I am a cereal killer. I can scarf the stuff down like a Hoover gobbles dirt. Which is why I get depressed every time I go down a Canadian grocery store cereal aisle. The selection up here leaves much to be desired. Cocoa Puffs and Cocoa Pebbles? Nope. Just Nesquik which isn't as good and is made by Nestle. Kix? Nope. Can't get that either. Captain Crunch? Well...you can get a TINY box for five-something a pop but don't expect crunch berries. And the Corn Pops are a different shape (but I don't often eat them so I haven't yet sampled them to see if they taste different than the US variety). Granted, I don't often eat junk cereal anyway. But man, when you get a pregnancy craving for something and it simply isn't available it's torture (but only if you're somewhat melodramatic like me).

And don't even get me started on the prices of cereal up here. All I'm going to say is that it's STINKIN' EXPENSIVE!

The one kernel of joy I have found concerning cereal here comes from the amusement provided by the sign in the cereal aisle at one particular store: "Adult Cereal." Um...what? "Adult Cereal?" Really? As in, XXX Cereal? Shouldn't all the boxes have black plastic covers on them? And do I really want "Adult Cereal" for breakfast? And I don't even want to know what kinds of shapes the marshmallows come in!

OK...you're now free to leave snarky comments about my dirty sense of humor.

What I'm Currently Reading (heaven forbid I keep to one book at a time):

Birth: The Surprising History Of How We Are Born by Tina Cassidy
So far I like it. It's fascinating! If more textbooks were written like this I think I might have actually enjoyed my classes more often.

Mothering The Mother: How a Doula Can Help You Have a Shorter, Easier, and Healthier Birth by Klaus, Kennell, and Klaus
I love the pictures that all seem to be from the 70's/80's/maybe early 90's...but hey, the content is interesting.

What I'm Looking Forward to Reading (as soon as I get my hands on copies):
(I know Loree (my doula) has at least one of my "need-to-reads" in her personal lending library. Hopefully she has the rest because the library does not have most of them.)

Birthing From Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation by England and Horowitz

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin
Interesting tidbit: my doula actually trained at Ina May's center in Tennessee! ETA: Read and LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth by Goer and Wheeler

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding: Seventh Revised Edition by La Leche League International I started reading this while I was still working at Good Earth in Provo (we cashiers were allowed to read when we weren't otherwise occupied). But then we moved so I didn't get to finish it. The cover features a really sweet picture of a nursing baby. One of my male co-workers asked what I was reading so I showed him the book. You could almost hear his embarrassment when he saw the cover. It was kind of funny but it was also sad. Why? This (and this) is why.

What I Have Already Read or Purchased and Partially Read (some books are more for reference rather than sitting down and plowing through)

The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two by Sears, Sears, Sears, and Sears
If I was filthy rich I'd buy a copy for every expectant mom.

The Breast Feeding Book: Everything You Need to Know About Nursing Your Child from Birth Through Weaning by Sears and Sears
Man! The things you learn in this book are amazing! You really gain an apprectiation for your body (I make milk, what's your superpower?)!

Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care by Jennifer Block
LOVED this book! Really, REALLY loved this book! It's definitely an eye-opener!

Johnson's Mother and Baby by Cooper, Moorhead, Holland, Godridge, and Griffey
Not bad, not bad at all. It's certainly better than a lot (I'm talking about YOU What to Expect When You're Expecting). And it has some really beautiful pictures of some really beautiful babies. But I'd recommend saving your cash and buying the Sear's Baby Book instead.

Speaking of books...I visited one of my favorite places last night: THE LIBRARY! You'd think a bibliophile like me would have checked out the library in town the second we arrived. But somehow I just hadn't gotten around to it. I must say I'm very pleased. And me saying I'm pleased says a lot considering the libraries I'm used to (nationally recognized libraries in Centerville, and the Provo Library and Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) at BYU which is one of the best college libraries in the US). While the Medicine Hat library may not have the sheer size of the HBLL, the old beauty of the Provo library, nor the extensive movie collection of the Centerville libraries it definitely deserves a lot of love!

A library card runs you $5 a year. I'm not used to giving the library money for anything other than my late fees (which I accrue more often than I'd care to disclose and in amounts that probably function as a larger revenue source than taxes). But I can't complain. $5 is nothing considering the services provided (which I will discuss hereafter) and is still probably going to be less than my yearly late fees.

In addition to the normal library perks (such as a large collection of books which one may borrow) they have free children's programs (which isn't uncommon I suppose) including one for babies who are a mere 4 months old. They also have movies on Thursdays and Saturdays. Now...Provo had a movie night. Adam and I went once. We stayed for about 5-10 minutes. Why? Because I'd rather watch a movie on a tiny little screen in my own home than sit on uncomfortable metal chairs surrounded by kids whose parents don't even attempt to quiet them while straining to see the image projected on a wall in a room that is too brightly lit to be using a projector in the first place and with speakers that are mostly useless. Last night was one of the Medicine Hat Library's movie nights. We stayed for the whole movie. Why? Because they had an actual screen with actual movie theater seating. We will most certainly be going back (free date night!). The library also has workshops and reading programs and is a nice-looking place with really helpful staff. They also have a paperback exchange (bring in a paperback you don't want anymore and take one home to keep). So here's an A+ for the Medicine Hat Library. Oh, and this is the same place with the giant chess board. Still haven't managed to get pictures of the pieces though (they were putting them away for the night by the time we got there).

As for the movie we saw...no A+ there. We watched The Golden Compass. Now I had heard all kinds of things about this movie (anti-God, anti-religion, blah blah blah). But I'm a thinking adult and I'd rather decide these things for myself than have my opinion dictated to me by the hysterical masses (I tend to roll my eyes at any dire warnings received via e-mail forwards). Had it been rated R I certainly would have passed. But seeing as it was a children's movie I was willing to give it a shot (plus it just seemed interesting).

Now, I will say that after we got home I did a little digging. Turns out the books upon which the movie is based are quite anti-religious. The author happily admits his personal opinions on such things. But the movie was so convuluted that it's hard to say what, if any, theme it was trying to portray. Knowing the controversy over the film and being a more astute film watcher than most (my film major husband is training me well) even I had a hard time picking up on any sinister or even merely snarky jabs at religion. Maybe some things could be conveyed as somewhat anti-Catholic...but even that's a stretch.

When it comes right down to it my biggest complaint about the movie is that is simply wasn't very good. The visuals and design were great (loved the wardrobe and the architecture of the world in which the story takes place). But it was obvious that the makers of this movie had tried to cram far too much book into one movie. When adapting a book you either have to sacrifice enough material that the story won't confuse your audience (like dropping Peeves from the Harry Potter movies) or you have to be like Peter Jackson and make some seriously long films (Lord of the Rings). You can't simply try to include it all only to end up barely touching on story lines and barely introducing characters and then expect your audience to know what's going on and to care about the players. So I'm going to reccomend skipping this movie, but only because there are so many better movies to spend your time on.

Now, am I going to read the books? Probably not. I will admit that I'm curious to see just how strong the athiest overtones are, but not curious enough to bump the books to the top of my reading list (which includes far more than the birth and baby related books mentioned above). But who knows. Maybe some day my curiosity will get the better of me. Never say never, right?

I must say I find the tenants of athiesm hard to relate too. Agnosticism I totally get. But seeing as it's pretty impossible to "prove" the non-exsistence of God just as much as it is to prove the existence of God it would seem to me that athiesm requires just as much faith as any religion does. The main difference between the two being that one creates an awfully lonely universe. Of course, I will concede that my opinion is obviously tainted by the fact that as a Christian I most certainly do believe in God.

The other thing I find interesting is that someone would take the time to write an entire series of children's books "about killing God" that are meant to "undermine the basis of Christian belief" (author's words, not mine). For one thing I think young children aren't exactly the best audience for such an argument. One wonders if such themes wouldn't be totally lost on such readership. After all, as a child I totally missed the Christian allergory in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardobe by C.S. Lewis (and if you haven't yet read the Narnia series believe me, the Christian themes are hardly what you'd call subtle). Yet, I suppose, as Adam pointed out, that the aim may be to subconsciously preach your message to a young mind.

My other problem is this: it just seems rude. I mean, really, am I the only one who thinks it's awfully negative to set out to undermine some-one else's beliefs just because one doesn't hold the same beliefs? I don't believe in Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Islam, etc. but I sincerely appreciate just about every religion. You know why? Because I appreciate people who are spiritual, and earnestly trying to do good in the world (that doesn't mean I don't have a total and utter dislike for hypocrites who claim religiousity as the impetus for wrong-doing). My World Religions class was one of my absolute favorites. And I'm pretty much a "You're fine. I'm fine. Let's Hug" kind of person.

It's one thing to write books arguing FOR your views (a' la C.S. Lewis). It's an entirely different matter to write books meant to tear down that which so many people hold dear. It's not even that the author is painting the religious as mistaken, or foolish but that they (and religion itself/God) are painted as the evil villain. And when that's the tactic you resort to I have to wonder if you're either just very bitter about something or have an argument too weak to stand on its own.

And finally, some good news! We have a working phone! Yup, that's right, incoming calls and outgoing calls are now possible. However...we had to be assigned a new number to fix the problem. My Facebook friends can find that number here. It is actually a Calgary number. So apologize to anyone who doesn't have unlimited long distance. You're always welcome to drop me a line via e-mail or Facebook and request that I call you. And if you need to get in touch right away you can call and ask me to call right back.

I am not a morning person. I have never been a morning person. When I'd register for classes at BYU I'd have two criteria:

1. The professor had no horrible, terrible, awful reviews on ratemyprofessors.com
2. The class was at 11 or later.

OK, so admittedly I wasn't so rigid that I wouldn't take an earlier class if it was all I could get. But really, I am not a morning person. So imagine my surprise this morning when I not only got up with Adam (who gets up at six to be to work by seven) but stayed up after he left. And imagine my greater surprise when I enjoyed it! I made myself a hot cup of "yummy" (Postum, hot cocoa, and hazelnut creamer), reclined in my comfy glider, and surfed the internet a bit. It was great. I also washed the crock pot we borrowed last night so I can make my elk roast the easy way.

Another thing I find I like about the morning is that I get to see the rooster on my home page. You're probably thinking "huh?" right about now. See, my home page is what loads when I start Firefox. And on this page I have a little scene that changes depending on what time of day it is. It features a cute little fox and his other animal friends. Some of my favorite scenes are at night (like the fireflies). But one of my favorites (that I only see if I actually get up in the morning) is the little rooster. He's cute. And he makes me happy!

However, the sleepiness has caught up with me (had trouble falling asleep again last night, and was also woken by a purring furry thing (of the Lily variety) on several occasions). So after I finish this post my plan is to start the roast, walk over to a neighbor's to borrow their phone (so I can call the missionaries and let them know that yes, we still plan on feeding them), and head back to bed for some serious napping.

I interrupt this post for a quick complaint: I HATE THAT MSG IS IN ALMOST EVERY STINKIN' THING FROM THE GROCERY STORE! I'm not even sure why Canada and the US allow that trash in our food to begin with. But I'm finding more and more that when I check the ingredient lists there it is, lurking. And does the government require that it be clearly labelled as what it is? No. No, they do not. Just because the ingredients don't say "monosodium glutamate" does not mean your food item is MSG free. See here and here to know what I'm talking about. Just this morning I discovered it's in my veggie builloin cubes. I've also seen it in cheese nips, just about every canned soup known to man, and salad dressing for goodness sake! So keep your eyes open.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled post.

My home-made tortillas were a big hit with Adam last night. I made over a dozen of them but between our chicken salad wraps last night, Adam taking left-overs for wraps in his lunch, and me having them slathered with butter and sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar they're all gone. I'm happy as a clam about how much Adam liked them. He may never want store-bought again. And he didn't even get to try them while they were still warm! Some day I'll have to try making corn tortillas (but right now we have no corn meal).

And now I have to get going or my roast won't be done in time for dinner!

I made tortillas from scratch today. They're kind of ugly (not very good circles). But they taste good and smell great! And they're pretty dang easy to make! I didn't have a rolling pin but I improvised (used my water bottle). They turned out pretty good for a first time attempt if I do say so myself. I couldn't resist eating some of the dough before I cooked them (sprinkled with cinnamon sugar). It was like when I was a little girl and my mom made pie crust; she'd always let me have a little of the raw dough. Mmmmmmm! And I also had to sample one of the tortillas while it was warm and fresh off the griddle. I buttered it and sprinkled it with cinnamon sugar. Yummy!

So tonight we'll have chicken salad (made with the leftovers from yesterday's roast chicken). Tomorrow we're planning on having the ward missionaries over and serving them an elk roast. But then Thursday we plan on using more chicken leftovers and having curry (yum!). I don't know what we'd be having if we hadn't gotten a freezer full of food; beans, rice, and soup I guess.

I finally made some iced red raspberry leaf tea a while back. It's good. But mixed with a little ginger-ale it's divine!!! Of course, I also like it hot. I actually like it quite a lot with milk. It's nice to have the warm milk right before bed (which is when I usually have my tea). Of course "they" say the ol' "warm milk to get to sleep" trick is just psychological. But whatever, it's relaxing and it tastes good.

I finally made that cake I mentioned (the one my grandmother sent me the recipe for). Unfortunately Adam and I were not fans. The texture was good (really moist) but the flavor was definitely not the best. And the frosting! We didn't like the taste OR the texture of the frosting. It really bummed me out. It was the first time I had made cake from scratch (or frosting for that matter). Usually I go the boxed mix and can of frosting route. Plus it somehow feels sad that I don't like what my grandma so clearly enjoys (she raved and raved about this cake). I guess I'm somewhat particular about my chocolate cakes (they need to be dark, rich, moist and spongy).

All this food talk is making me hungry. I'm going to go feed "us."

Another belly picture! Actually it's well past time for another (about 5 weeks since the last one). So without further ado here I am at 22 weeks 4 days.
I don't feel like I look much bigger. But I feel bigger! My belly feels tighter, like it's barely containing all the baby and organs and stuff in there. And my bladder is definitely feeling a change lately. I'm constantly running upstairs to use the bathroom. But that's good. Exercise is good for ya! And our little Lovey is getting stronger too! Some of her kicks are getting almost uncomfortable. But I still love it whenever she wiggles. I don't think I could ever complain about that particular aspect of pregnancy. Of course, I try not to whine about things at all. I've pretty much had the perfect pregnancy (no morning sickness at all)! Besides, what are a few minor discomforts compared to the joy of having a little babe? Man, can you believe I'm going to be a mama in about 4 months?

So, our phone situation has gotten worse rather than better. We are currently unable to make outgoing calls. Which is making getting a hold of customer service really stinkin' difficult. It's stressing me out to no end. I just want my phone to work properly! Is that so much to ask? If this weren't the only VOIP service in our price range I'd be moving on to a different company by now. But I'm making the best of what I've got.

We dined with another family from our ward tonight. Good meal! And good fun (we played Killer Bunnies)! And in addition to milk shakes we had waffle cookies/brownies. Yum! And we were sent home with a huge bag full of food for our freezer (elk steaks, elk roast, deer roast, deer sausage, banana bread, etc.). It's a big blessing because our food budget for the rest of August is all but gone. This stuff is not only going to get us through the next week but well, WELL into September! And Adam loves elk. Plus I feel a lot better eating game than eating farmed meat (yes...I'm "vegetarian" and eat meat...I'm human and weak, accept it and move on). After all, deer and elk lived a nice life in the wild right up until their death unlike factory farm animals. We're having the ward missionaries over for dinner on Wednesday. I felt bad knowing I was going to have to serve them just spaghetti or pancakes or something. But now I can serve them a roast instead!

The most exciting thing that happened this past week was interviewing and hiring my doula! I liked her immediately. And she's got a LOT of experience. She's already been a huge help (clueing me into things I could have never known on my own, like which doctors are the best). There are plenty of reasons to hire a doula. In addition to the normal services a doula provides our doula will be taking pictures for us, and will provide a written account of my labor and delivery to put in our baby book. Plus she'll be "on call" for me two weeks post-partum to help with breastfeeding or whatever. I really wanted a midwife and homebirth for this baby. But once we moved to Medicine Hat that just wasn't an option. I was really down about that for a long time. But now I'm feeling excited and happy again. Knowing I've got her on my support team has made me do a complete 180 in how I think about this birth. I'm actually looking forward to the experience now. I know it will be hard. I know it will be tiring. I know it will be unlike anything I've ever experienced. But I'm not afraid anymore. Plus she's just super nice. She's working with us on the cost and she's easy to talk to. She's got this vibe that's both professional and laid back at the same time. You can see her website here.

I have another prenatal appointment this week. My doula told me that the doc I'm seeing this time is one of the best ones at the clinic so I'm hoping this visit goes better than the rest have. I may not get to choose who delivers my baby but I can make appointments with whomever I'd like. So if I like this doc I'll keep seeing her. I'm also planning on brining a written list of questions along because I'm tired of feeling like I just pop in, give them my weight and pee and head out again. And this time I'm going to ask for a copy of my chart. Seeing as they never tell me anything (like what all they screened my blood for and what the results were, or if I'm gaining too much or too little weight) I'm just going to have to demand that knowledge. I guess I'm just usually too timid to speak up. But my doula encouraged me to go ahead and ask for what I want. She instills a lot of confidence.

I should have a picture to post of our family room this week (and hopefully I'll finish setting up the kitchen too). The family room was clean on Tuesday. But it's been very lived in since then and needs a little tidying.

Cats are funny creatures. At least, our two cats are. Sometimes they seem to meow and meow for no particular reason. You try to love on them and they don't seem interested. But they keep meowing like they want attention. After a bit you start to tune them out because nothing you do seems to satisfy them. It happens every so often. Then there are other times when you realize after 5 minutes of this strange behavior that you're an idiot and they want you to open the basement door so they can get to their food, water, and litter box. Of course...this is all hypothetical. I've certainly never done anything like that...

That's all folks.