Ahhh... the aromas.

I'm often asked if I have any major cravings now that I'm pregnant... and I don't think I do. It's not that I don't have any sudden cravings for chocolate cake or pickles now and then, it's just that I had those cravings even before I was pregs. Since then, it's been more about what doesn't sound good... than what does.

Smells on the other hand are a whole different story. It's true what they say about your sense of smell being heightened... but what I didn't expect was to have everyday things that I'm used to smelling suddenly smell FANTASTIC! Sure, I occasionally experience the yucky smells too (Steve's gas is even more unpleasant nowadays), but it's more common for me to be surprised by how wonderful certain smells are now.

For example, Michael and I are less than snobs when it comes to hair products and regularly use Dove shampoo, conditioner and body wash. We've been using it for years. Out of the blue, I noticed one morning that the smell of the shampoo was overwhelmingly fresh and wonderful. Same goes for the conditioner and body wash. We also have some hair gel that smells splendidly like Elmer's glue. I love it! No, I don't feel an urge to eat any of it (as I've heard is also common in pregnancy) but boy do I enjoy getting ready in the morning a lot more now!

Another example, and perhaps a far more disturbing one, happened on the bus a few weeks ago. Already sounds strange, right? Usually that's where one would experience more of the yucky smells. Not this time. As I sat in my window seat with an open seat next to me, a BIG, BURLY, HAIRY man dressed in jeans and a leather jacket came walking down the aisle. As much as I wished against it, he of course sat right beside me. Of all the things involved with riding a bus, having to sit so close to strangers is my least favorite part. I leaned as far as I could against the window to keep some distance between us. But as annoyed as I was, I couldn't help but notice the delicious, chocolaty sweetness I was smelling!! I was drawn to it and found myself actually narrowing the distance between us. Soon I was taking slow, luxurious whiffs of this big ol' man. It made no sense at all... but MY did he smell good!! After awhile the bus started to empty and, to my dismay, the man moved across the aisle to an empty seat. I snapped out of my trance and began to worry that he noticed my odd behavior. An Herbal Essence commercial came to mind - where the woman is fantasizing about washing her hair and starts shouting "YES! YES! YES!" in the middle of her office meeting...

I pretty sure I didn't do that though.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!!

I'm gonna "turn and face the strain" by sharing it with my job tomorrow - so there's nothing else preventing me from posting it here. I'm 14 weeks pregnant! I am sooo nervous about sharing it with my job... I just started working with a new team and I doubt they'll be thrilled to have me leave for 3 months. But we'll save that for another entry...

So far so good for the most part. I did go through a nauseous stage, but that seemed to subside around 10 weeks. I also developed an overwhelming aversion to Asian food - mainly Chinese and Thai. My all time FAVORITE kind of food! If I caught a whiff of something that smelled like Chinese food, if someone talked about curry, if peppers or sesame seeds were an ingredient in anything, even if I just saw chopsticks - I would feel nauseous. I was so disappointed and worried that it would be become permanent. Luckily, I surprised myself the other day by wanting Chinese food for lunch, and I'm totally craving some GOOD phad thai now. I still think curry and cooked peppers sound disgusting... but baby steps work for me :)

My new stage seems to be regular and sometimes debilitating headaches. Last night, I was in bed before 8pm with an icepack on my forehead. Unable to even watch American Idol! I managed to avoid a repeat today - but I'm worried because I think the preventative trick is caffeine... something I've been trying to avoid. I've read just about everywhere that small amounts of caffeine is okay - so I'm gonna allow myself just that in hopes of not missing any more of my favorite shows!

Here's a really great picture of me displaying my growing belly (you can practically see in my eyes the headache that is lurking behind them). I guess I'm kind of an early show-er... but if you can believe it, I am "sucking it in" in this pic.

I am so completely thrilled to be pregnant and I love every single experience that comes with it - good and bad. Okay, maybe I don't LOVE the headaches... but soon I'm going to have a tiny little baby to love with all my heart. That's worth more than all the Chinese food in the world :)