Feeling great and giving thanks

I've been a little bit MIA from the potluck - you may have noticed? I've an assortment of excuses up my sleeve: busy doing things, busy doing nothing, indulging my latent introvert. (Er, more like my blatant introvert.)

I have been doing a little writing: I wanted to keep a journal of my physical progress through pregnancy, mostly in how it relates to working out (because that is one of my main hobbies - I was pretty sure that being knocked up wasn't going to impact my ability to read or cook...). Not wanting to hijack this life-blog or the Glee Club in the name of prenatal musings, I started a new, temporary online journal. So, not entirely idle over here.

Also, I've been knitting: I'm partway through a scarf for Constance and baby blanket for myself. Well, not me per se...

And reading: I've finished DeNiro's Game by Rawi Hage (very dark, stark narrative style, story comes together after a chaotic start), Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips (light and fun, makes me want to know more about Greek myth), and Dune by Frank Herbert (clumsily written in my opinion, but gripping plot - I blasted through it!). I've moved onto Madame Bovary -- at bookclub we thought it was time to get into something a little meatier... I'm enjoying it so far.

Also on the "currently reading" list is Myles Textbook for Midwives, borrowed from Celine. Typical "what to expect" books have nothing on a midwifery textbook - I'm getting the REAL details (about the actually physiology of things, mostly), and it's exactly the info I was looking for. (Don't worry, I'm skipping the scary bits; I do realize that there are things that would be better to remain a mystery to me.) It's also reassuring to discover how much midwives really know. Trust me, it's A LOT.

I've been working a bit on the house/kitchen: We finished the cork floor, and because the dining room walls were then pretty much the same colour of the floor, I repainted it a lovely deep blue. I've also stained the baseboards that McPie sized and cut; they just need to be tacked on. We just love the new floor so far - besides just looking nicer, it feels wonderful under the feet. A little slippery, a little soft, a little warm.

And I've been giving thanks: Thanks for friends (I've been back in touch with several in the past few weeks, including actual face time with Lauren and Angela); thanks for my health (I'm still feeling wonderful, strong, energetic - mostly - and am pretty confident that I'll be able to get my head around all the recent and imminent body changes); and thanks for my family (which I could go on and on about).

I'm SO LUCKY to have the opportunity to be home and not working right now. My good fortune does not escape me at all. Because my time is my own, I am able to concentrate my energy things that are important to me. I'm grateful to the have the time to focus on getting/keeping myself healthy by exercising and the subsequent requisite napping. I'm grateful to have the time and energy to spend so much extra time with the kids. It's bringing us a lot closer together as a family. We're tight, and I feel like this is part of the foundation of affection and trust that will be necessary in a few months when the dynamics of the family change dramatically.

Not surprisingly, I've much more to say about all of this (and I haven't even gotten to Thanksgiving dinner itself, the whole election thing, or my upcoming trips to Nova Scotia and Florida), but the afternoon is flying, and I still have laundry, baking and dishes to do before picking up the kids...