Past the Halfway Point

Well, I am clearly past the preggo halfway point now. My belly pooches out in an almost obviously pregnant way; however, since we live in Japan, I am convinced all the Japanese people think I am just another fat dependent with skinny legs. Therefore, I do my best to prove them wrong by eating every cream puff I can get my greedy little hands on (so far it's the only really strong craving I've had). Other than that, this pregnancy is going remarkably well. I have the usual back aches and crampiness and, of course, tons of heart burn. The fatigue is probably the hardest thing to deal with, but I have a feeling that is mostly caused by my very odd work/sleep schedule more than the pregnancy itself.

In response to my sister Lexi's q's about Yoga DVDs, I thought I'd share a few of my favs with ya'll. For beginngers I love Ali McGraw's Yoga Mind and Body and MTV's Yoga. I know, I know, anything with MTV in the title sounds like it has to suck, but I really, really love this practice and the instructor is calm and clear without being annoying. Another good one for beginners is Crunch's Candlelight Yoga. For more advanced practitioners I like, Eoin Finn's Power Yoga for Happiness, MTV's Power Yoga, and Mantra Girl's Advanced Kundalini Yoga (although this one may be a little too weird for people who aren't into the mind-body connection part of yoga).

Okay, enough with the yoga talk. Thanks for everyone's feedback on the names (mom! ;) Since Tim absolutely detests Edith and Caitlyn already acts like Edith from the Mr. Bear books, I sadly must let go of that one. I also shot down Nicole since that is my middle name and I go by Nikki (not to mention the baby is already stealing my birthday! ;) I also like the names Iliana and Ilora (but Tim hates anything that sounds like Laura -- sorry Laur! -- so that one's probably out of the questions). In fact, at this point, Stephanie is just about the only name we both don't hate. So, what do you think, Stef? Would having a niece with your name be a little too weird? If anyone has some suggestions, we'd be glad to hear them. At this point, the little kicker may have to go by "Thing 1" for the rest of her life (this has got to be the most active baby in the history of the world. I don't think she ever stops kicking!)

Websites

I love looking at interesting websites that my DoD computer doesn't block on long mids. Here's a couple I've been perusing lately:
http://web.morons.org/ Stories about morons, what could be more interesting at 3am?
http://www.videofitness.com Feeds my addiction for fitness videos/DVDs even though I'm currently banished to preggo vids
http://www.cathe.com/ I know many of you think I am completely nuts when it comes to fitness, so check out my idol Cathe and see how far I have to go! :)
http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=home For all the foodies out there
http://behindthename.com/ For anyone thining of having a baby...or just bored
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/calbs.htm Depress yourself by seeing how small your waist is supposed to be compared to how big it actually is!
http://www.discountmagazines.com/ Oooooh, Saveur for only $6 a year!

and, of course, my addiction to www.ebay.com continues completely unabated. Currently I'm obsessed with baby clothes and nursery items

What's In a Name

*sigh* Just finished reading some of my dear friends' blogs and realized what a horribly boring life I lead. It's all work and no play and since I can't share info about my work, I'm left with very little to say :( Luckily, I do have one interesting piece of info that even a trip to Berlin can't top...

We're Having a Girl!!

Yes, it's true, the Podolny curse is still in effect. I am beginning to believe there will never be another Podolny male child. My father is convinced this is God's merciful of letting our tongue-twister name die out, and I'm inclined to agree. Not that we're at all disappointed! In fact, the great name debates have begun anew now that we have a gender assigned. Tim and I are engaged in a battle of epic proportions over what should be the simplest of things. The biggest problem is that he hates all of the names that I like, and I think all of the names he likes sound like 80-year old Italian grandmas. Let's take a poll, shall we? Here are some of the names I like:

Edith (Edie) - I know it's a little old fashioned but it happens to be the name of my favorite author (Edith Wharton), plus it reminds me of the Edith and Mr. Bear books :)

Stephanie - It might be my sister's name, but at least we all know it goes well with Podolny! (Besides, she's a Shaterian now, anyway)

Audrey - Who doesn't think that Audrey Hepburn was one of the most elegant women of all time?!

Anya - a good Slavic name

Celeste - Yes, it's French, but it's also the name of Babar's wife :)

Now, here are some of the names Tim likes:

Marie - ummm, ick?

Linda - It's just so fifties!

Alyssa - This actually wouldn't be too bad, but one of his ex-girlfriends was named Melissa and, to me, Alyssa is just too darn close to that

Emmy Lou - From the George Strait song we both love, except we are both Yankees and Emmy Lou Podolny sounds retarded

Madison/Cheyenne/Mercedes, etc. - Ugh! I detest trendy names!

So, beloved friends and readers, we welcome your comments and baby name suggestions. We've got a while to ruminate on it, so there's no hurry (no need to rule ou Edith right away, you'll see that it grows on you ;)