Two-Paths...

I feel like my life has been going pretty slow here lately, like I am stuck going in a straight line  just waiting to have this baby so my life can really start. Every thing is about to change for me...EVERYTHING! 

There are so many life choices I am playing out in my head.  Everything is so uncertain to me right now. I don't know if I should save up to buy a house or hurry out of my parents and move into a rent house?? I wonder if I should go to school knowing that if I do my life will be consumed with taking care of a baby, work, and school to fill up any free time instead of friends? I guess I am looking for answers that are impossible for me to know until I get to that fork in my life.  For now I am still pregnant just waiting to see how things are going to be as a single mom.  I can't wait to get ENERGY back. I feel like someone has drained the life out of me lately. The worst part is knowing that it's all going to get worse better it gets better.  I am ready to get this show on the road! Hurry up labor I want to get you behind me!

Escape Wanted:

I just what an escape today... 

I need a place to just clear my head and get away from all these distractions ......

Days like today I wish I lived by the water, be able to leave my phone at home and hear nothing but the water..

20 Days..

 37 Weeks Pregnant With 20 DAYS Til Due Date!

Man, 20 days! Sounds doable, right? I have less than 3 weeks til my due date.  I know it could be longer but I'm believing it will be sooner than later.  Only time will tell! :) I am scared to death about the labor but ready to get it done and over with! I can not freakin wait to met little Ella Joy Romano!

I have no idea what it will be like, that moment when I first lay eyes on MY baby!!! This life that I have been creating inside of me and taking care of for the last 9 months! Nothing in my life has ever come close to the Joy I know it must be like! I know the greatest moment in my life is about to happen any day now! 

How Exciting is that? I am so blessed knowing that this wonderful day is coming so soon! 

Every day I want to wake up and be filled with excitement knowing that this could be the greatest day of my life!  So this morning I woke up an was in a wonderful mood, I wonder if today will be the day? Or will it be tomorrow? Waiting to see ! :-)

Acupuncture and My Tuesday...

Yesterday was an eventful day for me! It was my Dad's birthday, which I thought went awesome.  It was a pretty chill day at the office and I left early for a doctors appointment.  Everything is looking good! I am now 37 weeks, my baby is concerned full-term now.  My weight has been almost the exact same for these last two months.  The last check up I had lost 2lbs, this appointment I gain 2 lbs so I am back at the same weight I have been! Awesome, I'm glad is staying consistent! My doctor checked me for the first time to see if I was dilated. Found out that I am not dilated yet, but I'm 80% phase which means my body is getting ready for labor! YAY! But I also got scared I still don't see how a baby is going to fit it's way through (ouch!)!  My OB then let me know that I could have this baby ANYTIME now and also that it's safe to have her anytime now!
After the doctor I went to my Chiropractor to get adjusted.  After I told him about my doctors appointment he asked it I was wanting to start acupuncture to help induce my labor.  I said "YES!" then he asked
"So, your ready to have this baby as soon as tonight then, right??...Because it could induce you that fast..."  
WOW, that stopped me in my tracks! No, I am honestly not "ready" but then again how can I be, I feel like it's going to be a fly by the seat of my pants type deal! I am making sure however I do the best I can to be ready and prepare in any way I can!
So yes we started acupuncture yesterday.  He put tiny needles (like the one in the picture above) in both of my small toes, inside of my ankles and in my wrist.  Then I was told to lay there for 15 minutes. Just 3 minutes into it I could feel my body responding.  Then I started to feel ready sick! My sister in law came into the room and helped me sit up which made me feel better. I had started to sweat and feel a little light headed.  The doctor came in and put two more acupuncture needles in the webbed part of my hands (between my thumb and pointer finger) to help take away the nausea, it worked.  I sat there for the remanding time and was fine.
Later that night I went to dinner with my parents and then to a coffee shop to hang out for my Dad's Birthday.  Once I got home I went to change into some sweat pants, as I lifted my left leg into my pants I got a sharp piercing  pain running up through my body and I froze! It hurt sooo bad! I after the pain stopped I started walk and on my second step, as I came down on my right leg I felt my body wanting to collapse.  I was in pain.  I could not put any weight on my right leg or it caused awful pain in my groin area! I know I had pulled something or that something was not right.  This pain lasted all night! Which ment I was CRAWLING to the bathroom for all my many pee brakes that I have to take! Awful night and awful pain that brought me to tears.  I could barely sleep, if I moved to fast or the wrong way I felt that pain.  The only way to keep from hurting was to not move the lower half of my body at all.
I woke up this morning felling a little better, I still can't put much wight on my right side though.  I went to my chiropractor again and was told I had a spasm and to take it easy it's starting to heal... We are also going to do acupuncture again tomorrow.
So today I am trying to take it easy as I crawl or walk funny til this pulled whatever gets better....(sigh)....

Happy Birthday to My Dad!

Today is my Dad's Birthday! 

We had a nice lunch at Lottenvilles and I bought him some "not of this world" t-shirts that he loves to wear on his bike rides.  I can not express how grateful I am to have such a wonderful father.  He does so much for me and our family.  His love for my mom and his kids is never ending.  I love working as his office manager and would have never dreamed being this happy working with family!!! 

God has truly blessed our Romano Family! 

Love You Dad!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

My Dad in I in Cali '09 Neptune's Net (YUMMY)

Glad we know not to take life too serious! :)

Sleepless while Pregnant...

(Photo by: matthew genitempo)

My sleep schedule is so messed up these days! I can't fall asleep at night to save my life! Of Course the mornings I can't get enough sleep I want to stay in bed til noon! I wish I could get back on a normal sleep cycle, however I feel that Ella just isn't going to let that happen.  Thankfully the hard burn isn't as bad anymore, but I still can't sleep with the frequent kicking and the many bathroom runs through out the night! I can't wait to one day get back on a normal sleep schedule ! 

25 more days til my due date.....25 more days ....

To Live in La ...

(Blow) Dry Bar

Wow I just love this idea! It's called Dry Bar.  No Cuts and No Color they just blow dry and style your hair!  I am in love with the Design of the Salon and the Idea! 

You can go in right before a date or a girls night out and get your hair styled while relaxing with a glass of Champaign! LA really does have the best places! I can't wait for the next time I visit, Ill HAVE to check this place out! 

Happy Birthday Jace!!!

 

Today is my Best Friend's Son, Jace's 3rd Birthday! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE GUY! 

I remember everything about this little guy's birth including being the first the find out Jessica was pregnant.  I'll never forget it, Jess and I were living together at Crown Martin Park and I woke up to her running in my room saying that I needed to get up.  If I remember right it was September 19th and like 6am!!! Which back then was super early for the both of us! At first I thought it was some cute guys moving in to some apartments near us, but once I followed her through the living room into her bedroom then saw that she was pointing to something in her bathroom I knew what it was.  I was freaking out more than she was!

I think we both had the day off or called in but I remember shopping at Wal-Mart and then went and saw The Last Kiss at the movie theater that night.

(Sept. 19th , 2006- The Day We Found out Jess was Pregnant with Jace and being nerds at the store!) 

I lived with Jess for most of her pregnancy and It's hard to believe I'm here now writing this while I am now 9 months Pregnant! May, 21 2007 the day Jace was born was so excitting!!! I remember talking to Jessica in the hospital room before Jace was born the nurse kicked us all out of the room and then no more than 20 Minutes she had him!!!!! WOW so fast!!! I hope to be that lucky! 

Jace has brought so much Joy into Jessica's life and the people around her.  I love this little guy sooo much and I adore his mother look up to her as she was a single mom for the first couple years of his life.  She has always been a great mom and I am learning so much about being a great mom with her help! 

Jess and Jace I wish you didn't live accross the County today I'd love to take you both out! 

Enjoy your Birthday Jace!!! LOVE YOU ALL!

Wish List

I Really Want a Kindle! My books are starting to take up a lot of space. Space is something I don't have right now... I am also the type of person when I hear about a book that I want to read I WANT IT NOW! So instead of running to the book store I could easily download the book and start reading it that night! 

Does anyone own a Kindle? Do you love it? I think I would, I plan on getting one soon.... 

Currently Reading and Loving...

This week I'm reading Jillian Michaels new book, Master Your Metabolism.  I picked this book up at Barnes and Noble on Sunday and I am currently half way through it.  There is a lot of information in this book so I have read and re-read the first couple of chapters trying to soak up all of its knowledge. Being to health guru I strive to be, this book was a real eye opener on how wrong I had been doing things with my diet pills and extreme calorie cuts in the past. I have been looking for a healthy answer to not only weight loss but to an over all healthy life style, and I think I have found it Thanks to Jillian! She preaches on a lot of things I already have felt so passionate about when it comes to the food the average American consumes.  I never knew that our hormones (male and female) have everything to do with our metabolism, weight loss, and quality of life!

I strongly believe that this book is for EVERY American living our corrupt westernized pattern diet!

I am convinced the problem is that people just don't care enough about their health and sadly about their families health as well (Heart Breaking)!!! I know this because so many times I talk to my friends about health and the corrupt food industries of today and their reply, 

"Well, you are over reacting Jenn, I love and eat my burgers and chicken nuggets and look at me, I'm still alive and breathing!" 

Ugh! Can't win them all! But dear reader if you are even a bit interested in your health and the health of your loved ones then I HIGHLY recommend Jillian Michaels book along with this book: 

Michael Pollan's book,  In the Defense of Food , Another great read about how our food has become the way it is.  Talks about the lack of "REAL FOOD" we as Americans actually consume. And how the FDA and Government really don't care about our health at all , only about the dollars they can profit from these faux food we eat every day that are cheap in cost; however in the long run it's costing us more in medical problems! As you might see I'm very passionate about health and I encourage you, BEG of you to read and get informed about the things we are putting in our bodies!  

IGNORANCE IS NOT BLISS!! 

Just you don't know something does not mean it can't hurt you!

Blog Envy

I have a new favorite blog, Cup Cakes and Cashmere.  I love this girls unique style.  I envy girls who have such a great sense of style.  I dream of having the perfect hair ( and knowing what to do with it), the art of applying make-up perfectly, and a closet full of great fashion!! 

Check out her Blog I adore it plus she is super cute!! 

Packing For Hospital

This Morning I went to Jamba Juice for a Strawberry Smoothie for breakfast, YUM! The man behind the counter asked me how many weeks I had left, I replied four weeks.  He asked me if I was ready and I told him yes and no.  Then he asked if my bag was packed from the hospital....AHHH!!! No it's not. I suddenly realized what a slacker I have been.  He said he told his wife to pack at 6 weeks and the the VERY NEXT DAY she went into labor! WOW! Am I already a bad mother?!?! 

Then I talked to my best friend about how unready I am and I started to feel a little sick to my stomach! I have NO IDEA what I am getting into! Did I go to birthing classes? nope.... Have I been reading pregnancy books?..nope! Ahhh I have been walking and reading up on post pregnancy weight loss but other than that I think I'm failing! I guess I just start to get overwhelmed and I feel as my life is on hold til D-day! 

My Due date still seems sooo far away to me but I do have a goal to get my hospital bag packed this week along with putting the car seat in my car! I can't express how excited and overwhelmed I am! 

   

Don't Tell Peta!

For anyone has known me these last three years get ready to read this twice: I ATE CHICKEN TODAY! Yes, madness... Well let me start by saying it has been over three years since I have ate our feathered friend, chicken.  When I was 20 I read the book skinny bitch which was followed by a list of other vegetarian and vegan books.  I decided in Feb of 2007 that I was going to be a Pescetarian.  Which basically meant I was a vegetarian who ate fish and other sea food products.  The books I read really opened my eyes up to how awful the meats we eat today are, filled with hormones, steroids, pesticides, and antibiotics! The reason why I have been a Pescetarian and not a full vegetarian?  Honestly it's because the books I read didn't go into much gross detail about the fish and my favorite thing is a nice SUSHI dinner!!! Yum! But really fish these days are no better than the meat we eat (well maybe, just a little though).  I could go into all my research on how food industries have totally screwed America's health for their gain and profit but that would have me typing this blog entry ALL NIGHt. Anyway I guess the lingering question is why am I eating meat NOW?  It all started after I found out I was pregnant honestly, which sounds odd probably.  But I had a bad iron deficiency and my doctor really wanted me to eat a high protein low carb diet! How on earth was I going to manage that when the only meat I ate was fish and since I was pregnant eating fish was something I shouldn't do often! 

Long story short about 3 or 4 months into my pregnancy I decided to eat a steak, I even had the craving for one! So my friend Jesse went to the store bought a filet to cookout for me and was super excited to see his weirdo friend finally eat like a "normal person" again.  From that day on I will eat a steak every once and awhile and I also will eat Bison.  Bison or Buffalo meat is VERY high in iron plus my family buys the farm raised with no added hormones.

But Chicken on the other hand is loaded with hormones and steroids! They are dirty and just not grown the way God intended them to be anymore! I have been reading lots of weight loss books and diet books lately preparing myself for this post-pregnancy weight loss and like you may all ready know MOST diets include the basic Grilled Chicken and Veggie Formula.  So I started to change my thinking maybe I will just have to start buying "Farm Raised" chicken breast! 

Today I did not eat organic chicken however, I went to a wedding shower and hadn't ate (DUMB DUMB DUMB idea) and everything had chicken in it.  I got a plate of food and told my mom 

"I know this has chicken in but if I don't feed me and my baby I'm going to pass out."

  So that easy I ate chicken. GASP. 

I can't believe it, without a fight, without asking if there was anything else for me to eat- Nope just ate it!

Wait thats not all! Tonight my Dad grilled Chicken outside and I ate a one of the grilled chicken breast! It was good, I didn't gag or even get grossed out! It's like I wasn't myself! ( I am not a freak I've just been against eating animal flesh for so long, I surprised myself)!

So I guess what I am saying is that I am now going to look for organic chicken to buy so that once I write out my diet plan at lest the chicken breast I will try to eat will be farmed raised and not factory produced.  Although I will still hold to my mostly plant based diet and continue to try to eat mostly raw fruits and veggies, but Mama needs her protein too! 

Beginnings...

Via Design Crush

To Buy Organic or Not To Buy?

I would love to be able to grow my own fruits and veggies but since I am a soon to be single full time working mom, where will I find the time???  I found this on Cool Hunting Web Site, The Dirty Dozen Cheat Sheet. It breaks down what you should spend some $$$ money on when deciding to buy organic or not.

They also have an app for all of us iphone users, very cool!

My Favorite Movie: Garden State

Gym, You Are My Friend!

Yesterday I decided to make it a goal to start back at the Gym again.  Although I can't do much of the workout I use to I still can do a brisk walk on the treadmill and day dream about getting a fit body after my sweet baby girl is born.  I didn't realize how much I had missed the feeling of working out and walking out of the gym feeling pleased I was there instead of spending my time watching TV or being lazy.  

They say it takes 21 days to create a habit.  I am now 34 days away from my due date so I had this awesome idea of making going to the gym and eating better a habit now so that way my body can whip back into shape faster. 

THE MAIN REASON though I started putting my Nikkie's back on my feet ... I hear the more I walk and force myself to stay active, the easier LABOR will be!!! 

I had many moms at my shower tell me "MAKE SURE YOU ARE WALKING!"

I can not wait for the labor to be over with and to hold my baby in my arms!!!! 

A healthy life style has always been important to me but now that I will have a child of my own, more so than ever I want to set a great example of eating and taking care of my body.

I will be seeing that treadmill later tonight for another 45 min of brisk walking and becoming a step closer to a possible better delivery experience!

Girl Friend...

This photo was taken about 3 years ago, but I just love it.  My Friend Ashley and I have known each other for over 5 years now! Its amazing how much we have been through together.  There has been many fun nights spent together, times where we both have had our hearts broken, lost jobs, and even rocky times between us before.  But no matter what we have helped each other through the good times and the bad. 

Ashley is an amazing photographer and soooo much more! I envy her creativity! She is always thinking of new things to make her house even more amazing than it already is! Oh and how I miss living with her and eating the tastiest Mac and Cheese and late night Strawberry cake with home made vanilla icing! DELISH! 

I love this girl for soo many reasons!!!! We have the same humor and love to laugh! We can text each other about all the little things through out our day and share with each other the crazyness of our worlds. 

Life is Sweeter with A Friend Like Ashley, I'm soooo Blessed! 

Ash and I last year headed to the lake for the 4th of July! 

Our '08 Christmas Card :)

Frappuccino Happy Hour!!!!

OH HAPPY DAY!

Starbucks is currently doing a HAPPY HOUR on their Frappuccinos !

Now til May 16th from 3pm-5pm you can get your Frap half price!

HAPPY WEDNESDAY to me I can't wait to get my lips on one of these babies!

35 Weeks

Oh man, 5 more weeks and I kept hearing it's only going to get worse before it gets better! I will say that my energy level has been better than what it was before and the morning sickness has not been a problem- YAY! 

I went to my doctor on Monday and was told that I have lost 2lbs. Lost weight ? haha those were words I hadn't heard in FOREVER! But over all I am told that I am doing really well with my weight gain.  I am going to start walking today, I hear it will help with labor if I stay active.  So today will be day one back in the gym and maybe outdoor walks once this weather gets nice and not so rainy !

Ugh....So looking forward to Due Day!!

Welcome Home Solider Brother!

 JOSH IS HOME!!!

My Brother Josh is Back from Iraq! It had almost been a year since I've seen my Brother Josh!!! Today we all went to him and his wife's house to surprise him when he got out of the car! SOOO exciting! Doesn't he look great, I'm so happy he is back we all have missed him so much. He was shocked to see how big I am! Only 5 weeks and he will be an Uncle.  

Welcome Home Josh!!!

Ray LaMontagne - You Are The Best Thing

I am having such a wonderful day! I have felt really great today and I am getting a lot of work done at the office! I am in the office alone today so the baby and I are rocking out to Ray LaMontagne.  I love his voice!  This song is one of my favorites! Hope you Enjoy!!! :)

Life is Sweet

Maternity Photo's By Ashley Culp 

At Theredcouchstudio.com

Last Sunday My Girl Ashley and I went to the Western Area of Oklahoma City and took some maternity photos.  I loved her idea of using the ice cream in the shoot! She is a very talented photographer. 

To see more of her work click here : The Red Couch Studio ! 

Hope everyone is having a blessed day, I know I am!

Fashion On A Rainy Day

AeropostaleIt seems like it has rained so much this year! I love the rain, but at times I am just ready to see the sun!! One thing I don't like about the rain is rain puddles and wet pants!! I think after I get my body "back" I will have to spurge on some rain boots, cute umbrella, and a "rainy day outfit!" Here are some ideas I am currently lusting over!!

 Cardigan -Forever 21 Scarf- Aeropostale Umbrella- Target Rain boots- Gabrielle Rocha at Zappos

Rain Boots - Target  Umbrella- umbrellaheaven.com