is more personal- and friend-oriented. I don't write anything too interesting to anyone who doesn't know me (perhaps it isn't interesting to those who know me either...). But these are some blogs I've been reading recently:

Chez Miscarriage - Not the best language you will come across, but this woman writes very well and injects humor in surprising places. I've read her archives from March 2004 through today. Struggling for years with infertility, she and her husband have finally chosen a gestational surrogate to carry their baby. That pregnancy is in the early stages still.
The Leery Polyp - Along the same lines (including the language), this woman struggled with infertility and, along with her husband, had decided to adopt. Now at the beginning of that process, she has found out she is pregnant, but she is not too hopeful, having had numerous miscarriages before ("The pregnancy feels imaginary. Unreal. I try to picture myself getting to the point where maternity clothes are necessary, and it actually makes me laugh, it's so ridiculous, so impossible to believe... And of course I want to believe in it, but I'm terrified."). She's currently struggling with still wanting to continue the adoption process but wanting to be hopeful about the pregnancy.
The Proverbial Wife - Written by Marla Swoffer, a Christian who lives with her family in the liberal San Francisco area. Thought-provoking posts.

And, of course, my real friends:
To A Discerning Eye - Bryce and Ashley in Scotland.
Jack Flack Always Escapes - Adventures of my friend Nell, now living in New York. We met in middle school and became good friends in early high school.

18 weeks!
We had a nice time at Denny's for breakfast this morning and are just getting lots done around the house now (I cleaned our bathroom and shower, am doing some laundry, will go empty the dishwasher after this, and wrote a couple of thank you notes for Christmas gifts already received; Jon mowed the lawn, will wash one of our cars, and is doing miscellaneous yard work). We're going over to Phil and Katrina's tonight--that should be fun. It's the first time the four of us have hung out since they got married in October. Nothing else big going on today!

Random thoughts 11 days before Christmas
I finished the rest of my Christmas shopping on Saturday--with two weeks to spare! That's actually cutting it a bit close for me. I don't like big shopping crowds and aisle upon aisle of cluttered merchandise thrown every which way. Before his married days, Jon wouldn't have even started Christmas shopping yet. "Two weeks?! That's plenty of time!" That's why I do the shopping. This year, he just has to buy gifts for his dad and his friend Scott (and me).

At my doctor's appointment last week, they took some blood to do a screening for Down's syndrome and a couple of other birth defects. The doctor said the results would be in within a few days, and they would call me if there was anything to discuss. "If you don't get a call from me," she said, "consider that good news." Yesterday, I had a message on my cell phone to call the doc office to "discuss some lab results." Yikes. I called the number and waited on hold for 10 long minutes. The "lab results," though, were from a urine sample, not the blood test, and I just have some hints of a minor bacterial infection. I already got the prescription and everything is fine. But I wish they could have been a little more specific about which lab results they were calling about. Of course, even if they were calling about the blood test and there was something "wrong" with the baby, we wouldn't be changing a thing. The doctors may recommend "terminating the pregnancy" (come on, people, call it what it is: killing the baby), but we would not consider that. The reason we agreed to have the blood test done in the first place is just to know, to be prepared.

We were very busy this weekend, but it was mostly with fun stuff. The wedding on Friday went very well. Jon was very groomsmanly. I saw quite a few old friends/acquaintances (Mickeal, the Millers, Amy, the Johnsons) and even a person/family I did not want to see, but even that went very well. On Saturday after a Christmas program rehearsal, I tried to help Jon's parents move into their new house, but only being able to lift light boxes doesn't help very much. So instead, that's when I finished my Christmas shopping. Saturday night was the annual ornament exchange party. This was our third year going, and I think we had the most fun this year since we knew a few more people. I even liked the ornaments we went home with (a first!--many people bring joke/ugly ornaments, and then the several that are really neat get "stolen"). After the party, we went over to Neil and Casey's house and had a really great time sitting around and talking until way past my bed time. That caused Sunday morning's message to be a little fuzzy in my mind, but it was still good. I was back at church at 4:30 for a last rehearsal before the Christmas program, which started at 6:00. It went surprisingly well, considering the singers had never practiced with the band and the actors had never practiced with the musicians and the lighting was never planned and there had never been a dress rehearsal. Dinner out with friends after the program was a nice ending to a full but nice weekend.

And so it begins
Our [too-busy] Christmas season seems to be beginning now. Tonight is the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner for a wedding Jon is in (the wedding is tomorrow--Friday--and we'll be leaving work early to get to it. I wonder why they chose a Friday for the wedding and, since they chose a Friday, why they chose a time that meant everyone, guests included, would have to take time off of work to attend). Saturday is an annual ornament exchange party. Sunday is our church's Christmas program (I'll be singing). Thursday next is a potluck at work. Friday next is another party, this one involving a white elephant gift exchange (someone want to google the origins of the phrase "white elephant"?). Janel and family arrive some time around then for a week, and we'll be taking a Varela family Christmas picture on the 22nd. Seth's first birthday is the 23rd. Amid all of this, I really do want to continue to take a step back and remember the true significance of Christmas, enjoying the activities, decorations, parties, and company, but always with Christ and God's miraculous gift in mind.

Wednesdays are my favorite week day
Wednesdays are nice because I don't have anything scheduled after work. Mondays and Tuesdays are for flute lessons, and Thursdays are for music rehearsal at church. Wednesdays are free. It makes my whole day a lot more relaxing, knowing that I'm done with obligations at 5:00. I usually just relax at home, but today I'm going to Target to shop for a wedding gift and some ornaments for an ornament exchange we're going to on Saturday.

Oh, my next doctor's appointment is tomorrow, and I'm hoping Jon can come! He hasn't heard the heartbeat yet, so it would be neat if he could hear it tomorrow. I'm over 4 months pregnant now!--and our baby is about 4.5 inches long and weighs very little (a couple of ounces).

We had a very nice time this weekend with my parents. They arrived mid-day Friday, and we went straight from the airport to Laguna Beach for lunch and to enjoy the beautiful, sunshine-y California weather. It's a good thing we enjoyed it Friday, because Saturday and Sunday were dreary, rainy, and chilly. My dad also got another crazy shirt. The four of us went to I Love Sushi for dinner on Friday. I didn't think I would get that jealous of everyone for getting to eat all that good sushi, but I did. I really do miss those Philadelphia rolls and tropical rolls and wasabi... Of everything I'm not supposed to eat while pregnant, sushi is what I miss. The shrimp wontons, miso soup, and salad I had were still very good.

On Saturday, we had breakfast at home and hung around the house for a while. Jon, my mom, and I got lunch at Del Taco while my dad went to a business meeting. Then my mom and I did some baby room shopping at Babies R Us (I think I might register here); we looked at cribs (expensive!), strollers (expensive!), crib mattresses (expensive!), and dressers/changing tables (super expensive!). I found some decently priced things that I like. Saturday evening, the four of us went to the Clippers game versus the Timberwolves. We had seats in the Clear Channel suite (Jon's company advertises on the radio through Clearchannel/Clear Channel--however they write it--and so he gets these tickets sometimes), where they provide lots of good food (free) and comfortable seats. The game was exciting--it went into overtime, but we lost.

On Sunday, Jon and I went together early to church to do our normal routine (Jon setting up sound, me rehearsing music), and my parents came later (already over halfway through the service--I know this was my mom trying to be sensitive to my non-believing dad, but oh well). A bunch of us went out to lunch after church, and I was reminded once again why I like going to the food court at the mall if a bunch of us are going at once: no bill sharing. Trying to figure out how 12 people are going to pay one bill is always a huge hassle. Anyway, Jon was off to Sacramento by this time for work, so my mom, dad, and I spent the rest of the day together (including a drop-off-dad-at-Home-Depot-so-we-can-do-one-more-stint-of-baby-shopping hour. We went to Target and saw the crib linens/room decorations I'd like to register for and also found a dresser that would work as a changing table--less than half the cost of the ones at Babies R Us. It felt weird to do all this baby room shopping when I'm not even really showing yet and still have 6 months to go. I felt like an imposter in Babies R Us, with all these cutely very pregnant women walking around looking at the same things I was. But hey, I'm still pregnant.). We made taco soup for dinner and then watched "Italian Job," since my parents had never seen it.

We got ready this morning at a leisurely pace, and I took them to the airport. That pretty much sums up the weekend!

I don't know if it's my prolonged absence from being around my dad for so long that made me forget or if it is actually that he has changed, but I think he has gotten more set in his ways and impatient. At lunch on Friday, a girl one table over from us had a loud, annoying laugh--it was quite noticeable and inappropriate. While I think most people I would have been with would either not notice it, laugh about it, make fun of her, or just shrug it off, it really frustrated my dad. Things like that annoy him to the point where it could ruin his meal and prevent him from having a good time. I don't know if he has always just been that way and I didn't notice as much or if it really has gotten worse. Interesting.

There isn't too much on tap for this week, but I do have my 16-week appointment on Thursday morning. In addition, Thursday is my one-year anniversary of reaching lifetime status in Weight Watchers.

General news
Work
I have been quite bored here lately. So have the other proposal writers--at least the other two I'm friends with. Because of the restructure of the sales and marketing force in the company and the changing nature of how exactly we're doing business (new products, new sales targets), the salespeople haven't been getting/submitting proposal requests. This is our slow season for proposals anyway, but annual projects are only so interesting (and only take up so much time). The fact that I'm only going to be working here 5 months longer (though no one here knows that yet) also factors in to my boredom/lack of motivation.

Jon's job, on the other hand, is anything but boring. He's working his typical long hours and coming home exhausted. I can tell when he has had a good day, because, though he has usually worked 10+ hours, he feels productive--like he actually got things done. Receiving constant interruptive phone calls and questions surely impedes progress...

Home
We still haven't decided 100% what to do with our house: do the addition after the baby's born? Not do the addition and instead just get a new roof, of which the house is in desperate need? Regardless, we need to have something done about the roof so we don't stay up at night each time it rains praying there are no leaks.

We're still really enjoying our new tile floors and the heat, protection, and comfort God through our home gives us.

Pregnancy
This past week has felt new. I've been feeling great, but I've also noticed that my lower-to-middle back has been hurting. I guess that's typical, even this early in pregnancy when I haven't gained much weight. Also, I've been thinking that it is a boy. Of the 4 or 5 dreams I have had with our baby in it, it has always been a boy. And in discussing names with Jon, I kept thinking about and wanting to talk about boy names--almost like I had forgotten about the girl names I like. This might just be my subconscious "psyching me out," since I have been leaning toward wanting a girl just a little bit more than a boy. But a couple of the boy names we came up with have me very excited, so maybe it's God preparing to change my heart. :)

Weekend plans
My parents are coming to visit this weekend! This is my dad's first time back out to California since they moved exactly two years ago. My mom has been out numerous times (three I think). They're flying in Friday and leaving Monday morning, so this is a short visit, but certainly better than nothing. Though I don't mention it much, I really miss my parents and brother and sister.

We're planning on going to I Love Sushi for dinner at some point over the weekend, and Jon got four tickets to the Clippers game for Saturday night, so we'll go to that too. I think my dad wants to go to Laguna Beach and buy a t-shirt, too (my silly dad).