Oliviah Unleashed

Oliviah Unleashed

This is amazing stuff.

I love fractals and the first one is breathtaking!

Thanks to Tre`e for the site

Did you know?

That when a nurse takes blood from your fingertip it hurts more then when they take it from your arm??

And she had the nerve to say it's a little prick. Sheesh, it burned for a sec! ok so I was a baby about it. And the nurse laughingly told me so. I had fun at my Doctor's appointment today.

I met the second of three doctors in this little practice. This one was as cool as the first. He never talked down to me and was fun to be around.

And I got to hear the baby's heartbeat. It's very strong :)
I have an ultrasound scheduled for the 6th of August. And I got instructions for preparation.

"ALL Patients must drink 4 eight ounce glasses of water one hour prior to the test time. You may not use the bathroom once you start drinking. You may eat anything you desire. Please be sure to drink water only - not juice or soda."

4 eight ounce glasses in an hour?? And not go to the bathroom??? yikes? I already feel like a balloon!

can't wait for my Saturday appointment :)

Looking back

I was going through some of my documents and found a few poems I wrote.

This one I have probably shared before, somewhere -
I recall all of the memories of the day that inspired it down to the smells around me, though cannot remember the date.

Bitter

Like bile coming up burning your throat
comes the realization that you have been deceived.

A perspective held, shattered
A truth found, glaring


Laughter, is what you finally hear
Because your ears have been forced open.
derision is what you mistook as friendship and fondness.

Easy pickings
naivete personified
Bald face lies revealed

The rose colored hue ripped away
To show the stark black and white
For what it truly is.

I have a 12 year old

And you know what?? It's like having an 11 year old, but one who is just a little taller.

I think my son grew about an inch this week. Really. Just in time for his birthday.

What did my son get for his birthday?

1. The Audio version of the new Harry Potter
2. The New Harry Potter book
3. Cookies, cupcakes and juice at his camp for his group - before lunch
4. Any 2 movies he wanted to see in the movie theater the Saturday after his birthday
5. Choice of any restaurant that he wanted to eat at.

Sounds a little chincy to some, but my son enjoyed it. Well that is until he ate all of my boxed up food from the restaurant and I treated to beat him with in an inch of his life. Yes I am a wee bit hormonal and no I didn't touch him.

He also got a call from his grandparents, whom we won't be able to see this year, do to the fact that I am broke and I am visiting South Dakota with him in September (Doctor's permission of course)

My son now is 5'4 , 127 lbs wears a 91/2 men's shoe and is 12.

He likes to cuddle while watching TV, and acting out his favorite scenes to EVERY movie. A Civil War buff in his own mind. My little boy isn't so little anymore. He's more like a little man, which a child's mind.

So here's to you son. 12 years old with so much ahead of you. By the new year, you'll get to be the active big brother that you've been wanting to be since I said I was having a baby.

Love you so much Kyle

Love Mom.

Turning out to be on of those days

Have you ever had a day where you are supposed to do 25 million things and can't seem to do any?

This is definately one of those. Have been up since 8 am due to an ex calling me to chew the fat.

I haven't really gotten anything accomplished.
This is the first time in a week and a half that I have turned on my computer at home.

that's a new one for me...

it's about 3 pm ....let's see wha I can do

So I had a little scare

When I was pregnant with my now 11 yr old son, I had toxemia. In my 6th month of pregnancy, I was put on bedrest due to the swelling in my hands and feet. One night it was so bad that I actually saw my hand swell as I was talking on the phone.

Scary time for me, I was in hospital for 4 days before I was induced.

Having that little history lesson, it was no wonder that when my feet started to swell last weekend...I tried not to panic.

When my hand started to swell up a bit, it became harder not to panic. So I did what anyone would do...Called my Doctor to say I was worried. He told me that due to the heat some swelling is normal. And that if my symptoms got any worse, to head to the emergency room.

I tried to rest but my head was also hurting. Went to the grocery store, because my son eats non stop all day. At the store, the swelling got a bit worse and then I started needle like pains in my lower abdomen.

I took this as feeling worse and had my mom take me to the emergency room.

After waiting 40 minutes to get evaluated, I was called in to the nurse's office and had my blood pressure taken, which was very good. Not too high at all. Good news there at least.

Waited another hour to see a doctor, who ordered blood work.

5 vials of blood taken - 5 !

All that - 4 hours and 30 minutes later - and a call to my doctor. I was told everything was normal and to reduce my sodium intake.

Boy did I feel foolish.

But good news, they did a quick sonogram and I got to see the baby. And more importantly, we saw the heartbeating, which they said is a very a good sign.

so to sum this up, my fatigue is normal, the swelling is normal - need less sodium, and the sharp pains are normal due to baby growth.

In other news - the father's parents come home from overseas tomorrow. And he gets to tell them they will be grandparents again. We shall see how that goes.

So much on my mind

I have found it very hard to get back into the "swing of things" when I come back from the UK. Normally it's just Jet lag that goes away in a few days. This time it's different, it's more... It's harder.

Getting a good night's rest is harder because I slept horribly while in the UK; being tired all day and wanting to lay down is a bit disconcerting as well. Trying to be in the right frame of mind at work to sit and do work, especially when things aren't being done right in my absence.

I could blame it on the pregnancy, but it's more then that. It's everything that's gone with it. Telling my family , getting the I'm disappointed at your irresponsibility (yes I was irresponsible but it's done now! Can we PLEASE move past that!!!) You are setting yourself up for heartache, you don't know what you are doing ...And so on and so on. And that's just my side of the family.

The father hasn't told his parents....The return from out of the country in two weeks. And NOW the father tells me that his parents are very religious and very conservative. That they believe in the sanctity of marriage and don't believe in divorce. That no child should be born out of wedlock, that they don't want to be shamed by their neighbors and family. Why does this line of talk frighten me?
Also I have been told that he would not be opposed to me moving to the UK. I had thought it was a possibility but I am not sure how well that would work with my son. Another thing to think about.

And speaking of the little one (yes I know I wasn't), besides making me tired the little one is fine, everything is normal so far, and I can't wait for the big doctor's appointment on the 28th. Bloodwork and ultrasound will be done then.

My son starts camp today. Thank goodness :)

I guess that sums it up.

oh BTW - anyone have tips on how to raise an 11 year old boy??? I'm getting lost

Hilton at Gatwick International Airport

There are many hotels in the Crawley West Sussex area that cater to business travelers. Having an international airport in the area is a prime reason.

Usually I have no issues with where my company puts me up when it comes to hotel accommodations. I usually have a pleasant trip with no major problems.

Usually.

My stay at the Hilton started off just like any other business stay. I check in, get my room key, give my credit card for incidentals, order a paper for early morning reading, and inquire about the breakfast policy. After being told how to get to my room and declining help with my bags from the concierge, I made my way to my room.

The first thing I noticed about the room was the temperature, the room was freezing.
I adjusted the temperature so the I could not see my breath anymore. The next thing I noticed about the room was that it was a typical room. Two twin beds, a TV, a desk and chair with a telephone, a little table with a chair and a night stand between the beds that held another telephone.

It was an ok room.

The first night was fine, even with the choice of only 6 English speaking channels. One which was CNN.

Coming in from work the second day, I decided to make a call to my friend in Luton, figuring if I was there then I could always hop a train so we could have a good sit down to discuss things. This of course did not happen. My friend attempted to call me 4 times but could not get out of the menu to connect with my room. This is why I called him. We talked for approximately 19 minutes and I hung up the phone.

That morning I had found the the shower head leaked and that the air conditioner always gets turned to the coldest settings....My general good will toward the hotel was slowly being eroded.

When I went out for dinner with colleagues and stayed out until about 10:30 pm, I came back to find I was locked out of my room. And yes I did have a key. I went down to reception and they recut the key. I thought cool, I can go to sleep. No such luck, the key still didn't work. Proceeded to go down to reception again and have the key recut. Again it was a no go. Third trip down, the woman recut my key and had one of the concierge staff come up with me, and HE tried the key. STILL no go. So he let me in with a master key and said they would have someone look at the door in the morning. And he left with my key. I did ask how I was to get into the room, and he informed me to go to reception to get a new key after work.

I was not having fun anymore.

I had spoken to the concierge desk one of the days to complain about the temperature in my room, they called housekeeping and said that the temperature would not be adjusted from what I placed it at to be comfortable...And it always was. That was very annoying. I do not like freezing cold rooms.

On a hunch, when I went to reception to see if I could be let back in my room, I asked for a current bill. I was shocked to find that I owed GBP68.00!! Seems the four phone calls I made were VERY expensive from the hotel room. The strangest thing was, that the calls out of the country cost less then the calls I made to my friend's cell phone. I asked the manager to explain why this happened and she said it was an operator call. I didn't call an operator to dial the phone, it was direct dial. Then she said the rates are different to a cell phone then to a landline and the rates are clearly stated on each phone. I told her there was no such rate card in my room and I was not aware of the outrageous charges that were billed.
She tried to say it was standard in the industry, but I pointed out that I stayed in a local hotel and when calling I never incurred these charges. She said I was lucky.

She offered me a GBP10 as compensation as a credit only. I was insulted and extremely annoyed and I had had about enough of this hotel, but still had a night to go.

I can honestly say that the concierge servers were great, the reception people were borderline, and the manager was annoyingly dismissive to put it mildly. All in all, I will put in a recommendation that my company not pay the ridiculous prices at a hotel that claims to be 4 stars but acts like a 2 star chain.

Just got in from the UK

And my body seriously doesn't know what time it is.

Delayed flights and traffic do not help with a tired body I must say.

Once I am more awake, I will be able to go into more detail about the trip, but as for now, I am going to sleep for a bit.


Oh yeah, one thing before i go.

All who are venturing to the Live 8 concert in Philly on the 2nd of July, be safe and have fun :)