Vacuutopia

This week I've learned that if there's anything that needs to get done which I am procrastinating doing, I simply need to have a bad dream about it, and I will wake up feeling completely and 100% motivated to do that dreaded thing.

Take the glucose screening for example. I forgot to mention it, but I had a dream the night before I went for the glucose screening. I'd been putting the thing off for 2 weeks, and I think it was starting to eat at my mind. I had a dream where I was holding my sister's baby and she was holding mine, and we were all getting the test done, babies included. Apparently in my dream, you knew you had G.D. if you swelled up big time. So, my sister leaves the room, and while she's gone I swell. TOTALLY. Think Aunt Marge from the beginning of Harry Potter 3. Every single part of me was at least 3 times its normal size and I was starting to have trouble breathing, as my tongue was swelling too. Then the swelling started going back to normal and I could breathe, and by the time my sister got back you could barely tell I'd swelled up at all. I was really glad because I felt horribly ashamed that I had G.D., like it was my fault, and I was completely embarassed, so I tried to hide it.

The next day, I just HAD to go to find out. I couldn't put it off any longer.

Then, there was last night's dream. It was a simple, short dream without much detail. Basically I remember Matt asking me to at least vacuum the stairs if I wouldn't vacuum anywhere else in the house, because they were just getting gross. I felt bad and ashamed, and promised him that I would vacuum them A.S.A.P.

So why the dream vacuum? No, this vacuum is not symbolic of something I'm neglecting to do in our marriage, or anything of the sort. Quite simply, I just needed to vacuum my house!

Easier said than done, however. Our vacuum died a few weeks ago (probably pushing a month by now.) I mostly forgot about it unless I knew we had people coming over, like the other night when the missionaries were going to do a discussion at our house, and I insisted on vacuuming our entire living/dining room with the little teeny extension that's about 4 inches wide which still works. I had to quit half way through and get Matt to do the rest, because I was completely out of breath and puffing for air, but it got done well enough.

So anyway, now I'm rambling. Let me get to the point.

Our vacuum was broken. It needed fixing. It sat upstairs right beside our front door for at least 2 and a half weeks, just begging to get fixed. Eventually I glazed over the fact that it was there because it was just part of the scenery, and so nothing was done about it.

What was wrong was that the spinny thing on the bottom that picks everything up with the help of the suction just would not spin when it was touching the floor. So I went to a vacuum place today to buy a filter and a new belt, hoping to replace random parts before we brought it to a repair place (so that they don't charge an arm and a leg for replacing things I can replace myself, thankyouverymuch!) I mentioned to the guy there what the problem was, and he said I might just need to replace the belt and then all would be well.

I ran around town trying to find a place that sold my filter. Then I went home and got down to work.

This might sound silly, and I'm not really doing the awesomeness of this story justice (I plead tiredness), but I pulled everything outside where the world could get as dusty as it pleased, took apart the vacuum, gave it a good wipe down, and then...the good part. I replaced the belt by myself! Again, this is not having the thrill it should have. Let me expand.

I don't use tools. I hate tools. They are for boys and men who are supposed to be these handymen who can fix everything and why pay money for someone else to do what you can do yourself? At least, that was how I was raised. My dad ALWAYS fixed our car. Sometimes it'd take a whole Saturday, but he'd get it done.

Matthew had to be the one to investigate why the vacuum wasn't working, because I just didn't know where to begin. He opened it up the other day and hummed and hawed, but to no avail. Then I, the girly girl who hates dirt and dusty things and isn't totally sure of which way to turn a screwdriver, takes the vacuum apart ON MY OWN, fiddles with, yanks, pulls, and successfully puts the new belt into place, and yes, even manages to get the vacuum back together and looking as it did before I had gone anywhere near it with a tool. A proud moment to say the least.

Then I brought it in the house to see if maybe, just maybe that did the trick. I mean, I wasn't TOO hopeful, but wouldn't it be awesome if I could fix an appliance simply by my own cunning?

Well. Did that vacuum ever run. It ran like it hasn't run since we got it. Even then, I think it was more weak sauce than it is now. That Dirt Devil earned its name today! Dirt can run, but it can't hide. Not when my vacuum works for the first time in what felt like ages, and I had all the time in the world to vacuum my entire house. I think I spent 45 minutes vacuuming in all. I vacuumed everywhere I could think of (except the dog. He won't let me come near him with the vacuum.)

And, for the first time in my life, I really could appreciate Tim the Tool-Man-Taylor, from Home Improvements. I felt so proud. I felt so useful. I felt like grunting. I felt........like a man. Seriously, I was tempted to do that whole silly walk around the house with a powerdrill in my hand just looking for other things to fix, I felt that good. When Matt got home, I had to take him on a tour of our newly vacuumed house, I was that proud.

So anyway, there's the highlight of my day! Sad, I know, that such a thing could bring me so much pleasure, but oh well! You try living without a vacuum for a month and then realizing that it was within your power to fix it all along. You feel so...empowered, for lack of a better word.

Moving on. The house got vacuumed, I made lunch for Matt and brought it to the office, and then I worked the afternoon, shipping out a bunch of orders because the shipment FINALLY came in. It was my last day to work, as they won't need me tomorrow, and I am so glad. I was almost in tears, my back was aching so much, and I didn't know I'd be working, so I wore crummy flipflops instead of good shoes. Oh well. I'm sure my body will get over it.

Then for dinner Matt and I ordered Swiss Chalet, and HEY, did you know they deliver???!!! We were thrilled. So instead of waiting in a restaurant for your food, I had a nice, long, hot shower that got the kinks out, and Matt relaxed in front of the tv for a bit. Our own little piece of heaven.

Oh, I got a call from my midwife today, and I was a little worried, because it's been 2 days since my glucose screen. EEP! Apparently, though, everything on that front looks fine. They also tested my iron at the same time, however, and that didn't come out looking so pretty. Apparently my hemoglobin is a little low, nothing to be worried about (mom!), but I'm going to go on iron pills for the remainder of my pregnancy, because it's not something that will improve on its own, and will only go downhill if not addressed. I don't really mind, I'm already taking vit. C and cranberry pills as a preventive measure for urinary tract infections, but I'm a little bummed that it means taking an extra 3 pills a day. I used to be so pro at swallowing pills, but now I can barely get them down. I think it'd because my prenatal vit. and the cranberry are enormous. Sometimes they hit the gag reflex, and it's not pretty.

So there you have it. No gestational diabetes, and a little low on the hemoglobin (which, by the way, is important for bringing oxygen to the baby through the bloodstream. In case you were wondering...I was, so I asked!)

Oh, and while on the phone, I asked my mw about this funny pressure I've been feeling on my ribs. I thought it was too soon for the pressure to be caused by the baby kicking my ribs (and it doesn't feel like that anyway), but apparently by this time your uterus is not only 'well above your belly-button' as my mw said, but it's also pushing all the organs further and further upwards, and my ribs have already started to expand. Again, I thought it was too soon for that. I tried googling it, and most people feeling this don't feel it until they're in the 30's (weeks..) but not me. Maybe it means I'm carrying high...?? I don't know.

So anyway, that's a little uncomfortable. Have you ever had your eye twitch? It feels like that, minus the pulsating, right underneath the lower front part of my ribs. WEIRD! And hard to sleep. But hey, sleep just IS hard these days. It's an accepted part of life. My friend, Farrah, said to me yesterday, "Yeah, you can kiss away sleeping well from about now until you're done having kids!" and I know it's true. In a way I'm glad because it won't be quite so hard when our little one wants to eat in the middle of the night. I'll already be used to waking up constantly.

Other than all that, I don't think there's much to post on. I know this has all been random stuff, but I just couldn't resist posting about my vacuum experience. It was special.

Anyway, I hope everyone's having a wonderful week!!