A few things that happened today...

This morning I went into the office to take care of something, and since I was there, of course, I checked my mail box/pigeon hole. I saw that there was an easily recognizable yellow and red Shoprite bag in there, with something inside. I wasn't expecting anything, so, was curious as to what it could be. Well, my very own to-borrow-and-pass-along copy of What to Expect When You're Expecting! Yeah, no, I'm NOT pregnant. But there it was none-the-less! It was a bit of a surprise. But then, with a little think and the help of a couple other teachers who walked into the office, we figured out it was the last expat teacher who had a baby, who has now passed it on. Although I am quite certain there is another couple actually trying right now (that is trying to conceive), the she of that couple passed on the book. So, whatever. We all know I like books, and I'm happy to have this one.

That said, I have had one friend tell me already, "Don't read ANY pregnancy books, you'll just get yourself scared that every little thing means you're losing the baby." I had another friend tell me that she read stuff, but chose it carefully, and was happy with that decision. Because I am one of these granola, crunchy, vegetarian, hippie types, I am quite interested in making pregnancy/labor/birth more a natural life experience, and less a medical experience- which means I'm not particularly interested in hospitals, drugs, etc. So, on that note, I am interested in reading about natural pregnancy and childbirth. And I'm not entirely sure, but I think the book I now have in my hands, might be more the other end of the spectrum from what I am looking for. But, the only way to find out is to read a bit. :) The first two chapters are about pre-pregnancy anyway, so, I *could* read it now. :)

Now, the next thing that happened today, might be a little mundane to write about, but I am going to! When I got home from work, eventually I headed into the bedroom to put on my workout clothes. As I walked in, I got the surprise that I get about every two weeks. The maid had changed the bedclothes and the white sheets and duvet cover were on the bed! YAY! I know you're thinking it seems inconsequential (or maybe you're attached to the maid part), but the whole feel of the room changes when the bedclothes change. The heavy blue stripe that is the theme of the other set is manly, heavy, over-bearing, a little bit nautical and mostly, just not up my alley. But this white set, it's airy, and light and lovely. It's all white save for small little concentric circles embroidered in neutral tones in a couple rows across the duvet cover. It invites a space of comfort and relaxation and a clear head space. And I feel this distinction every time I enter the bedroom on a day when the maid has changed the bedclothes. I feel it enough, that I am almost willing to buy a new set of bedclothes to replace the blue set (both sets we have now belong to the school, and were here when we got here). We'll see if I can find some cute, cheap ones in South Africa. :)

I think I am on the verge of becoming a person who exercises. I make a plan for myself at the beginning of the week, and then I try to stick with it. I give myself one or two days of rest, and the other days I'm out there kicking my own butt. For the last few weeks (like as many as 5 possibly?) I have missed none, or only 1 or 2 of my planned sessions. And mostly, the reason for the missed workouts is foot pain (which has now gotten to a point that I am considering a longer break from running, but not exercising, to give my feet a chance to heal). Basically, I am sticking to my plan pretty well, and feel good about that. One of these days, it'll show up in the way I look too.

Oh, I remember the last thing I was going to write about is sort of about babies again, but not really. (Yes, ok, if it's not the wedding I'm thinking about, then it's babies- SO SUE ME!) In the last few years I have been through some tough head space. Mostly it's been because most of my best friends have gotten married, become "married people" (yes, they are different than single people) and then started having babies too. Because this is what I have wanted since I was like old enough to know what it was, I often felt left out, left behind and well, just plain jealous or envious- probably the uglier of the two. Anyway, so finally, here I am, and well, these things are in my future, my almost immediate future. Yay! So, I guess the silver lining to my self-made cloud of yuck from the last few years is that I am overly conscious right now of how my life might change sooner or later.

These days Joel and I both live very single-people lives. That is, we move when we want to. We travel with ease. We spend money on what WE want- clothes, electronics, surf boards, expensive food and toiletries. We take long showers (especially Joel!) We sleep a lot- I sleep early on weeknights (my bedtime is generally between 9 and 10 on weeknights), and we both sleep late on weekends (yes, we both still sometimes sleep til noon or later now and then). We're so single-people that I am probably not even thinking of the ways in which my life is going to change. :)

But yeah, so, the cool thing is that, right now, especially seeing how my friends' lives have changed, I can over-appreciate that which I have. I can just love and fully appreciate being able to do all the things I can do now, so that I can fully love the things I will be doing later, that will mean less of what I am doing now. I think it's cool. I'm feeling confident that I'll be mostly like any other newly married woman, or new mother- that I'll love where I am then/now, and will only look back on "my old life" with sweet memories- the kind where you say, "Gee, wouldn't it be nice...but I would never trade what I have!"

Yeah, so that was what happened today... would you also like to know what I had for breakfast? ;)