And the winner is...

...peppermint gum. How weird is that? I really honestly tried the crystallized ginger, but when I took a bite and very nearly upchucked from the taste, I decided that wasn't the best strategy for me. Turns out I just hate the taste of ginger. We went to Whole Foods in Omaha yesterday (much to Jon's chagrin) to find the ginger, and I don't know what kind of racket these crystallized ginger people have going, but the cashier tried to sell us on the HUGE FREAKIN' TUB of the stuff. Seriously? Do people really need/use/like it that much???

So besides the aforementioned nausea, I've discovered some other really fun pregnancy side effects that no one (even the baby book) bothered to mention. You know how all girls have at least some amount of peach fuzz on their faces? My face is getting fuzzier. Luckily, the hair on my face is completely white, so I'm the only one that would know it (unless I were to...oh, I don't know...tell everyone on the internet?), but it's still kind of weird. Also, since it seems that everything my body does is on overdrive right now, I've had to completely stop using conditioner in my hair lest I start looking like...well, Jon. Plus, excess ear wax. I did a minor amount of poking around on the internet, and it seems that this ear wax thing is fairly common, just not something that gets either noticed or mentioned all that much. The worst thing that's happening, by far, is that the hormones are making me crazy in my brains. I'm having all sorts of weird dreams, and a lot of them have to do with people I haven't even thought about in many, many years. I don't like it! There is a reason I forget things, and when I do forget something, I'd rather it stayed forgotten.

Not all of the side effects are bad, mind you. I had to get a manicure the other day because I simply cannot keep up with my nails. These bad boys are a bit out of control. And though my hair is a bit oily, it feels thicker and is growing at an exponential speed. My energy is also getting much higher, which is a nice change from needing to sit around and stare at the wall with my mouth hanging open all of the time, which is what I was doing my first trimester.

So I'm feeling much better, and thank you to everyone who had nausea remedy ideas. I still feel like it's sort of lurking right around the corner if I loosen my grip on my package of gum even for a second, but hopefully it will be completely over in a week or two.