Cold Weather Blues...

Happy October! I must say, it took every ounce of enthusiasm I had to feign excitement in that statement. I'm actually a really big fan of Halloween season, I've just been feeling lethargic and out of it the last few days. It probably doesn't help that I think I'm coming down with something - my throat hurts, body aches and I've been sneezing like crazy. Business is still making progress like crazy but I can't help and get a little discouraged every now and then. Although my freelancers have helped tremendously  I still have way too much to do and never enough time. I wish I could just clone myself about 5 times. Then things would get done. The right way! If I only had one thing to focus on like most normal people I might be ok, but per usual I take on as many projects as possible and often find myself spread too thin - two businesses, getting ready for baby, trying to plan for upcoming charity and fundraising events, the list goes on. I just keep reminding myself of the light at the end of the tunnel. Someday (hopefully sooner than later) when my businesses are uber-successful and I'm making a difference in the world with my little protege by my side, everything will have been worth it!

It's really disheartening to me that out of ALL the people I know (and I know quite a few) only 5 have found it in their heart to either donate or volunteer their time for this year's Out of the Darkness walk. Now, before I get inundated with excuses as to why YOU can't help, I am fully aware that some people have legitimate reasons for not participating. If that's the case, you're off the hook. But if you just read the last few sentences and still have a guilty conscience, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Donate $5. Hell, donate 3 hours of your time this upcoming Saturday October 8th for a good cause. It won't kill you. In fact, it might save someone else! Donate here or join team "There Is Always Hope". A big thank you to those of you who have donated or are planning to join me for this very important event! “Many small people, in many small places, do many small things, that can alter the face of the world.”

On a more positive note, I received the cutest box full of handmade baby blankets, pillows, and other various items from my younger step brother and sister last week. They are in Salt Lake City and I miss them a lot! It made me smile to know they were thinking of me and Dominic and took the time to make so many cute (and interesting) things. I think the thing that cracked me up the most was the Batman cape my little sis made - she's got the right idea, my kid is obviously going to be a super hero! Thanks Mikey and Sarah! Also wanted to give a big thanks to one of my good friends, Krista, for buying me a prenatal massage gift certificate. It's much needed and I can't wait to use it. When everything else is going wrong, it's nice to know there are still some good people in my life that I can count on.

I'm Baaack!

As you may have noticed, I took a bit of a hiatus from posting this week. I had a million things going on and no time or motivation to post by the time I was done with everything at the end of the day. I finally feel like I'm back on track after today. The last half of this week I had horrible insomnia which led to me being relatively useless and not as productive as I'd have liked. I get cranky when I go three days without sleep. But I got caught up on my sleep last night and now I'm back in the game!

Finally scheduled the tour of the maternity ward at the hospital and got my baby shower invitations out (well, all but 5 of them that need to go out Monday). Sometimes I'm such a procrastinator. The shower is next Saturday - how exciting! I can't wait to see how it all comes together. My 24th birthday is this Tuesday, so I'll probably also celebrate my birthday on Saturday after the shower. Hopefully I'll be able to make a trip to the casino with the girls. Then on Sunday, I'm having my TT's Attic fall boutique sale and fundraiser. The goal is to get rid of as much inventory as possible so I can put the money into the plans for the completely revamped TT's Attic, and also to raise money for my Out of the Darkness team. If you're in the central NY area, please stop by and help us raise money for a good cause!

Had a 30 week checkup yesterday and according to doc, Dominic still looks/sounds great. His heartbeat is strong and steady. And I didn't gain any weight since my last appointment two weeks ago, so I definitely can't complain about that!

I think I've started nesting. I used to think nesting was a made up thing that pregnant women conjured up. But starting about a week ago, I suddenly started to feel very pressured to get everything done. I feel almost as if I'm working under a deadline that wasn't there before. I feel pressure to get business ramped up, I feel pressure to get everything in Dominic's nursery arranged perfectly, I feel pressure to finish the remaining things on my "to do" list. Barring an early arrival, I have 10 weeks left and still a ton of stuff to do.  Here's to hoping I can get it all done and not lose my mind in the process. Before I know it, I'll no longer be an expectant mama, but instead a proud mama. I can't wait to see my little man and I just want everything to be perfect!

“Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”

Dominic The World Traveler...

Well, I made it nearly to the 7 month mark without having to buy maternity clothes. But I'm now down to only 8 or 9 articles of clothing I can wear comfortably in my new pregnancy body. I suppose it may be time to stop procrastinating and actually get on that maternity shopping I've been talking about for so long. I'll add it to my "to do list". Yeah, that same list that seems to be getting longer everyday. It seems like every time I check something off the "to do list", I think of 2 or 3 more things that need to be added! Still need to finish reupholstering the chair for Dominic's room, get my baby shower invitations printed and sent out, plan 1 or 2 fundraisers before the Out of the Darkness Walk in October, get started on my prenatal yoga classes, schedule a tour of the maternity ward at the hospital, and finish writing Dominic's baby books about Steve and Talese. And that's on top of working a minimum of 8 hours a day on my businesses and taking enough time out to relax and sleep somewhere in between! I think I need more time in the day. Or a personal assistant. Ooooh, a personal assistant would be SO nice...

Once Dominic is about 6 months old and I'm able to hire people to manage the day to day functions of my businesses for me,  I'd like to start traveling again. With Dominic of course. Now of course I know I'll get the naysayers bitching and moaning "he's too young to travel" or "what a waste of money" or "he won't even remember traveling at that age."
My response to that would be "bullshit", "it's my money to waste" and "so what." Life does not stop because I'm having a child. Life CHANGES because I'm having a child and I'm perfectly ready for that to happen. But why not take the first few years after Dominic's born before he starts school and take him places that I've always wanted to go? I'm sure as hell not going to be one of those parents who leaves him for long stretches of time with a babysitter and I see absolutely no reason why he can't come with me. Odds are he won't remember most of our adventures at that age, but it will make for some great stories to tell his friends when he's older. And I'll obviously take him back to many of these places again once he's old enough to appreciate it. Now that's not to say I'm going to backpack through Europe or something crazy like that with a newborn. Dominic will obviously have stability in his life. I'm talking about 1-2 week trips a few times a year to different places. One of the first places I want to take him next year is Ireland. Talese's family is from Belfast and I was hoping to go with them this September as they spread her ashes along Whitepark Bay in northern Ireland. But obviously with me going into my 3rd trimester this September, I had to rearrange my plans. My new goal is to make a trip over there sometime at the end of summer/early fall 2012 to check out the amazing culture and scenery, and of course pay my respects to my beautiful best friend. I'm very much looking forward to my world travels with my new little man. And quite frankly, I don't give a damn what anyone thinks about it! "The question isn't who is going to let me, the question is who is going to stop me!"

Hello Again Insomnia...

I am officially past the 6 month mark! I'm 24 weeks pregnant as of this past Thursday so just 3 and a half more months to go until I get to meet Dominic - woo hoo! I'm still feeling great. No sickness, insomnia, aches or pains. This is actually the best I've felt in a long time. It's amazing how small changes to your lifestyle can make such a huge difference in your overall well being. My only complaint would be my horrible insomnia this past week. I haven't been able to get a decent nights sleep to save my life. I've had too much on my mind and no matter how hard I try my brain won't shut off long enough for me to fall asleep. I need to learn how to let things go that I have no control over. It's a work in progress. Hopefully this week will bring a few more restful nights. "Grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

In addition to all the changes I'm implementing to my two businesses, TT's Attic and The Alpha Omega Solution, I've also been busy filling my schedule with various charity events. On September 2nd I'm volunteering for four hours at the Susan G. Komen breast cancer booth at the NY State Fair. I figured it would be time well spent on a great cause and a way to meet and network with other like-minded people in this area. Also on the agenda is the Ride for Life against child abuse, The Out of the Darkness Walk for suicide prevention and the Ronald McDonald House gala dinner. I'm hoping to schedule at least two fundraisers to raise money for my team before the Out of the Darkness Walk on October 8th. Again, if you're going to be in the central NY area PLEASE join Team "There Is Always Hope" in memory of Talese Turner to raise awareness for suicide prevention. If you can't join us for the event, at least spare a few dollars to help save a life. The life you save could be YOUR best friend, daughter, mother or sibling. Donate to Team "There Is Always Hope"

Shitty Parents Beware

I debated on whether or not to get on my so-called "soapbox" and write this post or to refrain. Looks like writing this post won. Before I say anything else, I would just like to say that yes, I am aware that I'm a first time parent and no, I'm not by any means an expert on parenting. But I am entitled to some observations and an opinion. With that being said, I would just like to go on the record as stating how much I loathe, detest and despise shitty parents. By my definition, a shitty parent is anyone who can't or doesn't make time for their kids, anyone who constantly leaves their kids with babysitters to go out and "party", anyone (mainly women) who use their kids as money making machines in order to get child support, anyone who walks around in expensive clothes while their children are dressed in clothes that are dirty and pants 2 inches too short, and most of all anyone who willfully abandons their child. These are children, not puppies, and whatever you do (or don't do) as parents shapes the people they will become. If you can't step it up and set a decent example for your children, keep your damn pants on and stop procreating! Deadbeat parents are the scum of the earth in my book (and yes, I may be a bit biased due to my current situation). Even before I was on the brink of having a child and dealing with my son's sad excuse for a father, I was never able to tolerate bad parents. In fact, I even stopped being friends with certain people because I couldn't bear to stand by and watch the neglectful behavior towards their children. How anyone can stand by and enable/support friends (or even family members) who don't take care of their children is beyond me. Then again, I guess some people choose their friends based on who tells them what they want to hear and who they can go get drunk with. Personally, I prefer to surround myself with quality people who add something to my life - now there's an idea! I was lucky enough to be blessed with THREE wonderful parents, and I can only hope that my parenting skills will rival those of my mom, dad and step-dad. A big thank you to my three parents for raising me to be the person I am today! "Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them."

On another note, I created my team for this years Out of the Darkness Walk for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. My team, "there is always hope", was created in loving memory of my best friend Talese Turner. I really hope to get a good turn out this year and to get some good donations. My team goal for donations is $1500 which I think is very reasonable. I would like to get a team of at least 15 people put together so we can start doing fundraisers leading up to the event in October. I have a few ideas in mind already and I'm excited to see how it will all come together. If you don't already have plans for October 8th and you're in the central NY area, please please please join my team and help us support a great cause. I promise it's more important than sleeping in or anything else you could be doing on a Saturday morning because you could help save a life! Once I have the team members established, I would like to order t-shirts for the event. I'm still in the process of designing a logo for the team, but I have a couple rough drafts worked up. I'll post pictures, suggestions are welcomed :)