Swollen feet and breakdancing carrots

Monday was my last day at work, but on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I did feel a bit like I was working from home as there were lots and lots of emails to respond to and things to do. However, on Friday I got exactly 0 emails that I had to respond to, so I think that my leave has really and truly started. There are some little things that I will do, like sign things and attend to any urgent issues that may graduate students are having, but there are backup people in place and for the most part there is nothing that I have to do this someone else can't do. So I'm finally feeling like my brain has transitioned out of work mode, which is great.

On Tuesday night Jeff took me out to dinner to celebrate having finished my last day of work. I also went for a prenatal massage that day, and last week on Tuesday and Thursday went to a prenatal aqua fit class. I am trying hard to focus on being physically well and prepared for birth, which has been a bit hard given that I have had a cold for seemingly ever. My cold is starting to improve significantly, and I think it may be over soon, but it is hard to say how long symptoms will linger just a little.

My biggest complaint has been giant swollen feet and ankles that don't go back to normal anymore. For a while I would have swollen feet sometimes, and then the swelling would subside for a while, but now it's just constant. My obstetrician said it is normal and not something to worry about as I don't have any other symptoms of concern, and she said essentially that if I think my feet are swollen I haven't seen anything. But it is quite uncomfortable. One of the biggest challenges has been related to shoes when I go out. Most people with giant swollen feet just wear flip-flops, but I can't do that because without some kind of ankle strap they fall off my feet. On Friday I went out and bought some "yoga flip-flops" like these which are basically the same as flip-flops but with two fabric straps, one of which goes around the ankle. They are a reasonable compromise. They allow my feet more room than any other shoes, and stay on well enough, so are pretty good even if they are not great on either front. At least I can wear them without being extremely uncomfortable.

Our biggest baby preparation has been doing more food related stuff. Yesterday I baked forty-eight of my protein and nutrient dense oatmeal applesauce muffins (not sure if I have posted the recipe, but if anyone wants it they are pretty tasty and quite healthy) and froze forty-seven of them (I had to have one fresh as a snack), and today I made my first batch of "energy balls" consisting of almonds, dried cranberries, prunes, oats, and flax seed. All of that goes into the food processor and when it gets sticky it gets rolled into balls. Jeff tried one and said it tastes like candy, and I tend to agree – thanks to our friends in Ottawa for introducing us to this idea :-) I plan to make several different kinds of these for the freezer, and since they involve no baking and minimal ingredients they are quick and easy. And at last count I think we have twenty-three nights worth of dinners in the freezer, counting the enchiladas Jeff is in the process of making as we speak.

And the most involved part of everything has been harvesting vegetables from the garden. Our beet harvest ended up being completely miserable this year, and not one of the beets was large enough to save or use. We probably planted the wrong kind. However, Jeff dug up almost 14 pounds of carrots, and also quite a few potatoes. We don't quite know how many potatoes he dug up just yet, because we still have to clean a bit more of the dirt off and make sure they are fully dry before they're ready for storage. I am not really in much condition to help with the garden harvest this year, so Jeff is basically doing all of it. It is a lot of work to dig and clean 14 pounds of carrots and I'm not sure but probably 20 pounds of potatoes. I am very appreciative that he is doing it, because it is  so satisfying to eat produce from the garden. We are still also getting lots of Swiss chard, and a slow but steady stream of zucchini. Sometimes Jeff hates the garden because it is so much work, but I know that sometimes he also loves it :-)

The best  carrot by far was this one, which definitely looks to me like it is breakdancing: