Luncheon

Yesterday I was fortunate to get out of the home office for a luncheon downtown. Many of my co-werkers from the.land.of.cubicles had to make the trek to Denver...I only had to scoot downtown! It was a good opportunity to get out of the house and throw myself into a crowd of people. Not something I get to do very often these days. It's funny, I'm always surprised by how my spirits are lifted after being around people...I really shouldn't be surprised by that anymore. I think it's just easy to get in a rut, hop on calls, answer emails, and do my day-to-day stuff around the house.

Even though I was pretty grumpy at first about having to:
1. find 9 month+ maternity clothes that were business professional
2. squeeze my poor fat and swollen feet into something besides flip flops
3. drag my tired self through a parking ramp and across a convention center

I'm glad I did. I got to meet some new acquaintances, randomly caught up with an old college friend, and enjoyed a nice message from a keynote speaker.

Granted, I did need a nap by the time I got home!

Happy Friday!

stiff neck

I was able to call into a monthly all-day team meeting today, instead of making the trek down to Colorado Springs. With my approaching due date, I figured it would be best to stick close to home and the hospital. That said, I just made it through a good 6 hour conference call with success...and a bit of a stiff neck from being on the phone that long. Whew, I don't think I've been on a call that long since high school!

I've always wondered how Michelangelo's neck was while he was painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling!

Lunch Break

It's been a while since I've journeyed over to my favorite park for a mid-day walk, mostly because the 2+ mile loop seems rather intangible these days. Today I flexed my home.werker muscles a bit, and met up with some girlfriends for a little picnic and time with their kids. All four of my friends have boys: 2 two year olds, one 16 month old, and a 5 month old. It was great to sneak in some time with these 'new' moms before becoming one myself, and to just connect with their own journeys into motherhood, starting with the labor and delivery of their boys.

It's amazing how incredibly different every mom, every pregnancy, and every birth is. In some ways, that gives me confidence, knowing that the birth of our baby doesn't have to be like anyone else's. In other ways, that makes it a little harder to be at complete peace with the unknown that lies ahead of us.

I am so thankful to have this group of moms in my life, and was really touched when they prayed for me, Jake and baby before parting ways this afternoon. It was a perfect break from the home office today!

(fun side note: the ladies are guessing that our little one is a girl!)

one of my favorite spots in the park.

Splitting Hairs

Split Hairs - to argue about small, unimportant differences
Origin: Shakespeare used this expression in the 1600s in one of his plays and "splitting hairs" has been widely used since.

I know about 'split ends' from a girlie point of view, it's when you need to get your hairs cut. Too much product, heat styling, and wear-and-tear on your lovely locks can cause the ends to literally split. In the world of good hair, this is a bad thing.

In the world of marketing, I have come to believe that sometimes the worst part about being a marketer is werking with other marketers. We tend to split hairs with the best of them!

A Marketer is: marketer - someone who promotes or exchanges goods or services for money

In order to promote or sell something to someone, you've got make it appealing to people, give them a reason to want what they don't have (or have enough of). Some might call this putting 'spin' on your message, tailoring your pitch to your specific audience because you 'know their needs'.

The hard part about being a marketer and werking with other marketers is that you are constantly putting spin on things, trying to sell the other person on your idea or view point. Particularly when there is a difficult situation or political landscape to navigate, the splitting of hairs, word play, and use of semantics becomes quite a grey cloud of smoke.

Pet peeve of the day: asking for a concrete answer and getting a vague response (that is sure to bite you on the behind later, despite your most proactive efforts to seek clarity).

Sometimes I really miss a corporate culture that is direct, and doesn't take time to sugar coat or insulate things. Let's just get to the heart of the matter and figure things out. Diplomacy and tact are great skills, but I will always prefer a forthright co-werker.

belly bane

the bane of my existence in the home office these days is this lovely antique bronze printer's drawer handle. as you can see, the placement of this little handle lines up exactly with my 38 week preggo-belly. As much as I love my pottery barn furniture for the home office, this little piece of metal is pushing me toward werking from the couch more and more...

Cinnayum

It has been 9, almost 10 months, since I've been able to indulge in unlimited cups of coffee on a groggy Monday morning. It wasn't until about month 7 or 8 of my pregnancy that I actually allowed myself one small cup of regular coffee on occasion. Sometimes, that warm mug and distinct coffee aroma are simply irresistible. I know many women don't limit their caffeine intake much during pregnancy, but I haven tried to scale way back and only allow myself a small amount of caffeine as the occasional indulgence.

Last night I was awake and trekking to the bathroom every 2-3 hours, so this morning is definitely on the rough side for me. I'm about to head into an hour-long 'IT requirements gathering' meeting for a website I'm trying to develop, and I need to be sharp.

So, although Jake is currently starting his 'night' of sleep after working the night shift yesterday, I decided to make a pot of coffee. Normally, we make a fresh pot we can share. The best trick I learned about making coffee came from Jake...add a dash or two of cinnamon to the grounds before you hit the 'start' button, and you've infused your java with some tasty spice that only adds to the warmth and comfort of your morning cup.

Yum.

How are YOU doing?

Lately, most of my meetings start with what one co-werker admitted was a very loaded question: How are YOU DOING?!

When you read between the lines, it's asking things like, are you in early labor, having contractions as we speak, has your water broken, or your due date been moved up? All very personal things that can only be asked in a werk meeting setting as: How are YOU DOING? (I just started hearing Joey from 'Friends' when I typed that...)

To answer the question, I am wondering if we'll make it to May (I'd like to order some sort of Mother's Day gift for the Grandma's, possibly with Baby D's birth stone in it)...and when in May Baby D will arrive.  No physical changes in this pregnancy yet, aside from storing water in my cankles like a cactus. So far, I feel confident we'll have a May baby, but I did start packing my hospital bags last night...just in case.

I woke up at 4am realizing that although I packed my breast pump, I had left the actual 'attachments', tubing, and bottles in the cupboard. This isn't a huge deal since most people have told us we probably won't even need the pump at the hospital, it's more of a 'just in case'. During my 4am wake up call, my 'What to Expect' email also told me that due to decreased levels of choline in my body, my brain cells have actually shrunk during pregnancy and they should bounce back within a few months of delivery. A medical reason for forgetfulness during pregnancy...not sure if I'm relieved or more worried that there's a legitimate chance I am forgetting a lot of other important things! Oh well!

Guess my swollen legs could be worse...