Yet another update...

Wow! I can't believe I haven't logged in since October 2002! About time...

Well, I am still pregnant, now in my 28th week. The picture is from 21 weeks, 4 days. It is only 12 weeks until we get to meet our daughter (yes, it is a SHE!!!).

I have to say I have had a wonderful pregnancy so far, considering all my medical problems. I just feel great (knock on wood). I have had some of the usual stuff like morning sickness and heartburn, but other than that my only problem has been some (bad) sciatic nerve pain).

So we are just getting ready for our new addition I guess! Take care!

List

1. Your name spelled backward.
*****

2. Where were your parents born?
Sweden.

3. What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer?
Virus protection update for sure. I update it every day due to the nature of my work, receiving files every day...

4. What's your favorite restaurant?
Hmm... It depends. I think "Rod n' Reel Pier". It is this old beat up shack situated in the Mexican Gulf off of Anna Maria Island in FLorida. It was built in the 1930s and LOOK like it. They have the best view and the greatest grilled shrimp.

5. Last time you swam in a pool?
Probably over a year ago. And we have two very nice pools on the property and nice weather year round... I used to do a lot of swimming when I was a kid, even competed. I guess I am all swimmed out or something :-)

6. Have you ever been in a school play?
Lots. We used to do big productions every year up to grade 6, Then I guess we were "too cool". I think it was due to our great teacher not being our teacher anymore. We wrote and acted all or own maerial. So much fun!

7. How many kids do you want?
One. (He or she is due May 20, 2003).

8. Type of music you dislike most?
Stuff that makes your head hurt or you can't even hear what they are singing. I don't like stressfull stuff.

9. Are you registered to vote?
I am in Sweden. But you don't have to register to vote there, you automatically get the right when you turn 18.

10. Do you have cable?
Yes, we have about 100 channels or so. I also have broadband cable modem.

11. Have you ever ridden on a moped?
No. But on a motorcycle (as a passenger).

12. Ever prank call anybody?
Ha! That was one of our favourit past times when I was a kid! We had soo much fun! I guess that wouldn't be uch a good idea nowadays with everyone having a caller ID...

13. Ever get a parking ticket?
No. No tickets EVER for anything! I haven't even got pulled over... (Kock on wood).

14. Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving?
I used to love to try to scare myself all the time. I have kind of lost that daredevil maniac streak now. But I still have "battle scars" from my tomboy days when I climbed roof tops and such :-)

15. Furthest place you ever traveled.
Well, I am from Sweden. I have been in many European places such as Denmark, Amsterdam, London and Paris, but the furthes would be to the US.

16. Do you have a garden?
I have an herb garden (no, not that kind of "herbs") and some tropical plants on our balcony.

17. What's your favorite comic strip?
None.

8. Do you really know all the words to your national anthem?
Yes.

9. Bath or shower? Morning or night?
I shower usually twice a day since it is so hot and sweaty here.

10. Best movie you've seen in the past month?
past month? Haven't really since any good once lately.

21. Favorite pizza topping?
Ham and pineapple.

22. Chips or popcorn?
Depends on my mood. Don't eat either very often.

23. What color lipstick do you usually wear?
Never really wear much lipstick, more into sheer lipgloss or lip balm. My favourit colors are pinkish brown with a bit of shimmer.

24. Have you ever smoked peanut shells?
Huh?

25. Have you ever been in a beauty pageant?
No.

26. Orange Juice or Apple?
Depends on my mood. We always have OJ at home (we DO live in Tropicana's headquarter town), but I like both.

27. Who was the last person you went out to dinner with and where did you dine?
My husband and I went out to this Italian place called "Good Fellas". We had shrimp pasta.

28. Favorite type chocolate bar?
Swedish Maraboue Helnöt.

29. When was the last time you voted at the polls?
Last time there was an election and I lived in Sweden. (1994? 1995??)

30. Last time you ate a home-grown tomato?
Beginning of summer I had some grape tomatoes. The "harvest" was not very plentiful this year :-(

31. Have you ever won a trophy?
In school and at camp as a kid.

32. Are you a good cook?
Yes, very! ;-)

33. Do you know how to pump your own gas?
Well, of course!!!

34. Ever order an article from an infomercial?
No.

35. Sprite or 7-up?
Either one as long as it is Diet. Did you know that Pepsi Cola (who makes 7-up) is thinking of discontinue it??? A good friend work at Tropicana, which is owned by Pepsi. They got a memo about it. Can't imagining 7-up not being around. When I was a kid I though the 7 was a Z, and I called it ZUP.. :-)

36. Have you ever had to wear a uniform to work?
Yes, I worked at a Swedish cruise line, and we had to wear navy skirts and white shirts.

37. Last thing you bought at a pharmacy?
Thyroid medication.

38. Ever throw up in public?
Last time was probably the years after high school when we had partied too much. I guess that is why I really don't drink alcohol anymore, I had too much then!

39. Would you prefer being a millionaire or find true love?
I have found my true love, but I still feel kind of poor money wise... But I would rather be poor than without him.

40. Do you believe in love at first sight?
Maybe lust at first sight??! Love needs time to develop I think. You can probably get a vibe at first sight, and get a feeling if it might be something more...

41. Ever call a 1-900 number?
My friend convinced me to call this pschycic in 1996 (before MS Cleo). Hers told her stuff that was really cool, mine just went on talking about himself and that we paid US$ 25 for!

42. Can exes be friends?
I am still friends with an ex, but we only keep in contact sporadically over e-mail. I am not UNFRIENDLy with any ex, (not that I have had many!).

43. Who was the last person you visited in a hospital?
I am happy to say I don't know. I am usually the one being visited...

44. Did you have a lot of hair when you were a baby?
I look somewhat in between from what I can see on my baby pictures.

45. What message is on your answering machine?
"Hello, you have reached *** and ***** at XXX-XXXX. To leave a message for *****, press 1. For ***, press 2. Thanks and have a great day!"

46. What's your all time favorite Saturday Night Live Character?
No one in particular.

47. What was the name of your first pet?
We had so many pets when I grew up, ad none were my own. My first cat I had after I move dout on my own was a black cat bamed Bryan.

48. What is in your purse?
Wallet, lip gloss, lip stick, advil, cell phone, pens, hairbands, hair brush, lotion.

49. Favorite thing to do before bedtime?
Snuggle with my husband and the dogs.

50. What is one thing you are grateful for today?
That I have a wonderful husband and that I am my own boss in a meaningful career.

Too hot!

I am soo tired of this hot weather! It is freaking October! Please give us some nice, cool and crisp weather!

It is just such a drag having summer last for so long. That is the only downfall about Florida. Every "spring" I am looking forward to the hot weather, but it gets old pretty quick... I just long for fall and maybe even some snow?! (Oh, maybe not snow, but a few really cold days would be nice...)

I am now in my 11th week of pregnancy. I am still keeping my fingers crossed everything will be okay. I had my first ultrasound on October 8th, and that was soo cool! My husband and I got to see the baby and its heart was beating strong at 165 BPM. It measured perfectly in size. Since I am going to a high risk pregnancy doctor, a perinatologist, I will have an ultrasound EVERY time I go there! That is really cool! Normally one would get maybe 2 or so. And I will go at least once a month, so that will be many pictures for the photo album... They give you a whole bunch of pictures each time.

My next appontment will be on November 5th, and I will be 12 weeks then.

Otherwise things are just as normal. I have been doing A LOt of work this month. It might be due to an ad campaign I am running on the Internet. It have given me an extra 660 hits to my web site in just 20 days, and I have already sent out three times as many invoices to customers than usual. I hope it stay slike that...

Talk to you soon!

Great test results!

Well, here things are going on as usual. I have been working on a project for the CDC and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Quite interesting stuff!

The pregnancy is coming along fine it seems, but I am still causally optimistic. I sure don't want to go through having another miscarriage, so I am just a bit scared this time around.

I had a HCG test last week, and the result was 41,688 at 6 weeks and 2 days. The normal range is 5,000 - 56,000, so that was a really good result! I am now in my 7 th week. I will see my OB on Thursday, and hopefully I will be referred to the high risk OB then. I feel much better if I have the high risk OB due to all my medical problems. Though I am doing great right now there is a risk of complications down the road. So I rather be in really competent hands :-)

I will hopefully have an ultra sound soon as well. Then we should be able to see the baby's heart beat!

Right now I wish I could have some crisp fall weather here. It is sooo hot still, though today we at least have a smidgen of rain which feels so refreshing!

Our trip to Washington D.C. had to be tossed in the can since my husband has too much work. And I will be going to Atlanta by myself. I decided to only stay for one night there.

We are planning on doing something trip wise later on this fall or winter, we both feel we need to get away for a while. Maybe we will go down to Miami's South Beach for some fun, we will see.

Take care!

Update

Wow... I just realized I haven't logged in for quite some time... The thing is, we had to do a fresh install of the whole computer, so I just forgot all about this... Well, a lot of water has passed under the bridge since last time. Were did I end? Hmm, we had just moved into our new (still wonderfully large) place, and I had just discovered I was pregnant!

So I should be about 15 weeks pregnant now, right?? NOT! Unfortunately I had a miscarriage in my 6th week. It was awful to go through. Miscarriages are quite common in the first 12 weeks, but that doesn't make it much more fun, does it?

It took a while to get over. You are suppouse to wait a certain amount of time before you try again. I am happy to say that I am now pregnant again, currently in my 5th week (I will be exactly 5 weeks on the 18th). So how far is that, you might ask? I normal pregnancy is 40 weeks.

We are not planning on telling our friends and family about it until we send out our Christmas cards. It is suppousedly a much lesser chance of something going wrong after you hit the 12 week (3 months) mark. I have only told one friend and an aunt, who has to know since she will be coming over from Sweden to stay with us for 4 - 6 weeks and help out. It is just not much fun having to tell everyone that there is not going to be a baby after all...

So keep your fingers crossed, I know I will be sceptical until I ctually see the darned baby come out :-)

It is so hot here in Florida, I wish we would be like Sweden and go towards fall now. But fat chance of that! Today it has been around 90 F, and I feel like melting. However, we are going to Washington DC on October 25th. I am looking forward to experiencing fall then. I can't belive I haven't experienced fall since 1995! Oh boy am I ever looking forward to some nice looking leafs and some crisp air...

A week after that I am going up to Atlanta for a business trip, that should be nice too (though not as cold as DC).

Talk to you soon.

New apartment

Got a few minutes, so I figured I would tell you a bit more about our new place. They not only painted the whole place, they also replaced the flooring in the kitchen and both bathrooms. We also got a brand new fridge/freezer, and they changed the fronts on the dishwasher and the stove in matching color (cream white). We also got a new range top in the same color. It looks really fresh! We haven't yet got used to all the extra space, it sure is nice! Especially now when we are having an extra addition in the family... :-)

HUGE NEWS! I AM PREGNANT!!!

Wow... A lot have happend since last week... On Saturday we started to move, and we are now settled in at our new place, even though we are still not done putting away stuff. The new place is great!

Now, the bigger news are that on Friday I found out that I am finally PREGNANT!!! I can't believe it! I had my first doctor's visit today, and it was very excited. The due date will be around March 6 - 8 2003. So keep all your fingers crossed that everything will go well.

Almost moving time!

Monday! Can't believe it's soon time to move, only a few days... We should probably find out if I'm pregnant at the same time... :-)

We got a whole bunch of new stuff for the new place this weekend. I'm getting really excited and just can't WAIT! They are painting the new apartment for us, I can smell the fumes when I walk in the outside hallway. I didn't think they would since the old tenants haven't lived there for very long. And they traveled most of the time. And one of the rooms was soley used as storage... BUT it is kind of nice to be able to have a totally fresh place!

I have to go to the bank and do a few deposits, see ya' later!

Over for now!

Well, all the trips back and forth to the attorney's office are over. Now I just have to wait. There should be no problems, I was just so complete;y stressed out by the whole thing coming at me out of nowhere...

The bad thing is that all the driving arond town (in the sun that decided to only shine when I was in the car) got me major problems... Since I am no longer on immune suppressant medication due to trying to get pregnant, my immune system reacts to itty bitty things. Like TOO MUCH SUN!!! I now have hives all over my neck and chest. They itch like crazy, and they usually last for 3-4 days. I can't take Benadryl or any other anti-histamine since there is a chance I might be pregnant (will fins out in the first days of July, keep fingers crossed for a yes!)

So I'm itching BIG time!

Immigration crisis!!!

The worst happened yesterday...

I have been waiting for the INS (immigrations) to send me forms for my permanent resident card renewal. After you marry you have one for 2 years kind of temporarily, and then after 2 years you get the card that will be permanant forever. We remeber something about this form being sent out automatically...

Well, my card expires on June 23, and I was getting worried. I know INS probably are busy, heck their entire organization is about to be shaken around. No form... So I finally tried to call my immigration attorney who helped us in the first place with all the forms and such. Couldn't get through, only voicemail. I left a message on June 10 for them to call. They didn't. Finally a week ago I e-mailed them. No answer. So yesterday I had my husband contact them. He works for a company that do a LOT of business with that law firm, so he got to talk to someone right away *rolling eyes at injustice*. They then called me.

Apparently this form is NOT sent out automatically!!! So we had to do a mad dash and scarmble to get all kind sof proof gathered that we are indeed still living together. Leases, tax returns, insurances, photografs. I was so stressed out! I drove like crazy down to my husbands work so he could give me a check for the $944 it is going to cost! And there is still no guarantee it will be at INS in time!

So I am a bit stressed, but there is nothing I can do about it. We are going down to the law office to sign the forms today, and they are going to give us some affidavites for friends and neighbors to sign, certifying that we indeed live together. The attorney say these applications usually are approved with no problem, and I beleive her. For our first interview with the INS we had brough a ton of proof. They only looked at the leese!

I think we are ok, but still... If I would have know this earlier I could have filed myself for a measly $144. Now it is so close so I don't dare to. Which costs us another $800. Blah!