Renaissance Festival

Instead of writing this post in chronological order, I split it up into sections – costume, food, and entertainment.

COSTUME

Sunday we went to the Renaissance Festival. In the past, going to the festival meant getting up early, trying to get dressed with enough of a costume that I could go out in public but not so much costume that I couldn’t drive, packing up the rest of my costume to change in the parking lot and a change of clothes for the drive home, and generally getting out the door way later than intended.  It was actually a relief to be pregnant. My doctor said I could wear a corset if I didn’t wear it tight. However, my pirate corset is the smaller of the two and I don’t know if I’d be able to wear it loose. But the main reason I chose not to wear it is because my tummy doesn’t like pressure right now. I’ve avoided wearing a belt lately and I won’t let Aaron touch my tummy. So a corset just didn’t sound like a good idea. No surprise, Aaron didn’t want to dress up either.

 Of course despite our plans, it didn’t stop me from thinking about my costume as I was falling asleep.  Actually I started out thinking about taking the camera, and wondered where I’d put it since I haven’t been wearing a belt. I thought maybe I’d dig out my costume belt, since that was comfortable and could hold a lot of stuff. It could hold my pouch for cell phone, ID, and money, and it could hold a water bottle, mug, and of course the camera. Then I thought, if I can wear my costume belt, I could also wear my pirate boots. And really, I suppose I could wear the costume shirt untucked from the skirt, and that would look okay without the corset. And maybe I could find a bodice or vest when I got to the festival to wear instead of a corset.

When I woke up, the reality was that the costume belt would be worse on my tummy than a regular belt. Plus a costume was just too much work. I went with jeans and my “Official Kilt Inspector” t-shirt. Instead of trying to fit a bunch of stuff on my regular belt and in my pockets, it all went into the small bookbag. The bookbag is small enough that I don’t have a problem carrying it, and of course, it doesn’t bother my tummy.

Arriving sans costume didn’t stop me from looking for a bodice or vest. After all, I still have Halloween and a few conventions between now and March. The first piece I found was a gorgeous silk long vest. I tried it on, but the lacing started too far over my belly. It would have been okay for today, but it wouldn’t have worked when I get more pregnant. Plus the fabric already looked tight and bunched.  At the end of the day I went back to the same shop and tried on a brocade vest. It was a similar style, but cut shorter. I didn’t think it would work since the lacing was the same length. But Aaron urged me to try it on. It actually fit a lot better. I think because it was brocade, it provided enough support to lift my boobs up a bit, so the lacing could be worn higher. The brocade didn’t bunch up like the silk, and looked more flattering. I should be able to wear it with the lacing loose, and still have it look good. The best part is that it is a brownish-orange fabric, and should look good with either my pirate or steampunk outfit.

FOOD

So I arrived at the festival hungry. Not a good idea. On the best of days, I have a hard time finding decent food at the festival. Arriving hungry meant nothing sounded remotely decent, and I was getting queasy. Luckily I was happy to know exactly where to find something to drink. Hard cider, pop, and lemonade are the usual beverages of choice at the festival. Since I’m avoiding those, normally I’d be stuck with water.  However, several years ago we had found a vendor that sells iced herbal tea -no caffeine, no sweeteners, and tasty enough to enjoy. While I drank my tea, we walked past every food vendor in the place before I decided on corned beef. I have no idea why I thought this was a good idea. I’ve had the corned beef before and it’s not very good.  It is also loaded with sodium. And as I was eating it, I decided it probably qualified as “deli meat” that I’m not supposed to eat.  But now that I had something substantial in my stomach, I had to go get a frozen banana. I had every intention of getting it plain. But the price includes a coating and a topping. I settled on chocolate and Reeses cups. At least that tasted good. I also noticed they sold a “limey on ice” drink that was offered unsweetened, sweetened, or cherry flavor.  Another drink option!  I came back later and tried the unsweetened version. Just like sucking on a lime. I came back again and got a refill of “half sweet,” which I think worked out the best. While discussing the banana topping option of bacon, the vendor said his coworker recommended peanut butter coating with bacon topping. I wish I had known that sooner. It would have been perfect, because all three ingredients are stuff that I can eat.  Sadly I didn’t get a chance to try it. I also managed to eat some beef stew and my usual chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick. I wish I could have found some regular food more appetizing. But I’m happy to say that I kept hydrated in the heat and humidity.

ENTERTAINMENT

We picked this weekend to go to the festival because the band Albannach was performing. Albannach consists of a bagpipe player and 4 drummers from Scotland, and they are so much fun to watch.  Fortunately they were scheduled 4 times throughout the day for a half hour show, and only their first show had a different performance scheduled on the same stage prior to theirs. This worked out to our advantage, because we could arrive a half hour early and get a good seat. The last time we saw Albannach, we arrived early but there was a different group performing. We found seats, at least, and intended to get closer between performances. Only that didn’t work out so well. This time we had no problem getting a seat when we arrived early. Of course, we didn’t arrive early until the third performance.  When the first performance started, I was eating the chocolate covered frozen banana while Aaron went to the privy. I left my waiting spot and headed toward the music. Surprisingly, the Boar’s Head across from the Market Stage wasn’t packed and I easily found a seat. The Boar’s Head was close enough that I could hear the music well, but I couldn’t see the band. I sat at the back and watched for Aaron. He instinctively knew to head for the music too.

We were eating food again when we realized it was time for Albannach’s second performance. We hurried over as they started playing, and again had to find seats at the Boar’s Head. This time we got the closest seats in the Boar’s Head. I was able to take a few pictures by standing on the seat. These seats allowed us to people-watch since there was a big isle between the Boar’s Head and the back of the Market Stage area. The merchandise table was set up nearby too, so that helped. I loved seeing all the different tartan patterns on the kilts that walked by.

Aaron paid attention to the time and got us back over to the Market Stage at 2:00 for the 2:30 show. People were already sitting in the first few rows, but we were able to get good seats. The short performance time was good, because the benches were really hard, and I needed a walk after sitting for an hour. Of course the short performance time was also good because I sucked down 2 limeys on ice before the show, and felt the need to find a privy by the second song. So instead of dancing in my seat, which made the feeling worse, I sat calmly and took pictures. But I smiled big and clapped loud, and made a beeline for the privy when it was over.

Since we had managed to see them once and listen to them 3 times, we called the day a success. After a little bit more shopping, including my vest, we decided to head home early before the crowd. It worked out well, because I didn’t have to sit in traffic in the parking lot waiting to leave, and I was able to make it all the way back to Greenbelt before the gas gage dinged at me to tell me it was empty. Gas was more expensive in Crownsville than Greenbelt.  

Other pictures we took at the festival can be found here: http://hooppics.shutterfly.com/12047

The Galt Line

So one of the things I want to do with this blog is keep track of the cool stuff I do while I’m pregnant. I have an ulterior motive for this. Apparently I was a colicky baby, and the only way to get me to sleep was to dance me to the soundtrack of Saturday Night Fever. This actually sounds kind of cute until you start thinking about what options my parents had to play music in the late 70’s. No MP3 players, no CD players, no cassette tape players. Sure, there were 8-track tape players and record players back then. But did you find them in every home and hotel room? Nope. Mom and Dad had to cart around a “portable” reel to reel machine. I can’t even imagine. But I can imagine my mom, pregnant with me, watching Saturday Night Fever.

EDIT: Dad says they also had a battery operated 8-track player. But still.
Back in the day, my parents both had their private pilot’s license and owned a Cessna. So when I was baby, we flew to the airshow at Oshkosh. On the way home, Mom got sick. She was pregnant with my brother at the time, but she didn’t know it yet. Obviously, there have been a lot of other influences in my brother’s life, but it started in the womb. My brother is now a pilot in the Air Force.

I’m curious to see if anything I do during pregnancy influences my kid. The only way to do that is to keep track of my adventures. Plus it is a pick-me-up to think of some of my pregnancy accomplishments when I’m feeling tired and sick.

I’ll have to post some of my earlier adventures another time. For now, I’ll start with Thursday night. We got to see The Galt Line perform at the New Deal Café. Blythe and Willie are awesome musicians. Actually, The Galt Line was playing the first time we went to the New Deal Café before we moved to the neighborhood. We had such a great time – great food, company, atmosphere, and music – that we started to consider moving here. Willie is amazing on the guitar. Sometimes his hand blurs and then seems to disappear. Blythe provides the vocals, ukulele, and percussion (stomping on wood platform with a cascade of bottle caps on her lower legs) all at the same time! It’s always a good time.

I remember the last time they played; I invited a bunch of our neighborhood friends to join us. The couple with the new baby had to decline because they didn’t think they should take the baby to the bar. I thought about that while The Galt Line played. I was sad at first, thinking that maybe we wouldn’t be able to see their shows for much longer. But their music is better than the crap I listen to on the radio. I happened to look over at another table to see a few kids sitting there. See, the New Deal is a restaurant that also has a small bar and evening entertainment. The Galt Line is loud, but maybe if we reserve a table in the front section of the restaurant, we can enjoy listening to the music away from the bar, where it isn’t too loud. Aaron had been thinking about the same thing. He said we’ll get noise canceling ear protectors for the kid when he/she is older. He’s seen kids wearing them at the Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival, which is another place we’ll probably have to go again with the kid.       

I had fun last night, but I’m not sure baby did. I was boppin’ in my seat all night. So I don’t know if it was the food, the carbonation in the ginger ale, the noise, the smells, or me grovin’, but I did not feel well at the end of the night. Of course, I don’t feel well most of the time these days, so hopefully it doesn’t mean anything this time.

 http://www.thegaltlineband.com/

T-shirts

Yesterday I was 15 weeks, 4 days. And I started to feel pregnant. I mean, not that I haven't been tired, thirsty, and had morning sickness. I've had morning sickness in the form of queasy stomach at the mention of food since week 9, day 6. And I've had heartburn since conception. But yesterday I wore my "Loading... Please Wait" pregnancy t-shirt to work. When I first got that t-shirt, it just seemed like an over-sized t-shirt. But yesterday, I felt like my belly was starting to fill it out. As a big woman, I am usually self-conscious about my tummy. But it felt good to finally see a bit of pregnant tummy instead of just fat. Of course that changed when got home and put on my Galt Line t-shirt. It was very tight, and I almost started crying. But it must have shrunk. I put on my second Galt Line t-shirt, which is labeled as the same size, and it still fit. It wasn't comfortable, of course, because the neck line of all of my regular t-shirts now bother me*. Then we went to the New Deal Cafe early to have dinner before The Galt Line took the stage. Blythe spotted us, and came over to say hi and thanked us for coming out. I asked her if she had a 3xl shirt with them tonight, explained I was pregnant, and that I was getting too big for my shirts. Luckily, she said they did have that size. A little while later after getting their merchandise display set up, Blythe came over again with two 3xl shirts and let me take my pick. She was so sweet; she left the shirt in my hands. I put it on during one of my bathroom breaks, and it made a huge difference. I had been tugging at the neckline of the 2xl shirt all night, but I didn't have to tug as often on the 3xl. We still had to leave the show early, because I was so tired and queasy. But I think we would have had to leave earlier if I didn't get to change my shirt.   

*I haven't been able to wear t-shirts much since the morning sickness started in conjunction with the heartburn. When I start feeling queasy, the round neckline of my t-shirts makes me feel like I have to throw up. Luckily, I haven't actually thrown up yet during this pregnancy. But I don't want to press my luck and I don't like feeling like I need to do so. That's when I decided I had to go pregnancy clothes shopping and get shirts with lower neck lines. I wonder if anyone noticed that I stopped wearing t-shirts at work. No one said anything. But before morning sickness I was wearing 2 to 5 t-shirts at work a week, leaning more towards the 5 side. I think this week was the first time in 5 weeks that I wore a t-shirt to work. The queasiness isn't gone, and I still need to tug at the neck lines, but it isn't as bad as it had been.   

The funny thing about the t-shirts is that I had a similar problem when I was really little. Mom would dress me in turtle neck shirts and apparently I'd end up throwing up all the time. I remember the last time I wore a turtle neck as a kid, tugging at the neckline, fussing, and finally being able to tell my mom that they made me sick. As an adult, I can wear loose turtlenecks. Or at least I could until now. Now I get the same pukey feeling from t-shirts as I used to get with turtle necks as a kid.

Some Positives

I've been grumpy lately. So today between things pissing me off, I tried to think of all the good things about my pregnancy so far. Here's what I came up with:

1. No periods (and if you'd like to see a comic to go with this, check out
          http://www.stickycomics.com/?s=aunt+flo)
2. Since I am forced to eat small portions more frequently, I am actually losing weight. Hopefully I can make it a habit to keep after pregnancy.
3. I have a good excuse to buy clothes. I'm not sure why I thought this was a good thing today, since I hate clothes shopping. But I suppose it has been nice to wear cute, comfy, shirts, even if I'd like to block out the shopping experience that got me those shirts.
4. Aaron says he is being exceptionally cute and adorable because he is excited about the baby.

As a side note from #3, thanks Mom, for doing some of the shopping for me!

Despite wearing a cute shirt today, I was happy to get out of it when I got home. And for some reason, my round belly reminded me of a drum. I got two belly slaps in before it ocurred to me that I probably shouldn't beat on my baby. I blame Aaron. He does it on himself all the time.

Hormones

So I'm 15 weeks pregnant.

I'm going to blame the hormones because I can't stop crying about a stupid game. It's a game I've played for over 2 years, and logged into 95% of those days. I had to do the math. I estimated that I've played 739 out of 779 days. I've neglected to log into the game only 40 days. I don't want to think about how much time I have wasted. Sadly I've wasted more time on Facebook than this dumb game. And Facebook is the reason I have to quit. My news feed has been broken for 3 weeks. It doesn't show any posts prior to that days log-in. Sorry Facebook, but you are delusional if you think I am going to stay logged into your site 24/7. So I've missed a lot of posts while I am sleeping or at work that normally I would have caught up on later. I can't imagine I'm the only one having this problem. But Facebook doesn't bother to respond to my bug reports. They have no problem harassing my friends who are logged out for 4 days. But because I log in every day to play my dumb game, I guess my problem isn't that big of a deal. I've stripped my account profile, but they don't care. So the only thing to do is close my account. And now I'm crying because I have to give up my stupid game that is only accessible through Facebook.

Hormones. I'm angry a lot too. I hate feeling angry and sad, because I have to wonder if it is going to affect the baby. I hope not. I hope it is just baby affecting me. Maybe the anger means I am having a boy (extra testosterone?).