The good, the bad and the ugly: what inquiring minds wouldn't like to know about my pregnancy

I thought I was over half-way in my pregnancy, but last Friday the sweet nurse during my doctor's appointment told me I was 19 weeks. When did I start adding weeks that didn't pass? Wishful thinking, I suppose. But I swear I am 21 weeks now. I swear....

I didn't want to jinx it, but I have now gone 9 days without my spit cup. Spit cup you ask? Yes, spit cup. As in a cup that I carried with me everywhere because I salivated so much so that I needed a cup in which to spit. After the first few weeks of trying out a variety of solutions, I found the perfect cup at a 7-11 of all places. It was free. It was an opaque, durable hot chocolate cup complete with a top and straw. That worked the best. Opaque, so no one could see what was in the cup, a top-- so I couldn't see what was going into the cup, and the straw, to fool passerbys and others around me to think I was drinking rather than spitting. Though at some point most of my family and friends found out. I know, it's gross. What's really gross is when I carelessly set down my cup on the kitchen table at my sisters and failed to keep my eye on it. My poor nephew took a swig of it thinking it was something other than spit. Just thinking about that makes me want to puke. In any case, it was a lot of hassle making sure I had that cup all the time and I am really excited the salivating has subsided. Seriously. REALLY excited.

For those of you who have asked how my puking stats are, they are improving dramatically, though the nausea is still lingering. Sometimes I get carried away and get a little too brave and then later embarrass myself. Case in point: Last Saturday morning I was feeling nauseated, but was determined to cross some errands off my list. After all, it had been a day or so since I last threw up, I figured I was turning a corner. So I loaded Cade and Savvy in the car and off we went. We began crossing things off left and right. After the final store, not 3 seconds after I walked out the door and set foot on the parking lot cement, I began tossing my cookies for all to see. Of course being around NOON on a Saturday, you can imagine how many people were around. It was mortifying to say the least.

Another embarrassing side effect of my puking ways is my complexion. I pop a lot of blood vessels when I throw up and of course those blood vessels are on my face for all to admire. I wake up some mornings after a rough evening and look like I got in a fight. No amount of foundation can cover up the unsightly blotches. I keep telling myself this is teaching me some serious humility which is really good for me. Right?

I haven't taken a "bump" photo per se. But there's definitely a bump. It's been here a while. And it's only getting bigger. Awesome.

My legs are beginning to resemble a road map. Ewww! I've paid particular close attention to the billboard on I-15 reading "Love your legs, Love your life" for the vein specialists. I wonder how much it costs. Do you think it's painful to get rid of those varicose veins?