Queen of Cups

Just wanted to wish everybody a happy Yule! i was curious as to whether your family had any traditions or if you were doing anything special today. in my family, i guess the only thing we did for Yule was open presents-- never really had much significance other than presents to us kids until we were older. since i'm expecting a little boy this March, i've been trying to think of traditions i can start in my own family that my son can grow up with. where's a good place to start?

i've driven my accord for a little over 3 years now. it's an 89, so it's not exactly in the best condition, but it gets me where i'm going and does extremely well on gas mileage. it gives me trouble every winter but i think this year might be the year it actually dies.

i had some trouble with my alternator, which got replaced. basically, every time i'd try to stop, the headlights would dim, the RPMs would drop significantly, and it would make this VERY LOUD whining noise. so alternator was replaced, and it almost solved the problem (it still whines on occasion). i thought it might be the belt, but my dad said that was still in good condition.

last week, i started having problems with the thermostat, but that's no big deal and it's getting fixed tomorrow.

now, last night on my way to work, as i got into town, it started dying every time i'd push down on the clutch, or whenever i try to come to a stop. i figured the engine was just cold, so i'd let it warm up before i left work and see if the problem was still there. no surprise that it was still doing it. i called my dad and my fiance (who know way more about cars than i do) and neither one has any idea what's wrong with it.

i think it might be trying to die on me, which is pretty sad considering it's my only available form of transport to and from work, and that i have a baby on the way and can't really afford any big repairs or a new car. sad days! anybody know what's going on with this thing?? any help would be MUCH appreciated!

i'm 20 weeks and i've been dealing with severe back pain for the last 3 days. it's just on the right side just below my rib cage. it was so bad on sunday i went to the ER. they only did a urinalysis, and said that it didn't indicate any infection in my kidneys. haven't had any blood in my urine, or contractions or anything like that. just a lot of pain. it seems to get worse after i've been sitting up, standing or walking around, although the pain has woken me up several times. i've been laying in bed for almost 3 days solid. i thought it was my kidney but the doctor seems to think i'm just experiencing normal back pain, and gave me a prescription for tylenol with codeine, which i won't take. they didn't really run many tests on me and i don't think they're really interested in figuring out what's really wrong with me. i've taken hot baths and showers, which have done nothing for the pain. it's not really getting better. has anybody else had this problem?? what do i do?

so my fiance's a big gamer and i thought for xmas this year i'd get him a new game system. he's already got an xbox 360. so it's either going to be a wii or a playstation 3... but i don't know anything about gaming systems, i'm just an occasional player. which one is better and why?

do strangers actually come up and touch your stomach? i guess i could never imagine going up to a stranger and rubbing her pregnant belly... that just seems awkward and rude. i honestly could not see a complete stranger coming up to me and invading my personal space- i think i would just give them the death glare until they went away. but then again, i don't like people touching me and the hormones don't really make me miss congeniality these days.

has this really happened to you? what did/will you do about it??

sorry if this is kinda long.... well i work at a hotel, during the night shift as a front desk clerk and i'm currently 18 weeks pregnant. since i have the least busy shift of all and we're not a big hotel, i end up doing a lot of extra work. before i was pregnant, they started having me stock laundry in the housekeeping rooms. the housekeeping rooms are basically storage areas where they keep the housekeeping carts, extra cleaning supplies, extra shampoos, soap, and stacks of laundry so the housekeepers don't have to go downstairs to get these things. so anyway. they have me stocking the laundry in these rooms, which means i have to push around a cart loaded with towels/sheets/whatever to the elevator and distribute the clean linens to the second and third floor. this thing can weigh anywhere from 50-80 lbs depending on what's on it and how busy we are. then i have to load and unload linens, meaning i'm constantly bending and lifting up to 20 lbs. it usually takes me two trips to all floors to get it done, and about 20 minutes or so. although when we get really busy, it can take me 4 trips and about 45 minutes.

today i told my boss i can't do it anymore. it's way too hard on me physically. when i'm done, my back is killing me and i'm completely drained of any energy i had. i'm just worried that my coworkers and boss are going to think i'm just using the pregnancy as an excuse because i'm only 18 weeks along, and i don't really look all that pregnant yet. so my question to you is do you think i'm being a wimp? is this something i should be able to do, since i was capable of doing it before?

so my fiance and i are looking at what could possibly be our first home together... so exciting!! was wondering what specifically i should look at so i can avoid buying a place that's going to fall apart right after we move in :)

any advice would be greatly appreciated!

i'm 15 weeks pregnant and have questions about my baby bump. when i've been laying down for a while, i get a big bump right under my belly button. but as soon as i stand up, my uterus disappears back into my pelvis. it's so frustrating! i don't get it- why does it do that? now, sometimes when i'm laying down, i'll notice that the bump is bigger on one side or the other- is this due to the baby's position? also, i've been feeling baby wiggle every now and then, but not every day. is it normal to not feel it regularly this early? i'm just a little paranoid, i'm sure, but i could use some reassurance :)

i'm not sure if it's just the cravings talking or what, so i figured i'd take your opinions on this matter. i'm a hungry 15 week pregnant woman who needs some breakfast in her belly! so i was just daydreaming about a mini breakfast pizza. english muffins, topped with salsa, hash browns, scrambled eggs, sausage and cheese, all baked in the oven so it's nice and crispy. the only thing is, last week when i was hungry for eggs and hashbrowns, we mixed them up together, and the combination almost made me sick... don't know why cuz i eat scrambled eggs and hashbrowns about every other morning (but not mixed together). so my question is, do you think it would actually be good, or am i just having a weird craving?

i've read reviews on it, and so far, everyone is comparing it to 'The Blair Witch Project'- which i thought was a terrible excuse for a horror movie. i did not enjoy that movie at all, despite all the reviews that it was supposed to be like the scariest movie ever. i ended up shutting it off part way through, it was so horrible.

i don't find many of the horror movies they have out today to be scary in the least bit. for the most part, they're either just gory or stupid. i haven't seen a decent horror flick in a LOOOONG time.

so i'm wondering if it's really worth it to drive an hour and a half and stand in line for this movie? is it really like the blair witch? am i going to be deeply disappointed if i'm looking for a movie that will actually scare me?

this is a little hard for me to talk about, but i realize that i need to do something about it for the baby's health and mine. long story short, i've been battling depression since i was a kid and went through a very difficult situation which left me deeply troubled, even now. i've been through all sorts of counseling and honestly, it's never helped me. i'm too afraid of being judged to honestly talk to anyone, even my fiance, about how i'm feeling. i've been on tons of medications, and have never liked any of them. as a teenager, i started smoking a lot of pot, which was about the only thing i've ever had make me feel "normal." as soon as i found out i was pregnant i quit completely, which has left me incredibly stressed, anxious, and down. add my hormones to that mix, and i'm a sobbing mess ALL THE TIME. fiance doesn't know what to do with me anymore... he just doesn't understand because he's never seen me this way. i'm finding it hard to express any joy about anything in my life. i feel like a worthless partner and a terrible mother because i barely feel like taking care of myself, let alone the beautiful piece of heaven growing inside me. i feel like a worthless piece of ****. i don't feel like i deserve to live... but no, i'm not going to kill myself. i care too much about this child. i just don't know what to do anymore; i realize this is taking a negative affect on me, my relationships, and my pregnancy. i don't know the solution to this problem. has anyone else dealt with depression while pregnant? what can i do about this?

so i just asked this in the cat section, but i figured some other mommies might have the same problem and therefore a good solution.

i'm 14 weeks pregnant and my 3 cats are severely infested with fleas. we've tried everything, including flea collars, drops and dips for the cats, and sprays, powder and shampoos for the carpet and upholstery. now, i haven't personally been around any of this... i really don't think all these chemicals are conducive for a healthy pregnancy. i've been confined to my bedroom all summer and i don't go anywhere near the cats.

help! i am being eaten alive, as are fiance, roommate, and the cats. i can't deal with it anymore... i am seriously on the verge of burning down the house and giving the cats to the humane society.

does anybody have a non-chemical solution to get rid of these horrible pests once and for all??

for the majority of the summer, we've been dealing with our cats' severe flea infestation. we've seriously tried everything from flea collars to drop treatments to flea dips. we've done carpet powder, sprays, and shampoos. nothing seems to work. now it is important to note here that i am currently 14 weeks pregnant. as i don't really think exposure to chemicals is the best thing for my baby, all these treatments have been done while i'm at work, and i have been pretty much confined to my bedroom and no longer pet my cats. i'm being eaten alive, as are the fiance and roommate. it's unbearable. i don't know what to do anymore, aside from burning down the house and giving the cats away.

does somebody have a non-chemical solution to my horrible problem???

so i've got a gross story to share... i work at a hotel and have to make breakfast in the mornings. every day it's biscuits and sausage gravy. well, so far in my pregnancy, i've only had mild morning sickness between weeks 6-9, and i've been able to tolerate the gravy... until now. keep in mind, i normally have a very strong stomach. this morning i opened up a can of it and started to pour it into a bowl. well, turns out the gravy had gone bad. smelled like the very worst rancid morning breath you can imagine multiplied by a thousand. and had this watery substance in it... very disgusting. it took every ounce of my willpower to not toss my cookies right in there with the gravy. i don't think i will ever be able to eat gravy ever again in my life after experiencing that. which is sad, because i used to love biscuits and gravy.

so anyway, the point of my story is to ask you this: what is the grossest thing you've encountered? and what is that one thing you you will never eat again post-pregnancy and why? i bet you can't gross me out more than that gravy did!

so all of my friends and relatives are convinced that i HAVE to have a baby shower. nobody will even listen to me when i say i don't want one. i don't get this... i feel selfish inviting my friends and family to what is basically a polite way of asking for gifts. i feel like i can provide what my baby needs, and that people who feel the need to give us gifts can do so at any time during my pregnancy. but i feel uncomfortable with the whole idea of a baby shower. everybody says it's not gifts for me, it's for the baby, blah blah blah. but i feel like i can do these things by myself. the whole idea just makes me upset and annoyed because nobody wants to respect my wishes or independence. how do i get it through these peoples' heads that i DO NOT want a baby shower?

i've got 3 indoor cats, and all are very well behaved. i mean occasionally, they'll tear up a roll of toilet paper, but otherwise they're good cats. but recently, they've started urinating and defecating in the house. and this is becoming an every day sort of thing, which started a couple of weeks ago. i don't even know which one is doing it because i haven't caught any of them in the act. they have never done this before, so i don't know what their problem is. the litter box is being changed daily, and nothing has really changed in the house. so far, my only option is to throw them outside... which i don't want to do. please help, what am i supposed to do about their sudden disobedience?

i'm 11 weeks pregnant and FINALLY have an appointment with HHS today regarding my medicaid and food stamps application. i'm just curious as to what they're going to talk to me about. it's been a lot of stress up to this point what with getting all our paperwork in order. i'm just really worried that they're going to tell me that i need yet another copy of my records... i think i'll scream if that happens. does anybody know what actually goes on in these appointments?

i'm interested in a natural birth without any medications. i heard about hypnobirth and was curious. i know what it is, i just wonder how effective it really is and if it helped anyone else. any advice would be greatly appreciated!

i myself am having pepperoni pizza rolls dipped in sour cream. what are you having?

DB and i have had trouble coming up with a boy's name. we think we've finally narrowed it down to the following:

Orion Dale

Allen Dale

Morgan Dale- he doesn't really like this one so it's a no-go (too girly, according to him), but i wanna hear your opinions!

also, if it's a girl, we decided to name her Roslyn Marie.

so whatcha think?