Life

Glucose Test

| cheriarmour

HI!

How was your week?

Mine has been good.  I had to work on Monday, even though folks had the day off.  It was fine – most of my team was there, and I was able to steal my way into a step class again.  Funny enough, the week still felt really short and really compressed still, and I found myself rushing to get things done.

Tuesday and Wednesday, I spent a good chunk of the day at my desk ironing out some of the holes in the June schedule, and before I knew it, it was Thursday, the day of a much-needed chiropractic appointment and my glucose test.

So, my lower back has started to feel irritated, and like it could use a good crack, but since I can’t really contort, I can’t get it to crack, and I didn’t want to do anything too twisty.  Per the recommendation of the instructor of the prenatal yoga workshop I did a few weeks ago, I consulted a chiro that specializes in family chiropractic, but my back was such a mess, I called my old guy, and kind of remembered that close to the beginning of my pregnancy, he’d said something about his ability to adjust preggos.  I couldn’t wait the two weeks, and I went and saw him, and I am so glad I did.  He had me like lay on some contraption that allowed me to lay technically on my stomach, but…idk it’s weird to explain.  Anyhoo, he totally adjusted me, and it was fine.

On the way back, I’d scheduled my glucose test, the test to determine whether I have gestational diabetes.  That is the weirdest thing ever.  So here’s what goes down.

cf7249ee-2dd7-4c3c-b5bc-4d8f11962e4f.jpg

I have heard this varies between practices, but the general idea is the same. So you chug this thing one hour before your scheduled appointment.  You have like some limited amount of time to chug it, but I got it down in like two or three minutes, and I was like “oh man, that is easy!”

Ugh.

Like 20 minutes later, I just was not feeling well at all.  The stuff is really syrupy – it kind of reminds me of those ice pops you eat that cut up the sides of your mouth in the summer time.  Except maybe sweeter.  And not really cold and there’s not a pool.  So I started to feel kind of sick to my stomach before I came into the office, and by the time I got in there, I wasn’t in great shape.  But you tell the receptionist when you get there when you finished the drank, and they get you back really quickly, since you only have an hour from when you finished, to like an hour and fifteen to get your blood drawn.  After that, I laid down in the exam room while I waited on the doc, who measured (right on track) and listened to the baby’s heartbeat (fuerte) before I hit up the TDap vaccine.

I fully anticipated going back to the office to take care of a few holes and return some emails, but I was feeling pretty icky after the test, and I ended up at home, napping sort of fitfully for an hour before I had to be back to teach my strength class and teach a short class for camp training.

I think since my body has recovered from being assaulted by the orange drank and I was able to burn off some of that sugar, I’m feeling like I’ve returned to the land of the living, but holy shit.  I hope I pass that test so I don’t need to take the three hour one.  God only knows what the in the hell they’re going to have me eating.

How was your week?

26 Weeks

| cheriarmour

Baby is the size of a(n): Keeping trend with the subjective fruit/veggie comparisons, this baby is the size of a coconut OR an eggplant depending on which app you’re going with.

Due date: Sept 3rd, 2016

Total weight gain:  I have not stepped on the scale in actual ages.  I’m in the 20 range I know, and I’m continuing to exercise, teach, and not eat everything in sight.  Which really isn’t super hard because my stomach feels like its been squished into something the size of a grape.  If I even think about overeating, I get refluxy and really uncomfortable.

Sleep:  I do it. Interrupted, always, by an early-morning bathroom break.  Yesterday’s break, and I was up, watching TV with the cats until it was time for regular people to wake up.

Best moment this week:  Step class with Jana!  I sort of tricked myself into going – about 20 minutes before 10am on Saturday morning, the strength instructor called with an emergency, and I was up and close enough to come in and teach the class.  Jana’s class was right after, so I stayed, and I was really glad I did.  Great workout, and great (though short lived) energy boost.  One riser, and a few mods, and I was good.

13346900_10100778734102593_2700168417413850578_n.jpg

Food cravings:   Sparkling things still.  Pie is still something that interests me, but acquiring pie is a really difficult task, and my main barrier to entry as it relates to dessert.  I really just like pie CRUST.

Food aversions:  Eh.  Food in general.  I am a big big fan of smoothies lately because they’re so easy to get in without having to do much prep or anything.

Symptoms:  Again, I feel big.  And I’m experiencing some pelvic pain, most likely indicative of a fun thing that happens to your pelvis and which sort of spontaneously resolves itself after delivery.  I’m waiting to hear back from the prenatal yoga instructor, and I’m paying a visit to the chiropractor this week for that, and a little SI joint irritation.

Looking forward to:  Visiting baby land again.  Austin and I went to Target and Babies blah blah this weekend, and it was really really fun.  I thought it was going to be kind of overwhelming and lame, but it really wasn’t.  I’ve largely accepted that we have no clue what we’re doing, and nothing will really change that.  Makes things feel soooo much smoother once you can be at peace with that.  We’re going back to nab a few more things next weekend 🙂

ICYMI…

25 Weeks, 24 Weeks, 22 Weeks – Changing it Up!, 21 Weeks (A little late), 20 Weeks – Halfway There, 19 Weeks…it’s a…, 18 Weeks, 17 Weeks, 16 Weeks, 15 Weeks, 14 Weeks, 13 Weeks, 12 Weeks

Green Smoothie!

| cheriarmour

I make a lot of smoothies.  A ton.  There are definitely a few reasons for this – one HUGE reason is that a few years ago, when I was job hunting, I took a job in the bakery at Whole Foods (hence, why I’m such a Whole Foods fan).  The job was actually incredibly hard work, and very physically demanding, but the coolest thing for me was that I started to take a liking to working in the coffee bar, which allowed me to play around and make loads of smoothies for people.  I moved on from working at the store, but never really lost my love for smoothies, and I’ve continued to make them at least a few mornings a week.

Point of Smoothies?

So, just because something comes in smoothie form doesn’t necessarily mean it’s healthy, and a lot of times, at smoothie places, you can really get yourself in trouble with the sugar/portions.  And the smoothies at fast food places?  Seriously, don’t bother.  You’re doing yourself no favors.

For me, the point of a smoothie is that I can get a few servings of fruits/veggies in there (something that can get a little hard if you’re go-go-go), and it’s convenient – I can make them really quickly and slurp them down on the way to work/in a meeting if I need to.

So the last few I’ve made, I’ve snapped and stuck on Snapchat or Facebook, and some folks have asked about recipes, and they probably think I’m weird about my recipes, but the truth is that I never got around to posting them :/ my bad.

Avocolada Smoothie

Full disclosure, this recipe is a copycat of a smoothie I got from a smoothie place, however, I looked up the nutrition of this smoothie, and the sugar was way, way too high for anyone to be drinking will-nilly, so I set off to make my own.  I DO believe that you can ask for theirs without the added sugar, so if you’re really in a pinch, that’s always an option, so make sure to comment if you want me to tell you where you can get this.

You will need…

A better blender than I have.  I really need to go ahead and bite it and get a Vitamix, but I just haven’t droppped the $500 yet.  I will.  If you have a crappy one, just make it work.

Some kale.  For today, you’re making two servings (one for you, and one for a friend), so grab like 4-5 stalks of that sucker.  De-spine it so you just have the kale part, and rinse, since kale can get a little gritty.

A squirt of lime juice.

Frozen tropical fruit.  I like mango/pineapple/peach/bananas, and I measure it out literally by taking a red solo cup, filling it with fruit, and that’s enough for one person.  Do it twice since you and your friend are going to be drinking this.

An avocado.  You can chill it if you want, but the frozen fruit should keep it from being like hot green pudding.  De-seed, obviously, and you can get it into your blender without screwing up your mani just by squeezing the guts out of the skin.

So stick all of that in your blender.  Then you’ll need.

Trop 50.  Not really more than a cup necessary.

Coconut milk.  Do some unsweetened if you went with sweeter tropical fruits, or sweetened if you’re feeling like you went with some fruit that may not have been super-ripe when you froze it/when it was frozen.

Blend.  For you Vitamix folks, it really shouldn’t be a long blend job, but if you have a cheap thing like I do, blend it for a good while, until you see that that kale has calmed down.  It comes out super green, but don’t let that run you off because it tastes super refreshing.  And between the kale, avocado AND the fruit, you’re knocking out a really good bit of your fruit/veggie intake for the day.  Which I feel like we all could use some help on!

13237664_10100774669168753_5994497871162689806_n
Voila, or viola as some of our favorite instagram models would say!

 

 

 

Pantry Pests.

| cheriarmour

Up again early! It’s about 6am on a morning, and I’m up again.  I had to go to the ladies room.  I would get out and go run shuffle around the lake, but it’s still a little dark, so I’m waiting for the sun to come up.

So.

I don’t eat cereal.  It’s one of those foods, where you  look at the serving size, and you snarl.  It’s almost like a trick!  Why would I eat 3/4ths of a cup of something at some ridiculous amount of sugar when I could enjoy a piece of toast and some eggs, things with avocados in them, or a huge smoothie and be much more filled up?  Plus, who wants to be hungry 5 minutes after you eat something?

1425392839_spl961740_001_north-west-kris-jenner-zoom.jpg
via Instgram

But some weeks ago, I was craving something really sweet, and decided to get some Cocoa Krispies and Total to mix together to snack on for a few days.  The last time I remember eating Coco Krispies, or their off-brand counterpart, was the morning that President Obama was inaugurated during winter term of my (senior?) year at Elon?  I remember this because class was cancelled due to a really good snowstorm, so I ate like a gallon of chocolate cereal and watched him and the First Lady (in her yellow almost-duster length jacket), by myself.

Well, I bought some cereal, ate it for a few days, and put it away.  A few weekends ago, I went to go get another bowl of the Total (the Krispies were long gone), and after a few bites, I looked down, and there were these little black bugs in the cereal.  I tossed the box, and replaced it when we went shopping a few weekends ago.  I was up early one morning, poured myself a bowl again, and…

You guessed it.  Bugs in the newer box of cereal too, that had only just been opened and sealed with a clip after.

So after I tossed that box too, and consulted social media land, as well as Dr. Google, the doctor told me that my pantry was most likely full of weevils, and we needed to go through and throw out anything that was sort of “naked” in the pantry.  The cereal, flour, and dog treats (which were buck  naked in the box) were full of the little critters, and we tossed them all.  

So, I’m not really sure I’ll be bringing any bulk items in the house for a while – certainly not cereal or dog treats, and we’ll be investing in a ton more airtight containers for things we do have.  I’m not sure why, but I am insanely grossed out by the weevils, and I’m feeling itchy.  Blah.

Anyhoo, how was your weekend?  

 

Formation Tour

| cheriarmour

Sometime around 4th grade or so, I developed a keen interest in the Supremes, and especially Diana Ross.  I think the glamour of girl groups drew me in, and Diana Ross was intriguing, especially with as how glitzy she was, with her long dresses, big hair, and close friendship with Michael Jackson.  I started getting books on her (this was kind of before the internet), and was fascinated by a story about her performing in the rain in Central Park in 1983.  I mentioned it to my dad, also a fan of anything Motown, when he mentioned that he’d been at the concert with one of his sisters, the night that Diana Ross performed in the rain until all of the instruments shorted out and she nearly fell off the stage.  My dad witness something that I read about in a book, and I always found that so cool.

On Tuesday night, Austin and I headed to Carter-Finley to see the Queen, Beyonce, perform.  I’ve seen her a few times, twice with Destiny’s Child, and a few more times on her own, but as she’s released her albums, and they’ve gotten progressively better, her show’s gotten better.  The only solo tour I missed her on was the On the Run tour a few summers ago because the closest date, in Baltimore, fell right around when we were getting married, and right around the time that I started my job at the Y.  This was Austin’s first show.

So, on Tuesday night, after class, we battled traffic (which was absolutely horrendous), we made our way into the stadium and down to our seats with plenty of time for the show to start.  It was incredible to see 40,000 people filing into the show, and the weather, which was predicted to potentially be a little dicey, seemed to have passed pretty quickly.  It was Bey time.

13174006_10103294265896649_6058521682777622156_n

Immediately, as the show started (with an incredible rendition of Formation), the party started.  Beyonce sang (like, really sang), danced (again, like, really danced), and killed every single one of the 26 numbers she began with.  There was not a moment that I thought she faltered.  And then the rain came.  She continued, like the professional she was, as the rain fell a little harder, and even did the infamous chair flip without busting anything.  But as that number wrapped up, and she ran offstage, and the jumbotron lit up with some footage, lightening struck….hard, and a man come out (to spirited boo-ing) to inform us that due to the dangerous conditions, we would need to evacuate, either to nearby practice fields, the PNC Arena, or our cars to wait out the storm.  We filed out, sort of started toward the doors, but by the time we went to the restroom (I am still very pregnant), and stood around for a second, the police and stadium employees  were letting us know that she’d be coming back on soon.  We filed back in.

At 11:20, she began again with Daddy Lessons, and gave us music until nearly 12 am.  She finished with a stunning performance of Freedom and Survivor, and then really finished with Halo, which she performed wet (at this point, it was raining again), and barefoot from her Freedom performance.  It was incredible, and her obvious hard work and dedication was super inspiring.  Like as dumb as it sounds, even getting up early to teach the 5:45 am Body Pump class felt a little less like a tall order, and more like something I felt honored to deliver to folks.

The performance, if you go back and look at the comments at our local news (just…don’t, take my word for it), was really shrouded in controversy.  Some folks said she’s anti-police.  Some folks said that she was lazy (impossible to believe, especially if you’ve ever seen a live show.  Some folks said that she was greedy to continue with the show among our HB2 drama.  Some said she was talentless.

Literally, she blew every single one of those arguments right out of the water.  She was beautiful, talented, humble, and thanked the audience profusely once she began the show, for staying and sticking it out with her.

Now one last thing…

I repeatedly said to Austin that I would do just about anything, anything to dance with her.  I don’t even have to be one of the front girls, even the back will be fine where no one would really be paying attention to me.  Just to see what it might feel like to be a part of something that brings 40 thousand people so much joy.

13165964_10100763825908733_3916180880625936344_n

Who’s your favorite person you’ve had a chance to see live?

Weekend Update!

| cheriarmour

This (last?) weekend went by entirely too fast.  I could have extended it at least by one day, but that’s never really how things work, right?

So, many weeks ago, a friend of mine, Erin, decided that she wanted to run her first half-marathon.  After discussing it in the group chat (my primary source of news and entertainment throughout the week), Erin and Liz decided that they would run the More/Shape Women’s Half Marathon in NYC.  The rest of us decided to tag along, and make something of a weekend of it and spectate the race.

Really, the weekend started on Thursday evening.  Because I knew I’d be in the airport for a good chunk of the day on Friday, I needed to put in some hours of work after my class on Thursday night, and I set about to do that.  I sent emails and worked on May’s schedule into the night, slept for a few hour, and made it up for my 5:45am Pump class.  From there, I ran home, showered, packed, and called an Uber to get me to the airport, where I proceeded to sleep through two flights.  By the time I made it to Jersey and to the house in Sayreville, I was exhausted again, and napped on the couch until folks started arriving home from work.  My aunt made us an amazing meal, and my cousin and I attempted to watch the first epi of Kimmy Schmidt before I completely passed out so hard, I had to keep myself from panicking when I didn’t realize where I was the next morning.  I lazed around on Saturday, went to the park for a walk with my cousin, and got out the door for dinner with race friends in the city.

I friggin FORGOT how annoying it is to drive into the city, btws.  A ride that was supposed to take me like 40 minutes, ended up taking well over an hour when I got stuck in traffic in the Holland tunnel.  Blah.  But we grabbed some italian, grabbed some ice cream from Big Gay Ice Cream, and headed to the hotel to hit the sack for our 5:45am wake up the next morning for the race.  After heading to the start (and spotting Sara Bareilles and Padma Lakshmi), we saw the girls off for the start, around 6 miles, and then squatted at a Pain Quotedian and met a friend of mine from camp to meet the girls at the finish.  We surprised Erin at dinner the night before with these shirts we had made, so we all wore them, and made sure we snapped pics.

12993369_10100754135019353_6767290016088194957_n.jpg
Check out these shirts we made for her!
13010804_10100754037789203_7702316579104519517_n.jpg
All of

We finished the day with some burgers, (a ridiculously hearty black bean for me), annd parted ways back at the hotel.

I did not leave without the parking garage losing my car and Andrew and Ryan having to find it.  I did my best not to panic and remember that if they lost the car, there were really worse things in the world, and that it could totally end up being a funny story.  Fortunately, we didn’t have to make it quite that far.

And now, I’m here sitting in the airport late, waiting for my last flight home, where I can shower and get into my own bed.

What did you do this weekend?

Detour

| cheriarmour

Have you guys been watching this season of “Girls”?  I feel like the show was like kinda meh last season, and something in Lena really clicked…between her and the other writers, I really, really feel like they’re making some good tv.

Moving right along.

You know how they say to never shop when you’re hungry?  This is even more true when you’re pregnant.

So tonight, after I taught my Zumba class (thank God, because I feel like I did nothing else earlier), I had a real hankering for some dessert.  Unfortunately, I also wasn’t feeling great – a little pukey, and I knew like something terrible wouldn’t feel good.  So I thought about strawberries and Cool Whip, and decided on them with whatever I could throw together for dinner.

Two things.

12592627_10100746746176653_2348929080728815207_n.jpg

Shopping for these two things, pregnant and hungry, I thought of every single snack scenario that I could possibly find myself in this week.  And that resulted in the purchase of:

  • Strawberries
  • Cool whip
  • Reddi Whip
  • Peanut Butter
  • Bananas
  • Pop Corn
  • Trop 50
  • Grapes

Heaven help me…I solemly promise that I will not shop again on an empty/pregnant stomach.

Or go to Target.

Weekend in DC

| cheriarmour

So guess what I’m doing right now?

I texted Chelsie (the woman who not only convinced me to take a pregnancy test back in December cause she knows what’s up, but who has been an absolute guru throughout this process), and I asked her if she knew of a way to make something more loafy, and less cakey.  She gave me an answer before she was like, “wait…what are you doing…” and I confessed that I really wanted to eat Funfetti.  She encouraged me to just make funfetti, but we did find a recipe for fufetti banana bread, which is either going to be really disgusting or awesome.  I will let you know.

I spent last weekend (kinda a gross weekend, weather-wise) in DC.  I’m still working on convincing Austin that we need to move there.  Lately, I’ve been thinking that it may be a cool place to raise an interracial child.  Not that Raleigh is a bad place, Raleigh is actually pretty progressive, but I think a big move one of these years may be in the cards for us.

On Friday, I drove up and went straight to the Rent the Runway storefront, which they have in DC, and New York City.  I had to pick something up for a gala I was attending since all of my stuff fits pretty snug.  The girl was very sweet – I told her that I just needed something in my size.  She brought out a few choices and I think I went with something I found already in the dressing room from the shopper before.

IMG_7290
The store was cool – you pick something, and they run back and grab it in your size for you to rent, similarly to the website.  It was a godsend for me.

After that, I drove to my friend Jeff’s, and we Uber-ed over to the gala.  I met Katie Couric, and I really wanted to stick around and chat with her longer, but suffice it to say that she was a lovely, lovely woman with a really sharp sense of humor.  I hope our paths cross again, because she was just that fantastic.  And little!  Everyone is so much shorter in person than you think!

IMG_7271.JPG
I hate hate hate flats on fancy occasions, but felt good in them since my feet were kind of exhausted.  If I could live in workout clothes, I totally would!

IMG_7281

Leading up to the weekend, Jeff and I had planned to go to Soul Cycle on Saturday morning with friends. The first time I’d gone, I was a little mehhh on it. The class itself was really good, but I’d gone in Georgetown, and it was a very homogeneous crowd, which made me really uncomfortable, almost as if there was some purposeful reason that there were no people of color there.  This time, I went to the Mt. Vernon location, technically Chinatown, and it was FULL of people of color.  We actually went to a Beyonce vs. Rihanna class on Sunday, and it was probably about half black people, Asians, and Indians.  It was so, SO cool to be in a place where black women are working out, and I was right in the thick of it!

By the way, check out the way that Soul tricks you into leaving your phone in your locker.

IMG_7282

We need this at the Y. There was a woman sipping a coffee and checking her phone the entire class again this morning until I really turned the heat up. The rest of the class can thank that woman for how much I beat up on them today.

Saturday evening, I met up with Scott (who’s been mentioned a few times here), and he took me to the coolest little party, a bourbon tasting party.  I sipped on water with the other pregnant girl, and we actually had a blast.  And Sunday, we met up with even more friends for brunch at some amazing bread and cheese place.  DC has zero shortage of good places to eat.

Sunday evening, after another Soul class (the Beyonce vs Rihanna class), my check engine light came on, despite the fact I had just taken the car in for maintenance on Tuesday.  After a few calls to my poor husband (who probably was panicking with his pregnant wife wandering around the city with a broken car), we decided to get the car towed to the dealership in Alexandria.

IMG_7309

The tow truck driver was really kind, and I rode down with him to the dealership, and then caught an Uber to a nearby hotel. Long long story short, the car had some sort of valve issues that made it not super drive-able, and on Monday, instead of working from work, I worked from Centerline Digital, where I’d met a friend for lunch.

Side note about that – the people from Centerline were ridiculously nice to me, and they had no reason to be.  In addition to my friend, Andrew, multiple people, after hearing what had happened with my car, offered for me to sit in a conference room or an office to work there, instead of finding my way to another coffee shop with all of my bags.  I am so thankful for that.  That’s kinda southern hospitality, right?

So how was your weekend?  

16 Weeks

| cheriarmour

How far along:  16 Weeks

Baby is the size of a: Avocado.  Can I tell you something hysterical about this.  Two people have asked me what size it is.  When I’ve told them, they’ve asked what sort of avocado I mean.  I know it’s super ethnocentric, but generally, I feel that the apps are referring to like general Hass, non-organic avocado.

Due date: Sept 3rd, 2016

Total weight gain:  I’m thinking just over that 5-7lb range.  Generally, I have stayed off the scale, but have been great about food.  Lots of green things.  Lots and lots of soluble fiber.  And lots of snacking.

Sleep:  Sleep is great.  Again, I am getting up in the early morning, now when it’s still dark to go to the bathroom.

Best moment this week:  I went to DC to see some friends over the weekend.  Started great, ended somewhat disastrously.  More on that later.  But I love DC, and I really hope that we can move up here in the  next few years.

Food cravings:  I had a really bad-for-you breakfast on Friday.  An egg and cheese biscuit and hash browns as I was leaving for DC.  It was delicious, but as soon as I ate it, I was like k, I’m done with that.

Food aversions:  Still red meat.  Not sure that will change.

Symptoms:  I’m actually still struggling with the headaches and some fatigue.  When I was driving up here on Friday, I actually had to call Austin and pull over for a little while because I was afraid that I was going to fall asleep driving.  I got word last week from my new ob that I’m actually suffering from some issues with my thyroid and I started medication for that at the end of of last week.  I also am going to see my nutritionist who I started seeing even before I got pregnant for some words of wisdom on this. When I wasn’t pregnant, I’d simply rely heavily on more espresso, but when you’re growing an avocado, you have to find healthier ways to cope.

Looking forward to:  Being productive this week.  I’m hoping for a little less fatigue and less falling into bed at the end of the night and more maybe doing things that aren’t crossed of the to-do list at the end of the day.

And in case you missed it…

15 Weeks

14 Weeks

13 Weeks

12 Weeks