I'm So Weak

I was laying on the couch, right where those pillows are, until the bullies jumped up and kicked me off.



And this is right after I had a long talk with Brady about how the dogs are not allowed on our couch anymore because they are ruining it with their dogness. And here they are, in my spot, using my blankets, completely passed out. I am such a pushover.

A Reflection

Tonight in Stephanie's confirmation class we talked about what the Holy Spirit is and how we see it in our lives. According to Galatians 5:22-23, the Holy Spirit is "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." We talked about what aspects of the Holy Spirit we saw in our lives and what we needed to work on.

Whether or not you believe in the Holy Spirit, the above traits are good ones to have in your life and I'm sure we can all stand to work on some of these traits.

Sidebar: I got called on in the class to read from the Bible and share my thoughts and I turned bright, bright tomato red. I do not know why I turn so bright red when I get called on, it's embarrassing. I mean, I'm a lawyer, I talk in front of people for a living and yet I can't read two lines without gallons of blood rushing to my face.

Ok, back to my original thought, here is my breakdown of the above-described traits, the ones I see in my life and the ones I need to work on. Call them traits of the Holy Spirit, traits of a happy life, important traits, whatever you want:

Love: I've got a lot of this in my life. I love my husband, my family (even though they drive me consistently crazy), my bullies, Baby Brady, my friends, my job, the $1.99 piece of carrot cake I got from Albertsons, my maternity yoga pants. I love lots of things in my life. I think the thing that I would need to work on is making sure all my loved ones know that I love them.

Joy: I am very joyful about being pregnant. Even though my back hurts and my heartburn is about to sear a hole in my chest, this is a very joyous occasion. I think with joy it is important to remember to find the joy in the little things in life when you are having a bad day. That is what I need to work on.

Peace: This is one that needs work. I often question my decisions even when I know I am making the best, informed decision I can make. I need to find peace with my decisions and trust myself.

Patience: Ok, this one needs a lot of work. I have zero patience for stupid people, people who come to a complete stop before making a turn while driving, people who stand in front of the Redbox machine at the grocery store forever choosing a movie, bad service at restaurants, and for my husband when he doesn't do what I ask right when I ask it. I definitely need to work on being more patient.

Kindness: I would like to think that I am kind to others around me. I try to be as kind as possible (unless you are one of the people that I have no patience for). I definitely have a lot of people in my life who are kind to me and for that I am very grateful. I think that we could all stand to be a little kinder in our daily lives.


Goodness: Oh goodness, sometimes it is just so hard to be good. I try to be a good wife, sister, daughter, friend, employee. I try to be good when eating. Goodness is present in my life and I'm always trying to be better.

Faithfulness: I have lots of faith in my life. I am faithful in my religous beliefs, to my husband, family and all my loved ones.


Gentleness: Ok, this is another one I can work on. I don't know that anyone would describe me as gentle. I can be very demanding and have high expectations of those around me. I am typically not afraid to tell people what I think and not always in the most gentle of terms. I probably could stand to be a little more gentle in my life.


Self-Control: This one is both present in my life and needs to be worked on. I have demonstrated massive self-control lately with spending. I have been budgeting and saving and spending money wisely. That is definitely new for me. I didn't even have a savings account until I got married in 2008. Now I have one and it even has money in it! I could use a little more self-control when it comes to desserts. Although after I am done typing this I'm going to go eat some of that carrot cake, but I think that counts as a vegetable.

So there you have it, the things I see in my life and the things I need to work on. I feel good after that little reflection. Sometimes it just feels good to take a hard look at the important things in life and whether you have those present in your life.

Obstacle

When I look down, this is what I see. Boobs and belly.



I can't see my feet or the ground immediately beneath me. The belly is getting huge people. I'm actually kind of surprised I can't see my feet because they are so big. I wear a size 6, but a 7 feels so good, I buy a size 8. Ok, ok, I actually wear a 9 1/2. I've got some damn big feet.

It doesn't concern me that I can't see my feet. What concerns me is that I often can't see this:



This is how big I am, I can't even see my 65 pound bulldog. Frank is a lover and a momma's boy which means he is constantly right at my feet. This has never been a problem but now that I can't easily see him I keep running into him. I am continuously kicking him, tripping over him, stumbling into him, running him over, and knocking him in the head. Running into Frank is like running into a sofa, it just doesn't budge. It's a good thing he's tough. You think he'd learn his lesson and stay away from me, but Frank loves his mommy so much he's willing to take the abuse.

A Day At The Park

Lately there has been a little too much t.v. and laptop time in our household and not enough face to face time. It's a common rut that Brady and I fall in. I think its because our jobs require us to be intellectually "on" for 9 plus hours a day. By the time we get home we just want to sit on the couch, watch t.v., play on the internet and drool on ourselves. And baseball season isn't helping matters. Brady play fantasy baseball, so not only does he watch his favorite team (Go Angels!), he watches every other freaking game because he has fantasy players on a variety of teams. And then he has to monitor his fantasy baseball team online so he is glued to the t.v. and the laptop. Grrr.

I'm actually considering cutting the cable. Not only would it save money but it would force us to spend more time talking and interacting (Brady: aren't you excited? More time to talk!). I wouldn't go totally crazy and get rid of the t.v. so we could still watch movies and such. But there really is no need for us to constantly mindlessly stare at the damn t.v. And I can always watch Glee and Gossip Girl online.

In order to address our addiction to media outlets, on Saturday I dragged Brady to the park. I have these wonderful dreams of taking the baby and the bullies to the park for play time and a picnic. I thought it was time to get Brady used to the idea of going to the park on Saturdays.

It was a beautiful day and it felt so good to be out of the house. The bullies loved it, of course, and Brady looks pretty happy too.



This trip to the park made me realize that a trip with the bullies and the baby might be taking on a little too much. We spent most of our time making sure the bullies weren't eating junk they found on the ground. I don't know if I can monitor two bullies and a baby who are all trying to eat the stuff they find on the ground.



My hidden agenda for the trip was the park was to get my white ass in the sun. I am translucent right now. I tried to adjust the brightness on this photo and I'm still blindingly white.



It was a lovely day at the park. We will definitely do it again. If Brady agrees to consistently go to the park with me, I just might let him keep the cable. But he needs to simmer down with the fantasy baseball.

Facial Fail

Today I got a facial at The Spa in South Coast Plaza. I had a gift certificate that was almost a year old and I thought I better use it before it's value decreases or something weird like that. My skin is also worse than it was in junior high thanks to all the pregnancy hormones. So off to The Spa I went to get scrubbed and buffed.

I have gotten a few facials before so I knew what to expect. I let them know that I am pregnant so they could adjust the products accordingly. I was very excited for my facial, I looked forward to it all day on Saturday like a kid on Christmas Eve. And then it turned out to be a total fail.

The Spa was very nice and swanky. My facialist (I'm not sure what you call the person giving the facials) was extremely pleasant and accommodating. And I can assure you that accommodating an 8 month pregnant woman is no easy feat, just ask my husband. But I just could not get comfortable in the spa chair thing. My back was throbbing and despite having her adjust the chair numerous times, it never stopped. I really wanted to lay on my side but that doesn't work so well with the facial. I kept getting really hot and having to stop to get some water. All the aromatherapy smells, which usually I love, were making me nauseous. And Baby Brady was holding a dance party in my uterus. Feeling the baby move is an awesome experience and I love it, but as he gets bigger and stronger it is starting to feel more like a punch in the gut rather than cute little baby movements.

I almost ended the facial early, but for the sake of my pores I stuck it out. And now I'm all shiny and clean. So I didn't exactly have the relaxing experience I was hoping for, I hope my hair appointment is more successful.

Back To My Roots

Today I had a mediation. Typically my mediations start with both parties in one room, the other side states what they want and then I caucus with my clients to see what we would like to present as our counter-offer.

We were very far apart in what the other side wanted and what my client was willing to offer. Once we realized that we were not going to settle, my caucus with my client turned into a bit of a chit chat situation while we waited for the mediator to come talk to us. I was with a few other women and, as women do, they started gossiping about people they work with. Women A and Women B started arguing about the hair color of one of their co-workers. Women A insisted it was brown, Women B argued blonde and said, "don't you know what blonde is? So what color is Courtney's hair?"

And I froze. In utter embarrassment. Because truthfully, my hair is both brown and blonde. The top part is brown, the bottom part is blonde. I have some mayjuh roots going on. And I'm not happy about it. I have naturally brown hair but I was just meant to be a blonde, it's in my blood. So every few months I pay a lot of money to be blonde. So Women A is staring at me and I'm thinking, "this is horrible, she can't decide which color it is because it's both, I'm such a mess."

And then Women A says, "brown." Ahhhhh! Stick a knife straight threw my heart and turn it a few times why doncha ya!?! I replied, "it will be blonde next week, I have an appointment." And thank heavens I do.