More books

Ok, since my last post I have finished Your Best Birth by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein, and Reference Librarianship: Notes from the trenches by Charles Anderson and Peter Sprenkle.

First up: Your Best Birth. I really enjoyed reading this, as it goes along a lot with what I think/feel about giving birth, but it was not as researched based as other books I've read. I think if I hadn't read other books that cite the research, I would not have liked it so much. I did like the birth stories included, and love that Ricki Lake is advocating for taking birth back from the medical field.

Reference Librarianship was a fun, quick read. It is based on a reference librarian's blog that he kept for a year. Each chapter starts out with notes on a certain subject having to do with reference librarianship, then ends with a the blog notes for a certain month. I found the writing to be sub-par, which suprised me for a librarian. It tended to be repetitive in the wording. However, I loved the notes from being on the job. As a librarian-in-training, I found the notes a fascinating glimpse into what maybe in my future. Some of it was laugh out loud funny.

Another birthday has come and gone for me, and it was a pretty good one. A pregnancy massage and a new lap top from my husband. The massage was awesome, now I might have to treat myself to another one later on. I still have 3 months ahead of me, which I'm sure will be less than comfortable. And my brother-in-law's parents gave me my very own Varga girl! It's a calendar page from the month of June, my birth month, and man is this chick hot! I have been admiring their many pin-ups, and my sister has one too. A great suprise! Here she is:



Other things on my mind: This baby is really active...I don't think it has stopped moving in two days, and it does not always feel great. I think I'm going to have a 10lb baby...

And are people serious with the things that they say? Some lady at my work, who I barely know, told me I look huge today. How nice is that? I thought I was looking small for once too.

And I know people are just trying to be nice, but I'm so sick of hearing "How are you feeling?"

OK, enough ranting. I just started My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult, my best friend's birthday gift to me. I'm only about 40 pages in, and I have already gotten weepy. I don't know that emotional pregnant ladies should be reading such a book! Anyway, more on that later.

Books, books and more good books

Ok, so I finished Factory Girls by Leslie Chang. What a great book! I found it very intriguing to learn about the great migration going on in China today, and Chang also weaves in some of the past. Since I know very little about China and its culture, I really learned a lot. Since I am a poor blogger and have pregnancy brain, it is hard for me to remember all that I learned right now...let me ponder it. I guess what I found interesting was the difference in the Chinese culture from American culture. They are extremely family based, and it seems everyone is a "cousin" or "uncle" or "aunt" and the young migrants are expected to take care of the family. The bits about the cultural revolution that China experienced was really interesting to me, since I know so little about communism. I also found it really interesting that many Chinese migrants believe that the path to success is through learning english. From these scattered thoughts, take this: A great, eye-opening read about today's migrant Chinese workers with the author's family history weaved in. I highly recommend it!

The weather is warm and summer session of school doesn't start for another month. Here's what I have on my to read list, that I'm currently reading or getting ready to read:
Reference Librarianship: Notes from the trenches by Charles R. Anderson and Peter Sprenkle
Your Best Birth by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein
Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey (Ok, I already read this, but I need a refresher)
Hold Tight by Harlan Coben (I borrowed this from my sister a long time ago and I think I will finally have time to read it)

And I'm working on a baby blanket and still finishing two little sweaters. Pictures to come!

How the States Got Their Shapes

I just finished reading How the States Got Their Shapes by Mark Stein. Quite an interesting read, but I guess I shouldn't say that I actually finished it. I had to return it to the library for two reasons: 1) It was way overdue, and 2) it was getting repetitive.

I learned a lot about why the state borders are the way they are. Some things I never knew:

-Arizona wanted to be a slave state
-There actually was a "war" over Toledo, which changed the border
-Congress planned to have states made to be as equal as possible (this is obvious, I guess, but I never thought about it before)
-The reason Nevada dips down into a point is to gain water access, which is moot now since the Hoover dam was built

I would have more to write, but I can't remember it all (pregnancy brain) and since I had to give the book back to the library before my fine gets too huge. I really thought it was interesting, but repetitive...for example, once you read about Alabama, it made reading about Mississippi a little boring, because you already covered their border in Alabama. Includes lots of maps to reference, and really is a quick read, if you have the time.

Speaking of Time....

I should have a lot more of it, until summer session of school starts, that is. Now I can get back to my knitting and reading! Currently, I'm reading Factory Girls by Leslie T. Chang. Very interesting look into the life of Chinese migrant workers.

I'm also finishing up two sweaters for the baby. I will post pictures once they are done and ready to be shown off!

Things I'm curious about

This is totally random, but I saw a depiction of an outhouse the other day and got to wondering...why do outhouses have half-moons on them?

The answer, according to straightdope.com, is that in the past (ie Colonial times) when not everyone could read or write, the moon was there to denote a female restroom (if you can call an outhouse a restroom) and a sun was put on a men's. As time went on, this fell by the wayside, and today, it is more of something you see in cartoons, not in the real world. The reason, supposedly, that the moon has prevailed over the sun is that women's outhouses were maintained better than men's. The funny thing is, that I never think of outhouses as being just for men or women...they are mostly for both to use.

Things I'm curious about

I have always been quite a curious person. For instance, I once asked my mom when I was younger if cats had lips. Another time it was if dogs get the flu. Seriously, who thinks of these things? Anyway, since I'm wrapped up in the pregnancy world, I was wondering where in the heck the word midwife comes from. Alas, you cannot access the Oxford English Dictionary online, which is *the* word on etymology, but I found this answer from Dictionary.com:

Origin:
1250–1300; ME midwif, equiv. to mid with, accompanying (OE; cf. meta- ) + wif woman (OE wīf; see wife )

I guess I was wondering about the whole "wife" bit. Makes sense that it means woman!

3 Things No One Ever Tells You About Pregnancy

So I am 24 weeks pregnant, and some days it is great, other days I'm ready for it to be over. I feel great right now, the second trimester is the best! I'm not so tired anymore and my belly is not too huge yet. And I am getting extremely excited to meet and hold my new baby in 16 weeks or so.

That being said, here are the top three things that no one ever tells you before you are pregnant:

1. Constant runny nose. Here's what the good people at What to Expect When You're Expecting (or as my husband calls it, What to Suspect When You Are Suspecting) have to say about it: "High levels of estrogen and progesterone increase blood flow to all the body's mucous membranes, including the nose, causing them to swell and soften." What I do know is that it is annoying and I'm tired of it!!

2. Discharge. Lots of it. That is all that I'm going to say.

3. Night sweats. I have never had this problem before, so I have to assume it is pregnancy-related...all those lovely hormones coursing through my body. I wake up in the middle of the night soaked and uncovered, while my husband is happily ensconed in the comforter.

Something else that annoys me:
Everyone asks, "Do you know what you're having?" When I say we are not finding out, the usual response is "Oh how cool/exciting! That's great!" So why do so many people have to know what they are having ahead of time? As my mom says, would you open your Christmas presents early?

The funny thing is that people say they need to be able to decorate the room. I know of several people who said that, then ended up decorating in gender-neutral colors anyway! It does not bother me in the slightest that I don't know what it is, but it drives my best friend crazy...she said, "Can't you just let them tell me?" But I am forcing her into the suprise-fun too, whether she likes it or not!

Books!

School has really forced me to cut back on my pleasure reading...which I hate! But I finally finished Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series by Eliot Asinof. I watched the movie on Turner Classic Movies some time ago, and got interested in the story. I found the book really good, factual but told the story like a novel. I felt it was sympathetic to the ballplayers, but that could be because I feel sympathetic towards them, maybe I was looking for it. I could totally see how they would throw the games after Cominskey paid them peanuts but threw lavish dinners for the sports writers. I think the book was written in the 60's, but I still really enjoyed it, especially since baseball season is almost back...Go Reds!

Now I'm onto Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched The World by Vicki Myron. It's an easier read, so I should fly through it, but already touching! I am a cat lover, and an emotional pregnant woman, but I know I'm going to cry reading this one...