Friday, December 4, 2009
inspired again
Coincidentally, I clicked a button today that lead me to read about the life of an amazing woman. After a nearly fatal airplane accident that left her with facial burns, she writes about the love that she has in her life, she posts photos of her happy family, and she includes her smiling face.
This really did take a lot of effort but it is only the beginning. Maybe I should have saved this epiphany for my new year's resolution. Oh well, I always have the old stand-by. Stop swearing.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Aye me
Maybe its time to update to a Flikr pro account, hmmm.
Happy December.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Since my last post . . .
The staff at the hospital was so nice. Lucas had jaundice and fluid in his left ear that was causing him to have difficulty hearing. Since we left the hospital, his jaundice has cleared up and the fluid is gone. He is perfect.
DJ Lucas having his infant hearing test
Best Husband Ever!
We all danced because the craziest month in my family's history was over!
5. Halloween! We didn't have time to carve our pumpkins but we managed to visit our family. Alex and Lucas wore skeleton costumes.
Well, I think that about covers it. October has always been my favorite month and I believe that it always will be. I'm very happy that Novembers finally here.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Thanks a lot full moon. . .
Ay, me. 39 weeks today and I have a cold. At my appointment yesterday, the doctor told me to get an H1N1 vaccine as soon as possible. I tried but no one has them yet.
I stopped working last week, it was getting harder and harder to get up in the morning and I pretty much went to sleep as soon as I got home. I was so tired. My sweet husband and the doc convinced me that I needed to rest. I'm glad.
My sister and I have been working on the candy table that we are planning for her wedding. There is so much going on right now and so much to look forward to. We are thinking about making moon pie owls
I hope Alex and I don't forget our 7th wedding anniversary in all of the excitement.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Way more important than healthcare!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
#90
One of my favorite memories was our first trip to the ren faire together. Alex yelled and really got into the jousting match. I was happy that he was having fun and he didn't care about what people around him thought. He was different from the guys that I was used to and I loved it! Now, we have fun when we go places and make the best of our time together. I really wanted to go out of town the weekend before his birthday, since we probably won't have the opportunity again before the baby comes and we were both off of work on Monday, but it didn't work out. Mom and Dad Said went to Alaska and we stayed with Michael, Jasmine, and Jovanni since they are so bad and can't be trusted to be alone. Well, not Jasmine, just the boys. We made up for it by taking a day trip to Riverbanks Zoo last Saturday. It was fun and hot. I'm getting more and more uncomfortable and I have to pee all the time so the zoo in August may not have been the best idea. I was reminded of our very first trip to the ren faire, we made the best of our trip and had a great day! I'm not sure how I feel about zoos now, though. I can see where they do wonderful things with protecting endangered species but I couldn't help but feel sorry for the penguins. They had their backs to us and they were facing a fake horizon like they thought they could wander off into the sunset. The penguins made me sad.
I got Alex some new shirts and a board game for his birthday. I'm going to read the directions now so that I can teach him how to play when he gets home.
Tomorrow, my Mom and I are going shopping for my little sisters wedding shower gift. Her shower is this weekend! I can't believe that we have less than two months until she's married and we have a new Said in the house. Yikes!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
#89
We did manage to paint the baby's room. I (Alex) used benjamin moore's brookside moss, inspired by this nursery photo from flickr.
I'm having some major trouble with all of this baby gear. That crap is expensive. Much of it seems excessive and most products are made of plastic, very expensive plastic. I ordered a Irmi-like caboose lamp and an vintage Irmi nursery rhyme mobile from ebay. Both made from actual wood. I feel so much better about that seven dollar purchase than I would have felt if I had bought any of the themed mobiles and lamps from Babies R Us. I had an Irmi lamp, it had a couple of clowns on it with a yellow gingham shade, I think, that's been quite a long time ago.
Why do baby rooms need a theme? I don't like theme rooms, maybe theme colors, but Pooh, safari animals, sports, and bugs all make me gag.
I did find one bedding set at BrU that I didn't hate but I just couldn't buy or register for it. I really only wanted the bed skirt and the bumper anyway. Another thing that's bothering me is the cost of breast pumps and all of the scary stuff online about not buying a used one. I did find a used Pump in Style at a consignment sale today. I'm still not sure if I'm going to use it but it was only $25 bucks and it had some un-used breast pads and storage bags that I will use. Currently, the pump is in a bunch of pieces on the dining room table. I just couldn't understand how milk could get into the motor and I wanted to find out. The inside of the pump motor is as clean as a whistle. I'm not convinced that the warnings aren't just scare tactics used to sell more $280 breast pumps.
Still don't have any names. Alex likes Amir, I like Lukas. Well, I like a bunch of names but Lukas is the only one that Alex cared for. He will probably still end up being a Jr. We'll see.
I'm using the laptop to post this. We lost a hard drive a few weeks ago along with all the photos and some music. It was a major bummer. I even started a facebook but I can't add a pic so it hasn't been used much. I guess we need to have a Amy/Alex/Puppy/Kitty photo shoot soon but I haven't really been feeling the camera lately.
I don't know if I'll have a job after the baby comes, but more on that later. We go to a Caring for Baby class on Monday evening, my in-laws are in Alaska for the next eight days so we will be staying at their house with the out of control boys till they get back, the last scheduled ultrasound is on Friday and my wonderful husband turns 31 next Monday. It will be a busy week, aren't they all?
Monday, June 22, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
#87
1. Tauntaun sleeping bag- I don't know if an adult can fit in this, especially an expanding pregnant lady, but I would love to give it a shot.
2. Oliver's Room- I'd already spotted this cute nursery on Flickr and got the paint approval from Alex. I can't believe he liked it too, that's a first. Too bad we can't agree on a name that easily. I love to watch cute stuff travel around the net. Makes me feel like I'm on the inside. It probably should make me feel like I spend too much time online.
3. Recipes- I've already made our menu out for the rest of the month. It didn't include these soft pretzels or cucumber water, but the second draft will. The menu does feature MS's Gnocchi with summer veggies and slow-cooker chicken tacos. Yum, I hope.
4. Cookware- This post just made me want to give my cast iron skillet more love.
5. unPaper Towels- I've tried to limit myself to one or two rolls of paper towels a month. Not because I am "green" (I really hate the green movement btw) but because I get really pissed off about paying a bunch of cash for paper that I am going to get dirty and throw away. I like the idea of keeping these in a basket by the sink.
I'm sure there are many more that I am forgetting right now. I haven't even mentioned my favorite flickr and etsy finds. I'll save those for future post content.
I had a killer thrifting day last Saturday. Tons of baby gear, clothing, books, I even picked up some vintage pyrex for my tiny collection and this baby sling. Yay.
Oh, yeah. I started a facebook after my little sister and numerous others convinced me. I expect to treat it about the same as the myspace attempt that I made several years ago. Meaning I'll probably never log on or reply to anyone and they'll get pissed off and go away. We'll see, I may dig it.
Friday, May 29, 2009
It's a. . .
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
aww man!
I think I've also decided that I don't need to go to DragonCon this year. I'm still going to ask the doctor if she thinks it's a good idea, just in case she says-sure, why not. I checked out the calendar last night and I will be 36 weeks at that time. I got scared after googling "travel at 36 weeks". I'll wait till I ask the doc before I give my hotel reservations away to some lucky con-goer. sigh.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
#84
1. Crying-Jennifer's Mother passed away last Monday. It was very sad, and I don't feel like there is anything that I can do to help her feel better. I am also extremely hormonal so I can't really get in the car or take a shower without finding some reason to shed tears.
2. Sweeping- My sweet husband pulled up our old carpet and put down a new wood-ish floor with Shaylan's help a couple of weeks ago. I haven't really got everything back in order yet. I decided to move every piece of furniture from its original location and purge a few hundred items. So far these things haven't made it out of the door but they are in nice little stacks in the middle of the room. I'm sweeping because my dogs are shedding and apparently the carpet just absorbed the dog hair or something, the new floor doesn't. The floor is beautiful and I can't wait till everything finds a home so that I can truly enjoy it.
3. Watching the Doctor- I've spent a ridiculous amount of time watching Dr. Who. I can't get enough except I've seen all that is available and now I have to start watching Torchwood.
4. Shopping- I got a new floor and Alex got a new TV. This is a nice flat one that fits above the fireplace. One day, all of the components will be hooked up and I will actually be able to watch it.
I took a trip to Ikea Charlotte with my mom, Julie, and Amber. I was disgustingly frugal, I only purchased some spoons, a napkin holder, some cheap rag rugs, a little bib/bowl set, and a rabbit driving a carrot rattle. I couldn't resist the rattle. Who's ever seen a rabbit driving a carrot? I have, that's who. My Mom bought us a highchair. I told her that we weren't going to have a highchair because I didn't see the point and she kind of freaked. She said something confusing about the kid hanging on the side of the table having it's butt sniffed by one of my dogs. When I said that I thought this one was cute, she recognized the opportunity and snatched it up.
I bought some maternity clothes online. I was pretty disappointed because they are huge! They should have cost a million dollars for all the fabric that was used. I hope I don't grow into them.
I also spent $5 at a yard sale a couple of weekends ago. It was an anything-you-can-fit-in-a-box-for-five-bucks sale. I filled my box with a bunch of children's books (little golden books are my favorite), a Nirvana unplugged CD, some bibs, a board game, and one of these. Alex and I couldn't stop playing with it, I finally had to put it away so that we could get some work done.
5. Eating- I've been eating several Wendy's sour cream and chive baked potatoes a week. They are about the only thing that doesn't give me gastroesophageal reflux disease and they're super cheap. We made a low country crab boil to celebrate Mother's Day last Sunday. It was delicious. I'm going to figure out how to scale it down and make a less expensive version of it for dinner instead of waiting for special occasions to enjoy it. I'll probably have to substitute the crab for more shrimp in the non-special occasion version. We are definitely going to have to invest in some seafood crackers if we keep doing this. I knew that my family was on the edge of being full-blown S.C. rednecks but I didn't realize the extent of it until I saw my sister trying to break open her crab legs with a pair of pliers! Hehe, it was a good day.
6. Making lists- I keep finding to-do lists in my pockets. People to call, websites to check out, chores, groceries, baby names, goals, I've even made a list of random facts about myself just so I will be prepared when I get one of those memes. The baby name thing is really a stumper. We can't agree on any boy names and only a few girl names. We are considering a raffle, just for family and friends, they can pay a dollar for a chance to name our child and we will make some money and won't have to make a decision. I figure family and close friends won't try to ruin the child's life with some crazy name like Han Solo, oh wait Alex has already tried that one. Maybe this isn't a good idea. Anyway, we have the BIG ULTRASOUND next week, maybe well see something and we'll both agree on a name. Peter? hehe.
7. Waking up- I've never had trouble sleeping, until now. It's really taking a toll on me. I'm grumpy and I want to sleep at all the wrong times, like during the new Star Trek film that I had to beg Alex to take me to last Thursday or during an unusually boring phone call at work. I think I am going to stop drinking anything after 8:00 and see if that helps.
8. Saving- I'm trying to save money for DragonCon. Alex and I decided to pass on DC this year when we found out about the baby and that my company is no longer required to offer FMLA but now I am super depressed about it and I have to find a way to go. I booked a room at the Hyatt last October before all of the host hotel rooms were taken. We should have been using the last few months to stash away cash for DC, but we didn't so I have some catching up to do. I have a few ideas. I will have to add ebaying and counting change to my list. Going to DC while eight months pregnant shouldn't be too bad, right?
I'm sure I am forgetting something. I will post about it and pretend like it's something exciting and new if I remember it later. I have lots of photos to upload to Flickr. The Greek Festival is this weekend, so everyone should come downtown and have pastitsio and grape leaves or a gyro and beer. Beer reminds me of the margarita that I missed out on Cinco de Mayo. Dang, I really want a margarita.
Monday, April 6, 2009
cake
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons cake flour (plain flour, not self-rising)
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons baking cocoa
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 3 tablespoons chocolate chips (you can add more or less)
- 1 dash vanilla
Directions
- Add dry ingredients to a coffee mug and mix well.
- Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
- Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.
- Add the chocolate chips and vanilla essence, mix again.
- Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minuter at 1000 watts.
- The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
- Allow to cool a little and you can tip onto a plate if you want.
Monday is an awful way to spend 1/7th of your life.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Birthday Boy
bye bye Galactica
I really should have waited for Alex to come home before I watched it. We really like to get our nerd on together, but I couldn't wait. I guess I'll have to watch it again in a couple of hours, darn.
Pierre Chang. . .
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
been a long time.
-I used my new mixer, really enjoyed it.
-My favorite neighbor, Mark, moved away. I miss him, but he's doing great in his new digs.
-My favorite friend, Jennifer, doesn't work with me anymore. I miss her too. It's not the same.
-The snap peas that I started for the CAF Snap Pea Challenge are growing like crazy, no blooms yet.
-I spent a Saturday night at my in-laws while they were out of town. We had to watch Alex's little brothers because they're crazy teenagers that can't be trusted. I took a really nice shower, ate spaghetti, and watched the UFC.
-We ordered new board games, Pandemic and the Battlestar Galactica game, can't wait to try them. Maybe I'll get to this weekend.
-I missed the Ani DiFranco concert that I bought tickets for months ago because I wrecked the Jeep. . .again. This was a big one. I have whiplash and a bunch of scrapes and bruises. I got t-boned on Wade Hampton. Lucky for me, my Jeep is taller than that little Nissan. Not so lucky for the other guy. He's okay though, I checked while we were in the ER. For now, I'm driving a tiny rental car. I don't feel very safe, I need to drive tank.
-I've been sleeping all the rest of the time because I am 10 weeks pregnant. Yep, pretty shocking. I don't know when you are supposed to blog about such things so here ya go. I guess now we'll have to tell all of our friends and family.
Meet Bob the Blob
Sunday, February 15, 2009
mmm. . .baked goods
Saturday, February 7, 2009
multi-tasking
The chocolate one is from the super easy Self-Filled Cupcake I recipe. The green one is a margarita cupcake, the recipe is from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. I'm not a vegan. I think if I de-vegan the recipe next time, I may be able to get a little more height from the cake. I regret that I only had green crystallized sugar. It doesn't look much like a salt-rimmed glass but that is what I was going for. I love my sweetie pie plate and I can't wait to use it each February. I picked up some of the cute owl valentine stuff from Target last weekend. Alex told me that it's beginning to look pretty girly in the kitchen. It must be a phase. I hope it stops before I beg Alex to let me get this cute pink fridge Well, I'm off to be productive.
soundtrack for Saturday morning: Bad Boy Bill - Bangin' the Box vol. 3 (cause it keeps me moving and it reminds me of my sweetie)
Friday, January 30, 2009
Envy
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Why couldn't I be something fun, like the acrobat?
Your result for The Pop Culture Archetype Personality Test...
The Druid
Ninja, Monkey, Punk, Cowboy
Druids are filled with a dramatic sense of wonder, viewing the world through rose-colored glasses as they watch everything come to life, from flora and fauna to mundane objects. They see the good in almost everyone and everything, yet struggle with the idea of ethical perfection (or lack thereof). They tend to turn away from the world and toward essence and ideal, and while they are concerned with all people and creatures, those things are valued only in that they are part of a greater whole; in this, they often struggle to find their place in things, and need to feel a part of whatever they are involved with. Fluent with language, they are keen to pick out patterns in people and things, although their somewhat otherworldly focus on the larger picture can lead them to seem somewhat absentminded. Nevertheless, they have a knack for explaining complex things quite simply.
Druids are often beset by Histrionic behavior, craving attention, reassurance and praise in everything they do. Emotionally exaggerated and often sexually charged, they become concerned with physical appearance, and grow uncomfortable when they are not the center of attention. Their emotions are subject to rapid shifts, and their actions are entirely self-centered, with no tolerance for delay in getting what they want. Their speech often lacks detail as their shallow emotions carry across into their dealings with others.
Famous druid types include Homer, Shakespeare, Dick Clark, Jackie Onasis and Julia Roberts.
Take The Pop Culture Archetype Personality Test at HelloQuizzy
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
just stopping in quickly to say. . .
I didn't see that coming. Crazy addictive BBC programming, you shocked me.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
cough, hack, sneeze
I did manage to make this cake.
I totally used the orange dish towel to cover up the floury mess that I made on the stove top. I've also overloaded on the television this week. Dr. Who, Lost, BSG, the Food Network (inspiration for the cake). I hate that I long to watch these programs. I pine to live in a television-free home. I picture myself having a surplus of time that I can spend enriching my life. Crafting, conversation, baking, playing with the animals. Who am I kidding, how will I play xbox or wii without a TV and I'm sorry but Battlestar Galactica and Lost are fraking awesome, not to mention the bloody Doctor! Maybe I can just get rid of cable again. That's a step, right?
I wish I would have made this cake. Maybe next time!
random soundtrack courtesy of iTunes: It hurt so Bad- Susan Tedeschi
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
#71
Oh, I just remembered there wasn't any Wi-Fi! Booo!
I was going to post a pic from my weekend but I haven't unpacked the camera cable yet. I am feeling pretty lazy so I probably won't do it today. I may not upload the photos until February, since I have already used 99% of my 100 MB Flickr limit this month. I really need to stop being such a cheap ass and upgrade to a pro account.
soundtrack for the homebody that doesn't want to leave again anytime soon: Home Again-Carole King
Monday, January 12, 2009
Frustrated, Inc.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
worst week ever
I have this theory that odd years are bad, or at least bad for me. 2007 was pretty awful but 2008 was lots o' fun. 2009 is starting out kinda rough. This odd year theory may be all in my head, it really doesn't work well with all of the 2012 stuff that's out there. I am going to try to disprove my hypothesis starting now.
Oh wait, one of the dogs just pulled an old general tso's chicken container out of the garbage can and made a mess all over the floor.
Okay, odd-years-aren't-bad testing starting over . . .now!
no soundtrack today, iTunes hates me, sigh.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
12/31/2008
12/31/2008
Originally uploaded by raae
Happy New Year! I hope your New Year's Eve was more
wholesome and orderly than mine.