Hectic.

For Xmas, Cory gave Xtian a deep fryer. I'll give you a moment to let that sink in.


Yes, we are now a household who can deep fat fry ANYTHING OUR HEARTS DESIRE! Honestly, I've been afraid of using it, fearing it would be the Pandora's box that finally gave us all heart attacks. Because, here's the truth of the matter: almost everything tastes better fried. It's just true.

Tonight, I finally pulled it out and made an enormous batch of sweet potato fries. Yes, I've been making roasted sweet potato fries, and yes those are tasty. But nothing, and I mean nothing, rivals the crisp, fabulous texture of deep fried sweet potato. The only thing saving me from having a coronary by the week's end is the fact that the thing is a pain in the ass to clean. And hopefully, that knowledge will force me to think twice before I start asking, "Can you deep fry cookies? What about a Snickers bar?"

Speaking of crummy health... Thursday was a really hard day. A bunch of really cool projects came up at work, which is great, but required an enormous amount of work over a very short period of time, and Oh, we still haven't wrapped up ANY of the other projects I need to before I go on maternity leave.

I'm completely stressed out, and of course I had a doctor appointment that afternoon. And of course, because work is hectic, I didn't leave for my 4:30 appointment until 4:20. By the time I got in to see the doctor, my blood pressure came in at 159/79. Which is bad. Really, really bad for pregnant ladies. I talked the nurse into checking it again in a few minutes, hoping I could calm down enough to make a difference. Right before the doctor walked in I managed to get it down to 135/70. Still not great, but not a "call the ambulance quick" situation.

The doctor asked for another check at the end of my appointment, which read in at about 128/67. Low enough that I could talk her out of sending me to labor and delivery. If I show up with numbers like that at my next appointment, it will not be so good.

At home we are 100% ready for this kid. The emergency plans are in place, baby clothes are clean, I just need to start stocking the freezer (which frankly, is optional since I do have plenty of support people around to help). On the other hand, at work even if I give birth tonight, I still have three more weeks worth of work before I'll be allowed to take maternity leave. So, for my sanity's sake, please little fetus, give Mama until at least January 25, ok? I promise, I'll make it worth your while.