Manhattanhenge

"What will future civilizations think of Manhattan Island when they dig it up and find a carefully laid out network of streets and avenues? Surely the grid would be presumed to have astronomical significance, just as we have found for the pre-historic circle of large vertical rocks known as Stonehenge, in the Salisbury Plain of England. For Stonehenge, the special day is the summer solstice, when the Sun rises in perfect alignment with several of the stones, signaling the change of season.

innyworld on Instagram

For Manhattan, a place where evening matters more than morning, that special day comes twice a year, when the setting Sun aligns precisely with the Manhattan street grid, creating a radiant glow of light across Manhattan's brick and steel canyons, simultaneously illuminating both the north and south sides of every cross street of the borough's grid. A rare and beautiful sight.

innyworld on Instagram

For best effect, position yourself as far east in Manhattan as possible. But ensure that when you look west across the avenues you can still see New Jersey. Clear cross streets include 14th, 23rd, 34th. 42nd, 57th, and several streets adjacent to them. The Empire State building and the Chrysler building render 34th street and 42nd streets especially striking vistas.-----

innyworld on Instagram

Unnoticed by many, the sunset point actually creeps day to day along the horizon: northward until the first day of summer, then returning southward until the first day of winter. In spite of what pop-culture tells you, the Sun rises due east and sets due west only twice per year. On the equinoxes: the first day of spring and of autumn. Every other day, the Sun rises and sets elsewhere on the horizon. Had Manhattan's grid been perfectly aligned with the geographic north-south line, then the days of Manhattanhenge would coincide with the equinoxes. But Manhattan's street grid is rotated 30 degrees east from geographic north, shifting the days of alignment elsewhere into the calendar.

midnight.xpress on Instagram

So Manhattanhenge may just be a unique urban phenomenon in the world, if not the universe."

---

***ALL the above text is from the American Museum of Natural History's website. Neil deGrasse Tyson explains it all in a way that makes sense to me, and since I could never summarize, I felt it best to send you over to the original page, which you can do by clicking here.

And.... my first Manhattanhenge was this year.

It was a bust due to some low-lying clouds, but was fun to see all the photographers (and wanna-be photographers) trying to get a good angle. Of course, as you can see above, a great vantage point is important as well :)



So tell me...
Have you ever been to Manhattanhenge?
Or, have you ever been to Stonehenge, and think this pales in comparison?
What cool phenomenon does your area have or boast of?


                 
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18 weeks- Felt Movement!

How far along:
18 weeks

Gender: 
We won’t find out until August 22 at the gender reveal party

Maternity clothes:
I am in maternity clothes, except jeans (which will come when warmer temperatures arrive).
Since this questions is now moot, the new topic here is:
Kindness of strangers:
I am having seats offered to me on my commute! Granted, this began over a month ago, but it's pretty constant now (and much appreciated). I have an hour and a half commute and it's definitely draining to stand the entire time. Luckily, I get on at a train station where everyone gets off, and the seats are mostly empty from Brooklyn up to midway in Manhattan.

Sleep: 
I hate sleeping on my side. I've read conflicting accounts about how staying off of your back is either important, kind of important or only important if you have problems with your blood pressure. All I know is that I don't want to spend any money on a pillow, especially since I have three perfectly good ones that are being utilized to the best of their ability. If these aches continue though, I will look for an overstuffed body pillow, versus a 'special maternity' one for $40+, which is crazy talk.

Best moment this week: 
Hearing the heartbeat! And, I was able to feel the baby move!

Worst moment this week:
Stomach pains. I can definitely tell that I am growing, and my existing stretch marks are starting to itch. I already have a few from growing and general weight gain when in my teens, but they are expanding. Which is perfectly fine. I'm actually proud of my new body/belly since it's housing a growing person and is actually big enough to look pregnant (versus pudgy).

Miss anything: 
Lazy Saturdays! I love being able to 'sleep in' on Saturdays, even though I still wake around 6am because of my early morning schedule. But, it's nice to stretch and lounge around, hang out in pajamas and eat breakfast breakfast in bed. Too often it feels like we have somewhere to be or go and have to get out of the house by a specific time.

Movement: 
I felt the baby move a few days ago, and it felt like a double roll in the same place. I told my doc about it and he said that's how they move at first, a slight wave and another identical wave in the same spot. Now, I just want to feel it some more :)

Cravings: 
I still haven't bought (or found) any Nerds, but I'm still thinking about them. And I've really been wanting more Popsicles, but haven't brought any home in a while.

It took 3 month to fill this up!

Medicine:

Lovenox injections nightly at 0.40mL and morning prenatal vitamins.

I've learned a trick this week which lets me give myself less painful injections. Laying on my back causes my uterus to fall back towards my spine, and my stomach gets pudgy again... which lets me pinch an inch to poke. When I stand up, baby falls back into place and the medicine burns and is difficult to inject. But... this is a limited time solution. In a month or so, I'll have a harder belly even when on my back.

Any suggestions on ways to get that needle to go into the stomach easier?

Queasy or sick: 
Toothpaste.
It's horrible. Because the minute you get sick you need to brush your teeth again. And, I don't know about you, but I can't stand the idea of Not brushing my tongue, which is usually the part that makes me feel sick...

Looking forward to: 
The anatomy scan in just over a week! We won't be told by the technician what gender it is, as we want to find out with family at a party, but we'll be able to see baby again, and it will be so much bigger than the last time we saw it! I know that a 20 week baby is going to be much bigger than a 12 week baby, and more active too!



                 
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16 weeks

How far along:
16 weeks

Gender: 
We won’t find out until August 22 at the gender reveal party

Maternity clothes:
I am in maternity clothes, except jeans (which will come when warmer temperatures arrive).
Since this questions is now moot, the new question here is:
Weirdest dream this week:
I dreamt that I was sleeping in the living room and a massive brown tarantula was next to me. I was suddenly back in bed, so I pulled the bedding over my head and yelled TOM! He woke, half asleep and assumed there was an intruder on the fire escape- as he usually does if I wake him. He climbed over me and BARKED out the window. I can only imagine if there were people outside walking home, what they must have thought. Or our neighbors upstairs with their window open.

Sleep: 
I need to get back to a set bedtime at 11pm, which allows me to sleep 7 hours. I haven't done this since I began my split shift initially, over 2 years ago. But, since I am falling sleep all the time, I think it's time to reinstitute it.

Best moment this week: 
Hearing the heartbeat! I will say every single time, until I start getting kicks and can have some constant reassurance that baby is happy and growing.

Worst moment this week:
The heat. I can't imagine going through this while in late pregnancy. The A/C unit is  already in the window and I currently have 3 fans blowing on me.

Miss anything: 
Being energetic! I used to go and do things during my midday gap, and now I just return to bed and sleep until I have to go into the office.

Movement: 
Baby is stretching out and learning how to flex it's arms and legs, but I don't feel anything yet. Every evening I sit and prod my stomach, but nothing yet.

Cravings: 
I made no bake cookies for last weeks craving and they were amazing. This week I've been thinking about Nerds. Do they make any kinds other than the pink/purple and red/green? I might have to find out.

Medicine:
Lovenox injections nightly at 0.40mL and morning prenatal vitamins.

So my technique hasn't improved, since I finally bruised again. Not sure why I stopped for a while, but I am now bruising everywhere. On my stomach from injections, legs from bumping on furniture, and inner arm where blood was taken.

Queasy or sick: 
I'm not queasy anymore but I do get sick if I look at or 'think' about what I'm eating too much. Last week I gagged on eggs, kale, a hamburger and an empanadilla. An empanadilla- my favorite thing! I've no idea what is wrong with me, or this is going to be a constant thing.

Looking forward to: 
Hearing the baby's heartbeat again in 2 weeks! My doctor has moved my appointments from once a month to every 3 weeks due to the Lovenox. I don't mind, I get to hear the heartbeat more this way.

                 
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Hope Sustains Us

Today the writing prompt is hope, a word that I think very fondly of. Hope is such a gift, something that comes as a comfort during a time of drought or pain or uncertainty. Hope sustains many in far off lands, those suffering through war and famine and perhaps just waiting for a living situation to improve. Citizenship and a way to escape to a place where they can just be free.

For many though, hope doesn't come because of big issues, the things like war and famine and oppression. It comes for little moments, when you are scared or need reassurance. This is often overlooked, as if hope is only a gift given to those who really need it. But the rest of the world has been given this as well, a way to cope and to wait. To have some comfort until things are better or are easier to believe. When you hear news of a pending layoff or the test results come back and they want you to come in. When you've been hurt in the past and your heart can't trust just yet.

Every evening I take my Lovenox shot and lean back, absorbing the stinging medicine. And while I see that I am growing on schedule and heard the heartbeat a few days ago, I still cling to hope. Hope that I will soon feel some flutters that will turn to kicks, and hope that I will find some reassurance in them. I sit there, quiet and feel my lower belly. I know that during these moments when I'm asking God to look over my baby, I am exercising hope and prayer and faith. Many times we think that life can only surprise us, as if life is what it is and we cannot prepare for anything. But know that God has built in these gradual moments of anticipation and hope to sustain us when we are scared or uncertain.

I'm sure many of the participants in FMF will be quoting Jeremiah 29:11: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

And again... this was NOT written to tell you that God desires you to have an easy life. You have to take every verse in context. and this verse was written to Israelites in Babylonian captivity. Not you. Life will be hard, unbearable even for so much of the world, and yes, especially Christians. Many will die in pain and suffering and while it's a sweet thought that God doesn't want this to happen, we must remember that all things are given by God. The plenty and the lacking.

If you really want a scripture about hope, how about Romans 5:3-5:

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

What a wonderful reminder. And even when we can't see hope on the horizon or see the silver lining, we have hope in the cross. The ultimate hope, silver lining or best case scenario. We have the hope and knowledge that even though this world is hard, life with the Lord is something to look forward to.

So tell me...
What have you felt uncertain about recently?
Are there certain times during the day when you are reminded of God's grace and provision?
Has a writing prompt surprised you lately, or made your day?


                 
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