Time For Another Gross-Out!

I realize that I had done pretty good lately at not grossing anybody out with discussion of bodily (mainly female reproductive system) functions, but I just can't contain myself today. I got bored about half-way through the afternoon, so I decided to do a little internet searching. I read something that literally made me feel nauseaus. So I will share it with you all. Those of you who already have children will already know all of this, but bear with me.

Did you know that, for up to 6 weeks after you give birth, you continuously "bleed" out of your vagina? It's not "bleeding" really, but I use that term to prevent me from having to explain exactly what I read. The first couple days it's bright red, then turns to pink, then eventually brown before it stops completely. And your perineum (yes, that lovely area between the formerly mentioned organ and your anus) is very likely to be swollen, bruised and sore - even if you do not have an episiotomy (for those of you who don't know - that's what the doctor calls it when he/she cuts your perineum during birth to avoid tearing due to the massive life form that you are squeezing out of a relatively small hole). Yuck. I fully expect an episiotomy, though, considering that they are very common. I suppose that a nice, clean cut beats a ragged tear any day.

Anyway, so I had to get up, get some water and walk for a few minutes after reading this. I still am trying to have a kid, though. I keep hearing the end result outweighs the unpleasantness of getting to the end result.

Now for some personal, potentially exciting/potentially not news. I am now on day 24 of a normally 28-32 day cycle. I don't feel any different from any other month except for one rather disconcerting thing - my nipples are amazingly sore (I know - too much information, but deal with it). Potentially exciting because this is an early pregnancy symptom. Potentially not exciting because this is also a PMS symptom. I haven't had exactly this kind of soreness before, but I've read more than one instance of women's bodies playing tricks on them when they're trying to conceive. It comes from being so in tune to every little pain and twinge while trying to figure out if you're pregnant way before you should realistically be able to tell.

Ok, well this long post has served its purpose - getting me through the last 15 minutes of my work day without actually having to work! Time to go home...'later!

Be Nice To The IT Guy

Monday is almost over, thank goodness. Today actually hasn't been that bad. I've been trying to finish up the Workplace Violence Prevention Program, but it looks like this task will spill over into tomorrow. You know what's scary is when you're going through the warning signs of potentially violent behavior and you realize that several people that you work with exhibit quite a few of them. But then again, I exhibit a few of them, so maybe it's not such a big deal afterall. Here they are, for your informational purposes:

-History of violence
-Romantic obsession that is ignored or rejected
-Chemical dependence
-Severe depression due to personal problems
-Pathological blaming of others
-High frustration with work or personal environment
-Fascination with guns or other weapons
-Fascination with violence or terrorism
-Paranoia or belief that the system is unfair
-Inability to accept criticism
-Intimidating, harassing or threatening behavior
-Uneven job performance and large mood swings
-Moral or political intolerance
-Social isolation or low self-esteem
-Chronic disputes with coworkers or supervisors

There, now you too can go around analyzing your coworkers until you are thoroughly convinced that you work with a bunch of psychopaths that could go postal* at any moment! Welcome to my world.

*I feel a responsibilty to clarify that I am using the term "postal" here as pure slang. Postal workers actually are statistically less likely to be the victims of homicide than other workers. Who knew?

I Am?

Well, yesterday my husband and I were sitting in front of the television eating dinner (as is our usual habit) when he mentioned that he had spoken with his mother earlier. Apparently at one point she said, "So, I hear Kristin's pregnant." My husband, a bit surprised at this, asked her where she had heard that. She said that his uncle Harold had told her that somebody else had told him. Or, he said, maybe he had just dreamed it. Well, unless somebody out there is telling lies to poor old uncle Harold, I think he just must have dreamed it and thought it was real. So hubby assured his mother that we were not keeping secrets from her. It is strange, though, that Harold would have a dream that I am pregnant when I'm actually trying to get pregnant. Perhaps he is a bit psychic? I guess we'll see. If I am, it's very early. I won't be able to know for sure for another 1-2 weeks. I'll try not to get anxious...it's hard sometimes though.

Oh, by the way, when we do actually have children we will eat our dinner at the table. In case anybody was worried.

Times, They Are a Changin' (Kinda)

Ah, finally. A new Pope. The whole thing was very interesting, considering John Paul II had been Pope since before I was born. You know, I was really hoping for the Nigerian, but at least we didn't get an Italian. Not that there's anything wrong with Italians, don't get me wrong. It's just that I think we really needed to see that the Church's leaders are acknowledging the Church's diversity. A German might not exactly scream "Wow, look at how catholic we are (catholic with a little "c" means universal)" but, like I said, at least he's not Italian.

I was also happy to see that he is a conservative. Now again, don't get me wrong, I'm all for shaking things up a bit. It's just that what kind of church would we be if everytime we get a new Pope, drastic changes started to be made? It would be a little hard to swallow if the new guy started saying stuff like "Ok, priests are allowed to be married, women are allowed to be priests and let's all start taking the pill." It would make me wonder exactly who was running the show...God or a guy in a little white hat with long flowy robes. (I realize that if you're a non-Catholic you might already wonder this. But I'm pretty secure with the whole "Holy Spirit guiding the Pope" thing.)

Anyway, that's all I really have to say about it. I hope that Benedict XVI provides the kind of strong leadership that we need today, and couples it with genuine compassion and love. He's got some pretty big shoes to fill.

We're Doomed

For the first time the war in Iraq has touched me, albeit in a small way. The American that has most recently been taken hostage and seen on a video pleading for his life is from LaPorte, IN (about a 20-30 minute drive from here). He just happens to be the president of a company that my company has done business with. I have actually been at that company and had a meeting with some "top dog" sort of guys. I don't know if he was in that meeting or not (it was almost a year ago, and I didn't know at the time that he was going to be kidnapped in Iraq so I didn't pay attention), but it's still weird. Everybody say a prayer for him...you'd like to think that he will be fine, but at the same time history has shown that Americans taken hostage over there do not fair very well.

As I sit here thinking upon recent events - 1) A guy that I might possibly have met got kidnapped and just might get beheaded in Iraq 2) The Pope died 3) Brittany Spears is pregnant and 4) Anthony Federov did not get voted off of American Idol last night - I have reached a very startling conclusion. The Apocalypse is upon us. Everybody better get to confession pronto.

The Big Day Is Here!

My Birthday has arrived! I didn't think I would be at all upset about turning 25 and, to tell you the truth, I am not really. Well, just a little. Just because, with each passing year, I have less and less of a right to blame my mistakes on youth. I'm supposed to be an adult now, and it's a bit scary.

Hubby and I had a pretty good weekend. We lost $60 at Harrah's, but it could have been worse. We took $100 to play with. My last $20 went into a video poker machine, and I came out with $40! I could have come out with $55, but my husband said to keep going. Lunatic.
We also had fun in Chicago, though we were only there for a few hours. We walked up and down Navy Pier and took a 60 minute architectural boat tour down the Chicago River. I've been through Chicago many times, but never really paid attention to the 20's style skyscrapers. Some of them are pretty "cool" for lack of a better word. I'll have to start being more observant!

Anyway, I better get going. Some of us girls are going out to lunch for my birthday. My boss said he'd take me out later this week - 2 free meals! Yay! Everybody already did the whole, gather in the break-room and sing happy birthday thing. How embarrassing.

Had To Get It Out

Wow, 2 posts in one day. Making up for the past week, I guess.

I just had to comment on a post that was written by an old friend of mine, Matt. I've known Matt since middle school (and probably before that since we went to the same elementary school). We have very little in common, but not being like me does not automatically make you uncool :o) Anyway, I don't think that he would mind me revealing that he is gay. Read his blog, and you will realize that he is not "in the closet" by any stretch of the imagination. And I say that not trying to imply that it is either a good or bad thing, just as a fact.
Now, I don't often feel a need to justify and/or clarify my religious beliefs. I figure, you believe what you want to believe, I'll let you, and then you afford me the same courtesy. But his last post has left me feeling a need to explain why, though I am a pretty strict Christian, I am not "that kind" of Christian.
I have traditional Christian beliefs that are in conflict with some of my friends' beliefs. Namely, I don't belive in abortion (unless, of course, the mother's life is in danger), the death penalty (how you can believe that abortion is wrong but the death penalty is ok is a little beyond me), or euthanasia. My views on homosexuality are are also fueled by my Christianity, but perhaps they aren't what you would think.
Now, does the Bible say that homosexuality is wrong? Sure. But, call me crazy, doesn't the Bible also say something to the effect of the greatest commandment being to "love thy neighbor as you love yourself?" And something else about "let he who hath no sin cast the first stone?" Oh, and how about "judge not lest ye be judged?" Maybe some "Christians" conveniently forgot about those parts.
For those of you who have not taken the time to read Matt's post entitled "bash," it was about an instance where he was assaulted for being gay. Which, just as a little aside, the guy that assaulted him couldn't even really know. It was Halloween, so I don't see why being a man dressed as a woman automatically makes you gay. But, I'm straying from the point that I am trying (ever so uneloquently) to make. I may be Christian but that guy who did the verbal and physical assaulting was most assuredly not. He may have thought he was. Just like a lot of other people who engage in gay bashing may think that they are. But do you think that God, the God who so loved the world that he sent his only Son to die for our sins on the cross, would approve of assault? Let me put it another way...if Jesus saw a man in a dress walking down the street, would He have used his fists to express his opinion? Somehow, I truly doubt it. And therefore I doubt that anyone who would is any kind of follower of Jesus. And therefore, not a Christian.
I guess what I'm saying, to sum it all up, is that I'm not (under normal circumstances) one to judge people harshly because they may not believe the same way that I do. I'm truly sorry for what happened to you Matt. And I'm truly sorry for all the hatred spewed at anyone in the name of God. I'm sure that He is, too.

I'm a Slacker

Sorry to those who have been impatiently waiting for me to post again. I didn't know there were any people who cared! Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. The reason that I haven't been posting as much lately is so shady. As I said previously, I've been trying not to blog at work. Also, I have to be careful about when I blog at home, because my husband doesn't know that I have a blog! That way, I have sort of a private area all my own where I can talk about things (including him) without worrying about his reactions. Not that I couldn't say most, if not all, of the things I've said here to him. It's just nice to have something that is "mine" and not "ours". Seems like after the wedding, everything is "ours"! So, anyway, I have to blog when I'm home and he's not. Which is only a few times a week.

There really hasn't been much interesting going on. I was pretty depressed about the Pope dying for a few minutes, but then I realized that he is at the very worst not suffering anymore and, at the very best, happier than any of us can even imagine. So I stopped being so depressed. I'm still a little anxious about who they make the new Pope, but there's not a thing I can do about it. So I'll just sit, wait and watch like the rest of the world!

Work is going ok. We got a new production guy, so I spent most of the day yesterday training him on all of our safety programs. I wanted to split the training up into 2 days, but the Human Resource Administrator said that I should just get it all over with. So I bored the guy to tears and I don't think he cares for me too much. I guess that's why I get called the "Safety Nazi". Affectionately, of course!

Lastly, my birthday is Monday! I will be 25 - yikes! Where did my early 20's go? Hubby said that, as my present, he was taking me to Harrah's in East Chicago on Saturday night. Then we'll spend Sunday in Chicago. I guess the good thing about moving up so far north is that we're only about 90 miles from the city. I'm looking forward to getting away, even if it is just for one day. I spend too much time in the apartment on weekends.

Well, hope all this information keeps everyone occupied for a while! And for you baby watchers, no baby this month. I read that it takes an average of 4-6 months of trying to get pregnant, though, so I'm not too disappointed. This way I can have a beer (or 2) in the casino! Got to live it up while I can - I hear that it won't happen again for about 20 years.