Great day indeed, though I am not feeling so swell. My children all have colds. (I stopped giving them some vitamin things I had been doing, in line with getting more C and D into them with the lesser sunlight of Autumn and Winter coming fast to aid their fighting of germs. I didn’t stop because I wanted to, but because of how I was feeling due to being with child … things being harder due to tiredness, and then migraines, and now early stages of “morning sickness”. I have started to give them some things since the day before yesterday though, since they were showing cold symptoms beginning.)

I may or may not be fighting a cold. I know that I’m icky over morning sickness and it’s not that bad, but bad enough. I wake up alright sort of, then feel my insides drop a notch and more, like when something up falls down more than usual, like airplanes, elevators, etc., then that feeling just stays … and waves start when something smells, not bad smells, but they feel bad. Oh yes, it’s that morning thing for pregnant ladies. It can get worse, and I don’t want it to. I do not mind it though, since my 4th pregnancy ended in the 9th week and I didn’t have morning sickness at all. I had pregnacy symtoms for that one, though not the hight of what I’ve had with this one. Which type are similer to other pregancies? This current one sync’s with my first 3, which were healthy births.

This newer “morning” stuff started maybe last week. I had migraines and can’t separate things out to know when it really began. The thing is, I feel O.K. when I first get up, then a bit later start to feel the pressure of the “morning” stuff. That doesn’t bug me all day, but does, so far, seem to keep me eating less at dinner time of late. Then I go to bed and get hungry. It would be better if I could be away from food preperation, not have to do it or smell it at all, then maybe if I had food brought to me I could eat it better.

That’s pie in the sky though.

I haven’t had my “rest” each day the last few days, and must institute that today, and keep it going, no matter what.

I would write more on Reformation Day, but I’m too pregnant to come up with anything right now. I must go and eat and rest, and just know that I would write more, but making a baby is very good work and is enough for me right now.

Friday we went out looking for a new washer. It was a horrid day for me, I had, I think, my 1.3 version migraine during that time, or it was 1.2 and resolved, then turned into 1.3. In any case, I was miserable, and the driving made it 1000 times worse.

We went to four different stores, or was it five? Maybe it was three to four. [I should have written this post right away.]

We went to Fry’s, and I can’t recall a thing about washers there, or maybe I can and I’m morphing those with another store’s. Hmm. I think indeed we did talk there, ah yes, it was that there were two models discounted $100, one looked good, but was out-of-box, it had be put on display, but they were now selling it. Another was a return, ugly dents. We kept the one in mind and went elsewhere to look.

We then went to a Sears Clearance outlet for appliances, and they had Kenmore’s that appeared to be made by LG (an employee affirmed this slightly) but they were pricier than we wanted to pay, and knew for certain that we could get LG models for less other places.

We then went to Best Buy and there the models we were looking at were priced same/less than Fry’s (comparing new to out-of-box, etc.) and less than what we had seen at Home Depot (me online, DH in the actual store before.)

DH was thinking of going to Home Depot and getting the 2077 — which there was $899 and they had some sort of sale on it (really just a mail-in rebate for a HD Gift Card) — I really had liked a higher model, the 2277, when I looked online. On Home Depot’s site it was prices $100 more, so was $999.

We were at Best Buy and there the models were priced less. $899 for the 2277. DH and I agreed that the 2277 was the one we wanted.

So then we went to Home Depot, and they agreed, at first, to check the pricing at Best Buy and give us the 110% price guarantee. Then the checked on delivery/set-up schedules, and then came back saying they could do the 100% price match, but that’s it since the washer isn’t an ‘in stock” item, it’s a wharehouse item. In other words, it’s a ‘can’t take it with you’ item. This is annoying. Other than that, they couldn’t deliver and setup until Wednesday (Nov 1) and that was unacceptable to us.

So we went back to Best Buy that evening and bought the 2277, and had free delivery for Sunday (not usually what we’d do, but it was the best thing for us, not having any laundry done for days, backed up before the washer died in the first place.)

The washer was installed and running through it’s initial phase before 11am yesterday. We’ve gotten several loads done, and they have come out so nicely. The dryer has less fuzz than before as well, when drying different things. Towels used to give off huge amounts of fuzzy fluff to have to be cleaned out before finishing the drying phase.

This washer is so advanced from our previous GE Profile top loader (bought in Dec. 1996) and I am happy to have it, because this is one area of life that is difficult for me to manage, laundry. Anything that makes it easier for me to do the work needed to get clothing clean is welcomed. For little me, a front loader is do-able to unload, and I could easily have my children unload the washer if I wanted to (our old washer was too deep for me to get to the bottom of without over reaching by stretching and standing on my tiptoes, and sometimes not doing so well at it at all, and the children couldn’t get most anything out of the washer.) It’s neat to watch the laundry go around and see the whole process, the difference in how something is washed from our old top loader.

This washer will save on laundry detergent, water, and energy. It will also save MY energy, and allow me to take better care of our clothing.

I had a migraine Wednesday, which I wrote about in a previous post. I got rid of it by that night. Thursday I woke up and felt alright. Sometime during the late afternoon I got a black mood feeling settling over me. I also realized I hadn’t eaten lunch and didn’t care that I hadn’t, wasn’t “hungry” at all, and still wasn’t.

I got very sleepy during dinner, and didn’t eat very much, and went to bed right away afterward. I watched TV but fell asleep and woke up and fell asleep, etc. I woke again nearer to Midnight and felt my sinuses pressing inward slowly, so I, recalling my Migraine from the day before, took a Sudafed, as I had then. It helped eventually, but when I fell asleep and awoke again later, I knew it didn’t stop what was inevitable, the migraine was there in it’s full ugly creepiness on the left side, and so I went to find my Excedrin, though I do not want to be using it (being pregnant) but don’t know what else to do (and not wanting to repeat my previous migraine experience in “trying not to use it” and suffering badly and using it anyhow later and more and then more.)

So this am I am up, it’s raining heavily, gloomy out and I can still feel the migraine, it was lighter in the middle of the night, but it’s been several hours now since the Excedrin dose. It’s not a horrid pain, but just nagging and threatening to worsen.

Last night I had a clue about my black mood that was sinking to cover my entire being. But I ignored it.

I can see it as plain as day with hindsight, the first clue being my lack of appetite, lack of hunger (most especially noticeable for me now that I am pregnant, and hungry often enough usually.)

When I am not pregnant I don’t get very hungry often, but when I have a migraine coming my first sign is usually suppression of appetite entirely, which I don’t always notice, but will think about once time goes on and I have another symptom or two.

I must say it’s quite annoying, these certain migraines that have this “black mood” pre-setup. It’s the most horrible thing, to feel that way. It passes, but I wish it wouldn’t come at all. I can look back at it and see it, and it’s like a 3rd person view. But I know what it feels like in the 1st person, it’s a vacant soul like feeling.

Anyhow, in the past few years, or more, I’ve noted that a lot of my migraines come in three’s. One, then Another, then Another. They usually have reprieve of truly whole state between them, but only hours, or a day or night, usually not more than a whole day, usually less.

So Wednesday around Midnight #1 started (compressed sinuses and pain growing suddenly on the right side, and fairly bad progress) and left me by later afternoon. Thursday morning I was alright, but lack of appetite set in around Noon, probably, and the by late afternoon I could feel the black mood settling in for a spell. Then sleepiness hit, another clue for me, totally sleepiness. Awakening with compressed sinuses beginning, then falling asleep again and waking with the pain beginning on the left side. At my time of writing: 9:56am currently, the pain is still there and will either go away soon, or get worse, I’ll either fall prey to weakness to use Excedrin, or not. I don’t know. Firstly I’ll make an egg to eat and see if THAT helps, which it could, but that doesn’t work like magic usually.

To get grotestque here for a moment, these sorts of migraines seem to involve the intestines, and when the intestines move, they move and move and move and finally the migraine ceases to plague, for a time. It’s particular that they do NOT move at first and getting them to move seems to be helpful, but isn’t easy since the stomach is really not happy in the process, usually churning as well. I have also found, in the past, a very upset tummy in the middle of the migraine can be so acidic and horrible, and a Tums, then later another, can aide the migraine in leaving, but it’s not magic that works every time.

It’s all a mystery, ’cause I just take what comes to me, and making sense of migraines is a pasttime that shows some patterns, but no absolutes.

In pregnancy now, I loathe to think that I’ll be plagued with migraines this whole time off and on. I was with my daughter inside, but not with my two boys. I do hope I can carry this babe to term safely, but I do worry that since I’m still very early this could signal something wrong, or not, but don’t know, so I worry. It could just mean it’s a girl and it’s going to be rough. Of course this isn’t proven exactly for me that a girl would do this, but the one I did have that was a girl was plagued with migraines, and the two boys were so lovely to carry, little of that, and if any they were light and didn’t happen often either (like hardly at all, really.)

So I sit here thinking of this, wanting this #2 Migraine to end so we can get on with #3 and be done with this set.

Tuesday night our washer seems to have nearly died. I say “seems to have nearly died” since it does turn on, and just pours water out of the bottom.

It’s as old as … purchased in late 1996 when we first moved to Georgia. It’s been run, run, run, including cloth diaper duty from 1999 to 2002. First it was three people it serviced, then four, then five. We’ve had problems with the dial, the “settings” for the last 7 years, in honesty, and we never got it looked at since we didn’t want to put more money into it to keep it running. It’s not the most efficient use of a machine for me, it’s so deep, it’s a struggle for me to use it.

After we bought it is when front – loading washers began to be sold here in the US and pricing come down more recently, and machines have been bettered since then as well. We could get another top loader of generalities for little, but that’s not what we want, nor what would be best for us. Front-loader can actually be stacked with the dryer, we’ll get a washer first, and the dryer later (our current dryer is still working, though it runs too hot, for my tastes, on the lowest heat setting even.)

DH is getting paid tomorrow and he says we’ll go out and find a new washer. Stackability is my desire eventually, even if we don’t do it sooner, we will later.

I discovered the washer via our downstairs hallway being flooded, and the laundry room too. We have had things in the laundry room as storage, and recently had begun removing things to sort them, and well, this problem came too soon, and we did have to throw some books away. Some boxes have loose stuff and that is so problematic for me to sort. What to do with it, ugh. The bain of my existence.

I’ve been trying to simplify things and those boxes in there, as well as the ones in the garage, are the masses of grossness that must be wittled away before simplicity can be won here.

One of these days the laundry room will be empty except for a new washer, and the dryer and the shelving to house laundry things. I hope to have an ironing board/ironing center, and clothes hanging area too. There is plenty of room for that.

My way of laundry is horrible usually. If I don’t care much for it, I don’t care for it well. So good quality, good construction is what aides me. To me, it’s simplicity, it lasts, it’s WORTH caring for. It looks good. It’s not extravagance.

In this is my desire to sew skirts, blouses and dresses for my daughter and myself. I used to sew for myself in my youth, not a ton, but some, and enjoyed it. I have sewn for my daughter when she was younger, but put myself into major project creation which is not the same as what I intend to do in the future. What I want to make are things of Classic Traditional look, beauty. Simple things that have wonderful fit and wear (not cheap fit, cheap wear.)

The few good things we have from stores I have mostly tried to care for, and if they fall out of care I do try to put them back in place eventually. Unlike cheap things, which only wear out easily no matter how they are cared for.

I’m saddened that we have no washer right now, but it’s only a few days, if we can deliver it for ourselves this weekend, which I hope we can. I’m gladdened by this prospect, that a super useful tool will finally come into my laundry room, and it will also lessen dryer usage. Yipee! Also, I do not use the dryer at all for some things, and the drip, drip, drip of those items is quite bothersome.

The washer flood wasn’t fun, I had to wake up DH, it was 12:02am and it took a lot of work with our little 1/2 gallon shop vac in use. I didn’t do a lot, since I’m first-trimester (6 weeks this week,) but I did stress out a bit more than I should have, and whether that was the cause or I would have anyway, I got a migraine. I hadn’t had a full blown migraine since being pregnant, I had the beginning of one a couple of weeks ago, that went away naturally when I just sat down and blew my nose good and rested, and drank something.

This night in question was plainly horrible, I layed down and tried to rest, but the pain grew and grew and grew. It wasn’t so very bad, but bad enough, and my guts took a dive down to ugly land and I eventually got to the place in the AM where I had no choice but to heave, heave, heave, with nothing to come up but a little watery stuff. It didn’t help me except to take away the impending upping of stomach, the white, cold icey feeling that grows upward and finally burns in your ears … ugh. So I was in bed all day, and after the heaving session I did take Excedrin, and that helped some, but I had to take two more doses later and later than that. By evening I was doing better, but I stayed in bed. I actually got out a cross stitch project that I had previously opened and had gotten the thread set up to use, but never started stitching it. I stitched the first middle section, which employed four changes of thread colour. It’s a picture of multiple tulips of varying colours in a wooden box. So now one Tulip in the design is stitched, and that was enough for the first session. It was nice to be counted-cross-stitching again.

I got up this morning and felt as good as I do most usual mornings, which is a bonus, since I felt so bad all day the day before, and was very shaky afterwards. To be normal tired in early-pregnancy is great by comparison.