signs you are growing up - Holiday Edition

• The discussion is about whether you should encourage the kid to believe Santa, not whether you believe.



• You decide to "give" each other a new sink (and are excited about it).
  You buy an extra jello mold, so you can make two cranberry rings (one for each side of the family).



• It's more important to make room for the nativity set under the tree than presents.



• You hang on to the stocking tradition for dear life (it's an excuse for the good chocolate to get in your shopping cart).



• You put clothes (even underwear) on your Christmas list.
  

Swenatic

I'm going to the Akron v. Kent game today. Go Zips!!!!!!!!

Any excuse to go to Swenson's is a good one.

Everyone keeps asking...

"What are you having?" - Well, I'm hoping a HUMAN baby.  If there's kittens in there, then we have a problem - I'm more of a dog person.

 

"Are you going to find out the gender?" - Hopefully this will be pretty evident when the baby is born.  If not, then we'll pursue genetic testing.

 

"Do you have names picked out?" - Yes.  But you may refer to the kid as "baby" until we see the kid in person.

 

"How are you feeling?" - I feel pregnant.  Thanks for asking.

 

"Is your doctor concerned about your weight?" - Um, do you really think it's a good idea to ask any woman this question, pregnant or not? (By the way...the answer is NO. I lost 15 pounds in my first four months because I was too nauseous to eat.  My doc has yet to say anything about this, so I'm not worrying about it either.)

 

"Are you going to breastfeed?" - What I do with the Girls is my business...  why are you asking such personal questions of any woman anyway?

Most days I only feel pregnant

I will be 23 weeks Friday, and I still don't think I LOOK very pregnant. I have a very small bump, but a lot of it is pre-pregnancy belly. So a lot of my non-maternity clothes still fit and still hide the belly.

The problem is that my pants don't fit correctly. None of my pants - maternity, non-maternity. My body mass has redistributed (thankfully, this includes my butt shrinking and the girls getting bigger), and thus I spend the entire day hiking up my maternity jeans or dress pants.

So today, I wore a dress. With tights. So far, so good.

But I still don't look pregnant.

of tea cups and impressionists

I have, hanging over my desk at work, a calendar.  I don't really write on it - it's just there for reference and looks.  This year I chose one that included works by Impressionist artists.  My favorite is Degas. 

 

For some reason, I always connected to his paintings, particularly the ones of dancers.  They seem to show a fascination with movement to me.  But not just movement - also that graceful pause in the arabesque, the moment before a jete, or just a break to allow the prima ballerina her solo. 

 

I think that's why I like them - they remind me to slow down. To pause.  To take a moment to savor and point out the anticipation of things to come and appreciate all that is now done.

 

I think after I move my cube that I'll bring in another Impressionist calendar for the new year.  And a nice china tea cup to use in my pauses.

new name

Can I just say that the whole pregnancy thing is seriously messing with my self-identity? Because now, I am not just “Nicole, Steve’s wife”, I am also going to be “Mommy”. Freaky. Neat… but freaky.

belated

I commit to a month of something and I can't even make it to day 2. So I am posting this on 11/3 and dating it 11/2 to make up for it!

NaBloPoMo09

Okay... here we go.

Since I haven't updated this since, oh, I don't know SEPTEMBER... I figured I would start off NaBloPoMo right and get y'all caught up properly.

1. I still have a job, for those of you know where I work and have heard about recent happenings. I was not affected. In fact, I will be getting a new cube in the next month. But not a better cube, just a different cube. Same job.

2. We painted one of the extra bedrooms. Guess why. If you can't guess, or haven't heard, see number 3.

3. I'm pregnant. Seriously. No... seriously. You can stop laughing now. And maybe pick up your jaw off the floor. I'm due March 5, no baby belly yet (thanks to my LONG torso/height), cravings so far include Sour Patch Kids, green olives, and pickles. And no, we don't know the sex, and we are going to wait until it gets here to find out. Because, I figure, that way, I have a reason to push the SMALL HUMAN BEING in my STOMACH out when it's time. And no, I will not tell you the names we have picked out. I don't want judging or copying going on.

4. I miss dippy eggs and rare steak. And Brie. Oh what I wouldn't give for some Brie with green apples.

That's about it. More to come in the next month.

HOW long has it been?

Oh crap. It has been a while. But y'all will forgive me right? That's what friends do. Right? :-)

It's been a busy summer. I built a raised bed for my garden - which has been a success despite the cool summer.

We are about to embark on major home improvements this weekend and this month (fixing rotted trim, repainting it and installing new outdoor lights - and waterproofing, cleaning, and repairing basement walls via some contractors).

Not to mention, I am teaching Steve to cook on his own. Pray that we don't burn the house down or break the new stove.

Not to mention my sister is pushing me to turn this blog into something that I could make a living at. Now - I love my job. But how cool would it be to have more than a few people reading this thing? The question is - what do I do?

I've considered adding a section on basic home improvement projects and/or dealing with contractors, from a woman's perspective; making your own traditions; and a few other ideas that are not well-formed enough to mention here. But seriously, it's hard to think about what idea would get me a larger audience. Who knows?

All I know for sure today is that I want to finish watching the Zips (even if they are going to get pounded) and get out and take advantage of this three day weekend.

speechless

I'm pale and proud of it...

"Consumers should worry more about wearing enough sunscreen, several doctors said, rather than how high their SPF is.

Skimp and you lose. To get the SPF advertised, you must use a full shot glass on your body. That’s an ounce, which means a three-ounce tube should last, at most, a few outings.

Considering that slim tube could cost roughly $10, careful sunscreen use is a significant investment for park-going parents, beachgoers or daily joggers."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/fashion/14SKIN.html?ref=health

Put on a fresh coat of lipstick and deal with it...

I do tend to pick out bright colors, but it could be a dress or pants. Depends on the event. But I have found that there are a few things that I ALWAYS put on when it's an important day: lipstick and perfume. I guess that is from seeing my grandmother dressed up for church every week. She tended to always have those things on too. It was important to her, and it wasn't about impressing, but about showing that SHE took something seriously - and putting herself in the mindset to take it seriously. I think that little extra effort to show it's important to me goes a LONG way in impressing someone else.

things I've done - check!

Gone on a blind date X
Skipped school X
Watched someone die X
Been to Canada X
Been to Mexico
Been to Florida X
Been to Hawaii
Been on a plane X
Been on a helicopter
Been lost X
Gone to Washington, DC X
Swam in the ocean X
Cried yourself to sleep X
Played cops and robbers
Recently colored with crayons
Sang Karaoke X
Paid for a meal with coins only X
Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
Done something you told yourself you wouldn't X
Made prank phone calls
Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans X
Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose & elsewhere X
Caught a snowflake on your tongue X
Danced in the rain X
Written a letter to Santa Claus X
Been kissed under the mistletoe X
Watched the sunrise with someone X
Blown bubbles X
Gone ice-skating X
Gone to the movies X
Been deep sea fishing
Driven across the United States
Been in a hot air balloon X
Been sky diving
Gone snowmobiling X
Lived in more than one country X
Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets X
Seen a falling star and made a wish X
Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
Seen the Statue of Liberty X
Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
Been on a cruise
Traveled by train X
Traveled by motorcycle
Been horse back riding X
Ridden on a San Francisco CABLE CAR
Been to Disneyland --- or Disney World X
Truly believe in the power of prayer X
Been in a rain forest X
Seen whales in the ocean
Been to Niagara Falls X
Ridden on an elephant X
Swam with dolphins X
Been to the Olympics
Walked on the Great Wall of China
Saw and heard a glacier calf
Been spinnaker flying
Been water-skiing X
Been snow-skiing X
Been to Westminster Abbey
Been to the Louvre
Swam in the Mediterranean
Been to a Major League Baseball game X
Been to a National Football League game X [played at halftime!]
Been to a NBA game

Big time Big Shot!

So I am getting interviewed! Ah the life of a super star... My friend and DG sister from University of Akron has decided to interview me for her blog.

So here are her questions and my answers!

What is your greatest accomplishment since graduating from college? (since we knew each other then!)
Hmmm. This one is tough. I think surviving graduate school (not mention the Masters degree) should be the answer. But I don't think that it is it - that really was more a daily thing than one LARGE thing. I could be romantic and say "getting married" but that is too old fashioned, and not totally my accomplishment (I mean, he did ask...). Finishing my first afghan? Teaching myself to knit?

This is going to seem like a small thing, but I really think my greatest accomplishment is my rose garden. I actually managed to keep one of them alive for more than a year!


What is your best memory from DG days?
Probably the Initiation where I got welcomed my first grand-little into my family. Partly because that was the week I had pink hair and no one could keep a straight face during the ritual. :-)

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years?
In 5 years - still married, possibly with kids, and a better paycheck. In 10 years - still married, hopefully with kids who are not a pain in the butt/have manners/can do laundry and dishes, and a whole lot of memories from fantastic trips. I like to set the bar low.

Is there a question in the universe that you would like to answer or solve? If so, which one?
Why are people mean/stupid? I mean really, we are all human - I don't get the whole "you are different/I want to feel powerful, so I have to persecute you." thing... on both a small throwing-crayons way and a large dropping-bombs way.

And stealing from Ms. Mac, if you had to choose a flavor of ice cream that most fits your personality, what kind do you think you would you be? Feel free to make one up if necessary.
Ooh... another toughie. Probably homemade chocolate chip cookie dough (from my Ben and Jerry's recipe book). Some "raw" stuff, doesn't come together until the end - but always comes through, and decadent.

And that concludes the interview!

Part of the deal was that I continue this by interviewing more people. So here are the rules.

1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions. Be sure you link back to this original post.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Let’s go!

My favorite room

by Lori Greig (Lori Greig)

the front room - just painted yellow, with new curtains and shades. Sunny and bright.

Three overplayed songs I love anyway

Shot Through the Heart by Bon Jovi

Bubbly by Colbi Caillat

Love Song by Sara Bareilles

If I could tame a wild animal

Färentuna church by Per Ola Wiberg (Per Ola Wiberg (Powi))

dragon... imaginary, invisible, and handy for protection.

Upsides of a cold day...

• huevos rancheros
• free lunch
• getting out early
• getting things done
• feeling not sick
• three day weekend