Nothing better to do

Look! What's this? No way!!! A picture from Italy? I finally chose one from the 1500+ pictures we took. This is Venice...we had a nice irish couple take our picture for us....it is actually one of the fakest looking backdrops...which is the amazing thing about Venice, it's what the backdrops are trying to be. It is what all the faux finishing yearns to accomplish. Right after this picture, we were splashed by a wave. We were snowed in this weekend. We don't have a fireplace....it's the only option we had.

Check it out. There's a real baby in there that must really be growing. That or I had too many christmas cookies. I know my vote. This is weeks 8-16. It's interesting to me that some of them look bigger the week before than the week after.

One thing I forgot to mention in my weekly update....the anger. I was so angry last week and I couldn't figure out why. I wanted to chop someones head off and Chris sure did try to keep getting in the way of my axe. So what did I do? I went to dr google. I googled "pregnancy and anger". Pretty funny, right? So I was reading, having mood swings is normal, no matter what they are, but there was a particular website that really hit home. I don't know many women who like gaining weight, and it's been coming on fast for me and it's not something I'm used to. This website said that many women may get frustrated at all the things they can't do anymore, that their bodies have been somewhat hijacked. I am definitely feeling that, working out is so different than it was before I got pregnant. I huff and puff, my hips hurt, my ligaments hurt, and I am just supposed to go easy. I haven't been able to run for a couple of weeks, I've done a lot more walking and just more basic activity and I'm used to SWEATING. I love to work out hard, it really helps me mentally and helps regulate my moods, which is something I need help with. I miss it, and it's something I can't wait to get back. So this website said to remember:

You are your baby's shelter, his home, and his life. Be proud of what you're accomplishing. It is amazing.

The anger disappeared, I have goosebumps just thinking about that past sentence. I am humbled, amazed, and overwhelmed that this little life is growing inside me. That I can house something so precious and give it life. It's beyond my comprehension. My body is working hard in a new way...I'll sacrifice what I need to for now.

Sweet 16!

So they say there's this thing called pregnancy brain. It makes you do stupid things and forget normal things. I'm sure I have it...after forgetting to update this thing last week, microwaving nothing in the microwave, and turning on the dishwasher right before I needed to take a shower, I now know that this baby is part zombie and is eating my brainz.

So this is a two week update! Lucky you! I at least have some pictures this time though. So, the week before last, that would be week 15...not much happened actually! At least I didn't sit here and blather on about nothing. Like now. The biggest thing that did happen is that my brothers girlfriend left for Iowa to take 2 years of nursing school. This girl is awesome and also a saint. Look at that, she can put up with my entire family and still smile. I think she's a keeper (HINT HINT BRIAN).

Yes, my dog is part of our family.

This last week? Pretty good. I have had these slight morning and evening bouts of nausea, but nothing that I can't handle...not something I wanted to be a pro at, but look at me! I can handle constant nausea and still smile too! This week was a bit more eventful. My friend Kathryn had her baby, Wyatt. One of the cutest newborns I've ever seen. It was also Christmas! We are so very lucky to have the family we do. Not only are they helping us out immensely with all the stuff we have to buy for the baby, but they are going to help us with childcare and are just a great general sounding board. We are so blessed, and this kid is going to have a great support system. I got a whole bunch of dr seuss books for the speck - I've been reading to him all ready. Don't you love dr seuss? Chris and I have begun speaking in rhyme. I'm sure this only gets worse. We got some baby clothes for Christmas and both Chris and I talked later and both had the thought that holy crap people, aren't you a little early with all this baby stuff? But no...I am now down to 5 months left. 5 months!!! So I am now very concerned about getting the nursery done, which I have very little to do with considering my abilities (Oh, the things you can't do when you're pregnant...innumerable).

It snowed like crazy here this week. 15 inches or so in 3 days. I heard snowpocalypse, snowmaggedon, the great white death. Really, they talk it up like we've never seen snow before. It was kind of crappy driving, but it was a very white Christmas.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Five and Dime

December 11th, 2009 - five years married, 10 years with Chris and 14 weeks pregnant with the speck. There's something special about the number five, five fingers on each hand or foot, 10 fingers and toes total. We'll be counting someone's fingers and toes soon. We celebrated with a trip to Italy (which I still mean to write an update about) in October. I can't believe I've been married as long as we dated...time has begun accelerating at an amazing pace. I never imagined I'd be here when I started dating Chris...not that I thought it wouldn't last, but I just didn't think this far ahead. I love Chris more every year and have never been so comfortable with anyone. I'm so glad I found you and I'm so glad we made it here.
For our actual anniversary we went to a place called Ngon Vietnamese Bistro (and no, I don't know how to pronounce that). It's an organic vietnamese bistro and it was REALLY GOOD. I had steak and potatoes (yea, at a vietnamese restaurant, but whatever, they offered it) and Chris had the duck. For dessert? Ginger creme brulee. Yum. It was a nice low-key evening.
We have almost completely finished our xmas shopping and I am so excited about some of the gifts we've gotten people!! I love xmas, and I love getting people gifts they enjoy. It's one of the best feelings!
So this week? It's been good. I'm feeling so much better and have had quite a bit more energy. I still have moments, especially if I don't eat, but it's overall much better. Nothing too exciting to report this past week, I'm looking forward to feeling the baby move and we've been trying to plan what we need to do with the nursery, the basement, and what we're going to need for the speck. There's a lot of research to do, but Chris seems to think we'll get there.

Foot in Mouth

Remember how I said how much better I was feeling? Stupid Stupid Stupid. I have made the pregnancy gods angry.

10 minutes dry-heaving in the bathroom this morning. Thank you very much second trimester.

On Hoarding

Chris and I cleaned out the soon to be nursery a couple of weeks ago. There was quite a bit of weird stuff in the closet saved from previous apartments or wherever that we finally just decided to get rid of. Everyone has spots like these, full of stuff you're not using but is too "precious" to throw away.
We are fairly neat people. We barely ever have clutter, and when we do it drives one of us nuts and we'll put it away.
So. Have you seen the show Hoarders? It's on A&E (I think) and I love it. Well, more specifically I love to watch Chris watch it. The premise of the show is that there are these people who basically have this last chance to unclutter their house. And these are not just normal messy houses, they are not even 3 college boys sharing a house bad. These are serious mental problems hoarders. They do NOT want to get rid of the stuff. We watched one where the guy could only use 1 room and a path in his house, and they tried to get him to throw away some magazines sitting on the stairs. He insisted he had to go through every one first to make sure there wasn't anything important in there he wanted to keep. Seriously. Talk about can't see the forest for the trees. Chris watching this show is the best entertainment ever. He starts to itch, says he has to leave, comes back to watch more of the show, throws curses at the people, identifies things he needs to throw away, and then finally takes a shower...to cleanse himself. It's like the 7 stages of grief or something. Only there's 6.
So yes, 13 weeks this week! I'm feeling a ton better, although not perfect, but it's definitely something to celebrate. We had our early u/s scan and it went really well. We got to see the baby flipping and moving and generally acting like a little acrobat. It was the most amazing thing we've ever seen. I can't believe I can't feel all that movement in there, and I can't wait until I can. They said they're 90% sure it's a boy, and we are so excited. A son. Wow. It made it just that much more real to me to give the baby a gender...of course we're waiting until the January 12th to find out for sure if it is a boy, but I think we're going to have a little boy. 2010...if everything goes right, the year of my sons birth. It's gonna be great.
Oh baby, whatever you are, I love you so much. You are so very wanted and I hope that your dad and I can raise you right and instill in you all the values that are important to us. I can't wait to meet you and show you the world. You're going to love it kid!
I've moved on to more maternity pants now. They're nice, but still a little big on me. My belly is noticeable only if you knew me from before. To most people I just look like I have a bit of a belly. My cravings have subsided quite a bit. I still love milk and ice cream, but I don't NEED it like I did before. My energy is soaring. I went running the other day almost all the way around the lake and I've been staying up past 9. It feels great. We're doing great.

You know the drill...

Yup! 12 weeks! That's 3 months, one more week and 2 days until I'm in my second trimester. Bring it on amazing energy levels and lack of nausea! I'm ready for you!!!

Want to see something weird? Every time I eat toast for breakfast I have to eat it like a mirror. It's very strange, I do this until I finish it.

Talk about a balanced breakfast.

So this week was Thanksgiving! I am thankful that I have made it to twelve weeks, for the amazing reactions of my family when we told them the news, that Chris had an interview last week and may have the job he's been looking for for over a year, and for the health of everyone I know. I ate too much, as always, and we were able to visit with both of our families and announce our good news. I'm announcing to the world at large later this week after our next u/s. I'm strangely nervous about it.

I've been feeling slightly better otherwise, less nausea, a little more energy and less naps. I have had more back pain, and I bought a bunch of maternity pants. I don't know why everyone doesn't wear maternity pants, they are pretty comfortable. Elastic waistbands people! What more do you need? I'm gaining weight faster than I'd like to, but what do you do. If you can't gain weight now, when can you?? I have been able to poop more regularly and work out a bit more (YAY!!!).

My biggest cravings have been real hot chocolate (with steamed milk and chocolate syrup) and bean burritos. I LOVE bean burritos.

Because you haven't heard about them in a while, Traxx and Daly are doing very well. They are happy we are home for the long weekend, Traxx is sitting on my lap as I type. It's great to have them around and I'm so glad that they've been so healthy lately too.

Until next week!

11 weeks

I'm pretty self-concious sometimes. I kept thinking "what if someone stops by, reads this blog, and all they see is a bunch of week by week pregnancy updates?" So I was worried that maybe I should stop, that maybe I shouldn't be a crazy week-by-week mommyblogger. But who cares, right?! These are my memories and my weeks. If I don't write them down I'll never remember them.


Anyways.


I've made it to 11 weeks. I think my risk of m/c is extremely low (knock on wood here) now. We're telling the family on Thanksgiving and making it public the week after that. I have an NT scan to see if the baby is showing any signs of downs or Trisomy 13/18 on the 2nd. I'm nervous about the scan but excited to see the baby again. I want the scan mostly for the ultrasound, but I am totally a planner too. I do want to know if there's something I should be preparing for. We'll just hope for the best though.


I cannot wait to be out of this first trimester. I just can't completely shake the nausea - and it's all day....morning sickness my ass. The fatigue has gotten quite a bit better but still isn't gone. Work has been tough, I'm supposed to be working a ton but am only getting in about 45 hours a week. Only, I know, but really the guilt of not working more is huge. Blech. I spend a lot of time now searching etsy for nursery ideas. I kind of like fox themes, owl themes, and I saw a little red riding hood picture that I would love to base a room on. I suck at decorating though - so we'll see how the baby's room turns out!


My birthday was awesome. Totally relaxing, full of family and food. Just what a girl wants on her 30th birthday. My mom made me an amazing brunch, which involved breakfast pizza, baked french toast, and apple cider. Oh, and cake of course!

10 weeks - keeping up!

So so exciting. Heard the heartbeat on a doppler at last Fridays appointment. My midwife had some kleenex out to wipe off my stomach afterwards and had to hand me some to use for my eyes. It was amazing. Still up and down sickness and tiredness wise, but a little more up than down over the last week, so hopefully I'm feeling better! I bought a bella band this week - which is basically a giant tube top that holds up your pants...so you can secretly unbutton them and not have to buy new pants. You gotta spend money to save money.


Not much else new to report. My 30th birthday is coming up on Wednesday - WEDNESDAY! As Chris says, you're gonna be old. I thought this birthday would really bother me, and it is going to be really weird to say "I'm 30", but I'm ok with it. These are going to be exciting years, and I always think you need to enjoy where you are, and not worry about trying to be younger. So Happy Birthday to me! I can't wait for cake.

9 weeks - Shiny! New! Improved! Yet, Old! and the Same!

So despite the fact that I haven't even posted any of these yet, so nobody out there could be bored, I am totally bored with that list of questions! Seriously, the repetitiveness and the questions that I won't be able to answer for another 6 months? I can't even come up with snarky replies to them.

I'm late this week - 4 days late posting. I've been exhausted, run down, fatigued, running on zero. I have been lower than I ever thought my body could go. And yet? What a week! We had an ultrasound last Monday. And check out this picture of a picture of a fuzzy somewhat gummy-bear baby! Complete with a heartbeat!!! A heartbeat you guys!!! I'm tearing up right now just thinking about it. Hi Baby!!!

Lots of ups and downs otherwise, I had a couple of days I felt great, and then many that were not so great. My favorite food is still a Jimmy Johns #13, no mayo, no avocado, with sauce and extra tomatos on wheat. Oh yum. And I love milk.

Unfortunately I have barely been able to work out. Walks and yoga have been all that I can handle, and even those are too much sometimes. I'm out of breath quickly, I start to feel sick and lightheaded if my heart rate gets too high, and it just doesn't work. That is one of the most frustrating parts, and considering all the food I've eaten, my pants have already gotten tighter, and a couple pairs have been thrown into the cannot wear pile....my poor, poor pants!

We told Chris' mom this week. It was awesome. She cried, then Chris, Joe, and I started crying, and my nephew was wondering what the heck was going on. After being clued in he promptly stated that he would prefer a boy to play with. I reminded him that if it was a girl, it would be my daughter, and therefore the coolest girl in the world.

Whatever you are kid, you will be loved. I can't wait to meet you.

8 Weeks

I am horrified by the smell of the Halloween potluck down the hall from my office. I will puke on you party-goers. Beware. And stop bothering me about coming down, I really can't get any closer without a gas mask. Damn me for not thinking about that for my costume before!!!


So yes, more first trimester misery. Tired, sick, anxious, moody (Hi Chris! How's that going for ya?!), pudgy, and yet nobody knows. I had my first doctor visit this month, and have my second ultrasound scheduled for next Monday. I cannot wait. I have had multiple breakdowns this week of the pre-parenting FAIL variety, and have cried to Live's "Lightning Flashes" on the way to work. Yes, it is that bad. On Thursday I forgot to ask if the useless seasonal flu shot contained thimersol before they stuck it in my arm and into my baby's blood supply - so I called Chris sobbing about 3 hours after the doctor appointment - and he so rationally suggested I call the doctor and find out if it was in there. After explaining to the receptionist what thimersol was, she was able to find out that no, they don't even carry the shots with thimersol in them. Safe, but I obviously have not gotten this whole question thing down yet. They had the H1N1 shot, but are only giving it to pregnant women over 32 weeks, so hopefully my fellow coworkers use their time off and don't come into work sick. Chris has been a trooper, we are only 8 weeks in and I have put him through a lot, and he is taking everything I dish out with a "thank you, can I have another." I know I will feel better as long as this ultrasound shows a normal heartbeat.



On to our weekly update!



How far along: 8 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Wow, I didn't realize this, but I gained about 5 pounds. Although sometimes scales are off by that much. Right? Reassurance here!
Maternity clothes: Some of my clothes are tighter, I'm not rushing out to the stores yet.
Stretch Marks: Not looking forward to this.
Sleep: Yup, still tired. But now I have started waking up for about 2-3 hours every night and I'm unable to get back to sleep. FUN!
Best moment last week: Holding Erin and Josh's 1 week old baby. I cannot believe that I will create something that helpless and that precious! I am scared to bring a baby that small home!
Movement: Apparently the baby started making movements this week. Go baby! Can't wait until I know you're there!!!
Cravings: Grapefruit. Bagels & Cream Cheese. Warm peanut butter cookies with vanilla ice cream. Hell's Kitchen peanut butter on toast.
Labor Signs: This question is dumb.
Belly Button in or out: Ditto for now.
What I miss: Energy. Working out. Sleeping on my stomach.
What I am looking forward to: Hearing the baby's heartbeat I hope I hope I hope!!!
Milestones: First doctor's appointment was this week - it took forever. Glad to have it out of the way though. Once a month until week 30! I thought I was being so smart and had written down all my questions for my first appointment, and I forgot the whole notebook.

7 Weeks

So yesterday was actually 7 weeks, but we were travelling all day to St Louis for a wedding. I'm writing this right now in one of those hotel business centers hoping that people don't come in and read everything over my shoulder. I've had a lot more nausea/gaggy/pukey feelings this week, and a lot more nerves. I start to freak out when I'm not nauseous, and then 5 minutes later I'm scoping out trash cans and calculating how much time it would take me to get over there and how embarassing it would be if I did. I have not actually puked yet...and I hope not to at all! This trip is kind of hard, my brother and his girlfriend Liv know I'm pregnant, but nobody else does. So I can't drink and I'm exhausted and a little moody and it only makes sense to some of the people around me. This week my baby is the size of a blueberry! And has little paddles for hands and feet!!! How freaking cute is that?! I waver between knowing everything is going to be fine, and oh my god everything is not fine...why don't they sell home ultrasound equipment?!?! Also, I have watched entirely too many "Baby Story" type shows on TLC - because how cute are those floppy soft little babies - but oh my god that baby is going to come out of my vagina. Seriously.



And on that note, on with the weekly update!



How far along: 7 weeks 1 day

Total weight gain/loss: 2 pounds lost! Take that Italy! Remove me from the influence of gelato and the weight just melts off. Has nothing to do with the fact that cookies induce nausea now.

Maternity clothes: Nope nope nope. I'm getting a little bloated belly though. Not too worried about it yet.

Stretch Marks: Not yet.

Sleep: Am Exhausted. I'm considering telling work early after my appointment next week confirming everything is fine. I just don't have the energy...for anything. I want to sleep all the time, and Chris is being awesome. He's totally taking care of me...because I come home from work, plop myself on the couch, and basically don't move.

Best moment last week: Hmmmm...actually making it out of the house for a run/walk around the lake with my puppy. I'm not supposed to get out of breath so we're scaling back our workouts, but I was so proud of myself for making it out of the house. GO ME!

Movement: Does gas count?

Cravings: Grapefruit. I love you grapefruit.

Labor Signs: Nothing yet, and we're keeping it that way!

Belly Button in or out: In.

What I miss: Still with the pooping. Hopefully all this fruit I'm craving will work it's magic.

What I am looking forward to: Hearing the baby's heartbeat next week. I will hopefully have an u/s next Thursday!!!

Milestones: This little peanut has an appendix now - an utterly useless organ, but there it is!

6 Weeks

So I'm not posting these, just saving them. I want to document this pregnancy week by week, but if The Worst were to happen, I don't want to have to explain it to everyone! So yes, I'm PREGNANT!! Baby was conceived on September 18th, 2009 and it's estimated due date is June 11th, 2010. It was a total surprise. I found out the day before we left for Italy, so this kid already has impeccable timing (no wine or unpasteurized cheese for me!). I didn't mind one bit though. We have been trying for a baby for 13 months. I was about to start fertility treatments because of some conditions that I have, when we unexpectedly conceived naturally! This baby is very wanted, it's our little miracle baby. I keep telling it that it has to stick in there, because there's no other baby competition out there in my family and this kid is going to be spoiled rotten. I found this update thing to keep track of your pregnancy week by week and I think it looks like fun. If it's TMI for you, then don't read it!



How far along: 6 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Truthfully, I don't know. I've been scared to weigh myself after getting back from vacation. I have never eaten so much pizza in my life and I'm sure it's done a number to my numbers already.
Maternity clothes: Not even close. Although I noticed it's a little uncomfortable when I wear tight pants. Baby needs its room!
Stretch Marks: None to speak of, I'm expecting a lot :(
Sleep: Lots of naps. Not only am I recovering from jet lag, but I'm creating life and all. I feel tired almost all the time! I did have a little trouble staying asleep last night, but logged 9 hours total after falling back asleep.
Best moment last week: Telling my parents and brother! I have never seen my mom so excited, it was one of the best moments of my life.
Movement: Nada. There's a whole lot of zinging little feelings going on down there though!
Cravings: Hmmm...in Italy I wanted Gelato all the time, but food is starting to get kind of weird. Not sure if I'm coming down with something or if I'm going to end up with morning sickness. I'm hoping it's all in my head?
Labor Signs: Dear god no, we are hoping for another 34 weeks here!
Belly Button in or out: In.
What I miss: I missed out on drinking wine in Italy, and caprese salad. Oh, and pooping. I miss pooping.
What I am looking forward to: Getting to 12-14 weeks so I can tell people and feel like this is really going to happen!
Milestones: My baby's got a heartbeat! (Haven't heard it yet, but that's what all the literature says!)

Never judge a book by it's cover

Let's get that last post off of the top.

I included a ticker on the sidebar of my blog with my goodreads read book updates. I love to read. I literally (HA!) adore reading. My nightstand always has a pile of books that are either being read or next in line. One of my favorite things to do is to get lost in a book, which if you ask my husband I frequently do! When I'm reading, everything else is gone, I am in the book, and the world could fall down around me and I wouldn't notice. I've had (allegedly) entire conversations...conversations where I was told I respond "uh-huh," "nope," "yep"....that I don't even remember with my husband. If he really wanted to take advantage, he could probably get me to agree to anything. And you wonder where that 1950 Ford came from ;o) When I read a really good book I can get so into it that I may start thinking in the accent of the story, I'll even find myself coming close to talking in that accent, and sometimes my mood is even effected by whatever I'm reading. That wouldn't be such a big deal if I didn't love to read so many sad books. What's a story without a little drama though?!

My earliest impression of books was when my father took me to a library in downtown St Paul. I'm not sure how old I was, but it must have been around kindergarten or first grade because I think I knew how to read. The library was spacious, enormous, and completely glorious! Marble pillars soared above my head (not exactly a huge feat, I was on the small side as a kid), marble floors shone before me. There were shelves three times as high as me, filled with more books than I could ever explore in a lifetime. A bittersweet feeling, that, knowing that there are more stories than you could ever lay your hands on, that you could never have enough time to discover what's inside each one, but at the same time feeling so safe in the fact that you will never be bored, never be done learning. And the children's section! There were stuffed animals to recline on and people telling stories, and shelves and shelves of colorful books at just my height. I was overwhelmed. I couldn't believe that something that beautiful, that special, was there specifically to house books. Those simple, unassuming, rectangular packages. There's something reverential, and rather church-like about libraries. That quiet hush, the shuffling and rustling of the pages. There's something magic in books.

Isn't it funny what everyday things may shape your life as a child?

Ire

This post may have no purpose and will probably not make sense to many. I need to vent and since I opened up this thing to everyone, it's not going to be very specific.

I woke up angry. Pissed actually. I have been so angry lately, I've had so much of it that I don't know what to do with it. I find myself wanting to punch things, to break dishes, to slam doors, to scream. This isn't like me, I'm not an angry person. Sad I have experienced, and have come to expect occasionally....I'm not sure when I became so angry. The anger sneaks up on me, it's not something I'm used to dealing with.....but I know it's situational. I know that I have never been good at accepting, at not having control over everything. Right now I have big, huge, overwhelming THINGS that are out of my control. Things that I have to accept. Things that I can't accept.

I know I'll get there. Everything resolves itself in time, whether good or bad. Life will keep moving, time will continue to pass, and someday I'll be able to look back and wonder why I worried about everything so much, or what was there to get so upset about after all. Knowing that doesn't make it an easier right now, because time heals all wounds and I'm still feeling burnt. It's this limbo, this process, this not knowing what the outcome is, that is the hardest part. Once you're through the gauntlet all you have to do is catch your breath....right?

This is supposed to be a happy blog, a blog about good stuff, about my life. There are big parts of my life lately that I don't feel comfortable writing about here, so it's hard to update this. I'll get back to the animals and vacation and funny people later. I'm wallowing right now, and I'm just going to stew for a while.

Labor Day Blues

Haven't had much time to update lately. This year is moving so very fast, the rhodedendrons have already begun turning red and it's dark earlier than it feels like it should be. So it goes....


Chris and I went to the fair last weekend. It was incredibly busy, as always, but we were able to stuff ourselves silly regardless. I had deep fried pickles (my favorite), stuffed olives on a stick, cinnamon roasted almonds, fresh squeezed lemonade, a nutella crepe, french fries and ice cream made with local Minnesota wine. Chris had his first pronto pup! All the art and animals and people were fun to look at. I love the fair!


Work has slowed down some. I had the shortest week I've had in a while. I'm counting down to my vacation - it's coming up in less than a month. When we started planning it, October seemed so far away. It's the same as most things I guess. I'm a mixture of excitement and nervousness. Having never left the country before, I feel like I'm leaving behind a safety net. I'm so excited to see something fresh and new though!


Chris went to his first car show with his car this weekend. It was a gorgeous day, and there were a lot of really neat old cars there. Chris' car was definitely not in the worst shape, which felt really good. Some people even came by and took pictures of the work he's done. It was fun to see everyone dressed up in their 50's style outfits too!

My broken promise

So, no pictures from the party! I'm sorry - but I'll just leave you with it was so good there was no time to take pictures. Yup, that good. We had quite a few people show up and we had beautiful (but a little on the cool side) weather. I was so glad it didn't rain, but oddly enough we did run out of toilet paper. All my worst fears have been realized!

Otherwise Chris and I have been busy with work and planning for our vacation. Work has still been crazy, but should be a little better in the beginning of September. This is the first weekend I have been off in a while. For vacation planning, Chris bought a travel backpack and I'm looking into one. I was going to borrow one but I found one online for about $80 that got really good reviews. I should start thinking in euros soon!!! We also got a garmin that came preloaded with maps of the US and Europe. This way we can't get lost....because you see, my worry is that since we can't really understand the language, nobody could give us directions anyways. Even if I do know how to ask for them! We've been listening to "Italian for Dummies". I always find it strange that the For Dummies series are so popular. There must be a lot of people out there with low self esteem. I can't believe we're going in 6 weeks. It's going to be awesome.

As always, the only other thing we've been doing is dealing with our animals medical issues. Daly developed hot spots again this year. Hot spots are areas of irritated skin, Daly usually gets them on his face. They are itchy and on him develop into huge pussy scabs. Pleasant, right?! When Daly gets hot spots we don't have to bring him to the vet (anymore, apparently they consider us experts now), but we get to shave his face, apply an antibacterial rinse, and then try to prevent him from scratching. It always starts with us feeling really bad for putting the giant e-collar on him. This time, our sympathy resulted in us coming home to blood-splattered walls because Daly had been itching at his cheeks so badly. So now the e-collar has been a constant friend, and in the way of everyone. Daly takes up even more room with the thing on, and doesn't realize that he won't fit where he used to. It's endearing, if you find scratched walls and knocked over cups near to your heart. Poor dude.

Oh the drama

The eras are ending fast people

A short recap of this week and upcoming events!

I worked, oh how I worked. I've been working 60 hour weeks for the last two weeks. It hurts. Working this much apparently makes me very irritable. That Chris is still talking to me is a miracle. Work doesn't really look like it's going to let up either. It could be a long year. Good thing I have a 2 week vacation to look forward to in October! It's my little carrot on the end of the stick.

I biked into work twice this week! Twice seems to be about my limit, although I'm pretty sure that I biked in 3 times one week last year. Biking in every day is nearly impossible with meetings and rain. When I biked in on Tuesday, I was almost mauled by some wild turkeys. True story. The turkeys were crossing the road (is there a joke in there somewhere?), all the traffic had stopped and they were headed straight towards me. Turkeys are tall and ugly, so I admit I was a little scared they would peck my knees or something (at least I think they peck, I may have seen some fangs, maybe it's more like gnashing). I did some fancy maneuvering on my bike to avoid getting my blood sucked out by the turkeys and traffic was able to move again. One of the coolest things about living in Minneapolis is all the wildlife. Seriously, I live in a fairly large city and if you go to the right spots you can see deer, fox, turkeys, skunks, raccoons, and all kinds of little furry things. I think it's pretty neat that they're somewhat able to coexist.

I started going to yoga again, and I'm going to make it a habit. When I work too much I get overwhelmed and just have to do something for myself. Usually the things that run through my head that I NEED since I'm stressed are shopping, massages, or any sort of organized work out class, like yoga, spinning, or kickboxing. All of those things feel like a treat to me, and if I'm going to work a lot I need to feel like I'm getting something out of it.

It was Chris' birthday Wednesday, happy 29th baby! I love that you finally catch up with me every year, here's to the year before 30! We went out to a local bar and grill to play what's known as BARGO. Like bingo, but with an AR, so it's like pirate bingo. But not really pirate-like at all. Although there may have been a guy there with a wooden leg, I guess I wouldn't know. Chris won a round (seriously, it's kind of a big deal, not many people win) and got $10 off dinner, which in addition to his free dinner since it was his birthday made Chris an incredibly cheap date.

So what are we doing this weekend? Anyone who knows me well knows that I have a wee bit of social anxiety, especially when I'm in a group of more than 2-4 people (and maybe even if you don't know me very well actually, I have no idea how obvious I am. I often worry I come across as rude or snotty, but I'm actually just afraid to open my mouth. Worrying about how I come across then completes the anxiety spiral). We're having a party! With 10 times more than 2-4 people! As you may imagine, this is causing me to worry incessantly about things like:

What if nobody shows up?

What if many people show up?

What if people show up and have absolutely nothing to say to each other and we sit there in a circle of awkward silence?

What will our separate groups of friends think of each other/say to each other/talk about? And related to that, why do we have so many separate groups of friends? This is totally a larger problem that I can analyze to death.

What should I wear?

Where will we sit if it rains?

Why haven't we finished the base board in the dining room (coughChriscough)?


We do this every year though, and it always turns out fine, with me only having slight panic attacks about the lack of pictures on the walls and incessantly checking whether we have enough toilet paper.

I hope to remember to post some pictures!

Last bit of information - one of my favorite restaurants in Uptown, Golooney's, closed. It's the end of an era and I am in mourning. I didn't even know they were going to close so I couldn't go for one last Veggie Verrazano sandwich. They were so freaking good. I'll miss you sandwich.

My pictures are worth what?

I was reading back over my entries and realized that almost every time I included a picture in a post it was fuzzy or taken with my cell phone. I have some friends who are AMAZING photographers. I, however, am not an amazing photographer (this blog illustrates that perfectly).


Illustrates. Pictures. Get it?


Anyways. I can and have taken some decent pictures. I have a decent camera (although a decent camera does not a decent photographer make). Here are some of my favorites. With stories


So this picture I didn't even take. But it's one of my favorite shots right after we got the new camera, and my eyes look so blue! 10 points if you can spot the dog!


Ah, the dock at our cabin...at one of the many many amazingly serene and beautiful mornings on the lake. I don't know the date, the time, or even the year, but I like to think of this when I think of the cabin. That it's always there, waiting for me.



And here we have Chris' car.. He bought it last fall. It's a 1950 Ford Shoebox and it is a miracle that I know that much. It's a beautiful car though and it even runs now. One day I will get to ride in it. Up until now I've got to push it places. It's all fun though!



Daly's first day at the cabin. Oh my god, the cabin. I caught him mid-action when I asked him to come and sit and I took a picture. If you can't tell, Daly LOVES the cabin.



This pretty picture was taken on a walk during fall of 2008 along the Mississippi in St Paul. I think the building is some sort of granary, it has a lot of conveyer belts coming out of a boat landing.

If you haven't had enough of him yet, this is Daly. Young and old. He sticks his tongue out at you. What a handsome boy. Lord help us when we have children.
Chris and I went up to Bluefin Bay on Lake Superior 2 years ago. We were going up there to snowboard but it had been so warm and there was no snow. We were able to go out and take a few walks. This picture is of Lake Superior. I loved the way the ice clinked together, it was such a beautiful, soft, constant clattering.
This picture I absolutely love. I have it hanging up at work. It's Daly to a 'T'. Bonus points for spotting the cat.

This was fun...I'll do it again sometime.

I wish I had my camera!

There was the strangest casheir at Walgreen's this morning. When I got up there she was trying to get me to take an empty Swisher Sweet cigar box because she thought I could make it into a purse. After convincing her that no, I did not want a cigar box purse, and no, I was not crafty enough to do something like that she started ringing me up. This was a lady in her 40's to 50's who you could tell had done her share of smoking and drinking and generally enjoying life too much. She was someone you could see in a bar in the country - bleach blond with the roots growing out and too skinny and too wrinkly for how young she was. The funniest part?

Her nametag.

"Cougar"

Travel Edition

Chris and I recently returned from Florida and Mickey and Disney and MAGIC, PEOPLE! Everything Disney apparently shrunk since I went there 16 years ago. Don't you hate that feeling. Oh, and it was hot. Like toss me in an oven hot. I spent most of our first day there running from shade spot to shade spot and sweating. And then we went to the water park, which was the only place I wasn't hot and I got a sunburn. Ouch.

Contrary to what that last paragraph sounded like, I really did have a good time. We were there with Chris' family and I got to hang out with them, which is a rarity, and hang out with my nephews. I would totally go back, but in the winter next time. We stayed at the nicest, most amazing hotel I have ever stayed at. The rooms were spacious and comfortable and the pool had a waterfall and nightly swim-in movies. I have to thank Chris' mom for taking us on this trip! Did you know Winnie the Pooh and Tigger were Disney? I had no idea. Disney has the monopoly on childrens everything.

Oh, and by the way, we're going to freaking Italy people! That's right, Italy. With the food and the wine and the amore. Yes, that Italy. We will be there in T-3 months and counting. I'm nervous about the plane ride because I have a wee bit of anxiety sometimes (ahem.), but I am so excited to see the colliseum and Caesar's (old) grave, and Florence and Venice and ride in a canal and eat a boatload of pizza. I can't wait.

We also just got back from the cabin over the 4th of July weekend. It is a sad fact that I haven't been to the cabin this year since we put in the dock back in May or June or whenever. If I would've blogged about it maybe I would remember. Let this be a lesson to me to keep this thing updated. I digress. It was great to hang out with my extended family and go tree hunting with my dad. We did find a tree, but many people and trees were almost injured in the process.

Maybe I stink?

We came back from the cabin and the dog and I promptly got sick. Me - some sort of cold/throat thing, which is awful because I haven't worked out for 2 weeks prior to this, and now that I finally feel up to working out, I'm not up to working out. I keep telling myself my body knows what's best, but I wish it would hurry up with itself. Daly - puking/pooping/refusing to eat. Which is typical of Daly when he's had too much fun....or when my grandma feeds him too many table scraps!

Just this side of nothing

I started this post on Earth Day...I'm finishing it in June. I've been just a little busy, although I think it's funny that every time people ask me what I've been up to all I can come up with is oh, nothing. So here is my nothing.

Ignore the fuzzy thing at the bottom of the picture. I was simply too lazy to crop it out. It's a miracle I'm even updating this blog really.

Something for the spirit of Earth Day! Chris and I went out and bought ourselves a rain barrel. Chris headed up this effort almost all by himself, and I was thoroughly impressed. Our adventure started by driving in circles around a port-a-potty graveyard looking for a lady from craigslist who said she had wine barrels. Silly us, we had been looking for an office of some sort but she was stationed out of a giant cage. We got to pick out our own wine barrel from about 80 of them, and you can't imagine the smell! It was a little much. We picked a Cabernet Sauvignon from some region in France, which happens to be my favorite wine, but really it was the best barrel there. We drove home praying not to get pulled over while smelling like a winery....and Chris set it up after only one trip to Home Depot (and that was an earth day miracle people). It rained the next day, and not very much, and the barrel was half full! Then it rained for real and we got to see the overflow spout work. It was very dry for about 2 months, and we watered all of our plants with this, and still didn't run out (it's a 55 gallon barrel). For about the first month though all of the water that came out was slightly red and smelled like cabernet, which may be a marketing ploy because I find myself craving red wine. Or else Jesus is in our barrel. I figure we will have the best tomatoes ever because they've been watered by wine. I'll let you know in a month or two.

Fashion Cents

I splurged and bought a new dress. I have nowhere to wear this dress and no need of it, but I saw it and I love it and it is just so freaking cute!

So that is me, just out of the shower, trying to figure out what goes with the dress (definitely the green towel). We went out to dinner Friday and I wore it with jeans, but I would really love some boots. The dress is fun and kind of 60's and needs tall boots. But I (and by "I" I mean my right big toe) found a hole in my only pair of black work flats this morning. Those need to be replaced stat because I am so done with heels. I'm all about COMFORT. Except when it comes to that dress and I would suffer in whatever looks good. Any advice? I really don't know what to wear with it, which is probably why it's been sitting in my closet for 3 months before I just did the jeans thing.

You're probably wondering why I'm in a cheerleader stance. That's because we do not own a full length mirror in our house so I am straddling the bathroom sink with one foot on the toilet and one foot on the tub and OH MY GOD DON'T FALL. Which is a serious concern because have you seen my bruises from falling down a staircase? Um yea....I've been so very coordinated lately and have fallen many, many times. Everything hurts. So it's a good thing I wore jeans with the dress because the bruises and the bumps and the oh yea(shhhh..) unshaved legs.

Oh yea, dinner! We ate at the Craftsman on Lake Street. It was good. For the appetizer we had the cheese plate (always a good thing). Chris had a steak and I had the gnocchi - which was amazing. I've never had homemade gnocchi before, and this was the best gnocchi ever. I wish I could cook like that. But we probably won't be going back there often because HOLY EXPENSIVE. And we didn't even get dessert.

Mi Casa

I was kind of depressed about money this week. We talked to someone about refinancing and decided not to do it, mostly because not much, if any, equity has built into our house. We're not totally sure about that because of all the updates we've done, but we'd have to spend some money to save the money and it probably just isn't worth the risk (or do I mean heartbreak?) of having it appraised. So anyways.....

I walked out the door to get my paper this morning and realized that I had been taking it for granted lately that it would still be there. Over the last four years living in our house my paper has always been on the front stoop on Sunday mornings. A little thing, but it wasn't always this way.

Chris and I lived in apartments for a little over four years before moving into our house. We started getting the Sunday paper not long after we moved out of our parent's houses but getting the paper (or anything, really) delivered to an apartment was kind of like an easter egg hunt. Deliveries, and the papers, were always left in the communal area that was also unlocked to the public so whoever got there first got the best stuff. I'm not saying this happened constantly, normally our paper would be there. I'm an early riser, so that definitely helped. But there were many mornings when the paper just wouldn't be there. So we'd have to call the Star Tribune and they would come out and bring us one personally before noon. They never complained, even though I'm sure they delivered that first paper. I think one of my favorite mornings was when someone had taken my paper but left the bill for it on the top of my mailbox (our paper bill comes with our paper). Thoughtful! Oh, and the time Chris went down and found a drunk using our paper as his pillow....we decided to pass on the paper that day.

I think I wanted to write this because of all the press about declining home values and maybe it's not the investment it used to be. Truthfully, I don't believe that home values will decline forever. Everything will reach balance again, it has to (nature abhors a vacuum, right?). I really do hate doomsayers. But what I'm really trying to say is that owning a home is, well, priceless. To us anyways. It's about the afternoons in our backyard on OUR deck grilling out, or being able to paint (and paint and paint again) our walls any color we damn well want. It's about having a garage and not worrying about our cars being towed for the apartments own snow emergency in the morning. It's about not hearing the people in the apartment above you express their love....or their hate. It's also about personal responsibility. The shoveling, the mowing, the upkeep of EVERYTHING, the remodeling, the bills, and of course the savings account that is there just in case something goes wrong with the house. But it's on our terms, and it's our space. It means something to us and we've made it ours.

I love our house and I love our neighbors. It may not be a perfect house, it's small, it needs another main floor bedroom, we'd love a two car garage, and of course it has it's cracks and quirks, but with anything one loves, those things don't become it's defining qualities, they become part of it's character, or at worse, part of the background noise. But I'm happy here and I have no regrets.

Our backyard in the early spring

In FURther news, a race, and some balls.

Gah! I'm so domestic, all I want to write about is my animals.

Traxx is still gaining weight, way calmer, and seems to be doing well.

Daly got his stitches out the other day and is now allowed on two or three 5-10 minute walks a day. Somehow he still manages to poop when I've forgotten a bag. I mean, really, how do I pick the 5 minutes that he needs to poop to take him for a walk. Thanks dog, way to make me look like a bad neighbor.

Now that that's out of my system.....

I ran in the St Patrick's Day Human Race on Sunday, which coincidentally, is not on St Patrick's Day and I'm really not sure what it has to do with humans other than they run in it.....but it was fun! I got a t-shirt with a leprachaun on it, which is really what's important. Kelly and Andrew ran it with me and it was so nice to run with them. I enjoy running with someone, it's motivating, and I haven't really found anyone who can deal with my crazy schedule and location since Kathryn and I stopped running together. I can tell I haven't been running much, I ran it in 31 minutes and it actually felt hard. I've run 25 minute 5Ks before! Afterwards Kelly and I talked about running together more often, and Kathryn is going to start coming over on Fridays to run with me. I'm excited for this summer to start!

This past Saturday Chris and I went and played tennis. It was seriously awesome. We both hit some pretty crazy shots and there were a couple little puddles on the court for added interest, but Chris is a natural at serving - what a lucky guy! I really hope we play a lot more this summer. It will give us something fun to do!

And now a depressed puppy picture. He's just like a little ostrich!

"Please stop poking at me"

A single breath

As I sit here Daly is laying down on his bed next to me, totally passed out. It's been a rough few days for everyone, and I'm glad they're over.

We went into this surgery mess thinking that there was a good chance the diagnosis was tendinitis, and that they would easily be able to go in, cut the tendon, recover, and be done with it. It did not work out that way at all. When they got into his joint, it was bloody and they discovered a torn capsule or something, but the tendon looked just fine, which is actually bad, because now they know NOTHING. I guess this torn capsule couldn't be the original problem because of ugh, am I ever getting sick of this story.

Oh. the. frustration.

Anyways, he is on bedrest for 6 weeks. No stairs, no walks, no jumping, no nothing. Oh, and he can't gain weight, because that is bad. Right. Meet Daly, my wiggly hungry dog. After those 6 weeks, it's another 6 weeks of leash walks only. Sorry Daly, spring will mean NO FUN FOR YOU. My poor, shaved, broken puppy.

A long week

This week has been so busy! I worked a ton to get a project done by Friday only to find out on Thursday we were going to be given a two week extension. Which is awesome, because Thursday night would've really sucked. Unfortunately I'm sick now. I woke up yesterday morning feeling like someone had scraped my sinus cavity with a spoon and that feeling has not gone away yet. Your body has ways of telling you to slow down.


The worst thing about working that much is the parts of your life that fall to the wayside. Like working out, and eating right. All you can do is get through a day of work, eat, and hopefully get enough sleep. My brain was just fried at the end of each day. One night I came home and tried to hang up my coat in the bathroom. Thursday afternoon I walked into the mens bathroom. Thank god nobody was in there, because the urinal is right next to the door. Being a girl, you never think about how little privacy men have when they're going to the bathroom. Although standing up to pee would be awesome sometimes (which we can now do thanks to "Go Girl") I'm glad I at least get a wall between me and the next girl.


In cat news, Traxx continues to gain weight from his drugs. He looks really good now, although we have definitely noticed a personality change. He's a lot calmer abd he sleeps a lot more. Enough more that he's been allowed to sleep in our bed this week and he hasn't bothered us at all! In general he's just a lot more cat-like. I miss my crazy cat sometimes, but he's healthier, and that is what's important.

"The Drug Den"

I've been asked for some more controversial topics. The car company bailouts? Truthfully I don't know the answer to that question. I do know, from personal experience, that the car company's treat their employees amazingly well. Perhaps too amazingly well. When the Ford Plant announced their shut down here, Chris was able to walk away with a full ride to school for 2 years (he could've had 4 if he had so chosen), along with benefits and 70% of his salary. Those two years were up this past month and Ford sent him a check for $900 because they didn't pay out as much as if he would've taken another option. Seriously, is there any other company that you can go to, with no education, and they'll take care of you like that. It's a wonderful and terrible thing all at the same time. The medical benefits we had through Ford were amazing. I had to pay for nothing, basically ever. You can see where the waste came from. And the waste wasn't only through compensation. As always, if a safety net is inplace, people will try and abuse the system. The UAW was an amazing safety net, you could almost not be fired. So there were people who took advantage of that and would freeload on Ford. I think the same thing happens in government. I think it's sad that these jobs will most likely not be available anymore with the same benefits. It's a great thing, and with almost all companys moving to 401K's versus pensions, the burden of retirement and taking care of yourself will fall solely on the employee. Considering what the stock market did to my 401K last month, I'm not sure this is the greatest thing. But we're competing in a global economy and we have to adjust to global markets in order to be competitive, there's really not much choice. Unfortunately I think that the auto bailouts will need to come with a huge restructuring of the auto industry. The elimination of waste and more maintainable salarys and benefits in order to compete globally.

So that's all folks. From mens bathrooms to drugged up cats to my view on world economics. I'm off to enjoy the weekend.

Tittilating Tuesday

"Keep Off

Dangerous
Ice Not Safe"

Folks, we have a mixed messages problem here. Don't plow the ice, set up a warming shack and then face the sign the wrong way. Ah, bureacracy, how I love you.

All the love in the world

Although I think valentine's day is a rather silly holiday, I like an excuse to go out. We've gotten all old and static so we need an excuse to not fall asleep on the couch at 9:30 on a Saturday night. We went to Spoonriver, near the Guthrie. It was full of pretentious ex-raver waiters who were not interested in waiting at all. The menu promised an aphrodisiac, which I didn't receive (sorry Chris, the waiter hates you and doesn't want you to make babies). During dinner we kept watching the other servers walk by with the dessert tray. I love the dessert tray, it's so much easier to pick a real dessert than an idea of a dessert! But alas, the server left the dessert tray sitting on the counter, unused while he told us which desserts were available. So we left without dessert, deciding we could go to Sebastian Joe's ice cream and relive our wild and crazy youth. (Ice cream in the winter you say? Why, yes, we are rebels!).

Before we left downtown we stopped in the Guthrie:

Oooohhh, look, fuzzy cell phone pictures. This blog is CLASSY!

We went and ate our ice cream, sharing our flavors with each other, and trying to ignore the woman sobbing in the corner (Valentine's day snub??).

We made our way over to Mortimer's, our old hangout. Seriously, that is our "Cheers" bar, where everyone knew our name (and for a time, knew us by our drinks....hello gin and tonic girl!). They've forgotten us by now, but the same dirt, popcorn, and darts were still there. Chris really knows how to wine and dine a girl (but it's more like beer and popcorn a girl). I really do love that man.

Next year we're going to do the "tour de uptown" and go to Khindo's for dinner as well. Turns out we're not fancy at all.

Daily Daly

So it's only been about a month, and I think all of my posts contain animal drama. Yes I live in a menagerie/zoo but ilovethefurrylittlethingskthanx!



Daly went to the vet today, and not just any vet, he gets the University of MN veterinary medical specialists. Where University specialists = empty pocketbook. So yea, Chris, about that new tv? Totally not happening.

The poor guy has a front leg limp that's been getting worse and worse over the past month or two. He's always ready to go, but this limp is just breaking my heart. Many dollars later, we've narrowed it down to 2 tendons. They need to cut one of them, and choose the right tendon, or else he's going to have some major trouble. So we spend today testing, trying to figure out which one it is...which, surprise! We still don't know. There will be results tomorrow and will hopefully give us something more conclusive. Either way it's more money and more time at the vet.The funniest thing was that they had to drug him and miscalculated the dose. This dog is feeling no pain....poor guy can't even move his back end. It's pretty pathetic to see a puppy like that!! Right now he's sleeping it off.

What I found on my walk

I went on a walk with Daly today around Lake Calhoun. On my way I saw one of those advertising cars with http://www.go-girl.com/ plastered all over it. There slogan is "Don't take life sitting down". So curiosity got the best of me, but I figured it's some sort of active girl thing.

Active, pshaw - Boy was I right.

Check it out, girls. You can now stand and pee - and save your pee to dispose of later if you'd like!! Free to Pee!! Ohmygod I just died giggling. I have the sense of humor of a 13 year old boy.

The Dodged Bullet

There were layoffs at my work this week. Seven people out of 70 at my office are now looking for work. Have you seen the paper? First the jobs section shrunk to 2 whole sheets, and then they increased the font. It's never good when they increase the font. Oh, and the newspaper is bankrupt and has been calling me twice a week to try and get me to sign up for more newspaper. With bigger font.

It's hard though, to see your friends get laid off. It's hard because you're happy that you have a job and don't know why it's you and not them. It's hard because you know they have houses, and bills, and all the things you were worried about when they told you there were going to be layoffs that they will have to take care of and it's fricking scary to think about that. How quickly your money could run out. I found myself saying, "If there's anything I can do to help...." like somebody died and you know there's nothing you can do to make it better, but you say it. So I've been calling and emailing people I know, looking for jobs for these guys. I hope it helps.

And through all of it I can't help but be a little selfish. What does this mean for my work going ahead? Am I going to have to work that much harder to keep up? Did they lay people off to simply save on a salary and have others fill in that void and work harder? It's confusing because we are BUSY. What if I feel I already work hard enough? I think I just have to let the dust settle and give it a couple of months.

It's been a slut of a week. I'm glad it's over. The weather is starting to warm and the days are getting longer. I hope spring is the new beginning it's said to be.

There must have been a full moon last week....

Chris called Tuesday morning and said there was something wrong with the cats butt, in that it looked like a monkey butt. So I ran my anxious, high strung cat to the vet to get checked out. Traxx just loooovvves the vet. They actually have a note on his account about how crazy he is. So, yum, anal gland issues (which the vet proceeds to tell me what it looked like when they squeezed it out). Vet says cat lost 3 pounds within a year. HOLY TWIGGY CAT! That herion-chic look was soo 1990's, so we decided to try and find out what was wrong. The cat has hyperthyroid (ism?). So we're fixing him by rubbing cream on his ears, which comes in syringes that make our house look like a drug den. He hates this too, but we are so excited to have a fat, lazy cat.

Then I pick up Daly from daycare. I'm informed he was limping and they gave him time-outs. I got a little snippy and told them to put that in his chart, cuz the boy has arthritis and he's going to limp a little, sheesh. So then she pulls me aside and tells me that in the time out he pooped on the floor. Really? My dog? The dog who never had an accident inside the house even when he was a puppy? So disappointed.

This is the closest they'll ever get to each other.

Not to mention I filled every minute of my time with something over the last week. Except for yesterday, I read a book. It was nice.

Getting your V-card

Cashier: So are these soy sausauges only for vegetarians?
Me: Yes, yes they are.

Staying Warm

The cat is doing better. We left him out for 4 hours yesterday while we were home and he just slept next to us on the couch while we ate cheese. Yummy glorious cheese, hummus and olives. Drool.

Oh yea, piss cat: This morning he did not as well. He spent a lot of time crying at the walls when I let him out, so now I'm letting him cry in the basement. That little guy has a lot of stamina.

It's cold out this weekend - highs around zero. Although we did take a walk with our smokin' puppy.

"Wants to be cool like all the other dogs"

He could care less that he's walking on snow and it's -10. I couldn't take my hands out of my gloves for more than 2 pictures. We are definitely different animals.

We went to Circuit City and World Market yesterday to see if we could get any good deals. They're closing and I am so, so sad to see World Market go. Obviously I didn't love it that much though because I never even bought their antiqued furniture or imported chocolate. But the deals really weren't that good yet at either of them. 10% off anything worth buying- they've had sales better than that.

In other news, the floors still look AMAZING. Here are pictures. The best part? Sock skating! Oh how I miss pajamas with feet.

So it begins

I promised myself I would start keeping track of my life through blogging. I've been following strangers blogs obsessively and thought that starting my own would give me something to look back on and possibly a way to keep in touch with people. I really do hope to keep up with it!

There are a few new things going on with me. We just had wood floors installed in our kitchen, dining room and entry. There are wood floors currently in the rest of the first floor, and we finally got them done in the rest of the house. I HATED the old carpet in the house since the day we moved in, 3 1/2 years ago so it was long overdue. Even though we had it done professionaly, it was definitely a pain in the ass. We couldn't be at our house from Wednesday until Saturday morning and when we did come home, it stunk like chemicals. Not only did it stink, but our clothes stunk too. The creepiest part? When we ran the dryer it smelled like burning. Can't be good. But they look absolutely, positively, completely amazing. I love the new floors. I will add pictures.

The cat hates the new floors. Hates. We have rocked his world and not in a good way. So far he has peed on a bunch of textiles that smell like us. At least he's not peeing on us. What a high strung little furball!

And Obama officially became President. HELL YEA! That is all.