A list!

I think this will be a list blog post today to quickly encompass the various things going on:

1.  Today is 22 weeks, and Lil W is the size of a spaghetti squash.  Suddenly that sounds very big.  And also makes me want to make spaghetti squash.  James and I have been looking for non-tomato, non-acidic meals to help with a recent bout of heartburn, so my usual go-to spaghetti squash recipe of making spaghetti with it won't fly.  I might poke around for some good recipes today.

2.  It's still in the 80s here in the DC area so not exactly fall weather, but I'm definitely shifting in to a fall frame of mind and want to only make soups and stews and hearty meals like that for dinner.  And with James home during the day for the time being, there's more time to throw those together and let them simmer like they should.  This might inspire my meal plan this week.

3.  There's a monster in our closet.  Or, more specifically, I have come home from work the last few days to find the closet door opened just a bit:

Clearly evidence of a ghost

At first we thought that it had just been accidentally left open (it's James' side of the closet so  I wouldn't put it past him).  And then we thought that maybe Zoe had somehow managed to poke her head in there, but that doesn't make sense since nothing was destroyed or pulled back out of there.  Zoe is not subtle enough to just open something a crack.  Finally, at about 10 p.m. last night as I was falling asleep, I discovered the real culprit:

Somehow, our tiny little cat has figured out how to dive headfirst in to the seam between the closet doors and basically wedge herself in until it opens wide enough to enter.  We normally try to keep her out of the closet, but I admire her gumption and ingenuity so much that I feel like I need to let this one slide.

4.  The aforementioned tiny little cat has been super in to my baby bump since about week 14 - apparently cats like how warm and vibratey pregnant stomachs are, so they have a tendency to nap on them.  Zoe, on the other hand, has somewhat avoided me / somewhat been pushed away by me since she's a bit heavy for belly jumping.  But last  night she was super cuddly and awesome and adorable.  I think once she gets used to Lil W, she's going to be her best friend:

Estimated steps for the day:  not very many.  I have a work lunch to go to so no official workout today, and other than my Zoe walk after work, I probably won't get in too many steps.  My guess would be that I'll come in somewhere around 6,000 for the day.

Positive shutdown thought of the day:  people are starting to realize how much the federal government does.  I feel like there's this narrative out there that some people believe about federal employees being lazy and not actually doing anything helpful.  So every time I hear even a small story about how someone is affected (can't access a research website, unable to hike in a park, can't change their name on their passport, etc) I'm glad to know that federal workers are getting some recognition.