9

weeks, 2 days and counting.

While there is still a lot to do, today was really productive.

Last week, I took Celine for an open call at the John Robert Powers school here in NYC. Out of approximately 75 kids, she was one of 9 asked to return for a callback. From there, she was invited to being training with them, which after a month or so will result in here being invited to about 4 auditions a month arranged throught the school in the hopes of booking paying work in the entertainment industry. Of course, like most training courses, this one also has its regulations, and one of those is a dress code. Most importantly, the children are not allowed to wear denim or sweats to class or auditions. While Celine has many, many clothes, almost everything fits into the two categories forbidden for class. Today we took a trip to Target and fixed that problem. The good news is that everything (2 tops, 6 bottoms) we bought today can mix and match both with each other and is acceptable for church. Yay!

We also got some household supplies, nothing big, but it has been very hard to focus on laundry lately because even after I would get things clean, there were no hangers. Another problem solved! Also picked up a couple of crib sheets and a "going home from the hospital " outfit for Jensen-figured I'd be a'needin' that...took a quick turn down the baby swings and car seat aisle, too, just to look with Michael. We'll probably pick those things up tomorrow, along with the crib mattress. I want to be ready, at least with the car seat and mattress, ASAP, since there's no way to tell when the leetle one might decide to make an appearance.

We also did a little shopping for....me! I have been visiting a particular jewelry armoire at Bombay company for several weeks now. My current jewelry box doesn't have enough of the right size compartments for most of my treasures. (I know, poor me, right?)So, today I went and placed the order and am looking forward to being able to accessorize to the utmost without have to look through one of 4 or 5 places where I might have placed a particular item.

We finished up our day with a relaxing stroll around Barnes and Noble. I had a blood test to measure my glucose (blood sugar) levels recently, and the results came back with me being "borderline diabetic," so my doctor wants me to get a 2nd, more conclusive test. This means fasting (even being pregnant) for 8 hours prior, and then having blood drawn every hour for 3 hours straight. I didn't think I could bear to go without some distraction, so I got the Golden Compass trilogy and a book detailing what should happen with the baby from the last weeks of pregnancy through the end of the first year. (It's a very thick book-even going day by day for the first few weeks). Between my books and my ipod, I think I'll be okay. I'm actually not that worried-although I've already started to alter my diet, just in case.

All things considered, I feel pretty good. It is definitely harder for me to move around now, as not only am I huuuuge, but the relaxin (a preggy hormone that helps the joints spread apart in preparation for birth) has been working really well and sometimes it feels like my hip is kind of pulled out of the socket. Still, I've been trying to walk a little each day, even if it's just up and down the stairs to get laundry, and I think it helps.

Okay, so this is turning into a very long post, so I think I will quit for now. Love to ya'll!

Finito

Well, we DID go to a HPDH party, but we ended up deciding to go to one closer to home. I had been watching pictures appearing of the party of Union Square, and I started to feel claustrophobic about squeezing through all of those hundreds of people.

The party at Bayside, however, was not as fun-filled as I would have liked. There were a few people dressed up (Michael and I dropped that part of the evening also-we'll shoot for Halloween instead) but that was pretty much it. Oh well. I did go ahead and buy a replacement copy of OOP so I could get caught up, which I did as soon as we got home at about 9:30.

Then, I read OOP Friday night and waited most of the day Saturday for DH to arrive in the mail. Unfortunately, the postal service did not realize that procuring DH was a life-and-death sort of need and simply put a "Sorry we missed you" slip in my mailbox instead of coming to the door. Totally frustrated, I found the slip at around 5 pm and immediately went to Target. Of course, they had plenty of copies, so I got one along with some reading snacks.

As soon I got home, I dug into the book, along with all of the candy, chips, soda, and ice cream I'd bought. Twelve hours later I was FINISHED! It took me most of the night, since I started so late, and I went to bed around 6 in the morning and then Michael woke me up for church around 9. I am proud to say that I DID go to church and make it through the whole service and then to lunch, but then came home and crashed.

Overall, I thought the final installment was quite satisfying, although I did think there were a couple of places that dragged a bit (anyone up for pitching the tent again?) most of the "oh-my-god who lives, who dies" was simply hype (although I shed tears for Hedwig) and the epilogue still left some questions unanswered (what happened to Luna, and why were Teddy and Percy at the train, and who is was in charge at Hogwarts?) I think it was a fitting ending to a well-loved series. Long live Harry Potter!

Expectations

Okay, so like everyone else, I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. To celebrate the release, Michael and I are planning to attend the book party at Barnes and Noble Union Square. Currently, the plan is for Michael to dress as Gilderoy Lockhart and I'm going as (don't call me Nymphadora) Tonks. It was the most logical way I could think of to "explain" my belly bump, as Tonks can shift her appearance at will. Who says she wouldn't want to throw Death Eaters off by looking as though she can barely waddle around? HA!

Another thing we have coming up next week is the Josh Groban concert! I am so excited about this, as I wanted to see Josh the last time he was in NYC, but missed it because it was sold out so quickly. Michael and I have made it into an official date night, so, it should be a really romantic evening.

Besides that, of course, an update on the "other" expectation. I have (technically) 11 weeks of pregnancy left to go. Naturally, I will not be at all surprised if Jensen shows up a couple weeks early or even a week late. Who really knows except him? The plan is to be ready several weeks early, just in case. The furniture arrived on Monday, almost all of the clothes are sorted by size and put away (with the new ones already being washed in fragrance and dye-free detergent) and the toys are in one bag. We still have a few things to pick up, like our car seat, the crib mattress, and a Boppy, but besides that, and a few other odds and ends, I think we're almost set. Michael is researching all the routes to the hospital, I am looking up ways to make labor quicker, and we're both going together this weekend to pick out those last known-about needed items.

Well, assuming that Jensen doesn't arrive 11 weeks early, I am going to be out late tomorrow and up most of Saturday night reading, so I'd best be off to bed. Happy reading, everyone!