My Hunger And My Tastebuds

I wanted to write a post about my pregnancy symptoms so far, because frankly, there aren't a whole lot of them. And this worries me. I keep wondering if I am actually pregnant. Despite the fact that 3 home pregnancy tests, taken on different days, have confirmed it, I'm still tempted to take one more. The thought that this pregnancy could end prematurely scares the shit out of me. And each day that passes the more scared I become. And this all boils down to my own belief that in this 'wonderful' age of Google, sometimes it's possible to know too much. The thing I find the MOST frustrating, is that according to the searches I've done, I've now learned that PMS, Pregnancy and Miscarriage all have identical symptoms. Abdominal pain, back ache & spotting. Are you kidding me?? Google, you are truly useless. Or, maybe I'm shooting the messenger.


Whatever. Back to what this post what supposed to be about.


I think my taste buds are changing a bit. The other day I was at the mall for lunch and decided to order a Falafel at the food court, because I knew chickpeas had lots of recommended pregnancy nutrients. But when I bit into it, I was horrified at the pungent, offensive taste that I couldn't quite place. The culprit was some purple onions, which I usually LOVE. I choked down as much as I could, but in the end could not finish the falafel. It's going to be a while before I will have the desire to order another one.


The other night I was making spaghetti, with my homemade tomato sauce. I made it the same way I always do, with the same ingredients. Can crushed tomatoes, can of mushrooms, can of lentils, chopped up zucchini with cilantro, red pepper flakes and pepper for seasoning. It always turns out great. But this time, every time I tasted it, it was just so BLAND. So I just kept dumping in the red pepper flakes, until I tasted something.


I went to bed around 9pm (that's another symptom - I'm much more tired and ready for bed at ridiculous times) and Warren was still working. He must have had some spaghetti when he came home because in the morning he said he really enjoyed the spaghetti I made, and thanked me for making it even though he knew I was tired. This is all very typical Warren. Very gracious and thankful and he never comments negatively in any way on my cooking. He's actually quite easy to please, thank goodness. But this time he added one comment. "But boy was it SPICY! I thought my mouth was on fire!" I thought maybe this was because the spices and 'soaked in' more before he ate it, but I've had leftovers the past few nights, and I barely taste the seasoning.


Lastly, my hunger. I'm definitely hungry ALL the time. But not 'I want to gorge myself on steak and burgers and eat a whole loaf of bread' kind of hunger, just constant snaking type hunger. I will eat 3 or 4 small snacks before lunch at work. It's seem every hour I need something, even if it's small. I can't understand how such a little, little person could be demanding so much from me. I suppose it just takes a ridiculous amount of energy for nature to create a little human from scratch.

Yesterday I had my first craving. That was fun, and Kirsty was there to witness it. We were at Eau Claire and she was waiting for her Edo-type stirfry to be ready. When she got her plate she turned to me and noticed an odd/happy look on my face. I just looked at her and said 'I'm going to make Rice Crispy Squares this weekend!'. 'What? Where did that come from" she said, as she laughed at me. Then we started talking about how delicious rice crispy squares are, especially when they're fresh & gooey. That afternoon, on my way home, I stopped at Safeway and picked up a stick of butter, Rice Crispies and marshmellows. The guy in front of me in line said 'Time for squares tonight?' 'Yup, I had a craving I guess' I said.


Now, I only had like 15 minutes at home before I had to leave again. I let the dogs out & fed them and put the butter & marshmallows on the stove, pronto tonto. Then mixed it all up and laid the gooey mess in baking dish. Scooped a few caveman-like handfuls into my mouth, then left Warren a greasy note that said:


"These rice crispy squares are my first pregnancy craving. If you eat them all before I get home, be prepared to DIE". He didn't even remove the saran wrap.