Freaks of Nature, Sciatica, and What I'm Reading

So, no baby yet. Just wanted to clear that up.




Today I thought I'd try to post something that was not entirely pregnancy-related.
I'll start with what has set up housekeeping just outside my front door on the porch:
Guess I should have warned those who are arachnophobic (like me). Anyway. . .here's another pic of this critter's handiwork.

If you know me at all or have read for a while, you know that I am a total freak about spiders. They really, really, really scare me. But when this critter showed up a few weeks ago (and was much, much smaller) we decided to let him stay. My DH named him "Pickles".

My DH names all spiders who stick around "Pickles". I've just never asked why.

Anyway. . .so this spider is now much bigger and has created quite a crafty little web. Since we don't ever go on the part of the front porch he's blocking off, I figure we can cohabitate a bit longer until he moves on. I mean, just because I'm a freak about spiders doesn't mean my kid has to grow up to be a freak about spiders. So I'm trying to not be so scared of them.

But the really freaky thing happening on our front porch is this plant (sorry the picture is bad--it's just so hot and muggy and sunny and humid that this is the best I could do) is sending little feeler roots onto the porch and they're almost to the house. Of course, this is right where the spider is living, so chopping back this rogue plant is easier said than done.

Anyway. . .I thought I would contribute my own "view from my front door" even though it's not Fun Monday or even something people have been posting about lately. Basically, we feel like we are under attack.

Part II: Sciatica.

I have sciatica issues. Have had them on my right side for years. Really flared up during my first trimester and now I'm doing the happy dance all the time. I'm assuming that these recent flare-ups indicate that labor is imminent. Seriously.

And thank you in advance for your stretching suggestions, but I really do know how to stretch it out to make it stop. And I have. And it has not stopped. In fact, I went to yoga last week and we did a whole class on hamstring release/sciatica release and it just got worse to spite me. Seriously, I think this means we'll have the baby soon.

Anyway, my DH is now getting used to having conversations with me where I get this funny look and have to shake out my leg a little and then continue talking. Lots.of.fun.

Part III:

So now that the house is for the most part all put away from moving back--all I really need to do is figure out what I want to put back on some of the walls and what stays/goes in our workout room--I've actually had quite a bit of downtime. So I'm using this for some reading.

I whipped through 4 or 5 Tony Hillerman mysteries. (Sorry, I'm too lazy to linky-loo today. It's almost time for a nap or lunch or both) I like his writing because the same characters are in the books and he's been writing for 30 years so you get to see a lot of progression. And they're set in parts of New Mexico where my DH spent summers and my FIL grew up and where their ranch is where they hunt every year and that's cool.

Then I read Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Okay, so I didn't read it. I consumed it. In one bite. I couldn't put it down. It was amazing. Felt like I was back in college and smart again and reading something for one of my hoity-toity-ooh-I'm-an-English-major-so-aren't-I-important (and unemployable) classes. Anyway. . .I totally loved the book. Certainly is not uplifting or anything, but it was awesome. Now my DH is reading it and he.is.hooked.

So I'm also hoping to teach some prenatal/postnatal/mommy and me yoga once KidZilla arrives and we get settled, so I ordered some books related to the topic. Read through a pregnancy/birth yoga book yesterday. Good.

Now I'm chuckling through Pete McCarthy's Road to McCarthy. Basically, this dude travels the planet in search for his long lost "relatives" with the same last name. He's an absolute riot and much funnier than Bill Bryson. I really loved travel lit/adventure AS LONG AS THEY INCLUDE A MAP. I freakin' hate it when I'm reading about someone's journey through a country and they don't even include a damn map. I usually find one online and paste it in the book so I can refer to what I want. Doggone stupid authors. . .

Anyway. . .that's about all I can handle here. Now it really is time for a nap or something. . .