Big News!!!!!!

9/28/10 (4 weeks and 5 days)

Today we found out that we are having a baby! I am so thrilled and shocked and terrified all at the same time. We are keeping this news to ourselves for a while but I wanted to keep track of what I am feeling both physically and emotionally.

We decided that we were ready to start trying about 6 weeks ago, we have been thinking long and hard about it for about a year though. Neither one of us were expecting things to happen this quickly however. We will keep that in mind though when we try for a second.

So many of the books you read talk about some women just know. I took that with a huge grain of salt, but I just did. I knew something was different almost right away. Now I am not saying that I knew the moment of conception but I knew about 10 days before my expected period. I took 2 pregnancy tests and they both came back negative. I decided to see if things were late before I would test again.

Saturday the 25th I woke up feeling like I was going to get my period any second. I was surprised how disappointed that I felt, I mean we had just barely started trying. We had already made plans to go to Colorado Springs to visit Charlie and Diane (Kirk's dad and step-mom). I thought this would be a great distraction. I was so convinced in fact of not being pregnant that I had 3 glasses of wine that night with dinner. Then after dinner I got really cold and no one else in the room seemed to feel it. The cold combined with some other unusual symptons I began to really suspect that I actually was pregnant. I somehow made it through the rest of the trip. I decided I wanted to hold off testing for a few more days. I just didn't want to see that negative. I made it through work Monday and Tuesday but went straight to the drugstore after work on Tuesday.

I went home and tested right away! I stood over it and waited thinking it would take the full 2 minutes, but no almost immediately a second line appeared. We decided to use a fancy digital one next but I needed to drink some water first. So after dinner round 2 and unmistakeably "pregnant" appeared in the window.

I am so excited and nervous! I am having a very hard time keeping this to myself at the moment but if something goes wrong then I don't want to have to tell a million people. Plus I am already fantasizing about sonogram pictures on the Christmas card ;)

Routine... or lack there of

I cannot believe that it has been since April that I have blogged. Every week I have the intention of updating and then I get lazy or life gets in the way. The biggest change in the last six months is my job.

I got a promotion! Wahoo!

How I got it however was not so great and made the whole transition very stressful and draining. My boss was very unexpectedly let go and after some thought by myself and another co-worker we presented a re-organization of the production department. And they went for it. In many ways it is just what I have been hoping for; regular work hours, less nights and weekends, and less lifting heavy things and running around. I was definitely beginning to feel the job after 9 years.

And of course like all things when you actually get what you want it can be a bit of a let down. Now don't get me wrong I am loving the new job and relishing in being challenged again after years of being in the exact same roll. Here is the thing though, I am a creature of habit. Years of wishing for a normal routine meant I didn't notice how much of a routine my crazy schedule had become for me. So yes I now know when I go to work and when I will get home and all of the reasons why I wanted that still apply. I just don't go shopping on Tuesday mornings anymore and my weekend is truly a weekend which I have found makes it harder for me to do all of the chores since I want it to be about the fun stuff.

I know that I will figure it all out and get on track after just a few more months, it's just that the type A person inside of me feels like I am just not on top of it all at the moment. I had taken for granted that fact that because I could my job with my eyes closed, I could spend lots of time on things at home. Now that work is challenging me again I have less motivation at home. I know it's all about the balance and I will find it again.

So hopefully I will get back into the blogging (although the 101 in 1001 maybe totally shot). I have a huge amount of pictures to post.

So here is to the return of routine in my life!

Wow I haven't blogged once this month. In my defense I was out of town, very busy at work and I have been sick for a couple of weeks. No matter what though I haven't kept up and I will soon.

Magical

So I was wandering through the store the other day and I saw this for sale and on a whim I grabbed it. When I was a little girl I love Disney movies. I still remember my mom and I heading to the theater to see "Beauty and the Beast" and it was such a magical moment. I own all the classics and when I am feeling nostalgic I will watch "Cinderella", "Sleeping Beauty" or "Beauty and the Beast"(which is still my favorite by the way). I have been a little saddened in the recent years to see nothing but computer animated Pixar movies coming out. Don't get me wrong those are great movies and I saw "Up" and loved it. But there is nothing quite like seeing a hand drawn animated musical.

I had heard about "The Princess and the Frog" and I was pleased and somewhat intrigued that it was going to be a traditional Disney movie. I didn't however go to see it. I did decide to pick it up and this morning as the hubby slept in, I watched it. I have to say that I am in love. It totally took me back my childhood. When the hubby did finally wake up he found me laughing out loud on the couch.

I will also admit that I had visions of future kiddos in my head too. The hubby is from New Orleans so the idea that the movie has the street cars, the beautiful houses, the music, the french quarter, gumbo and of course the best part, beignets! I can already see the kids loving it because it has so much of what they will grow up with on visits to the family.

Overall I loved and am very pleased that I added it to our video library!

Check in!

Well here it is 3 weeks after my last post. I clearly was a little too optimistic when I thought about how often I would post. I have at least been going full steam ahead with my list. I haven't tackled any of the biggies yet, mostly concentrating on the daily ones.

The daily things have been the hardest to accomplish because it means that I have to change my habits. The stretching and the vitamins have been the easiest probably because they make me feel better almost immediately. The sunscreen is hard because I spend most of my day in the dark theater so it just doesn't occur to me. The flossing I just need to do it!

So on to the other stuff; last Sunday I had a lovely brunch with my mom. We ate a local french bistro and sat and chatted for 2 hours while sipping cappuccino, it was divine. We haven't spent that much time just catching up in much too long.

I have been very busy at work but did find sometime to try a new recipe. I wanted something easy, tasty and would hopefully produce a lot of leftovers. I found the answer on my Everyday Italian dvd's that I got for Christmas, garlic and citrus chicken. You take a whole chicken and remove the giblets, stuff it full of garlic and orange and lemon wedges. Cook for a couple of hours and voila! You get this...

It was wonderful! Very tasty, moist and easy! It did take time though mostly just waiting while it cooks.

My next cooking project happened just the other night, the hubs was at work but I decided to make it anyway. It came from the cookbook "The Art of Simple Food" by Alice Waters. The was poached salmon, I have poached salmon before but never just in boiling water like this called for. You take white wine, fresh herbs, and some salt and pepper. Mix that in too boiling water and then throw in the fish for about 6 mins. Supper easy.

It was however only ok. It was very moist but didn't have great flavor. My baked salmon is way better, it did have some variations on the recipe so I will play around with those to see if I can give it more flavor because the cooking time just can't be beat!

One last accomplishment, I finished "Golden Compass" by Phillip Pullman. It is the first of a trilogy called "His Dark Materials"

This came off my bookshelf so I am still sticking with that goal as well. It was pretty good. Its definitely a book for a young readers but I still found it engaging. It is very fantasy based and I love the daemons that represent the human soul. I am well into book 2 already.

Sorry about the really long post. If I can just get into the habit blogging more regularly than I can be better about keeping them shorter.

Neglectful...

So here it is 3 weeks later and I have not blogged again. Not very good for a new blog... I think about the blog, there just never seems to be time lately to sit down and do a decent blog post. Have no fear though I have been keeping track of my 101 things and even have a few pictures to go with it. Work has slowed down considerably though and I hope to have some stuff up in the next few days!

101 things in 1001 days!

So this list is the reason that I finally got my butt in gear with the blog. I don't know about you but I always have this on going list in my head of things that I want to do, be better about or do to improve myself and my life. And then as life gets busy they are pushed to the back and forgotten. I was so inspired about creating this list and then having a place to reference it regularly, also whether anyone reads this or not it makes me feel like I have to keep myself in check and actually accomplish these goals. I started the list about 4 days ago and already I find the list floating in the background. It makes me more likely to pause and try to accomplish a goal when I see the opportunity arise, let's hope this keeps up for the more than 2 years until I can complete it!

1. Call my sister twice a month just to chat (0/66)

2. Read 50 books for pleasure (0/50)

3. Start goal #2 from my “to be” read shelf, and don’t buy any new ones until it is empty (0/39)

4. Re-read “War and Peace”

5. Organize my recipes

6. Make jewelry at least once a month (0/33)

7. Learn to use my sewing machine

8. Make a cover for our living room chair with sewing machine

9. Start an Etsy store to try and sell my jewelry in

10. Start doing Pilates again

11. Do yard work every week (0/143)

12. Grow a vegetable garden

13. Finally get all of my boxes out of my parent’s basement

14. Reconnect with an old friend

15. Send my niece’s and nephew’s a postcard once a month (0/33)

16. Buy the lamp for our living room that I have been eyeing for a year now

17. Have our first baby

18. Have lunch with my mom twice a month (0/66)

19. Do something or go somewhere new once a month, without leaving my hometown (0/33)

20. Try a new recipe twice a month (0/66)

21. Get a library card

22. Change my name on my passport finally

23. Put the money I want to spend on an unnecessary purchase into savings instead six times (0/6)

24. Go camping twice with my husband (0/2)

25. Curb my sweet tooth

26. Send “just thinking of you cards” to my friends and family

27. Surprise my husband with a picnic lunch at his work

28. Go listen to a band that I have never heard before

29. Call my mother-in-law and stepmother-in-law just to chat

30. Email my family in Switzerland once a month (0/33)

31. Go a whole week without watching TV

32. Make a scrapbook of my high school dance team (started this 10 years ago)

33. Have big birthday bash for my 30th

34. Finally finish the wedding scrapbook

35. Have lunch with my dad, just the two of us

36. Go to a movie solo

37. Go to Houston to visit my mother-in-law

38. Wear sunscreen everyday (0/1001)

39. Go hiking at least 4 times each summer (0/8)

40. Blog twice a month (0/66)

41. Walk around the neighborhood just to get outside

42. Take cookies to the neighbors to introduce myself

43. Barbeque as often as possible in the summers

44. Take my mom to the spa for a day

45. Sit on my porch and just look at the beauty that I live in

46. Take my vitamins everyday (0/1001)

47. Write letters to my grandma, just to say hi

48. Eat eggplant six times to try and learn to like it (0/6)

49. Have a long weekend in Phoenix with my cousin and her daughters twice (0/2)

50. Put together picture albums

51. Join a book club either online or in person

52. Stain the living room chair so it matches the rest of the furniture

53. Send a care package to the troops

54. Remove contacts from old cell phones and donate them to a women’s shelter

55. Reconnect with friends from the past

56. Be able to do the splits again

57. Go to a dance class

58. Dress up just because I can

59. Buy some good hiking boots

60. Wake up early just to watch the sunrise

61. Stop to watch the sunset once a month (1/33)

62. Spend an evening by myself reading, no TV, no music, no phone

63. Play scrabble with Kirk once a month (0/33)

64. Have friends over for a game night

65. Go to an Isotopes (our local AAA Baseball team) game with Kirk and friends each summer (0/2)

66. Ride the Tram with Kirk and get dinner and drinks at the top

67. Make a will

68. Organize my office

69. Drink a glass of nice scotch and try to enjoy it

70. Enter a cake in the County Fair cake-decorating contest

71. Take me, myself, and I out to eat

72. Spend an entire day in my pj’s and not feel guilty about it

73. Do crunches everyday (0/1001)

74. Watch five football games when I am home by myself (0/5)

75. Take more pictures

76. Get all Christmas shopping done by Nov. 1 (0/2)

77. Send cards or care packages for St. Patty’s, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Days to nieces and nephews (0/10)

78. Floss everyday (0/1001)

79. Get a massage

80. Have a Mardi Gras Party

81. Host Thanksgiving Dinner

82. Get all the important papers and documents into the safety deposit box

83. Give myself home Manicures and pedicures twice a month (0/66)

84. Volunteer

85. Re-watch all the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies

86. Take my sister-in-law on a girl’s night out date

87. Organize a girl’s night out for all my friends once a month (0/33)

88. Go Skiing

89. Go snowshoeing

90. Pay off all the credit card debt

91. Buy a house

92. Take a trip with Kirk that is just for us and not visiting anyone

93. Start my 401k

94. Create an indoor herb garden

95. Finally get all of my music on my computer

96. Stretch everyday (0/1001)

97. Spend a night at a local hotel and Kirk and I play tourist for the day

98. Start composting

99. Get 4 facials (0/4)

100. Donate one old item for every new item of clothing I get

101. Create a new 101 list by day 1001

To create the list I spent about a week online looking at a lot of other list to get inspiration and direction. So thank you to the countless people who I have been invigorated by your goals to make them also mine.

My first big goal met, was the sunset! I was finishing up with my interns this evening and one of them said, "Wow, look at the sunset!". So I took them up to the roof of the theater and we watched the sun go down!

Teenagers can be so exhausting sometimes, but it never fails that they inspire and energize me!

Well here it is finally, my first blog entry! I have been wanting to start a blog for a few years now and have just been putting it off. I have also, as is usual for me, spent an extraordinarily long time on the small details of the layout. Which of course has meant that I can delay the blog even longer.

I have debated about blogging for awhile now. It feels very self-important and ego-centric which turns me off, but this is also the age of technology and its a great way to keep in touch with family and friends. I also have tried and tried to keep a journal or diary many times and have always failed miserably. I have a box with various attempts from over the years. When I was 11 and had just read "The Diary of Anne Frank", when I started high school, when I moved to New York at 18 and finally when I had my heart broken by the first guy that I began to think might be the one I would marry. They all are the same; strong start for a week or two and then nothing!

So here it is my go at an online journal, one that people might read and therefore make me feel some sort of commitment to continue writing.