Stress, Changes, and a Good Time for All

Wow, time flies when you're having fun. Or when you're crazy stressed out. Unfortunately it's been more of the latter for me. But things are settling some now so I can finally share some updates. The biggest update is I got a job!! Taking this new position was a very big decision for myself and my growing family. At present I work in the next town over. My commute, depending on when I leave for work is anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes. And I'm never that far from home. The new job is in San Francisco. An hour commute, minimum, plus being far from home. Miguel already works in The City so we might be able to carpool together. Still, we're talking a 10+ hour day. The thought of that with a new baby really caused me to take pause. But then I watched the news, remembered that the economy is going down the tubes, and realized this is not a good time to be jobless.

I was also nervous about starting a job already pregnant. Would my new boss be upset that he hired a pregnant woman without knowing it? I decided, after a lot of thinking, just to tell him. He responded wonderfully. He strongly encouraged me to take the position and assured me we would work out any issues around the pregnancy. Now this is a man I want to work for. Further, this a great opportunity, working for a well established institution with a great compensation package doing an interesting job.

So, this is my last week with my current employer. I am taking two weeks off between jobs and have a lot to squeeze into that time. Miguel and I decided to take a final pre-baby vacation. We were all over the map as far as where to go, at one point furiously planning a trip to Egypt! But, we settled on Phoenix. A long way from Egypt I know. In the end we didn't want to spend a ton of time (or money!) getting to our vacation and recognized that what we most wanted was to relax. So, we're off to Phoenix at the end of the week. We're spending about half the time at a spa/golf resort (The Boulders) and the other half at the Grand Canyon. I am so, SO, SO ready for a vacation. The next week will include visiting my grandparents in Huntington Beach, getting my 20 week ultrasound (at 21 weeks actually) and maybe squeezing in a visit to the new California Academy of Sciences. Then the new job starts. Whew, it tires me out just thinking about it.

So the health/fitness goals have been moving along at, well, let's just call it an acceptable pace. I have not missed a swimming class, something of which I am very proud. I basically make myself go and am almost always happy I did. The two weekends before this last one involved a lot of nesting type activities and no fitness type activities. We almost have the baby room completely cleaned out, the garage is a lot neater and our living room has been pared down to make room for a pack-n-play or baby bouncer or whatever stuff will be coming into our lives.

Finally this past weekend I got out there again and had a fabulous day!! We rose early on Sunday morning and met at the SF Ferry Building for a group ride. We rode over the Golden Gate Bridge, through Sausalito and to Tiburon. This ride is often called the Paradise Loop, and I've been wanting to do it since I started riding. Only difference being we took the ferry back into SF from Tiburon instead of riding our bikes back. Still, it was over 30 miles and enough to kick my butt.

Here we are re-grouping on the other side of the bridge before we head into Sausalito.

Am I looking preggers or what? Everyone was so nice about waiting for me since I was a bit of a slow poke. I wore my heart rate monitor and anytime my heart rate got to the high range I slowed down. All in all I felt great and it made me very optimistic about my upcoming triathlon run.

To top it off, it was Fleet Week in SF and we were treated to a fabulous air show by The Blue Angels. Days like that just make me so happy and grateful. Miguel is a wonderful husband, we had a great day together. The weather couldn't have been more perfect and the pregnancy is going along without a hitch.

Speaking of the little stowaway, we purchased this doppler and have been listening to his heartbeat whenever we feel like. It's an amazing, miraculous sound that we never tire of. If we can figure it out a way, I'm hoping I can post a sound file of it to share. We are nowhere near a name for the little guy. But as Miguel keeps reminding me, we have time.

I'm going to see the nutritionist tomorrow and I'm guessing I'll have gained about 5 pounds. You might recall I was supposed to gain no more than 1.5 pounds. What can I say? While I'm not doing the best I can I am trying. I'm hoping that with my stress now going down I'll have more energy to resist the "bad" comfort foods I've been wanting. I'm going to strive to eat healthy and exercise during my vacation. At least I know I'll be relaxing, which is good for all of us too.

That's my update. I have been neglecting your blogs as well as my own these past couple of weeks but I promise to stop by soon. I know you've all been up to incredible things and I want to know all about them!!