Are you just, gaining weight?

My tummy is beginning to protrude, and I haven't really bought any new clothes, so I'm currently experiencing the challenge of making my old wardrobe work. I think, for the most part, I've succeeded in finding things that fit without looking frumpy. For The Most Part.

The other day I must have been wearing something frumpy because a well-meaning older neighbor lady asked me, in a crowded place no less and in a loud voice that caused everyone around us to hush, if I was, "...just gaining weight?" My response: "Yes I am gaining weight, but it's mostly because I'm pregnant." And she was happy and excited for us. And it was joyous.

What I didn't say but kind of wanted to was, "It's also partly because I'm constantly hungry and only certain foods sound appealing, and it's never salad that's at the top of my list."

What an awkward way to ask about a lady's growing gut! It made me laugh, luckily. I could see it going the other way, so I'm happy it just made me chuckle.

To answer the burning question on everyone's minds, yes, I am showing. But in my mind it's that inelegant waistline weirdness that doesn't represent itself clearly as a baby bump. It's more like, "Whoa girl! You ate a lot of meatloaf!" But every day it looks more and more like a baby, and less like meatloaf, so that's good.

And belly shots? Not on this blog. Sorry kids. But here's a fairly recent picture of me.

My face is quite a bit rounder than normal.

Oh, and check out those boots! They are Aldo Dannis and guess where we found them! In Honolulu. And can you imagine that they were marked down from $130 to $25?!?! I scored big time, but what in the world were those boots doing in Hawaii? I'm not complaining. These are comfortable, warm and cozy and fun to wear. A two-year-old friend of mine likes to pet them. Honestly, so do I.

Mathematics

Guess what people!

You've got to guess!

Fine, I'll tell you. There is a new breakthrough in math.

1 + 1  =  3*

Get it?

No?

I'll tell you then.

The Compensator family is having a baby. In June we will hear the pitter patter of little Compensator/Gordita feet. We are excited, thrilled really. We have waited for this for so long. However, there's still a twinge of panic for both of us. Funny how you can want something for so long, and then when it happens you feel completely unprepared. At any rate, we are excited to have a little person in our lives. 

On that note, I've been sick, but now that I'm out of my first trimester I am starting to feel better little by little. My waistline is increasing and fewer and fewer of my clothes fit. It's a bit alarming, and I find it difficult to be okay with the increased girth, but rationally I know that this has to happen, and that it's all for the little one's good. 

Artist's rendering of future baby The Compensator.

Some time I'll bore you with all of the strange and interesting symptoms of pregnancy. I find it all fascinating, if not a little odd and sometimes frustrating.

*TC, the family doctor and scientist who spends most of his days with mathematics had nothing to do with this gross miscalculation. In fact, if he knew I put that on our blog, he'd probably cringe at least a little, and maybe begin a tirade on the importance of mathematics in our lives. But really, that's why I love him. 

It's a... pumpkin!

Once upon a time, I had a blog. And I updated this blog regularly. Then, I, for whatever reason, lost steam. And stopped posting. The end.

Sad story.

But guess what I have for you!!

It's a pumpkin. That the man carved.

We got together with some friends last Monday to watch the presidential debate and carve pumpkins. I picked the design, started to carve it out, and before I knew it I handed the knife over to TC (maybe had something to do with his frequent "Be careful Gordi," and general nervousness at my haphazard handling of a rather large knife). And then before I knew it, it actually looked like a ghost, rather than Yoda (which was what it most closely resembled when I was in charge).

TC's patience, precision and skill with a carving knife all were astounding. What's also astounding is that I think that this was the first time in our 12 years of married life that we carved pumpkins.

All lit up!

So pretty. 

I sprayed it down with a clorox & water solution which kept the mold at bay until yesterday, when the pumpkin started to stink. So, we took an elevator ride to the top floor of our building (8th), and dropped it down the trash chute. We listened to it pick up speed and whistle before it smashed into the dumpster below. Such a satisfying end to a cute little pumpkin.

Awesome trip

I mentioned that we took a great trip in May, and now I'm finally, three months later, ready to blog about it. 

Let's see if you can guess where we went.

We saw a mangy cat.

We drank refreshing and uplifting Coca Cola,

saw random cute statues,

saw crosswalk signs of men with hats,

ate ice cream burgers,

saw mushroom looking mascots,

stayed in a minuscule hotel room,

and were warned about the lack of "toirets."

Any guesses? 

We went to Tokyo!

Why? Why not! 

We got a hankering to go to Tokyo, so we did. It was a long time coming, in that we had originally planned to go in April 2011, but with the earthquakes and tsunamis and all it felt wrong to go and party while the country was just trying to put theirs lives back together. So we postponed our trip.

So here's a sampling of the things TC and I did.

Our first stop was to go to the Sony showroom.

We happened upon an Oktoberfest, which was random.

We went to the Imperial Palace grounds.

We headed to Akihabara, headquarters of anime and tech fans.

And it was in Akihabara that we met the Colonel. I was surprised at his wee beady eyes.

We ate ramen in our hotel room.

One day we took the train down to Kamakura, a quaint town with a plethora of gorgeous temples.

I fell in love with the lucky cat, so when I saw a statue I had to have my picture taken next to it. 

 We saw the Great Buddah there. 

Do I look happy?

Then we took the train to Yokohama in the hopes of riding an awesome roller coaster, but it was closed.

We went to Harajuku,

and we saw crazy costumes there.

At the gate of the Meiji Jingu there was a sign forbidding cats, which you know made me giggle.

We also took a little trip out to Nakano, where we read there was a great selection of anime stuff (we are kind of anime geeks).

We took the train everywhere, which was crowded pretty much no matter the time of day or day of the week.

We went to Sensoji,

And saw beautiful things.

We saw the Tokyo Sky Tree.

We got drinks from a variety of vending machines.

We caught a glimpse of Sony Entertainment building that was closed since it was a Saturday.

We ate donuts.

We went to Nippori Textile Town, and I was so excited I could hardly open my eyes. I did buy some fantastic fabric there. The selection of stores was beyond amazing, and the selection of fabrics and sewing accouterments made my head spin. If fabric wasn't so heavy...

TC and I in front of the Tokyo LDS Temple.

Here are some of the interesting signs we saw. 

Please note the crow in the sky.

So what's the verdict? Tokyo was awesome. We had a great time! And we love all things Japan. So, yay!