I love Christmas music. There is nothing like a rousing Hallelujah Chorus or O Holy Night to get me excited for that magical time of the year. However, not all Christmas songs are created equal, and some are so annoying that they make me wish that radio stations did not offer 24-hour-a-day Christmas music. Here are the worst offenders, the songs that I do not miss now that Christmas is over.
Baby, It's Cold Outside
I actually like this song, but in my head, I think of it as the Date Rape Christmas Song. Christmas songs should not evoke visions of date rape.
Christmas Shoes
Taking over for I'll Be Home for Christmas and Blue Christmas as the saddest Christmas song ever, this one features a dying mother. Nothing like a little impending death to bring out the generosity of others, eh? I change the station every time this comes on and keep hoping that other people will catch on that this song does not belong on the radio at Christmas time (or any other time, if you ask me, but clearly no one has).
Anything by Wayne Newton as a child
The Sirius 40s station, which plays Christmas hits from the good old days, introduced me to these classics. His voice grates on my nerves. If you aren't familiar, take a listen on You Tube. I dare you to listen to a song in its entirety.
Jingle Bells "sung" by barking dogs
I had to stop listening to the pop Christmas station on Sirius because they played this song multiple times each day, and I couldn't bear to listen to even a few seconds of this horror show. Jingle Bells might not be the finest song ever written, but it deserves better than to be barked to.
Do They Know It's Christmas?
Sigh. Where to start with this one?
First of all, I hold it at least partially responsible for would-be Vice Presidents and Miss Teen USAs who think that Africa is a country.
Second of all--and I understand that philosophies regarding philanthropy have changed over the years, and perhaps it's not fair to judge the writers based on today's standards--but one of the best ways to bring relief to an area is to increase tourism. Did the writers of the song believe that "a world of dreaded fear," "where the only water flowing is a bitter sting of tears," and "the Christmas bells that ring there are the clanging chimes of doom" portrayed Ethiopia (or rather Africa, since Ethiopia was never mentioned by name) in the best light?
And that's not all. Since the song mentions only Africa, we have to evaluate the words for the entire continent, and it is simply not true that Africa is the place "where nothing ever grows, no rain or rivers flow." Furthermore, parts of Africa do receive snow!
I don't want to disparage the fund-raising efforts of those involved, and I'm sure that most of them participated because they wanted to help. However, a more positive and accurate song might have raised the same amount of money and have helped beyond just a check.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Pregnancy: The bad and the ugly
I haven't written much in the last few months, mostly because I had a lot to say but wasn't ready to talk about it. But now I am ready, so prepare for the deluge! The happy news is that I am pregnant with an active baby boy that my husband wants to name Rooster. (So not happening.)
And so for my first pregnancy post, I'm going to tell you about all of the bad stuff that comes with being pregnant! I hope that this post does not set the tone for future posts; I intend at some point to write about all of the positive side effects of pregnancy, if I can come up with more than two of them, anyway.
Pregnancy introduces a new normalcy of health that frequently feels far from normal. Here are a few of the symptoms that have characterized my pregnancy thus far. I suspect that more are still to come...
NAUSEA
I am very lucky that this stage was short-lived for me, though while I was in the middle of it, I had no way of knowing that its worst would last only 3 weeks.
My nausea was not as bad as it could be; for instance, I did not break my twenty-plus-year streak of a vomit-free existence (I don't know why I don't vomit; it just doesn't happen). However, I did spend much of my time lying on the couch, wondering why on earth women willingly have multiple children.
At its "best," my nausea was similar to the seasickness I felt on our Caribbean cruise, or to the way that I feel after I consume dairy without a Lactaid pill. This feeling was constant and stayed with me most of the day.
At its worst...this is difficult to describe. Do you know the feeling you get in your stomach just before the stomach cramps tell you that it's time to find a bathroom, and fast? It was like that, only there was no way of making it go away.
I probably should have mentioned this, but as you can already tell, my blog is not going to offer The Sexy Gal's Guide to Pregnancy-type of information. But if you've been reading for any amount of time prior to this, you probably already knew that.
I discovered that frequent eating of small meals helped. After I ate, I usually felt better for about 15 minutes, and then the nausea returned. If you wait too long to eat, you feel terrible and the last thing in the world that you want is food. However, if you can convince yourself to eat, you will feel better, or at least I did.
The worst of my nausea was over within three weeks. However, I didn't really feel like myself for several more months. Standing for long periods of time was difficult, and I still felt a general malaise that was difficult to kick. (More about my sleepiness later.)
A side effect of this nausea was a mild case of the blues for which I was unprepared. I think there were a few causes.
First, I had no idea how long the nausea would last; for some women, it's a few days or weeks, and for others, it lasts the entire duration of their pregnancy. I couldn't imagine 9 months of feeling as bad as I did.
Second, I had to hide it as best as I could, as I was not ready to share the happy news with everyone so early. Pretending to feel great when you don't is exhausting.
Finally, my nausea was not something that I could treat, as most drugs are off-limits, and I felt powerless in my sick feeling.
I feel lucky to have had such short-lived nausea.
STUFFY NOSE
The nausea ended, and the congestion began! However, I will take a stuffed-up nose over sickness any day.
The medical cause of this congestion isn't known, but it's fairly common among the preggos. I dealt with it for as long as I could and then convinced B that we ought to get a humidifier. He was amenable, so we hit our local Target in search of relief. There I learned that there are both hot and cool air humidifiers, and the hot humidifiers are best for congestion. Hot won.
A hot humidifier boils the water, so it sounds a little like a hot pot while it's running, but it helped immensely and minimized my usual wintertime dry-weather cough, so it's a keeper. Plus my congestion is much better, though I'm not sure whether I should credit the humidifier or simply the passage of time.
SLEEPINESS
I have always been an enthusiastic and needy sleeper. I used to require a minimum of 8 hours per night to not feel tired during the day, and this need has only increased since I became pregnant. My typical bedtime is now around 8 PM, and I sleep until 5:30 or 6 AM. On weekends, I have been known to go to bed at the same time and sleep even later (and sometimes take a nap, too).
It's possible that this sleepiness is at least partially related to my next symptom:
SLEEPLESSNESS
This symptom comes and goes. When it comes, it usually sticks around for several nights. I can always fall asleep when I first go to bed, but if I wake up in the middle of the night, I stay awake for three or more hours. I'm usually able to fall back to sleep around 5:30 or 6, but if it's a weekday, that's when I have to get up anyway.
I have no idea what causes my sleeplessness, which feels like jet lag. I'm sleepy but unable to sleep.
Last week, several nights of sleeplessness left my defenses down, and I came down with a ferocious cold, which I unfortunately shared with B. I'm mostly over it now, over a week later, but he is still fighting the worst of it.
IRRATIONAL CRYING
I am nothing if not rational...most of the time. But these pregnancy hormones are tricky little buggers. Minor annoyances that I would--if I were able to think rationally all the time--be able to ignore and forget about become major grievances for no reason whatsoever, and the only response that I am able to muster is an immediate emotional breakdown.
I slipped and almost fell down in the lobby at work one rainy day and had to go spend some quality time crying about it in the bathroom. I had to spend similar time in the bathroom at the symphony the other night after they made me throw out my tea. Who makes a pregnant, sick woman throw out her tea??? Jerks. Though in their defense, I suppose they couldn't tell that I was pregnant.
It's best to succumb to the tears once they start coming on, or they stalk my eyes for hours to come. However, giving in has its downside because once the crying starts, it's very difficult to make it stop. I read a sad book a month or so ago (The Friday Night Knitting Club?) and cried after the end for a solid 30 minutes. You can do stuff like that when you're home alone. When your husband is home, he's likely to be scared by such behavior.
Lucky for me, my irrational crying is not an everyday or even everyweek occurrence, so most of the time I do not feel like a weeping, blubbery mess.
ITCHY BELLY
I did not expect this symptom. My belly is itchy practically all the time. I got some "tummy honey" by Bella B; it's supposed to prevent stretch marks (sigh), so I've been applying it liberally, and it helps with the itchiness. But it doesn't make the itch go away completely. I just have to deal with it and try not to scratch too much.
FREQUENT BATHROOM TRIPS
Remember the sleeplessness? The reason I wake up so much in the middle of the night is because I am constantly running to the bathroom. Each night involves a minimum of one and sometimes as many as three trips to el banyo. It's not unusual for me to use the bathroom multiple times within a span of 10 to 15 minutes.
A couple weeks ago at our last ultrasound, the technician told us that the baby's head was resting right on my bladder. That explained a lot. He's getting big enough that I can now feel when he presses down on my bladder. I won't attempt to explain it in detail; I'm sure you can imagine the sensation. It seems to happen the most when I'm in the car.
So there it is, all the bad stuff, or all the bad stuff that has happened to me so far. More tales from the bump to come...
And so for my first pregnancy post, I'm going to tell you about all of the bad stuff that comes with being pregnant! I hope that this post does not set the tone for future posts; I intend at some point to write about all of the positive side effects of pregnancy, if I can come up with more than two of them, anyway.
Pregnancy introduces a new normalcy of health that frequently feels far from normal. Here are a few of the symptoms that have characterized my pregnancy thus far. I suspect that more are still to come...
NAUSEA
I am very lucky that this stage was short-lived for me, though while I was in the middle of it, I had no way of knowing that its worst would last only 3 weeks.
My nausea was not as bad as it could be; for instance, I did not break my twenty-plus-year streak of a vomit-free existence (I don't know why I don't vomit; it just doesn't happen). However, I did spend much of my time lying on the couch, wondering why on earth women willingly have multiple children.
At its "best," my nausea was similar to the seasickness I felt on our Caribbean cruise, or to the way that I feel after I consume dairy without a Lactaid pill. This feeling was constant and stayed with me most of the day.
At its worst...this is difficult to describe. Do you know the feeling you get in your stomach just before the stomach cramps tell you that it's time to find a bathroom, and fast? It was like that, only there was no way of making it go away.
I probably should have mentioned this, but as you can already tell, my blog is not going to offer The Sexy Gal's Guide to Pregnancy-type of information. But if you've been reading for any amount of time prior to this, you probably already knew that.
I discovered that frequent eating of small meals helped. After I ate, I usually felt better for about 15 minutes, and then the nausea returned. If you wait too long to eat, you feel terrible and the last thing in the world that you want is food. However, if you can convince yourself to eat, you will feel better, or at least I did.
The worst of my nausea was over within three weeks. However, I didn't really feel like myself for several more months. Standing for long periods of time was difficult, and I still felt a general malaise that was difficult to kick. (More about my sleepiness later.)
A side effect of this nausea was a mild case of the blues for which I was unprepared. I think there were a few causes.
First, I had no idea how long the nausea would last; for some women, it's a few days or weeks, and for others, it lasts the entire duration of their pregnancy. I couldn't imagine 9 months of feeling as bad as I did.
Second, I had to hide it as best as I could, as I was not ready to share the happy news with everyone so early. Pretending to feel great when you don't is exhausting.
Finally, my nausea was not something that I could treat, as most drugs are off-limits, and I felt powerless in my sick feeling.
I feel lucky to have had such short-lived nausea.
STUFFY NOSE
The nausea ended, and the congestion began! However, I will take a stuffed-up nose over sickness any day.
The medical cause of this congestion isn't known, but it's fairly common among the preggos. I dealt with it for as long as I could and then convinced B that we ought to get a humidifier. He was amenable, so we hit our local Target in search of relief. There I learned that there are both hot and cool air humidifiers, and the hot humidifiers are best for congestion. Hot won.
A hot humidifier boils the water, so it sounds a little like a hot pot while it's running, but it helped immensely and minimized my usual wintertime dry-weather cough, so it's a keeper. Plus my congestion is much better, though I'm not sure whether I should credit the humidifier or simply the passage of time.
SLEEPINESS
I have always been an enthusiastic and needy sleeper. I used to require a minimum of 8 hours per night to not feel tired during the day, and this need has only increased since I became pregnant. My typical bedtime is now around 8 PM, and I sleep until 5:30 or 6 AM. On weekends, I have been known to go to bed at the same time and sleep even later (and sometimes take a nap, too).
It's possible that this sleepiness is at least partially related to my next symptom:
SLEEPLESSNESS
This symptom comes and goes. When it comes, it usually sticks around for several nights. I can always fall asleep when I first go to bed, but if I wake up in the middle of the night, I stay awake for three or more hours. I'm usually able to fall back to sleep around 5:30 or 6, but if it's a weekday, that's when I have to get up anyway.
I have no idea what causes my sleeplessness, which feels like jet lag. I'm sleepy but unable to sleep.
Last week, several nights of sleeplessness left my defenses down, and I came down with a ferocious cold, which I unfortunately shared with B. I'm mostly over it now, over a week later, but he is still fighting the worst of it.
IRRATIONAL CRYING
I am nothing if not rational...most of the time. But these pregnancy hormones are tricky little buggers. Minor annoyances that I would--if I were able to think rationally all the time--be able to ignore and forget about become major grievances for no reason whatsoever, and the only response that I am able to muster is an immediate emotional breakdown.
I slipped and almost fell down in the lobby at work one rainy day and had to go spend some quality time crying about it in the bathroom. I had to spend similar time in the bathroom at the symphony the other night after they made me throw out my tea. Who makes a pregnant, sick woman throw out her tea??? Jerks. Though in their defense, I suppose they couldn't tell that I was pregnant.
It's best to succumb to the tears once they start coming on, or they stalk my eyes for hours to come. However, giving in has its downside because once the crying starts, it's very difficult to make it stop. I read a sad book a month or so ago (The Friday Night Knitting Club?) and cried after the end for a solid 30 minutes. You can do stuff like that when you're home alone. When your husband is home, he's likely to be scared by such behavior.
Lucky for me, my irrational crying is not an everyday or even everyweek occurrence, so most of the time I do not feel like a weeping, blubbery mess.
ITCHY BELLY
I did not expect this symptom. My belly is itchy practically all the time. I got some "tummy honey" by Bella B; it's supposed to prevent stretch marks (sigh), so I've been applying it liberally, and it helps with the itchiness. But it doesn't make the itch go away completely. I just have to deal with it and try not to scratch too much.
FREQUENT BATHROOM TRIPS
Remember the sleeplessness? The reason I wake up so much in the middle of the night is because I am constantly running to the bathroom. Each night involves a minimum of one and sometimes as many as three trips to el banyo. It's not unusual for me to use the bathroom multiple times within a span of 10 to 15 minutes.
A couple weeks ago at our last ultrasound, the technician told us that the baby's head was resting right on my bladder. That explained a lot. He's getting big enough that I can now feel when he presses down on my bladder. I won't attempt to explain it in detail; I'm sure you can imagine the sensation. It seems to happen the most when I'm in the car.
So there it is, all the bad stuff, or all the bad stuff that has happened to me so far. More tales from the bump to come...
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Cashmere aspirations
Last winter, in the midst of the cold, rain, fog, snow, and other atrocities that January and February bring, I decided that as long as I was going to put up with winter, I might as well start wearing more cashmere.
Cashmere is lightweight, warm, soft, and very expensive. Even the sale prices of 100-percent cashmere sweaters are very high. Not surprisingly, my efforts at developing my cashmere collection were dampened by the high cost of each cashmere piece. It's difficult to justify buying one cashmere sweater when I can buy two or three (or more!) other pieces for the same cost.
By the end of the winter, I had added only one cashmere-y piece to my collection, a black long-sleeved turtleneck sweater that isn't even 100-percent cashmere. Despite its shortcomings, it's a staple piece that I wear throughout the winter, so it was not a bad place to start.
However, I have a long way to go. My goal is not to achieve cashmere mafia status but perhaps a few more cashmere pieces would make winter more tolerable.
A couple weeks ago, I was scanning the sales at one of the online daily boutique stores (this time, ideeli, though I also belong to Gilt, Rue la la, and HauteLook) and came across a boutique of winter essentials. The boutique included several cashmere items--clearly I am not alone in my quest--including a gray duster (like a sweatercoat, but no buttons) that was begging to come home to me.
Ordinarily, gray is not my go-to color when it comes to sweaters, but a cashmere sweater is a basic piece that should last for years and transcend the cuts, colors, and styles of one season's fashion trends. Therefore, I willingly and happily bought it. The free shipping credit I had received earlier in the week from ideeli made the purchase even more worthwhile.
The sweater fit perfectly and is now hanging in my closet, awaiting the arrival of more cashmere friends, whenever they might arrive.
Cashmere is lightweight, warm, soft, and very expensive. Even the sale prices of 100-percent cashmere sweaters are very high. Not surprisingly, my efforts at developing my cashmere collection were dampened by the high cost of each cashmere piece. It's difficult to justify buying one cashmere sweater when I can buy two or three (or more!) other pieces for the same cost.
By the end of the winter, I had added only one cashmere-y piece to my collection, a black long-sleeved turtleneck sweater that isn't even 100-percent cashmere. Despite its shortcomings, it's a staple piece that I wear throughout the winter, so it was not a bad place to start.
However, I have a long way to go. My goal is not to achieve cashmere mafia status but perhaps a few more cashmere pieces would make winter more tolerable.
A couple weeks ago, I was scanning the sales at one of the online daily boutique stores (this time, ideeli, though I also belong to Gilt, Rue la la, and HauteLook) and came across a boutique of winter essentials. The boutique included several cashmere items--clearly I am not alone in my quest--including a gray duster (like a sweatercoat, but no buttons) that was begging to come home to me.
Ordinarily, gray is not my go-to color when it comes to sweaters, but a cashmere sweater is a basic piece that should last for years and transcend the cuts, colors, and styles of one season's fashion trends. Therefore, I willingly and happily bought it. The free shipping credit I had received earlier in the week from ideeli made the purchase even more worthwhile.
The sweater fit perfectly and is now hanging in my closet, awaiting the arrival of more cashmere friends, whenever they might arrive.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Hello, fall
Just now, as I was putting our Love Actually CD into our stereo, I realized that we're getting close to the time when it's ok to play Christmas music.
For the record (har har), the CD features only a couple of Christmas songs, but they feel a little off in May. The rest of the CD is so awesome that I play it all year, but now as the weather turns colder, other people (including my husband) won't think I'm so strange for listening to the occasional Christmas song.
The falling leaves are bringing other changes. Throughout the last week, skeins of Canada geese heading toward warmer climes and fruity drinks with umbrellas have darkened our dusk skies. Some are better than others at observing the regulation V-shaped flying formation, but even the shape-challenged birds noisily announce their presence. I could happily live without those dirty birds and their tendencies to wander into traffic and make annoyances of themselves, but I look forward to their annual cacophonous melody, and not just because their departure heralds fireplace season.
That's right - it has arrived! We have adopted the winter configuration of our living room, with one of our leather chairs placed perilously close to the fireplace. Well, not so perilously, as there was a minor incident last winter involving a pillow falling between the chair and the glass of the fireplace. Technically, there were no flames. However, B seems to think that my insatiable quest for warmth could lead to danger, so I have been instructed to keep myself and my accoutrements a safe distance away from the hot glass.
Just right now, for instance, I am nearly a foot away. Safety first!
Chilly weather also brings an excellent excuse for shopping - Christmas gifts! If I can't shop for myself all the time, the second-best option is shopping for other people. We started our Christmas shopping this week, entirely online so far, as most of my shopping seems to be these days, unless I have a craving for mall food court Indian food with peshawari naan. The stuff we cook at home pales in comparison.
Anyway. Enjoy the fall. Pick an apple, photograph a leaf, and enjoy the beautiful sunsets because rumor has it, snow will be here before we know it.
For the record (har har), the CD features only a couple of Christmas songs, but they feel a little off in May. The rest of the CD is so awesome that I play it all year, but now as the weather turns colder, other people (including my husband) won't think I'm so strange for listening to the occasional Christmas song.
The falling leaves are bringing other changes. Throughout the last week, skeins of Canada geese heading toward warmer climes and fruity drinks with umbrellas have darkened our dusk skies. Some are better than others at observing the regulation V-shaped flying formation, but even the shape-challenged birds noisily announce their presence. I could happily live without those dirty birds and their tendencies to wander into traffic and make annoyances of themselves, but I look forward to their annual cacophonous melody, and not just because their departure heralds fireplace season.
That's right - it has arrived! We have adopted the winter configuration of our living room, with one of our leather chairs placed perilously close to the fireplace. Well, not so perilously, as there was a minor incident last winter involving a pillow falling between the chair and the glass of the fireplace. Technically, there were no flames. However, B seems to think that my insatiable quest for warmth could lead to danger, so I have been instructed to keep myself and my accoutrements a safe distance away from the hot glass.
Just right now, for instance, I am nearly a foot away. Safety first!
Chilly weather also brings an excellent excuse for shopping - Christmas gifts! If I can't shop for myself all the time, the second-best option is shopping for other people. We started our Christmas shopping this week, entirely online so far, as most of my shopping seems to be these days, unless I have a craving for mall food court Indian food with peshawari naan. The stuff we cook at home pales in comparison.
Anyway. Enjoy the fall. Pick an apple, photograph a leaf, and enjoy the beautiful sunsets because rumor has it, snow will be here before we know it.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
The importance of a second opinion
You might remember that in May, I inquired about refinancing from a local mortgage broker, and she offered only bad news - that we didn't qualify for the government mortgage programs and that we'd have to pay PMI if we refinanced. I don't believe I mentioned that she said she'd call me back with more information and never did, but that combined with her not knowing the difference between an area code and a zip code made me wonder if a second opinion would be worth obtaining.
These many months later, I finally got around to finding a second opinion. The local broker had recommended calling the company that holds our mortgage and asking for a better rate; I didn't think we'd have much luck taking that route, but I figured a phone call couldn't hurt.
I called to ask about refinancing, expecting to be told the same story, but the man on the phone was actually very helpful. He was some sort of pre-screener, and he quoted me a rate in the 4s (a whole lot better than what we have now) and said he we wouldn't have to pay PMI since we didn't have to pay it originally. Excellent news!
He asked if I wanted to speak with a loan officer; I said I'd rather wait till B got home, especially since the mortgage is in B's name alone. I made an appointment for someone to call later that evening.
When the phone call arrived, we put the loan guy on speaker phone so we could both chat. And he was even more helpful than the first guy!
He checked a couple of things and told us that we do in fact qualify for the Fannie/Freddie government program as long as we have at least 95 percent equity in our house. We're going to receive a phone call in the next couple days about an appraiser coming over; that meeting will determine how much we'll have to bring to the closing to reach that number. He also confirmed that we do not have to pay PMI.
He offered more great news - the rate that we locked is below 4 - shockingly low! I was happy with the rate that the first guy quoted and didn't think that it could possibly get any lower. But it did.
The best news of all? We're going from a 30-year mortgage to a 15-year mortgage, and our monthly payment is only going up a smidge. Oh, happy day.
One negative is that I'm not really sure of next steps that will happen. When I asked questions of that sort, his answers were typically, "Oh, they'll call you about that." We haven't received any phone calls yet, so I guess we don't have to do anything other than collect the paperwork he requested.
Stay tuned...if I learn any lessons from our refinancing adventure, I'll be sure to share.
These many months later, I finally got around to finding a second opinion. The local broker had recommended calling the company that holds our mortgage and asking for a better rate; I didn't think we'd have much luck taking that route, but I figured a phone call couldn't hurt.
I called to ask about refinancing, expecting to be told the same story, but the man on the phone was actually very helpful. He was some sort of pre-screener, and he quoted me a rate in the 4s (a whole lot better than what we have now) and said he we wouldn't have to pay PMI since we didn't have to pay it originally. Excellent news!
He asked if I wanted to speak with a loan officer; I said I'd rather wait till B got home, especially since the mortgage is in B's name alone. I made an appointment for someone to call later that evening.
When the phone call arrived, we put the loan guy on speaker phone so we could both chat. And he was even more helpful than the first guy!
He checked a couple of things and told us that we do in fact qualify for the Fannie/Freddie government program as long as we have at least 95 percent equity in our house. We're going to receive a phone call in the next couple days about an appraiser coming over; that meeting will determine how much we'll have to bring to the closing to reach that number. He also confirmed that we do not have to pay PMI.
He offered more great news - the rate that we locked is below 4 - shockingly low! I was happy with the rate that the first guy quoted and didn't think that it could possibly get any lower. But it did.
The best news of all? We're going from a 30-year mortgage to a 15-year mortgage, and our monthly payment is only going up a smidge. Oh, happy day.
One negative is that I'm not really sure of next steps that will happen. When I asked questions of that sort, his answers were typically, "Oh, they'll call you about that." We haven't received any phone calls yet, so I guess we don't have to do anything other than collect the paperwork he requested.
Stay tuned...if I learn any lessons from our refinancing adventure, I'll be sure to share.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
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