Sunshine

1. The above light has been the bane of my existence the past few months. I knew what the problem was, but didn't want to deal with the money it would cost to fix it.  I knew it wasn't ruining my car or anything, so I just drove... and drove.  Bah. I hate that light. Anyway, with some extra time on my hands this week, I was able to spend time in Ogden with my fantastic Daddy who fixed some much needed things on my Sophie. As of yesterday, no more CEL and I am extremely grateful for a dad who knows how to get in there and tear things apart and get them back together. Eh- the car was just an excuse for some good daddy/daughter time.  :-) 

2. Tis the season for THESE:

Take note that not just ANY candy heart can satisfy me - MUST BE SWEETART HEARTS. Mmmm. I love, love, love them. 

3. 

Thanks to Ethan for satisfying my ice cream needs this week...

4. Chuck was out of town all week long. I didn't sleep well, my nosebleeds were out of control, and I was lonesome. He got back yesterday. And that makes me happy. Things are much better with him around.

5. Did you know that I got a sewing machine for Christmas? I did. And I haven't touched it yet. BUT this week I got inspired by a project that looks simple enough to start with. Straight lines. Yeah. I'll figure out a boy version of this:

6. With Chuck back we'll get back to putting the nursery together. I found some good fabrics for bedding - so with the help of some family, he may just get some bedding in the near future.

7. And last, but not least - Counting down... TWO MONTHS left!

Single Digits

Down to single digits. Nine weeks to go...

What'd I do this week to prepare? Mmmmm... not a ton. :-) I rested a lot, and today, for the first time in a month, I went 24 hours without a nosebleed.

THANK. HEAVEN.

In all honestly, I have had a fairly easy pregnancy, and I am thrilled about that. But for some reason my pregnancy plague is nose bleeds. I was prone to them before, but seriously? We're talking gushing blood four to five times per day. The average one lasts about a half hour. Boooooooo.

I use a humidifier. I use Vaseline. I use nasal salines. Sigh. This week I was ready to walk into the doc and demand they cauterize it... (I've had that done before...) 

Meh.

But on a happy note: I'm close to finding fabrics for baby's bedding. It's taken awhile because we're pretty picky and don't have a "theme." Thank heaven I have family members who can sew - my skills are below minimal and it's a big project to take on when you *don't have a clue *.  Here's to learning! 

Soft

"Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. 

Do not let the pain make you hate. 

Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. 

Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, 

you still believe it to be a beautiful place."

I've pondered on this quote a lot this past weekend. I repinned it from a friend on Pinterest, and I find it right up the alley with where I am trying to go in my life. 


Very few people, if anyone, that I am well aquainted with, would describe me as a "soft" person. I am highly opinionated (and rarely choose to withhold those opinions), I am judgmental, and I am a bit hardened to feelings and emotions (beit mine own or those of others). For whatever reasons - and I will partially blame life's experiences (though I know I shouldn't...), I come off as a bit of a "tough cookie." To be perfectly honest, I've been proud of that for a long time. Part of those personality traits make me a hard worker, a go getter, and a girl who can actually stand going to a public restroom by herself. I'm quite the independent, and I do what I want when I want to do it. Don't mess with me. 


The question is, though, is that how I WANT to be seen? Is that how I WANT others to perceive me? AND, most importantly, is that who I REALLY am? I look at the women whom I admire and aspire to be like, and none of them are *those kind* of women. 


Hmmmm. 


Pondering on this subject reminded me of another quote that I'd heard and read in several different places: 


Margaret D. Nadauld, Young Women General President: “The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity” (“The Joy of Womanhood,” Ensign, Nov. 2000, 15).


Tender. Kind. Refined. Faith. Goodness. Those are qualities I want; the ones I want to be seen. The strange thing is that oft times, those qualities are, by worldly standards, considered "weak" - and being perceived as WEAK absolutely mortifies me. Therein lies the dilemma. 


I must retrain my thoughts. 


Written word to further inspire me - Proverbs 31:10-31 . And a talk- Charity Never Faileth, given by President Thomas S. Monson during a time in 2010 where cynicism ran quickly through my veins. I'll admit that I haven't quite recovered from the events of that year that plagued - and continue to plague - our family members. Those events, along with other tragedies that I seem to constantly witness from the outside, have toughened me up even more. It's a work in progress, you know, trying to turn the cynicism to actions of tenderness, kindness, and refined behavior. 


I'm working on it all. 


There are those - few and far between - who do see the "soft" side of Amy - I suppose I should give myself credit... Perhaps this whole thought process is just MY form of "nesting."  This little person coming into our lives surely does not deserve to have my rough and tough, cynical nature imposed upon him. 


... I just don't think that it's a GOOD thing when the "person" in my life who sees the "tender me" most often is a furry friend named Gilbert.   ;-)

Ten Weeks

Today marks ten weeks till the fetus is scheduled to join us. That's * ALMOST * single digits. Huh. I need to start reading more about what to do with a baby...

He thoroughly enjoys resting his foot on the right side of my rib cage, and as I learned on Wednesday night, he is fascinated by the noises of cheering crowds (he went to his first pro sports event - Jazz VS Lakers - that night). He has been on post holiday detox the last few weeks, and I think I have figured out that he is a pretty calm kiddo when he's not pumped full of sugar. Making a mental note of that...

So here we are - ten weeks - and lots to do.

I think I will take a nap.

Sunday Sunshine

Yeah- when's the last time I did one of these posts? I'm not even sure.

1. Looking on the bright side here... 9 AM church: Chuck begins meetings at 6 AM. I'm up by a little after 7 (cringe), but by about 12:30 or so we get to come home, eat, and veg for the rest of the day if that's what we so choose. That part is great! And with our upcoming lifestyle change in a few weeks, I think that 9 AM won't cramp my style so much.  :-)

2. There is Nothing Like a Dame:

My mom, sister, grandma, and I saw the touring company of "South Pacific" at the Capitol Theatre on Thursday night. Ah, how I love the brilliance of a well done, Golden Age musical. 

3. Motivation: Yesterday was the Walt Disney World half marathon. I had a few friends participate in it and Amy here gets the big idea of, "Oooooooo. I can do that!" So, the goal is to run that half marathon next January in Orlando. Hopefully this baby coming smoothly and I can start training and telling myself that I love running. And after the half marathon I will eat around the world at EPCOT. And also have a PB and J shake from the 50s Prime Time Diner in the Hollywood Studios. And I will eat at Ohana. Yes.

4. Mobile: I bought this little gem on Etsy yesterday. Should look lovely with what we've got going for our little nursery...

5. Election: Call me nuts, but I enjoy election coverage. I find it horrifying and fascinating all at the same time. 

6. Snowflakes: We got a few of them this week - a very few, but I enjoyed it. It felt like Christmas should have been right around the corner rather than behind the corner. Hmmmm. At least I'm not on the regular "over winter burnout" per as usual in January. I'll be fine with snow for a few more months. Wish I could go sledding. 

Good Sabbath, everyone! 

Today

My Current Loves:


1. Blog2Print.com: I have six years (exactly 700 posts!) of blogging to get printed. The formatting is not perfect, but right now I just want to get them into book form. Perhaps when I am printing smaller bits I'll get fancier and choose a site with your own formatting options, but for now, this is perfect. I have four books to print. It'll cost over $300. But know what's cool????  THEY SELL GIFT CARDS! (http://www.sharedbookstore.com/b2p.html)  :-)  I totally dig that. Too bad Christmas just passed...


2. Naps. I love having time for naps, if I so choose to take one. 

3. Time for Projects: I'm currently working hard, with the Primary Presidency, to get everything in order for the insanity that will occur on Sunday morning at about 10:10 AM.  Our ward only held Sacrament Meeting last Sunday, so this week begins the new year. New classes and teachers and lots of new fun.  We're working on reverence in our Primary, so I've created this chart that will aid in that endeavor. As they're reverent and make it to each "landmark," they'll have an activity or handout that goes along with that picture. I found some pretty cute things online - so we'll see how it goes. 

4. E-Mealz.com: My cousin's wife had mentioned this site to me a couple years back, but Andrea reminded and referred me to it back in June. Aaaaand it took me until October to jump on the bandwagon (that whole NO TIME thing was really cramping my lifestyle apparently!) I LOVE THIS SITE. I'm totally into someone giving me a list of things to buy and telling me how to make it all into meals. Now I don't have to worry about what to make for dinner every night. We were on enchilada/spaghetti/hawaiian haystack burnout. Hooray for new, pretty tasty ideas! (AND I only paid $15 for a three month subscription. Yup. Points won!) Want me to send you a referral? I think so!!! 

5. Pinterest: Yep. Love this site too. Oh the lovely things I am finding... 

6. Crib: We bought a crib. The one I WANTED was $400 and we decided to be frugal and spend that money on some other things... BUT we found this one - it's comparable and the price was fantastic. Our baby will have somewhere to sleep. 

Gilbert has begun thinking that all of the new things that come into the house are his. Huh - Wonder where he got that idea.

I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus

Never have I cared much for David Archuleta - not that I disliked him, I was just somewhat indifferent. HOWEVER, in the last few weeks I've been thoroughly impressed by the kid. He's reminded me that some people can live in the showbiz world and "choose the right," if you will. This video is just beautiful.

2012

The months just seem to fly by more and more quickly lately- which, I suppose, is a GOOD thing considering that in just two and a half months this baby is scheduled to make his appearance. Hello, 2012. You're bound to be an adventure...

Somehow I managed to gain only three pounds over the holidays - which is practically a miracle considering the way I ate, and the fact that this baby grew enough to finally make me LOOK pregnant.  I've never been one to care what I weigh - as long as I feel good and look decent life is ok - But I tell ya, stepping on that scale once a month at the doctor KNOWING that they're scrutinizing your weight gain will make anyone feel unsettled. (Especially when you know that the candy and complete junk food that you've been gorging yourself on for months is a no-no in the world of prego books where they tell you to eat lots of spinach, nuts, and soy. YUCK.)

11 more weeks... 

I finished my job at the bridal store. I'm only working six hours a week at my other job, and I'm teaching one class at the Scera. Do you know what this means? I. HAVE. TIME. This week has been utterly blissful as I have taken down everything Christmas, cleaned out closets, formatted my six years of blogging into book format . . . I LOVE being home. (Remind me of this in a few months when the walls of this place are all I see.) This is how I feel about my life right now - and it is GLORIOUS. 

Oh. I have also spent my time finding pedicure deals on Groupon - as to save my husband from having to paint my toes too much in the next few months...  Aren't I so nice to him? 

We found a great deal on a travel system and swing for our little fetus - and what do we do with it?  

Gilbert will be thrilled once this baby comes and he gets ignored...

We went on an amazing cruise back in October. (Yeah, OCTOBER- we're WAY behind here, folks...) 

Cabo San Lucas with Hilly and Tavnir. LOVED this port - and the whole itinerary. We didn't have high expectations for Mexico, but lo and behold, we enjoyed it JUST as much as the Caribbean. And the water was WARMER - which is always a perk in my book.

Two cruises in a year.  Guess that makes up for things if we don't get on one in 2012, eh?  :-)

Yes, our travel will be limited this year, but hopefully we can get on with that whole "buying furniture" thing that I've had on the agenda for about a year now. Furniture - Vacations . . . mmmmm .  .  . Trips won out in 2011. 2012 : Maybe after three years in this house we can stop looking like such newlyweds... maybe.

Mr. Ben the Bachelor - I'm glad the show is back but you have some trashy girls this time around. Ikk. Not sure how much I'll be able to stand...

Pinterest is fun. And we got a hot chocolate maker that we thoroughly enjoy. And I also like 55 degrees in January. It's nice. 

This was a fun project :  (Top: Before, Middle: Photoshopped version, Bottom: Finished!)

Soon we will hang things on the walls and have a place for him to sleep...