Mafe Maria: Personal stories by autism parent mentor, Maria Stultz

Only possible in the second trimester

So, no. I haven’t been dead. But the woes of the first trimester of pregnancy did take me away from a lot of things I usually enjoy… like blogging, or doing anything at all. At 15.7 weeks I’m happy to report that my energy seems to be back, as well as the appetite for delicious treats like cheese and bread, and all other foods on the Food Pyramid, which for a while I couldn’t even think about without gagging. So, it is only on the second trimester that something like what I just did is possible…

Among the many difficulties of being pregnant, one of them has been increasingly annoying me. It usually happens when Joey pulls out a delicious, cold, water-dripping beer to accompany his grilled steak, and proceeds to drink it and go “AHHH” in my presence. You would think that nature should be wise enough to make me detest the smell or sight of alcohol during these months when I’m not supposed to have it. But man, it’s summer, and there’s been a lot of talk about Margaritas around me over the last few days. I’m soooo thirsty, and I really long for a delicious chilled drink that doesn’t look like water or milk.

So this morning, I decided that I really wanted a beets and carrot juice. Only problem is that Joey took my car to work since his old darling is at the shop being repaired yet again. Any other time in my life I would’ve sucked up the craving and just ask Joey to buy some beets this afternoon. Not today. Today, I packed my wallet on a backpack, put on my tennis shoes, and left the nest at 9:30 am for a trip downhill to the closest grocery store.

The trip coming back from the store is all uphill. I returned about an hour later with some delicious merchandise. I felt so proud of my self for providing for my own craving while I also got to do some exercise (!), I decided to record the evidence of my blushed and healthy cheeks.

fruit I couldn't wait to haverosy cheeks about to faint

I wondered if I could’ve possibly exceeded the heart rate my doctor told me to stay under. Nah!… Me? Please!… But at that point exactly I started seeing stars and hearing bells and rings, and the closing tunnel, so I knew I was going to faint. I stumbled to bed, just so I wouldn’t fall on the filthy bathroom floor, and rested and soon started wondering if it was long enough so I could go downstairs and finally make my so desired juice.

I put four carrots and a beetroot through our fabulous new juicer. Tasted it. Threw a couple more carrots, and an apple for extra sweetness. And voila:

carrots and beetrosy cheeks about to faint

All worth it, and Joey is not allowed to put cold forbidden drinks on my face for as long as I can’t enjoy them with him.

8 comments:

  1. On , Josefo wrote:

    What an experience when the bird leaves the nest! Nice job Pillita, and I will stop with the tempting co-cos.

  2. On , Joey wrote:

    Also, thanks for posting the link to the food pyramid ;)

  3. On , Petie wrote:

    Yum? I’m not sure about beet juice, but glad you satisfied your craving! Chris gave up alcohol each time I was pregnant. I didn’t ask him to do it, he just did. I am really grateful for that – I think it was pretty cool for him to do that for me. He wouldn’t even have it on Friday with all the other folks at his company. (They bust out a bottle of wine at 3 pm on Fridays).

  4. On , Maria wrote:

    Oh, so he wouldn’t drink even when you were not around? Nice.
    Joey’s not a fan of beets either. I saw the recipe and remembered having loved beets and carrot juice as a child. It was good, though next time I’ll try it with orange instead of apple. Today, I’m going to try “Color Me Pink” (raspberries and grapefruit juice). Sounds very refreshing.

  5. On , marla wrote:

    Welcome back! V8 juice comes in a lot of really delicious flavors with the same ingredients. Not fresh, but nice to keep on hand for a craving you don’t have to faint for.:)

  6. On , Ivan wrote:

    Que rico, sabes hay uno de es la delicia verde, es: manzana, pera y espinaca, a mi me encanta.

  7. On , mandarine wrote:

    Wups. Just found out you were back. I am really glad.

    About pregnancy and exercise, just know that my wife rode her bike up until the eighth month, and that we walked three miles to a restaurant and back on the night the baby was to be born.

  8. On , Maria wrote:

    Oh wow… I’m not that good. I’ve never been very good at exercising, and I know I’ll pay for it if I don’t ramp it up…