it's a ...

i had my sonogram on wednesday. i would have posted earlier, but its been a crazy week.

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i drank my 32 ounces of water, i waited patiently while the lady smeared goo all over my belly, and talked incessantly to the person she was training and not telling me a thing. finally, she asked if i wanted to know the sex of my baby. my answer, "yes, please!" the person she was training went and got hubby.

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we all stared at the screen while she searched for genitalia (or a lack thereof). hmmm, baby was sitting all cute with both hands clenched right below his chin, and his ankles were crossed. baby was gonna make this as difficult as possible.

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we looked at it's little face, and we could see its mouth open and close, "wow" the lady turned to me, "it has a really big mouth", hubby said the kid must take after me. then she commented on the large head, and i must say that is all hubby. then we noticed that baby was sticking his tongue out at us. taunting us. actually it was really really cute.

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then after much searching we saw "it". yes people i'm having a ...

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BOY!!!

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i kept telling everyone that it was a boy and nobody believed me. well i was right and everyone else was wrong. hubby is a real man who can get the boy he wanted on his first shot. anyways. we're both really really really excited. now i can start planning and buying and all of that fun stuff.

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we still haven't thought of names, so any suggestions will be taken into consideration. please give me suggestions, i gave a list of names to hubby and he turned up his nose to ALL of them. and NO, we will not be having a hubby jr. so stop asking already. okay not your blogland, but everyone else keeps asking me and its really annoying.

correct bra sizing

most women are wearing the wrong bra size, so i've decided to write a post on how to find the correct fit.

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there are two elements to your bra size: the band size (ie. 32, 34, 36) and cup size (ie. A, B, C). you will need a measuring tape to determine your bra size.

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1. band size:

using a soft tape-measure, measure around the ribcage directly under the bust. be sure the tape is smooth across the back and level with the front. add 5 to this measurement to obtain your band size.

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for example: if your ribcage measurement is 29" + (5) = 34" band size. if the resulting band size is an odd number like 33", you can usually go to the next even band size (34").

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2. cup size:

measure loosely around the fullest part of your bust, holding the tape measure straight but not tight. subtract your band size from this measurement.

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the result would be your cup size. if the different is:

less than 1" to 1" = A cup

more than 1" to 2" = B cup

more than 2" to 3" = C cup

more than 3" to 4" = D cup

more than 4" to 5" = DD cup

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for example: if your band size is 34" and your bust measurement is 35", you wear an "A" cup.

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Tips:

you should take your measurements while you are wearing a non-padded underwire bra or a tight-fitting seamless t-shirt.

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because standard band sizes are even numbers only, if you have an odd-numbered band size, you may need to go up or down a size depending on how you like your bra to fit.

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ensure the right fit:

now that you have your measurements, knowing how the bra should be positioned on your body will also help you find the perfect bra.

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here are a few key questions to keep in mind when you're trying on bras to ensure that you get the right fit:

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band

q. can you fit two fingers under the band comfortably?

a. the band should be fitted, but not cutting into your skin. it should sit lower on the back than in the front and sit comfortably below the shoulder blades. the back of the bra should not ride up above the bra line. it it does, adjust the straps. if the bra still rides up, try a smaller band size.

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bra straps

q. are the straps adjusted for individual comfort?

a. straps should be adjusted to give support to the bust without cutting into the shoulders. if the straps are falling down, you may not be filling up the cups. try a smaller cup size.

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cups

q. do the cups fit smoothly?

a. the cups should be filled out so they fit smoothly. if there are wrinkles, you may need a smaller cup size. in the case of cotton/spandex underwire bras, there should be a little excess fabric in the cups to allow for shrinkage. if there is overflow at the top, under the arms, you should try a larger cup size.

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tip: 34D, 36C, and 38B are the same cup size. if the band is not snug enough, try a smaller band size and a larger cup.

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underwires

q. do the underwires completely surround the breast tissue?

a. all pressures should lie on the underwire to support the breasts without digging in at the sides. underwires lie flat against the chest. if the underwire is standing away from the body, suggest a bigger cup size. underwires should completely surround the breast tissue to provide support.

the fall schedule

shannon, over at rocks in my dryer started this madness, so blame her, and read about her obsession:

rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/shannon/2006/09/guilty_pleasure.html

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okay people, i know that all of my friends and family know this, but in case you didn't i thought i would write about my obsession with television today. i love coming home from work, snuggling on the couch and relaxing to some good ol' entertainment. plus fast-forwarding through commercials is the greatest invention ever (i think i love my dvr even more than my ipod). i'm so excited that the new fall season is upon us. let me tell you about some of my favorite shows, and some of the shows i am planning on exploring this new season. although it will depend on what show end up being at what time, because i can only dvr two shows at once it complicates things.

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i go even so far to put all the shows i like to watch into a program and plan out my tv watching week. i use http://meevee.com love love love it.

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seriously people if i could only watch one show for the rest of my life it would be GILMORE GIRLS! oh how i love it. i have every season on dvd, and just heard that season 6 is coming soon -- i most likely will preorder at on amazon.com. i quote it constantly and wish i could move to stars hollow.

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returning favorites: HOUSE is just so sarcastic, i love it. yes it follows the same format every episode. misdiagnosis, almost kills patient, misdiagnosis, almost kills patient, accidentally find answer from a random thing. still i love it. LOST is just fabulous. i jumped into it in the middle of the first season and quickly caught up, and quickly got addicted. the characters are just wonderful, and i love how they put the pieces to the puzzle together bit by bit, episode by episode. i love it when they do an episode with flashbacks giving us some background about the characters -- it makes them real and i love it. GREY'S ANATOMY is just a good drama doctor show and the writing is fabulous. some of the characters are annoying, and yes they are all sleeping with each other, but i still like it. yes i realize that DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES is soo bad and there are no values, but the writing is sooo good. i promise to never cheat on my husband or killing anyone, okay?

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more returning favorites: SURVIVOR - i caught the bug while i was living with my sister and BIL and they watched it every thursday. now i am addicted, and this season looks definitely interesting. PRISON BREAK - got into it, stoppped, started again, now i'm watching it again in it's new season. so far it's been interesting. BOSTON LEGAL - started watching it when i started working in a law firm, and i'm never disappointed. the interaction between william shatner and james spader is wonderful. plus it has candyce bergen. love it.

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returning comedies: MY NAME IS EARL, THE OFFICE and SCRUBS. all of them are truly hillarious.

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my new favorite: HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER - i keep trying to get people to watch this show. the writing is fabulous, i swear it's the new FRIENDS.

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new ones to look forawrd to: JERICO, HEROS, MEN IN TREES

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and the ones that i have to wait for: 24 - gotta love "JACK" as it is affectionately known in our house, THE O.C. - guilty pleasure that i must admit i only started watching because of the character that was on GG before moving to the OC, and THE 4400 - this is a summer show, and i love it. it has a sci-fi element to it, but the writing and character development are entrancing. if you haven't seen it i completely recomend it. love love love it.

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you'll notice that there aren't very many "reality" shows on my list. as a whole i'm not a big fan, there are a couple but not many. i would much rather be taken to an alternate reality where the characters are interesting and flawed than watch people sing and dance. i also am completely over all of the Law&Orders and the CSIs. I'm over solving crimes by cutting people open and watching a show all about rapes and murders. i know a lot of people still love them, i personally have gotten over them and have moved on.

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there you go, now you know my obsession. any shows out there that i am missing? let me know some of your favorites, or ones that i should be watching.

pirates

i was going to write yesterday about how it is "talk like a pirate" day. but well work was busy, and no one would read it today to think its funny. plus, on another blog was a post on the same topic, and she said it much better than i could, so please go read her post.

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http://bellsontheirtoes.blogspot.com/2006/09/ahoy-there-mateys-arrghhh.html

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there you go, hillarious, right?

dressing without losing yourself

When we are dressing ourselves, we must learn the basic principle, and that is to keep a sense of our own personal style apparent. Otherwise, we will feel made up or unattractive, because we are trying to duplicate someone else's look, instead of learning to develop our own sense of style that best suits our body frame, clothing preferences and personality.
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When getting started, you must first learn your body frame. Listed below are all four of the bodies, along with their characteristics and you choose which one of them best describes your body (you may fall into one or a combination of more than one category). The overall goal is to draw the viewer’s eye up to the beauty of your face.
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A-Frame

Body is narrower at the top half and wider at the lower hip and upper thigh area
Legs may be shorter and sometimes heavier
Upper torso may be average to long, firm and slender
When there is weight gain, it is usually in the upper thighs and hips
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Goal: Balance shape by widening shoulders. This can be achieved by choosing garments with shoulder pads or sleeve detailing and horizontal necklines.
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V-FrameShoulders appear to be wider than the hips
Bust is unusally large, with a shorter torso and high waist
Thighs and derriere are usually flat
Legs are thin
Tummy may be more prominent than bust
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Goal: Give illusion of hourglass shape by widening hips. This can be achieved by chooing garments that have width and fullness in the skirt or pants, pockets at the hips and long tunic style tops.
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H-FrameBody appears to be straigh up and down
Thighs and derriere are usually flat
Legs may be longer
Bust is average to large
Weight gain is usually through the middle
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Goal: Create hour glass figure with illusion of smaller waist. This can be achieved by choosing either a bloused garment with a flared skirt and belted waist, wrap tops, v necklines, and long tunic style tops.
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8-Frame
Figure is curvy and perfectly balanced
Bust is full, waist is small, with average length
Hips are gently tapered, with good proportions to derriere
Leg length and upper torso are balanced
Weight gain is always evenly distributed
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Goal: Emphasize figure; avoid clutter, fluff and tight fit. This can be achieved by choosing garments that fit the body and identify the waist, wrap tops, v and scoop necklines, shaped one-piece dresses.

attack of the kidneys

considering that my last post was on modesty, i was disgusted when i read the following article:

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20380241-1243,00.html

padded bras for 6 year olds. i mean, come on -- it's absolutely disgusting on so many levels.

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i also said i would write about my recent hospital trip, so here it goes.

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on wednesday night (august 30th) -- okay technically thursday morning, but it doesn't ever really feel like the next day until the sun is up -- i woke up around 3 o'clock and had to go to the bathroom (nothing unusual there, i mean, i'm pregnant i have to pee **all** the time). so i did my business, and thought to myself, "hmmm, i'm kinda cold" so i put some pants on, and turned off the fan. i climbed back into bed, and snuggled under the covers. after five minutes i was still cold and starting to shiver. so i put on another blanket, five minutes later i had four blankets on and was shivering uncontrollably. i was so cold that my whole body was shaking and i couldn't hold myself still. my husband was in the living room, so i called to him and he came in. he tried warming me up to no avail. we had heat packs going, and everything else that we could think of. i finally asked him to give me a blessing which helped to caml me down enough to let me fall asleep. although i wouldn't say that it was restful sleep.

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thursday i was really tired and just generally felt crummy all day. that night i was baby sitting for some friends (3 year old and 1 year old). i threw up in their toilet, and then went home and threw up in mine. thursday night was another restless night and when the alarm went off i walked to the living room grabbed my phone and called in sick. i then threw up again and went back to sleep. over the course of the day on friday i threw up at least 15 times, and couldn't keep anything down (not even water). my temperate was fluctuating between 101 and 97 degrees. it was horrible, when i went to bed that night i told myself that if i didn't feel better in the morning i would go to the hospital.

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saturday morning i woke up and promptly threw up again. i called my ob-gyn who's office was closed, but an associate listened to my symptoms and told me to go to the hospital. we went to the emergency room. they took my blood, they took my urine, i threw up in their toilet while waiting for someone to see me. they put me on an iv and have me something for the nausea, and informed me that i had a kidney infection. you can read all about it at: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/kidney-infection/DS00593/DSECTION=2

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it's not fun, they wrote me a perscription for some antibiotics and sent me home, along with the instructions to drink lots of water and cranberry juice.

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i wasn't really feeling normal or slightly normal until the following wednesday. thursday i had an appointment with my ob-gyn we heard the baby's heartbeat and everything seems to be fine. she wants me to take antibiotics for the remainder of my pregnancy, "just in case". so hopefully i wont have to go through that again. looing back over the course of events i probably should have gone to a doctor sooner, like thursday after i had the weird chills, which they describe on that website as "shaking chills". that was the first real sign that something was wrong with my body. but being pregnant there are lots of weird things about my body now, and it just seemed like a weird pregnant thing, and not a weird "my kidneys are trying to kill me" thing.

modesty

I had plans to post on my recent trip to the hospital, but I feel that this matter is much more important. (and please bear with me, I just typed this whole long post and my computer ate it.)
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recently on the blogs that I read there has been much discussion about "modesty". although I’m not a mom ... yet. I’ve always felt very strongly in that matter. I don’t think that this is necessarily just an issue with our kids, although there is an issue with that. I don’t ever shop for little girls clothes, but I have seen some in passing that make me sick. Why do people, and clothing retailers and manufacturers feel the need that we as parents want our six years olds looking like teenagers? They don’t need "sex appeal" they are little girls and need to remain that way.
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While I was working as a pattern maker in a custom bathing suit shop there was an order for a bathing suit for a one year old. It was for a bikini with a thong bottom. Yes you read that right. Why in the world would someone want to look at a one year olds bottom in a thong? Where would the diaper go? How could that be comfortable on such a small child (let alone, an adult)? It was disgusting, but I had to make it.
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Yes it is a problem for our girls, but I also think it is our problem as well. We as women and mothers need to be the example to our children and the children around us that modesty is important. We need to show them the correct way to dress. It is easy to be modest if you truly desire to and we need to be the examples.
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Modesty has always been an issue for me, I struggled with it as a teenager, but now as an adult I see it’s importance. So much so, that I started a business completely based on modesty. Check it out: http://www.jocole.net./ They are shirts designed to perfectly cover you in all of the right places. They are reversible, which means, that if you wear it one way it was a modest scoop neckline, or if you flip it around it has an even higher neckline. And they have an extra extra long length. You can wear them alone, are with the latest styles without compromising modesty. They are designed to expand your wardrobe options – while keeping your cleavage, back and stomach covered.
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The clothing that we wear reflects who we are. Modesty in our dress is a virtue we should not put aside because of today’s fashions. I value modesty in ones appearance. My goal is to provide clothing that women of all ages can feel good about wearing. I don’t believe that you have to choose between dressing modesty and dressing fashionably. How we dress is an expression of who we are. Everyone has their own unique style, and my products empower women to express themselves by choosing the clothes that they love AND still be modest.
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If you feel like reading more in the matter, you can check out:
http://everydaymommy.net/everyday-mommy/2006/9/5/moms-for-modesty.html
I feel very strongly about this subject, and I think we all should.