enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

Photo on 2011-03-13 at 15.42

I watched The Business of Being Born over the weekend while Paul was on call.

I will admit that I cried through most of it.

And then the next morning, I woke up out of a dream convinced I was in labor.

For the record, I am not pregnant.

But I now have lot of opinions on how I want things to go once I am.

I'm currently reading Pride & Prejudice for the first time ever.

I bought this version because I love those covers & I want to collect them all.

It is taking me about six minutes a page to read.

Which is much slower than my average six seconds a page.

I know it is going to get good though, once Mr. Darcy ups the charm factor.

I always debate long and hard between sweet or savory breakfasts at restaurants.

And 9 times out of 10 I choose savory.

And 8 times out of 9 I regret that choice.

Clearly I need to save my money & stop going out to breakfast.

When I go for a run, I spend every second of that first mile fighting the urge to turn back.

By the second mile, I feel less like falling over in a puddle of tears.

And by the time I'm on the third, I feel like I could run around the world.

Twice.

There is a lesson in there somewhere.

And it's either, Quit Early or Keep Going.

And man, I hope it's the latter.

Here is my first set of secrets & then my second.

I re-read them both before typing this post.

And I found myself nodding along and thinking,

"Wow. That girl is just like me."

Posted in

34 responses to “25 (more) (yes, more) secrets.”

  1. Julia Avatar

    i’m totally reading pride & prejudice right now too! same version and everything. and it’s taking me AT LEAST 6 minutes per page. i wanted to read a classic before i turned 30… i only have a month 1/2 left… it will probably take me that long to finish at the rate i’m going. love your secrets…

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  2. Alyssa Avatar
    Alyssa

    its true, P&P does get better and it does take longer to read because its Good Quality LITERATURE! that chic-lit, i practically inhale, i read it so fast.
    The running thing I want to get back into it. I admire you for sticking with it. Can totally relate to the puddle of tears thing.
    my secret: i love watching people read books on the train, I totally know when they are reading a particularly saucy chapter, they look up guiltily with a “is anybody else hearing this?” look on their face. And it never fails to crack me up!

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  3. kristy.lynn Avatar

    i read p&p for the first time last month! i absolutely devoured it, but it did take a tad more thought to get into the language.. totally worth it! i felt like i was on the edge the whole time just WAITING for darcy to get it together! 🙂 hope you enjoy!

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  4. Sarah Avatar

    I love Pride and Prejudice. That and Jane Eyre are my favorite books. I like to reread Pride and Prejudice about once a year. I was super close to naming my daughter Elizabeth. Maybe my second one… 😉

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  5. Melanie K Avatar
    Melanie K

    What is up with P&P lately? Everyone seems to be reading it? Not me. I just can’t take the language, lol.
    Also, just as a word of warning about actually having a baby. I am one who has had three boys. NO DELIVERY IS LIKE YOU WANT IT. So don’t set yourself up for disappointment. Trust me. If you do, then you will spend too much time on the disappointment for the first year (or if you are like me, until the next is born!) Sorry, I just know how it feels. And you seem a lot like me, in that usually how you want things is how they go. And in delivery, soooo many twists and turns can happen. Not in a scary way … but it is just reality. Sorry … I hope you don’t take offense, I really don’t! But I spent a year in deep depression over my first baby’s delivery. And now? It really doesn’t matter (though I will NEVER recommend that set of doctors to ANYONE).
    Yikes, I feel like I should erase this … but I won’t. Hugs … and who knows … you might be!

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  6. Leah Avatar

    Ahhhhh I adore pride and prejudice! I still get that little nervous romantic feeling in my stomach (or is that a me-only thing?) when things start to get good in the second half of the book 🙂 I highly recommend the 1995 BBC mini-series if you’ve got a weekend to kill once youre done!

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  7. Julie Avatar

    Another lover of P&P here, although I do prefer the movies over the book. That book you’re holding is beautiful though!

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  8. faye Avatar
    faye

    i am not a darcy fan. there, i said it. i’d rather be with a man who has a predisposition for happiness and optimism, regardless of how foolish other might think he is. bingley, ftw.
    and i’m making ‘quit early or keep going’ my new life motto, with an emphasis on ‘quit early.’ wait, did i miss the point on that one? 🙂

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  9. Gioconda Avatar

    I am on the same running journey. That first mile I feel like I can’t make it and the last mile feels like I could go for miles. The worst and the best feeling all rolled into one. Loved this post.

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  10. Karen Avatar
    Karen

    This is kind of funny . . . when my son was born, I had to have a scheduled C-section (after I was CONVINCED that I was a natural childbirth type). I brought the Pride and Prejudice BBC miniseries with me to the hospital and watched the whole thing (with my baby) during my recovery. It was pure bliss.

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  11. jessica o'brien | jessohbee Avatar

    i recently watched that too + definitely got the same surge of opinions about my ideal birth plan, though i too am not pregnant! you cried? i was like, “i am woman! i will roar!!!” + all pumped up!
    your secrets posts are cute 🙂

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  12. elise blaha Avatar

    ha – I cried because it made it seem like there is so much info women dont know. Not because I was scared or worried.

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  13. elise blaha Avatar

    I understand what you are saying. I think it is such a frustrating thing to be told what I can not do or what will happen. I figure the point is to be educated on everything and then aware of what is happening when it all happens.
    We have a while before we are there… so we will see.

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  14. elise blaha Avatar

    Hey! Full circle. That’s awesome. 🙂

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  15. Jessica at Kids Napping? I'm Scrapping! Avatar

    Yay for revealing lists! 🙂 I loved reading through this, and now I will have to copy.
    Oh yes, that Mr. Darcy will be so charming at the end. You make me want to go pick it up, and read it. Again.

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  16. summer Avatar

    that girl is just like me! crazy.
    i watched “the business of being born” this weekend too! LOVED it.

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  17. girlrobot Avatar

    I recently saw that documentary and thought it was very eye opening and definitely got me interested in reading up on home births, doulas, and all of that stuff. Then I read this! http://blog.dreamhost.com/2011/03/09/wren-jones/ and it made me realize that there are 2 sides to every story. This post also led me to the blog Hurt By Homebirth (do NOT read this unless you def. want to cry! omg!) Anyways, I think you should just def be informed but don’t let a lot of propaganda get into your head either way.
    BTW, I suggest watching Babies…now that is a cute documentary!!

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  18. elise blaha Avatar

    hi Kim, I LOVED Babies. So cute. And I hear you completely on two sides to every story. I think it is so good to get as much information as possible about BOTH SIDES before you start making decisions. I dont think we will be having a home birth. I just like learning that there are natural ways to do things – even if you are at a hospital. 🙂

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  19. tate Avatar

    haha because the picture is mirrored it looks like you are almost done, I was impressed how fast you got it done! haha

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  20. Katie Avatar

    Love your secrets posts! Might have to play along 🙂

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  21. Joy Avatar

    The BoBB is definitely woth a watch before getting pregnant…and then again after, and then again before baby arrives. 🙂 May I also suggest Bradley birthing classes.

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  22. Laura Avatar

    I second that recommendation! Possibly my favourite mini-series EVER!

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  23. Giuseppina Avatar

    too stinking cute! especially the last part where you were pleased with yourself 😉

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  24. Kal Barteski Avatar

    Word.
    I have learned only one thing from babies – we learn to surrender and they take us where they will.
    (I totally recommend the book From the Hips…)

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  25. elise blaha Avatar

    Thanks Kal. Ill check it out.

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  26. Maryn Avatar
    Maryn

    I read your past secrets again, and saw the one where you said that in two years he could have deployed and come home, and that he was braver than you.
    Brave is being the one left at home, having people tell you that “war is dangerous” and telling them that you’re not worried; figuring out fifteen months of date nights alone; writing cheerful letters and emails when you really want to tell him that the dishwasher is broken and work is hard and it’s lonely in the dark.
    My husband and I were married the same day you were, about six months after he returned home from deployment, and he reminds me that it was as hard – or maybe harder – for me than it was for him. And now, nearly two years later, the really good stories are finally starting to come out.

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  27. elise blaha Avatar

    this is so true. Paul says it to me all the time too. He will be deploying in July, though we are still waiting for official orders. I appreciate your comment so much.

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  28. desiree Avatar

    I have never read that book either. And I also have thought about getting the entire collection, just for the covers 🙂

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  29. jessica o'brien | jessohbee Avatar

    ooohhhh, i see! yes, so true.

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  30. Kara H Avatar

    Loved this post. ❤

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  31. Maryn Avatar
    Maryn

    I know that we don’t really know each other, but you have my email if you need anything – please don’t hesitate to use it.

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  32. JJ Avatar

    I have the SAME problem ordering breakfast–that made me giggle when I read your confession 🙂 I solve it by getting french toast with a side of hash browns 😉

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  33. Natalie Avatar

    I am the same with breakfasts! The decision between swseet and savoury is too difficult so I go with both 🙂

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  34. KimS Avatar
    KimS

    P&P is so funny, though – even the very first sentence is funny! Maybe being English helps with it.

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