*Gasp* An Update!

I guess I owe an explanation for why this blog has been neglected lately.

Before we went away to Bermuda in April, I found out I was pregnant again. After we returned from our trip, I was so busy getting back into the grind when the morning sickness had begun to invade my life. Except it wasn't just morning. It was all day, every day.
For the last 2 + months, I've been struggling with the first trimester in pregnancy. And of course what Valenta pregnancy would there be without any issues? We did, indeed, have quite a scare there for awhile with a ruthless blood clot that was jeopardizing the pregnancy. The clot (or Subchorionic hematoma as they are medically called) decided to bleed out one night after I was put on a week of bed rest from my doctor. I was given a 50/50 chance in being able to carry out the pregnancy at that point. I was around 8 weeks along. Additionally, my doctor decided to put me on another 2 weeks of bed rest to help get me past my first trimester.

Today I am 14 weeks, and back to work and normal activities. Well, semi normal. I still can't exercise as much as I would like, but I'm up and about getting what I can. The issues have diminished for the most part and I appear to be carrying a healthy baby. In a little over 4 weeks we will find out the gender.

They say your energy level comes up in the second trimester. Well, mine has taken a tumble down a very long, steep mountain. I have no energy. In fact, 7pm is my new bed time. The nausea and vomiting has let up a lot, thankfully. But I still have some nights where I'm tossing and turning due to indigestion and sleeplessness. Thankfully the little peanut let me sleep for 12 hours last night with no interruptions.


I haven't been out much with my camera. Just the other week before I was to return to work, my loving husband decided to take us down to south Jersey for an over night stay with my sister and mother in law. We visited the beach and actually had a really good couple of relaxing days. It was nice to be able to get out of the house and stretch my legs.
I think it's going to be a while still before I'm ready to get out with my camera. The weather has gotten really hot the past week or so, and that just drains me even quicker.

So, that's my news.

05.07.2012

Back from beautiful Bermuda! The cruise went well, a little too relaxing. Although it was an experience, we will never be doing that again. Both of us were more than ready to get off that boat once it got back to NYC.

I do highly recommend NCL to anyone who wishes to cruise in the future. Everyone is super friendly and the food on the ship was amazing! Great entertainment and lots of activities to enjoy.


Got lots of photos to go through, I started with a few on my facebook page, so go check that out.


Trying to sort out everything before returning to work in another couple days.
Back to the real world!

Oh by golly have a holly jolly.... cruise?

We had no winter whatsoever. It snowed three times, and immediately melted afterwards. The biggest storm was the day before Halloween, which dumped about two feet on us- but that doesn't even count because that was still 2011.
It never felt like winter! Christmas was bare. The weather was probably an average of 40 degrees- which was nice, but no snow?!

Right now I'm rockin' to some Christmas music, I guess to try and squeeze a bit more of the Winter/Christmas spirit since we have wandered into spring.
Winter is truly my favorite time of year. I love the Christmas time because of the colors and spirit. The music, the Christmas related movies, twinkling lights and soulful foods- And can't forget the A Christmas Story marathon. I could soak it up year round.



But yes, it is spring. My 2 year wedding anniversary is tomorrow. My birthday is next Saturday.
In celebration we have decided to do a cruise this year. It won't be too long, and I'll be soaking up the sun in Bermuda. I've been working on tanning this translucent skin of mine, and I haven't gotten too far with it. I almost put on my binkini a few times today to lay out in the yard, but I thought it was supposed to rain so I kept putting it off.
Can't wait! I really need this time away to relax. We've never done a cruise before, so it should be pretty interesting.
My suitcase is out, clothes are spread all over the floor- even all those outfits that I'll never wear any other time of year, for example- summer dresses.
For once, I just want to sit in the sun all day with a fancy umbrella drink in my hand!

I fell in love...

... With a new technique. Transferring images onto wood surfaces. I have been going crazy with ideas since I started.
Soon I will be experimenting with portraits, and on different types of wood and shapes.
For 40$ plus 5$ shipping, I am selling these- They are roughly 9 inches high by 10 inches wide. You can request any image you like of mine to be transferred onto wood- I am also experimenting with different hanging methods.

So excited to see how these turn out.

email me misty.valenta@gmail.com to request an order- let me know which image you'd like to have on wood canvas, and I'll send you a paypal invoice for you to complete.

You can visit my website www.mistyblankenship.com or visit my facebook page to view photos that you would like to have on wood!

3/21/2012

Maybe it's because of that time of year approaching, or maybe it's soon my monthly friend will be here to visit... 
But lately all I can think about are babies. It's going to be coming up on the 2 year mark when my husband and I had our first miscarriage- and I can't help but think about the 2nd miscarriage if I'm thinking about the first one. Plus it doesn't help that all sorts of my facebook friends are pregnant with babies, getting pregnant and being able to carry through on the first try, or have had babies recently.
And I can't help but wonder why nothing has happened since the second one. Last time I was at the doctors, he told me if nothing happens within the next 9 months, to come see him to discuss testing. I really didn't want to tell him that I somehow subconsciously avoid doing anything around the most fertile time of the month- probably because I'm too afraid to find out what would happen if we did get pregnant again. What would be the chances of losing a third fetus? I'm really not sure if my heart would survive that without some nasty, irreversible repercussions. 


The first two did enough damage.


In other news:
I have so many choices to make recently that are just weighing so heavily on my mind. My career is one. I'm sitting here next to an application after I had a phone interview with the owner of a photography company. I can't bring myself to fill the application out, though. So many question in my head about what the future will hold if I took this position. It will definitely affect a large chunk of my life. In a good way or bad- who knows. And all I keep thinking about is my friend who messaged me yesterday telling me to take those chances so I don't have to ever wonder "what if".
But it is my life that I'm tinkering with, and my finances and right now I know what I have pays my bills. I can't afford to take a chance wondering if the next job choices will be able to hold a candle to what I make now.

So many other things on my mind, but I really don't have the brain power to type it all out. And why complain anyways? I'm not sure who reads this, and I really don't want anything held over my head by anyone. It's tough to be able to actually vent here on the internet because you never know who is watching you.