I am truly sick of hearing ignorant, blatantly racist, Obama jokes.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/05/14/bojorquez.obama.tshirt.controversy.wsb

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/12/AR2008051203014_pf.html

People are disappointing, that's for sure.

I miss sleep...

And eating a meal without feeling miserable afterwards...

And unihibited breathing...


Man, oh man, am I feeling pregnant.

Yesterday, Ben turned 26 years old! Without a doubt, this is going to be a big year considering all the changes coming up in his life. At 26 years of age, he will graduate with his M.A. in Persian (that's on June 8th), he will meet his first child (sometime around July 14th) and he will begin the Ph.D. program in Persian at Ohio State University (in September). He's going to be a busy man, but without a doubt he will handle it all with grace. I have so much confidence in the man I married. He's pretty darn wonderful and I love him. You should too. :)

Birthday breakfast...homemade cinnamon rolls. Mmmmm...



...Enjoying the best gifts that he could ever receive...books, of course.



...He wanted a Boston Cream Cake. He got it.


Happy Birthday, Ben!



And here I am at 30 weeks...getting rounder (EVERYWHERE) everyday. This pregnancy has been such a blessing. I was never really sick and I'm still feeling great and staying active. Just yesterday, we went on a 3 mile hike with our dog. Honestly, at this point it feels better to move rather than sit still. When I sit or lay down, it requires about a million strategically placed pillows and it's still just plain uncomfortable.

We're in the final stretch of this pregnancy and are staying busy preparing for our daughter's entrance into this world. We just hired a doula to help during labor. Her name is Amanda and she's great. You see, I really want to have an unmedicated labor and delivery. Unfortunately that's pretty difficult to do in a hospital setting where birth has been hyper-medicalized and it doesn't necessarily need to be. Don't get me wrong, we are very fortunate to have access to medical care and our obstetrician's very capable hands if a need should arise. I just don't want to assume that the birth of our baby is a high-risk emergency waiting to happen. With all that said, doulas are people trained to help women and their spouses during labor, particularly those who want to avoid medicated births. We are very excited to have found Amanda.

In addition to hiring a doula, we're going on a maternity tour of the hospital at the end of the month, and we're also going to be looking for a pediatrician soon. How wild does that sound??? I feel way to young for the word "pediatrician" to even come out of my mouth. Ha!

And before I leave, allow me to remind you that tomorrow's a big day for two reasons...

First, it's our 2 year anniversary. Yay! Second, it's the NC primary.

BE SURE TO VOTE!

Please watch this. It will greatly improve your mood. Promise!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR4PQ30VkBk

We'd like to think that our little girl is already cheering for Carolina. Last night, we were laying in bed watching the Carolina/Duke game on our laptop between us. Suddenly the baby started rhythmically, at rather frequent intervals, thumping the inside of my stomach. Perhaps she was saying, "U.....N.....C.....U-N-C!" Ben has never been prouder.

16 inches of snow on the ground and counting.

Today, central Ohio is experiencing a little something called a blizzard. Our dog disappeared in the snow when we tried to walk her. We ended up having to plow a trail with our legs for Dakota to be able to walk.

I've never seen anything quite like this.

On the bright side, it is really pretty. I'll try to post some pictures soon.

We were so excited about voting today...and hooray for living in a state where our vote matters! :) All eyes are on Ohio this evening. Bring it.

Be sure to vote in your state's primary! For all you North Carolinians, that's May 6th. Nice that it happens to be on our anniversary.

Go ahead. You can do it.