Let the Dreams Begin...

Last night, I had my first experience with a crazy dream that I am willing to blame on my precious little poppy seed. IT began with me being at Fareway, a grocery store. I was walking around the store aimlessly and happened to see a student. This student happens to be a little shady, so I decided to follow him. As I saw him nearing the door, I caught sight of a DVD player shoved inside his jacket. I attempted to spring into action, but the little bugger was too quick! When I came back into the store, there were two men laughing at me; these men were so tall that while simply standing, their heads could rest on top of the shelves of food. They mocked me for my inability to catch the shoplifter, making me realize that they were the student's friends. I tried to talk to employees to turn in all three people, but to no avail. Toward the end of the dream, one of my coworkers walked into the store and proceeded to shoplift a DVD player for herself. This behavior was not only bizarre because a) it was the second incident of shoplifting and b) Fareway doesn't sell DVD players to my knowledge, but also c) this coworker is the sweetest, most soft-spoken person I know. I tried to chase after her and she called back to me that it was the student's idea and if he didn't get in any trouble, neither would she. Now maybe this dream seems normal to everyone else, but I don't recall my dreams often and this one stuck with me.

On a related "blame things on my pregnancy" note, I realize that I have fallen victim to my first craving. A few weeks ago, while grocery shopping, I was struck by the urge to purchase some packets of ramen noodles. In my younger days (say middle-high school), I burned myself out on the little packages of sodium-loaded noodle soupness. Back then, I would simply boil the noodles, drain them, and drown them in soy or teriaki sauce, perhaps with a bit of parmesean cheese (I was odd, don't judge). Once home from this recent trip to the store, I decided to give that little pouch of seasoning a try. Oh boy, I was HOOKED! I have been eating a package of ramen nearly every day for almost 2 solid weeks now. I know it's unhealthy, so save the lecture for someone uninformed. I have learned some important information about ramen however, which I will now impart to you, dear reader:

• 1 packet of ramen noodles requires 2 cups of water, boiling hot, to make
• 1 packet of ramen noodles is considered...wait for it...TWO servings (for some reason, this is laughable to me)
• 1 packet of ramen noodles, prepared as instructed, yields between 27-40% of your daily value of sodium intake (at least according to the 4 flavors I have tried: chicken, creamy chicken, beef, and pork).
• If you are mathematically challenged, that means that eating the whole packet prepared as directed will cause you to consume 54-80% of your daily value of sodium! WARNING!!!

So, I now realize that I can't eat as much ramen as I would like (I was preparing to fill my bathtub with ramen and swim in it prior to really reading over the little package). I made a deal with myself that I am allowed to cook it as instructed and eat the noodles marinated in the broth, but I may not drink the broth, no matter how strong the urge.

The secret is sort of "out" at my second job now. A few people asked why I seemed so happy, one person overheard a partial conversation I was having with one of the inquirers, and still one more caught me reading a pregnancy magazine (I thought I had it concealed well) during my break. Since the cat is pretty much out of the proverbial bag there, I felt free to purchase a pregnangcy book for my husband without making an excuse. Thankfully, the colleague who attended to us at the register didn't ask, but she did give me a knowing look.

Keeping the pregnancy on the DL is difficult, partially because I feel as though I will burst if I don't talk about it. We went over to our friends' apartment last night to play games and I practically shouted it, but was able to restrain myself (just barely). I still hope to keep it somewhat a secret, at least until after our first doctor's appointment, because the less people I have to tell about a potential miscarriage (nightmare inducing thoughts playing through my head at the moment) the better. I am happy about who I have told however, because they will provide me with support should that nightmare occur and it IS nice to have people to talk to and share with.

Well, I'm headed off to bed now. I am thoroughly exhausted, haven't touched any homework, and have a boresville meeting at 7:30am, followed by my full day of school. I may have to tell my boss tomorrow, despite only being "5 weeks, 2 days" along according to http://www.due-date-calculator.com/. Toodles!