neither here nor there

This week marks the 8-month mark of my first (and the plan is, last) pregnancy.  This pregnancy wasn’t an accident and my husband and I are incredibly excited about the impending arrival of our homemade little person.  But, the last 8 months have taught me a lot (understatement of the year here) and if watching 3 episodes of Glee gives Glenn Beck the expertise to comment on gay people, then I believe the past 32 weeks have certainly qualified me to write about pregnancy.

And now I will share my findings with you. I realize the show isn’t over, but I’ll probably feel like a bad mother if I write all this once we have our little bundle of joy. More likely than that, I will be too busy scrubbing sticky yellow poo out of the couch cushions to sit down and write such a blathering essay as this.

Because I have yet to experience labor, and haven’t pooped on a table since I was a baby, I still have a morsel of modesty left. So please keep in mind these are my slightly censored opinions, and if you really and truly want the real story, you’ll need to wait for a less public opportunity than this blog. Without further ado, here are 10 things I didn’t know about pregnancy (and am willing to share on the internet):

1. 9 Months

Let’s start with the fact that I’m 8 months pregnant and have two more months before the due date.   Pregnancy is 40 weeks, and for those of you who made it past 4^th grade, 40 divided by 4 is 10. Therefore, pregnancy is 10 months long, not 9.*

*I have been corrected on this one. Some wise friends pointed out that most months are longer than 4 weeks.  True, but the point is the same: this ride is longer than the one you thought you were getting on.  When the pregnancy book tells you that you are 8 months pregnant, people will congratulate you on having just one more month and it’s all a big lie. I once picked up a pregnancy book that tracked the woman’s pregnancy by the stages of the moon. I scoffed at it in then, but perhaps the hippies are on to something. Maybe the lunar cycle helps time to move a bit faster than the Western calendar.

Pregnancy Tip: If you plan on becoming impregnated anytime soon, it’s best for your mental health that you start internalizing this fact NOW.

2. “Morning” Sickness

Now, unless “morning” includes every hour I’m awake (about 6 am – 10pm), then this is a misnomer.  My favorite highlight of morning sickness was the morning I went to get my first blood test, followed erroneous directions to find myself at a funeral home and then, since it was 7:15 and I needed to get to work, I gave up on the blood test and headed to school.  A few blocks from school, the “morning” sickness came to a boiling point and I had to pull over by an East Oakland park where I then puked into an old paper bag I found in my car. The bag then proceeded to leak everywhere so I ducked out into the rainy morning with my bag of vomit. While snot dripped down my face (I prioritize puke over snot) I ran to the bus stop trash can leaving a trail of bag drippings behind me to wash away in the rain. While this experience makes a lovely story, it is important to know that the nausea, vomiting and general feelings of wanting to die were not limited to the morning hours. During my several months of “all day” sickness, I lovingly bestowed our child with his first moniker: the white demon.

Pregnancy Tip: Keep plastic bags in your car. Sturdy plastic bags. Also, if you have wood or tile floors at home, wear socks. Sliding across the floor in socks can save quite a mess by upping your overall travel speed when everything starts moving up and you need to reach a trashcan or toilet.

3. Cookie Dough

Apparently pregnant women are highly susceptible to food poisoning since your immune system goes into hibernation in efforts to not fight off your child as some sort of virus. Because of this, you aren’t supposed to eat cookie dough, which of course has raw eggs.  Well, I’ve tested this one on more than one occasion and all was just fine. I’m eating cookie dough while writing this.

Life Tip: Adding a little chili powder to your chocolate chip cookie dough brings out the flavor of the chocolate but adds no spice, I promise!

4. Food Cravings

I’ve yet to experience food cravings. You may cite the fact that I just admitted to eating cookie dough as I write this.  Well I should point out that that is not unusual behavior for me, with or without a fetus. I definitely experienced a disgust for nearly all foods during my “all day” sickness and have a fond memory of crying over my Mexican food as my husband tried to convince me to eat something (yes, at a restaurant, in public.) I continue to have aversions to some wonderful foods such as Zachary’s pizza, but I haven’t added any cravings to the list.

5. Heartburn

Who knew I would spend such a significant portion of my salary on Tums and Zantac before age 65?  I don’t think I even knew what heartburn was prior to pregnancy. Imagine lying in bed and suddenly having the feeling that a box of chalk is rising up in your throat, slowly choking you. That’s fun.  At first I was able to control this with changes to my diet and eating times, but that is a thing of the past. Heartburn is now as unavoidable for me as the loss of my bellybutton.

Pregnancy Tip: If you’re like me, you may think that the small container of antacids will be sufficient. Don’t kid yourself. Hit up Costco.

6. The Finger

I was warned of this one by a good friend before my first prenatal appointment. I appreciated the warning, but it didn’t really take the shock factor out of the actual moment. During our first appointment, the OB confirmed the pregnancy by putting some giant electronic “wand” up somewhere that might not surprise you, but then followed this by sticking her finger up somewhere that will surprise you.  “Now, I’m about to stick my finger up your anus, if you can just take a breath and relax…” I do not know how those “Sixteen and Pregnant” girls go through these exams in front of their boyfriends of 2 ½ months. Maybe they don’t.  The boyfriends are probably at t-ball practice or something.

Pregnancy Tip: Years down the road, have a little laugh to yourself every time your husband goes in for a prostate exam.

7. The Husband’s Role

I was told that I would rely on my husband for jobs such as household chores, back massages, and foot rubs. While I’ve called on him for the first two items, and wish I could have more of the third thing, there are some more basic needs I require of him. Here’s a request I make more frequently: “Can you tie my shoes?” Yep, humble yourself now. Nothing like admitting that you can’t really reach your own shoes to rob you of any dignity you might have clung to after that first doctor’s appointment.

Pregnancy Tip: Wear flats. Not just for comfort, but so you can enjoy the satisfaction of dressing yourself without assistance.

8. The First Ultrasound

…did not make me cry. To be honest, it took quite a while to figure out that the little blinking white light was my child’s beating heart, not an electronic blip. This looks nothing like a baby. I was more awed by the fact that my uterus was shaped like a banana.

Pregnancy Tip: When the ultrasound tech offers you a printed out copy, eagerly thank her even though it looks like nothing to you. I think they call CPS if you refuse ultrasound pictures.

9. The Second Trimester Myth

Mothers and pregnancy books alike will try to distract you from the “all-day” sickness in the first trimester by telling you that you will “feel great” in the second trimester. Um, no. This would be analogous to saying that if you had swine flu last week and now you just have food poisoning, you must feel great! I’m fairly certain that a lot of women enjoy the second trimester more than I did, but I didn’t start feeling normal-ish until the third trimester. And by then, I was peeing 25 times a day, complaining incessantly about back pain and unable to shave my legs. So far, first trimester was horrific, second trimester was really uncomfortable and the third trimester has been a great improvement, but definitely…awkward.

Pregnancy Tip: Book a leg waxing today.

10. Pregnancy is Sexy

Pregnancy is sexy in the same way that watching Biggest Loser is a turn-on.  Because I’m censoring myself, I am unable to really detail all the ways pregnancy is not sexy. Now my husband might be lying, but either way, he tells me that he still finds me attractive. I’m just not feeling it.  Today as I drove home from work, I realized that I could feel my stomach resting on my thighs. To me, this is not sexy. I’m fairly certain that my regular belching is also not that sexy to my husband.

Pregnancy Tip: Since you’ve already given up on feeling sexy, go buy a maternity bra and move on with your life. You can be sexy next year.

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Growing up in Davis, I learned to equate members of the Roma chain as dread-locked hippies serving you stale iced tea with cockroaches in the ice cubes.  Sadly, the Davis Cafe Roma shut down (rumored to be a victim of pesky food inspectors) and all of their workers had to go find jobs at the Davis Food Co-Op.

Despite this previous understanding of the Roma culture, I bravely tried the Elmwood Espresso Roma on recommondation of a good friend.  And while their tea isn’t the best, I truly like this cafe.  There is tons of space inside, including a separate back room (always nice) and some outdoor seating as well.  And while I don’t usually order actual lunch or non-pastry food items from coffee shops, I have enjoyed a good salad and pizza during especially long work sessions at Roma.  I especially love that the music is so unobtrusive that as I write this, I find myself questioning if they even play music there.  I also love the free wifi and the fact that you could spend 8 hours there and they probably wouldn’t raise an eyebrow.

Espresso Roma
College and Ashby, Berkeley (Elmwood)
Atmosphere: 4/5
Drinks: 3/5
Food: 4/5
Study-Factor: 5/5
Overall: 4/5

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This one did not at all live up to my expectations.  The Elmwood Cafe looks super cute with its yellow awnings and open windows.  Alas, it’s more of a breakfast place and only has a few overpriced beverage options.  Their only iced tea was a red tea that they had refrigerated and then asked if I wanted with ice.  Er, yes.  I don’t think they would be cool with anyone putting in hours of coffees-shopping here, but that’s understandable if they want to be a breakfast place first and coffee shop second.  I do think they need to get some other tea in there for those of us not lovin the red stuff. 

From our sidewalk seating we did get to witness a couple (probably not from the area) call the police about a bum who had passed out between on the corner with his head in the gutter.  They got a little jump when he was startled out of his nap.  We’re not in Davis anymore friends.

The Elmwood Cafe
College Blvd, Berkeley (Elmwood)
Atmosphere: 3/5
Drink: 2/5
Food: 4/5
Study-Factor: 1/5
Overall: 3/5

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And here we have the crappiest coffee shop thus far.  Dale and I drove the ritzy Piedmont area to visit this Glenview spot.  We were literally the only people who foolishly decided to spend their Saturday afternoon at Ultimate Grounds et al.  We did have some flies to keep us company.  And when the girl working the register (I’m not comfortable with using the word barista in this case) was understandably bored, she pumped up the radio to a blaring Mexican radio station.  Just what I love to hear when I’m trying to read or work… Or not.  The food looked okay but I didn’t get anything.  We didn’t want to hang around to actually get hungry.

Ultimate Grounds et al.
Park Blvd., Oakland (Glenview)
Atmosphere: 3/5
Drinks: 3/5
Food: 3/5
Study-Factor: 2/5
Overall: 2/5

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Oh Peets,
How I love thee.

Let me start by admitting that I once was employed by Starbucks.  I had a great time working there and drank enough coffee to develop a full body physical rejection of coffee.  See previous post: Do I smell like coffee?  So despite my time spent as a siren in a green apron, I am a traitor and pledge full allegiance to Peets.  Their iced coffee and their tea are far superior to those at the ‘Bucks.

The pasteries at Peets are about 10,000 times more appetizing than the hard tack Starbucks has downgraded to in the past few years.  A Mad Cookie (available at most Peets in the area) is probably one of the top 5 ways to my heart.  Other favorites are the Pumpkin Ginger Muffin, the Blackberry-Raspberry Scone and the crossiants.

In colder months, I am a regular Jasmine Green Tea consumer, while in the summer I live it up with more variety.  Peets’ Summerhouse Iced tea lacks the shaken watery quality available at Startbucks and I have yet to enjoy a better black iced tea.  I’m also a big fan of the Hibiscus Lime Cooler (iced tea with some juice or something) despite the fact that it is caffinee-free.  I have even branched out and given my aching heart some occasional stabbing pains after enjoying an iced vanilla soy latte.  So good.  And with the touch of foam on top? Perfection.  Insiders know that there is an Iced Drink card in the summer which rewards me with several free iced beverages of choice each summer.

Summerhouse = Summer Love

I frequent two different Peets in my expanded neighborhood.  We can always find a table at the Peets at 51st and Telegraph (Temscal).  My husband, Enrique (see “Coffee Shop #4″  if this confuses you), and I have put in some serious time at this Peets and the only downside is that like all Peets, you walk away with the smell of ground coffee trapped in your clothes, underwear and pores.  Nothing but a shower and intensive load of laundry will free you from this tell tale marker.

Another favorite in the area is the Peets on Claremont (right next to the Claremont hotel) and is on one of those vauge streets that might be in Berkeley or might be in Oakland.  I’m not really sure.  There is almost no inside seating, and you usually have to wait in line behind a few high rollers in their tennis whites, but what makes it is the beautiful and somewhat secluded outdoor patio.  The patio is set back from the road and has a garden-like quality to it.

Today I was in Berkeley, so I decided to stop by the original Peets.  This location has a back room that is like a miny Peets museum.  Framed pictures and the original bean containers are on display.  I’ve been to the original Starbucks in Seattle as well and it is a tiny little space.  This spot is a bit bigger and despite the space dedicated to memorablia, there is still inside seating.

Original Peets Museum

If only these were still the prices...

The original Peets is located in a beautiful neighborhood on Vine Street in Berkeley.  After getting my $2 Freddo Friday, I strolled around the Gourmet Ghetto (home of Chez Pannise, the Cheese Board and more) and then up to a quiet little neighborhood park where I enjoyed my summer beverage and reading.  The Berkeley Rose Garden is also in walking distance and paired with a Summerhouse Iced Tea, makes for a perfect Sunday afternoon.

Nearby park

Berkeley Rose Garden

Peets Coffee and Tea
Various locations
Atmosphere (average): 4/5
Drinks: 5/5
Food: 5/5*
Study-Factor (average): 4/5
Overall: 5/5

*A Mad Cookie alone earns 5/5

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I’ve driven and jogged by this spot many times and it was great to finally enjoy it.  There is endless seating inside, outside in the shade, outside in the sun, outside in half-sun, half-shade.  Some of the outside spots even have plug access!  Whoo hoo.  The people working there were nice and laid back and the guy even asked me if I wanted some tequila.  The veracity of this offer was questionable, but appreciated nonetheless.   I got an iced tea in a real glass (always a bonus) and I’m pretty sure its origins can’t be traced back to a box of Mighty Leaf.

Across the street from U.C. Berkeley, I was amid a sea of college students and grad students and the buzz of conversations was a nice substitute for music.  I even overhead a grad student talking about a paper she wants to write on the idea that there is often a negative stigma associated with people overcoming addiction.  Shocking!  Other groundbreaking studies include the following: People are wary of drug dealers and obesity is a growing trend in the U.S. But enough about grad students…

Those looking for quieter spots to study can sit inside or some of the quieter patio spots (we are talking HUGE patio with several distinct sections.)  And while it took me a while to connect, there is free wi-fi without time limits.

Caffe Strada
College and Bancroft, Berkeley
Atmosphere: 5/5
Drinks: 4/5
Food: –*
Study Factor: 5/5
Overall: 5/5**

*I didn’t eat anything so I can’t judge.  It looked alright but not specatcular.

**Hm, I was hesitant to give the full 5/5 considering I have yet to do so.  I just get really very excited about patio seating and this may have swayed my overall opinion.

Iced Tea and Teacher Work

Strada Patio (from Yelp.com)

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Did they put this on their Christmas cards?

This photograph hangs on the side of Peets Coffee on Vine Street in Berkeley.  Apparently it is suposed to entice passersby to enlist the photographer for some family portraits.  I’m wondering who sees this oddly intimate image and is sold.

I detest this picture.  Here are the problems I have with it:

1. The look on the mother’s face is oddly erotic. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I don’t see a mother’s love.  I see a face that belongs on a check-out line romance novel.

2. The boy has to be at least 8 or 9 years old…and he’s naked.  Fourth grade is a little too old for nudity in my professional opinion (as a mandated CPS reporter.)

3.  Do I really need a third reason?  I think  numbers one and two were creepy enough.

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I’ve been to the Beanery to pick up an iced tea while in the Elmwood hood, but this was my first experience doing any hard time there.

The Beanery does lose major points for having the same vast selection of Numi teas that can be found at your local grocery store, and I noticed they even make you get your own tea bag and steep it if your order a hot tea. It’s not that I’m too good for this task, but come on now, you’re a coffee and tea shop! Do your job.

At least the iced tea was better and I appreciated that the dude asked before plopping a lemon wedge in there.

What I was really impressed with was the layout. There is a front room with a few tables, a small hallway with the bathrooms, a back sun room with tables and then a back patio. The patio could be cuter, but then I’m more of an overgrown, Secret Garden type when it comes to outdoor seating. (Check out Peets at Claremont for this.)

Despite the slowish wifi, I found this to be the most study friendly stop thus far on my summer tour. The music was classical, and the back room allowed for the more focused to sit farther away from street and espresso machine noise.

The Beanery
College Avenue, Berkeley (Elmwood)
Atmosphere: 5/5
Drinks: 3/5*
Food: 4/5**
Study Factor: 5/5
Overall: 5/5

*I’ve decided that any cafe that sells Numi or Mighty Leaf tea has a 1% chance of earning anything higher than a 3/5 on my “Drinks” scale.

**I didn’t eat anything, so this is based on looks and selection.  They have some good looking sweets.

Cool coffee bean tables

If ever find yourself in the borderlands and are unsure if you are in Berkeley or Oakland, there are little hints if you look around.

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So this one is a little bit of a cheat because I’ve been to Hudson Bay a bazillion times. It’s also known as Enrique’s* office because he spent most of his unempolyment doing job applications and nerdy web stuff here.

The music is good but not distracting, the tea isn’t Peets, but then again it’s significantly better than MightyLeaf. The pastries are good (same bakery as Peets) and they offer some tasty salads and sandwiches.

Best of all, Hudson Bay is located in my favorite Rockridge hot spot. Standing in front of Hudson Bay, I could spit on my favorite bookstore, yoga studio, and the aforementioned Bittersweet as well as the super awesome Rockridge Home.

Hudson Bay Coffee Company
College Avenue, Oakland (Rockridge)
Atmosphere: 4/5
Drinks: 4/5
Food: 4/5
Study Factor: 4/5
Overall: 4/5

*My husband (previously named Dale) is a giant cyber nerd. Yesterday he informed me that real bloggers don’t use the real names of anyone in their writing. I asked if this was for security reasons and he didn’t seem to think so. Apparently, he prefers blogs written more anonymously. I don’t feel like saying “my husband,” or “that guy I live with” so for now we shall call him Enrique.

Picture from Yelp

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I finally made it down to Sacks.  I’ve run past this spot dozens of time, but this was my first time actually entering the building.  It might not have been the best choice for a Saturday, because traffic on College down there on the Oakland/Berkeley border gets crazy on the weekends. 

Nonetheless, the atmosphere was pretty cool.  A really large spot with TONS of tables and OUTLETS!  And consequently, it is teeming with Cal Students, even in the middle of July.  Dale (my weekend coffee shop partner) commented that he felt old.  I was fine with the student crowd, but my work laptop piece of junk I had with me was probably the only not Mac in the room.  I suppose I could have stood up on the bench between a few of the coffee sacks and announced, “I really am a Mac user, but my husband stole mine.  This is just a work computer!  I would never actually pay for a PC.”

Dale enjoyed an egg and cheese bagel while had a chocolate chip cookie.  I consider myself to be somewhat of a chocolate chip cookie connoisseur and I wasn’t impressed.  It looked good in the jar, but was a bit stale.  The iced tea was what I expected–sub par.  Apparently Sacks is one of those all too frequent coffee shops that think using Numi or Mighty Leaf is sufficient.  I wouldn’t even buy a box of Mighty Leaf (or Numi for that matter) at Safeway.  Meh.  Oh well, the art, tables, and free internet made it a worthwhile stop.

Sacks
College Avenue, Berkeley
Atmosphere: 4/5*
Drinks: 2/5
Food: 3/5
Study Factor: 5/5
Overall: 3/5

*The atmosphere lost one point because the music was a bit manic.  Coldplay, followed by Al Green, followed by indie band, followed by some horrible disco slow song.  Er wha?  It was distracting.

Might Leaf Tea (eye roll)

 

Sacks Art Just a little farther down College

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