Ahhhhh, it's that time of year...

The end of the year always gets crazy, work wise, for me and this year is no exception. It's been pretty nice to be busy, especially since my energy level is better. I always like to be busy and have projects. I have a lot of work related challenges coming up and although I am a little nervous about all of it, I haven't been challenged in this job in quite some time. I think it will be a great thing. Let's put it this way, I will MAKE it a great thing. Please take note of my overly optimistic tone about my job. I've decided that in these uncertain economic times, one can never be too optimistic. My mantra is "be thankful you have a job".

I just came to the realization that it is almost the second week in December and I should really start Christmas shopping, so I did. I didn't get very far but I always like Christmas shopping. Shopping, in general, has always been therapeutic for me, even if I just go and spend $10. The biggest shopping related annoyance during this time of the year is the crabby people that seem to be on some miserable mission. You know the ones, with the scowls on their faces and they usually tend to leave their cart in the middle of the aisle so you can't get around them. Yep, a sign of the season, for sure. Their roboticism tends to bother me and I feel sorry for them. A friend of mine suggested to her husband that they go to their local mall on Christmas Eve and stop these crabby people to give them a hug and say "Merry Christmas". I thought it was a fantastic idea.

So, this week is my 16th week of pregnancy! We had our monthly check up on Thursday and everything was great. We got to listen to the baby's heart beat, which was 153bpm (or 'one fitty tree' , as Dr. Cohen says). I'm still measuring a week ahead of time and my belly proves it!

Now that I'm feeling better, my goal is to start some sort of exercise regimen again, even if it's just walking 3-4 times a week. I just feel like part of my lack of energy has to do with my low level of activity. We'll see how that goes, but that's the plan! We have our "big ultrasound" to find out the sex on January 7th. I'm guessing a girl for some reason.

Here is the belly picture for the week:

Bear always wants to know what's going on!

And for shits and giggles, here are a couple of Thanksgiving pictures:

Other than all of that, we'll be decorating our tree tomorrow, which is always fun for us...well, for me! I don't know why but every year when Dustin digs out the Christmas boxes and I start going through them , there are always things I forgot that we have and also things that I wonder why we have. Every year. It's only a year, not 5 years. Why is it always such a surprise?