Samaritan's Purse: Operation Christmas Child

Dan and I had a blast last night! They were nice enough to allow me to sit at the sorting and prep table for the evening rather than standing on the production line with Dan and my friend Kathy. For those of you who don't know, Samaritan's Purse (http://www.samaritanspurse.com/) is a non-profit Christian organization that spans the globe preaching the gospel and bringing Christ into the lives of those who are not saved. Every year for Christmas, they package millions of donations boxes (http://www.samaritanspurse.com/index.php/OCC?hometab) from people just like you to give out to children less fortunate in third world countries so they have a Christmas present while simultaneously teaching them about Jesus. Every year my husband and I go and participate and bring a few friends or co-workers. It's a lot of fun, a lot of work but worth every minute of our time. Read more about Operation Christmas Child and what is does here: http://issuu.com/samaritanspurse/docs/4282occspecialrpt?viewMode=presentation&mode=embed.

Last night I got a chance to bag candy, roll and rubber band shorts, tanks, tees and underwear (so they would be smaller to fit in the boxes). Dan and Kathy got to "work the line". They opened boxes, took out the monetary donations, inspected the boxes to make sure they didnt have anything inappropriate in them, added to them so they were nice and full, taped them up and packed them in cartons for the pallets.

When all is said and done, the organization is kind enough to provide participation certificates, Christmas ornaments and tee shirts to all participants involved at the processing centers.

I Can't Breath

I woke up in a panic last night because I couldn't breath. I felt like I had swallowed a piece of food and it had gotten stuck in my chest. I could barely inhale. I didn't burn or stab at me so I knew it wasn't indigestion or acid reflux. It was only made worse by laying on my left or right side which made my lungs feel like they were collapsing even more. I would love to blame it on my daughter and just say that she had a foot in my ribs or lungs but this pain and where it was, was definitely not that. I even propped myself up with some pillows and pulled my shoulders back to relieve some of the pressure and nothing worked. I took some Tums, to no avail. It was a bit scary. Hopefully tonight is not like that. I really need some sleep. Dan and a co-worker and I are going to Irvine, to a processing center for Samaritan's Purse for Operation Christmas Child. We are stuffing and wrapping boxes filled with small Christmas toys and miscellaneous items to be shipped all over the world for children in need who might not know Jesus Christ. The program uses this opportunity to teach the children of the love of Jesus, about his life and about his saving grace. I will blog more about it tomorrow and hopefully will have some pictures for you too.

What I Am Thankful For This Year.....

As tomorrow is Thanksgiving, my mind wanders to all of the things I am thankful for this year. And what a year it has been! My BFF Shana, on her blog, started a "What am I thankful for" list for every day leading up to Turkey day tomorrow http://networkedblogs.com/qsEGX. Great idea, I just got started on it a little late to include all 24 days of Thanksgiving. But here is my list of what I am thankful for. As you read through this list, I challenge you to think about your own lives and be introspective. What are you thankful for today, yesterday and all year long? Hold tight to these thoughts to carry you through Christmas and remember what the "real reason for the season" is as we transition to the Christmas music on Friday and start (some of us finish) our Christmas shopping.

-I am thankful for a wonderful husband who loves me, spoils me rotten and thinks & says that I am beautiful and smart and worth it every day.
-I am thankful for the child that I am carrying. For a long time there we never thought this miracle would come to be.
-I am thankful for not just one set of loving parents but for 2. My Mom & Dad are absolutely the best role models in the world and have taught me everything I know. I owe them literally my life. I am proud to be their daughter. And my Mother-In-Law and Father-In-Law Laura and Fred are just beautiful people inside in out. So caring and loving and accepting. Thank you for letting me be a part of your family.
-I am thankful for my job which I do enjoy so much. I have a passion for helping people and have found my niche in helping people find jobs.
-I am thankful for my friends. Too many to name and mention here. You are loved and adored and appreciated!
-I am thankful for a place to live, a roof over my head, clothing on my back, food in my belly and enough money to keep the lights on and have certain creature comforts. So many people go without the basic necessities. I am lucky and thankful for what I have.
-I am thankful for my 2 sisters: Cindy and Kimberly. We may not always get along, we may live far and near but we are family. I love you more than I get the chance to tell you. You are precious gems in my life. Many of my fondest memories of what has shaped me to be the woman I am today come from just being with you 2!
-I am thankful for my dog. I know, I know. It's just a dog. But Bandit is so much more than that to me. He has been my confidant, friend, pillow and commiserator over the years. He is truly woman's best friend. I look forward to much time spent in awe of him interacting with Sophia creating the same bond he created with me over 9 years ago.
-Most importantly, and definitely saving the best for last, I am thankful for my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. For without him I would not be here. And for these blessings I am thankful for, I would not have.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!! May your day be filled with happiness and love and all things thankful.

Gentleman, Start Your Engines....... Well..... Not Really!

Saturday, Oh Saturday! What a day. What can I say. This car had no engine on Saturday. It took me 2 hours just to get up enough energy to get in and out of the shower, get clothes on and 1 shoe and 1 sock (Dan had to put the other ones on for me). I was so tired, out of breath and hot flashy that all I could do not to faint was sit down and fan myself. It was crazy. As if I was telling my body what to do but my body was protesting and doing its own thing. "One of these things is doin' its own thing....." I was so exhausted. I got nothing done Saturday morning. I think it was a t least 2 o'clock before I got enough energy to get up and get going. I was able to help Dan clean the house as best as I could. Sunday was a much better day. Sophia let me sleep in a little and then Dan made breakfast. I got up, got going, ran some errands and then finished up the rest of the house cores with Dan.

My In-Laws came over for a visit yesterday late afternoon. They wanted to see the nursery and how we had set it up. I hadn't seen them for a while and so we celebrated my belated birthday and went out to dinner to an Indian restaurant I just love in Little India in Artesia. We had a blast. Fred and Laura presented me with my birthday gift: a beautiful silver and gold locket for a picture of Sophia. It is just gorgeous. So sentimental and loved already. My Mother has a beautiful pendant in gold with a picture of me in it all dolled up in a purple frilly dress at one of my picture sittings. How perfect that I will be able to do the same for  my daughter and carry her picture around with me as well.

Copyright Infringement About Bacon......Seriously!!!!!

I received this email from Blogger the site with which I write my Blog. Apparently my Bacon Rant and Rave a few months back hit a nerve and someone didn't like my picture of bacon that I posted. Apparently it bordered on copyright infringement and I was asked to take it down. It was just a picture of Bacon from the Internet. Nothing special, nothing attached to clip art, etc. So I removed the picture. Problem solved. Here was the email.


Blogger has been notified, according to the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), that certain content in your blog is alleged to infringe upon the copyrights of others. As a result, we have reset the post(s) to \"draft\" status. (If we did not do so, we would be subject to a claim of copyright infringement, regardless of its merits. The URL(s) of the allegedly infringing post(s) may be found at the end of this message.) This means your post - and any images, links or other content - is not gone. You may edit the post to remove the offending content and republish, at which point the post in question will be visible to your readers again.

A bit of background: the DMCA is a United States copyright law that provides guidelines for online service provider liability in case of copyright infringement. If you believe you have the rights to post the content at issue here, you can file a counter-claim. For more information on our DMCA policy, including how to file a counter-claim, please see http://www.google.com/dmca.html.

The notice that we received, with any personally identifying information removed, will be posted online by a service called Chilling Effects at http://www.chillingeffects.org. We do this in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). You can search for the DMCA notice associated with the removal of your content by going to the Chilling Effects search page at http://www.chillingeffects.org/search.cgi, and entering in the URL of the blog post that was removed.

If it is brought to our attention that you have republished the post without removing the content/link in question, then we will delete your post and count it as a violation on your account. Repeated violations to our Terms of Service may result in further remedial action taken against your Blogger account including deleting your blog and/or terminating your account. If you have legal questions about this notification, you should retain your own legal counsel.

Sincerely,

The Blogger Team

Affected URLs:

Bacon Rant & Rave.

Back Braces and Yoga Birthing Balls

Ok so I am achy, super achy. Looking forward to being able to use the jacuzzi again come end of January. Fingers have swollen- say bye bye to wearing my wedding rings (which really upsets me) and cankles have finally showed up- no more heels unless on special occasions for a short period of time, flats are the order of the day. Back hurts and I am ready for prenatal yoga and prenatal massages. My Mother-In-Law got me one of those support bands to wrap around my belly and around my back for more support. Looking forward to figuring out how the contraption works and wearing it starting tomorrow. Got to go to Target or Sport Chalet today and get a yoga ball to sit on at work and for home. Hopefully that will relieve some pressure and pain. Woo, in the home stretch, 70 days to go and my body is really starting to feel it. Time for a positive mantra: I can do this, I can do this, I CAN DO THIS!!!!!

71 Days and Counting

I am officially in week 30 now and in the home stretch. 10 more weeks to go approximately, depending on when Sophia wants to be a Diva and make her grand entrance. Starting month 8 I have to tell you I can feel it. I am super tired and can't shake the "I don't want to do anything" feeling. Every time I put something off it gets added to my To Do List the next day. I think I now have a weeks worth of things to do on that darn list and still have gotten anything done. Sigh! I guess this is the new me. I used to be early. Then I got pregnant, now I am on time. Looks like when Sophia gets here I will always be late and stuff just won't get done. So World, I am officially announcing "Deal With It!!!!" This is just how its gonna be going forward.

Although I do have to admit, I did quite a bit over the weekend. Celebrated my b-day Thursday with dinner at Benihana's with the hubby, took in the Baby Expo in San Diego with my friend Jess on Friday, did our Lamaze class with Dan on Saturday and then had a public speaking engagement in Long Beach on Sunday. I guess you are probably reading this going "Of course your tired, look at all you did!" LOL This week plays out to be much slower and low key. Thank God. Here's to slowin' it down.

I Can No Longer Put On Pants......

Have you ever had this problem? I can no longer put on pants! No it's true!!! You should have seen me on Saturday afternoon. Dan and I were throwing on some jeans after coming back from our Lamaze class to get comfy. I looked at the ground, looked at the jeans in my left hand and then looked at the ground again. How the heck was I going to do this???? I can no longer bend my knees far enough to climb into my jeans and can no longer sit on the edge of the bed to put both legs in at one time. What is a girl to do? I wiggled the jeans across the floor, picked up my right foot and tapped the floor to catch them. No dice. I looked like Mr. Ed pawing a the ground. 1 paw for No and 2 paws for Yes. I was in stitches. I was laughing so hard I peed myself and them snorted from laughing so hard about peeing myself. Dan could not believe it. He was crying he was laughing so hard. So I hung an arm over Sophia's crib to my right, hung the jeans from my left hand and dangled them on the floor till they got close to my right foot and then pawed at them with my right foot until my foot was through the leg opening. I quickly pulled up and Whalah! 1 leg done. How the heck was I going to get the other one in without losing the first one? Crime-a-neatly nutsy! How the heck do you preggos do it? So I had to start the process all over again. I took me about 10 minutes. But I figured it out and am proficient at pant- putting-on now. Just wait until next month when I am even bigger and I have to figure out how to do this again given my new size. Sheesh!!!

The Big 33.......

I am not one to toot my own horn. I am not much of a ham or an attention whore. I spent most of my life trying to stay out of the lime light so as not to draw attention to myself. But everybody gets one day a year to call their own and to celebrate. Today is that day for me.....it's my 33rd birthday. I spent some time in reflection last night and thought harder about my life, my experiences and my age. Every year for as long as I can remember I have celebrated my birthday with a themed party, costumes or at least a little dress up. From a 50's themed party with greasers jackets and poodle skirts to a Hawaiian luau with leis and sarongs to pirate themes and theme parks. But this year is different. Being pregnant and preparing to be a mom really does change a woman. I guess you can say I am in the nesting mode. I am just looking forward to spending the evening with my hubby and belly bump and grabbing a bite at Benihana's (Tee, Hee, Hee). And I noticed while in reflection that I am 33 this year. Three-Three. Dan and I will be married for 3 years while I am 33 and having Sophia in January will make this twosome a threesome. I like the number 3. I think it is my new lucky number. Good things come in 3's. Here's to a year of wonderful 3- things to come!

Speed Bumps, Pot Holes and Dips....

I love to drive. Always have. It is a freedom, a right and a privilege. But now that I am getting bigger and more rotund and my belly sloshes from side to side, I really hate speed bumps, pot holes and dips. They hurt. They really do. Plus it doesn't help that Sophia is now sitting on my bladder, camping out in protest. Every time I hit a pot hole or go over a bump I cringe in anticipation of wetting myself. I can't believe that something so small and minute that we take for granted daily could have such an effect on your comfort level. I am about ready to write my congressman (woman) to demand that all pot hole be filled, dips be covered and speed bumps be abolished until such time deemed by me necessary. LOL Fat chance, I know. A bit of a pipe dream but a preggers can dream can't she??!! Until that day, I am stuck driving over bumps like I own a lowered Honda Civic rice rocket and using a pillow for cushioning. Pregnancy...... what a beautiful thing!

Contractions......

Yup, that's right I said contractions. Those little squeezy feelings we get when the baby is ready to do its thing and meet the world. Hold the phone, contractions at 7 months????? That would be correct. At 29 weeks I am starting to have contractions. Dr. says it is totally normal and that it is just my bodies way of practicing the muscle spasms to prepare for labor and delivery. Personally I think that Dr.'s can call what they do practice. As for me, my baby and these contractions, lets leave the squeezing stuff to the actual due date. No prepping here please!

Baby Shower #2

Thank you to all of my friends who attended my baby shower on Saturday. I had a blast. We did so much laughing and goofing off it was great just to let our hair down and hang out for the day. The food was great, the games were fun and the company was stellar. Thank you again to my BFF Shana for hosting and doing the food and games. You are one awesome sister, I love you and are truly indebted to you! The "Crew" (Vanessa, Charli and Nikki + Sara) were spectacular. Thanks for the set up, take down, clean up and last minute fires put out on my behalf. You guys ROCK!!!

We had a diaper raffle and I got tons of diapers and wipes. Sophia got a ton of new clothes including a lot of stuff that had lace and tulle and TuTus attached- How cute is that!! Lots of socks for her little tootsies, onesies with fun little pictures and sayings on them, her head rest that goes into her carrier until she is a bit bigger, toys that light up and teach her new things, her crib aquarium that lights up, has animal pictures that scroll across the screen and softly plays music while it puts her to sleep, shoes, PJ's and some of the most amazing hand made blankets and quilts. Sophia and are so lucky to have so many wonderfully talented people in our lives that are so skilled who would want to put the energy and effort into making her gifts with love.

It was so good to catch up with old friends, new friends, colleagues and family. Thank you for making my special day so SWEET!!!

Baby Shower #2 Countdown....

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.... I am so excited for tomorrow. I can't wait. I get to get all of my girlfriends together with my gal pals from work and hang. Can not wait. It is going to be great. A big thank you goes out to my BFF Shana Smith for putting this together, dealing with the RSVP's and the food, games and hosting and all. You are an absolute doll and I love you bunches. Kisses!!!

Thanks also to the "Crew": Nikki, Charli and Vanessa for prizes, sodas, decorations and being the set up and take down crew. You guys are all amazing. I appreciate your time and talents more than you know.

You 4 are the best friends a girl could ever ask for. I thank God for you in my life. Thank you for all you do for me. I am indebted to you all for forever!

I Finally Got It....

There are certain rights of passage as a mom-to-be that come along at certain points in your pregnancy. Think of it as a coming of age thing but during the 9 months. Last night I noticed a faint "Linea Negra" or dark line running from the top of my belly down through my belly button and down to my bikini area. Yup that's right.... I am in my 3rd trimester and getting close. Short of having my belly button invert (think Turkey button- ding the turkey's done!) we are well on our way to having a small miracle in our arms shortly. Wow time is just flying by so quickly. You don't realize it until you look back and think didn't I just find out we were pregnant yesterday???