Saturday, November 30, 2013

Fire Alarms

This is only the beginning of our big trip! We moved into the hotel and had all our stuff packed up. Of course I forgot to pack the cord to my digital camera, so the whole purpose of buying the camera in the first place is lost! Looks like I'll be blogging with iPhone photos, which isn't too bad but still is disappointing.

We are actually not supposed to have Mrs Peacock in the hotel with us, so we have had to make sure she is quiet and we don't let maid service in. So of course, this morning the fire alarm went off in our room for no reason! Joe was in the shower at the time and had to jump out. We had to pack up the litter box, her food and hide everything. Kitty ran under the bed because the noise scared her, so we had to chase her out and get her into the carrier. Finally we had to go out to the car which was completely frozen. It was 3 degrees out this morning! I called the front desk and told the lady that the alarm went off and she said she would notify housekeeping. I waited another 15 minutes and the front desk calls again and asks me if the alarm clock was going off. Alarm clock. Right, lady. I'm not that stupid! Finally after an hour someone finally came and turned it off! Ugh!


After that debacle we decided to get out of the hotel for a bit, so we went out to the Build-a-Bear Workshop and made a bear for the bear cub, Ellie. We picked a cute little punk outfit and a skateboard so she can be just like her daddy! 

We had a pretty nice Thanksgiving over at Joe's friends house. They heard about my failed baby shower and were so sweet to put together a little gift bag for us with some cute clothes and an absolutely adorable pink baby carrier! They have really been such nice friends to us, I'm sad we are moving! I got to hold their little baby girl and play with her too. I'm so excited to hold our little Ellie! I'm still having trouble deciding on a middle name, but we have plenty of time still.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 25, 2013

Baby Bump - 20 Weeks!


Weight Gain: 5 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: I got my maternity uniform for work after I decided that it was way too uncomfortable to wear the regular pants anymore. I don't need the top yet, which looks ridiculous unless you have a big belly, but the pants are much better even though it's the old school elastic waistband. 

Feeling:  Considering the failed baby shower I'm still feeling pretty awful, but physically I'm fine. It's getting more and more uncomfortable to sleep though.

Food Craving: Reese's Puffs cereal, which is like eating razor blades. I couldn't eat anything for almost three days because those darn things scratched up the roof of my mouth! 

Food I'm Missing: I suppose I miss lunch meat. I've been running around at work and needing to pick up quick lunches. The veggie sandwiches at Subway are okay but I really want some gross processed deli slices.

Food Aversions: None.

Movement: Lots of moving around and kicks. It's still too light for Joe to feel them though.

Dreams: I had a dream that my husband and I were at a Rocky Horror midnight showing and he wouldn't sit next to me. I woke up very upset about it!

Listening to: I don't want to use the Belly Buds too much since I can't really tell when the bear cub is awake or not, so I only play a little music once in a while. I've been enjoying The Neighborhood album "I Love You" and Au Revoir Simone. 

Lately by Sarah Ottati on Grooveshark

Looking Forward to: Getting packed! We have things packed up and ready for the movers. Tomorrow night we are officially staying in a hotel!

Oh, and by the way...



To the Sea

Saturday, November 23, 2013

The "Baby Shower"

Well guys, be prepared for a really sad post. This post was designated for my baby shower which was supposed to happen about 45 minutes from now. I'm only halfway through my pregnancy but my friends offered to throw us an early shower before we moved to Louisiana, where we won't know anyone at all. This, clearly, did not happen.

I didn't expect anything fancy, like silly games and cakes or things like that, but I kind of expected some effort to be put into it. I found out only two days ago that only one person had even been invited. I sent out some last minute texts to invite the people I thought had already been invited, but they understandably went unanswered. No one wants to be invited to a party at the last minute that requires shopping for gifts, especially after a snowstorm. Then the rest of the very few people who were going to show up, all cancelled.

So yeah. That happened. I swear I'm not a nerd who doesn't have friends. I swear. I feel like that socially awkward kid in school who invites the whole class to their birthday party and no one shows up.

It's not all about gifts... but it would have helped to get at least a few cloth diapers or something. A crib sheet maybe. Moving is always a big expense and I'm worried that by the time we reach our destination we won't have anything left over to buy baby stuff. I'm sure things will work out fine with money, but you know, it's always a thing people worry about.

Really what makes me sad is that no one understood how much I was looking forward to this and also how hard it was for me to let myself enjoy the idea of a shower. I wasn't going to plan one for myself because it's just weird for me to ask people to buy me gifts. I'm a big introvert and I don't like being the center of attention, so when my friend offered to throw a shower just for me I was really nervous and excited to be given so much attention. I felt awkward just going to register at Babies R Us, because it seems so self centered. I had to convince myself that it was okay to be given gifts, that my friend wanted me to be happy and were excited for me. So imagine how lame I feel now, knowing they actually didn't care as much as I thought?
I would have been happier not having a shower at all rather than expecting one and being totally disappointed.

So what do I do now?
Retail therapy.
All the stuff I resisted buying because I was waiting for the shower is going in my shopping cart today. I'm buying ALL the cute onesies that I was supposed to get a million of.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Baby Bump - 19 Weeks!



Weight Gain: 4 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: I prefer to wear my maxi skirts or my stretchy black jeggings from Aeropostale that I bought 3 years ago. Jeans are not happening. 

Feeling: Some leg cramps. My calves have been sore and since I started getting set up to leave Alaska I don't do my pregnancy fitness class. I think it must be leg cramps. Not too bad though. 

Food Craving: Sweets like tiramisu, cheesecake, yogurt and hot cocoa (NOT with almond milk though. I want the real stuff!)

Food I'm Missing: Bagels with lox.

Food Aversions: None.

Movement: I feel kicks a lot more often now. I'm excited for Joe to be able to feel them.

Dreams: I still haven't had any weird dreams.

Listening to: I just started using my Belly Buds, so the bear cub and I have been listening to The Middle East. I'm so happy the adaptor is split so I can listen to the same music.


Looking Forward To: One week until we find out the sex! I have no idea what to expect. The technician predicted a girl, but I still have the feeling that it will be a boy. I just always pictured having a boy first. I will be happy either way though! 

To the Sea

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Dresser Set Makeover - The Planning Stage

Wow guys, November is really moving fast! This is a big month for us, getting all our stuff together for the big Road Trip across Canada and the U.S. This coming week I have to continue with a bunch of paperwork, driving all around gathering signatures. This Saturday is the baby shower. We have to organize all our stuff into "bringing with us in the car" and "packing up with the movers." The car needs to be spacious enough so when we leave it parked in a city like San Francisco it won't get broken into, but we also need the essentials like clothes, toiletries, food for the cooler, emergency stuff in case we get stuck in a snowstorm, and stuff to keep the kitty comfortable. We also have to get kitty her papers and a checkup to go over the border. Of course my job is making things more difficult by just now telling me that I NEED a government passport. As if I could get one in less than a week. This is all BS of course. But whatever. The date I leave is the date I leave and they can't stop it!

What I am really excited about lately is the new house we will be getting in Louisiana! I keep looking at the floor plans they have and wondering which one we will get. When we moved into the apartment we have now I didn't have any furniture at all. I actually got everything from my friend who was getting rid of her bedroom set and wanted to get rid of an old love seat too. So that is what we have now, two bed side tables for a TV stand in the living room, a loveseat for the both of us to sit on, a dresser in the living room to hold my military uniforms and sewing stuff and another dresser in the bedroom for clothes. I'm hoping that Joe and I can get a whole new bedroom set once we get to the new place... It might take a while since I really want to find eclectic things from flea markets and thrift stores. I have a storage unit in California with some nice things in it that can start us off, but it won't be enough for both of us.

The main point here is that I want to use our current bedroom set for the nursery. I'm willing to live out of a suitcase while we look for a nice dresser, as long as the nursery is perfect! The problem, of course, is that the bedroom set we have is a little old. It seriously needs a makeover! Good thing I LOVE this kind of stuff!

I have been sitting here looking at these dressers for months now, wondering what I can do with them. The bare bones of the furniture is like, a mid nineties style I think. It's not modern, it's not traditional or transitional. I can't really tell what it is except that it has gold trim (yuk!) New drawer pulls is the first thing that comes to mind. I also want to pull off the gold trim and replace it or find a way to paint over it. Spray paint is a miracle, by the way! I also want to see how easy it would be to put the dressers on little feet instead of just being flat on the ground.





But what about the inspiration? I've been searching for some ideas and here are a few that look feasible with the design of my current pieces. It's a shame how many photos you see on pinterest of perfectly awesome looking furniture, mid century modern style, that are then destroyed with weird paint jobs! I swear half the "makeover" pins I looked at had the "before" peice looking much better than the "after."

IMG_0035

Mid-Century Dresser from Dream Green DIY. Weird paint job, yes, but it actually looks really cool combined with the wood stain she used. 




Ikea Dresser Makeover from The DIY Homegirl. This paint job is simple and still looks retro!



Ikea Tarva Hack from Persia Lou. She was inspired also by the mid century dresser I posted above. Again, I love the idea of incorporating wood grain in the design. 

I'm trying to refrain from taking a trip to Home Depot! I don't think it would be a good idea to start up a big project like this right before a big move, but hopefully I can get it done once we finally get settled into our new place.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Marriage Retreat and Mountain Goats

We spent Thursday and Friday night at a ski resort, attending a marriage retreat. The army pays for retreats like this a few times a year that you can go to if you want. We decided to go so we could get away and have a nice change of scenery. It was really pretty. The sun was setting as we drove there and on the way back we saw mountain goats by the highway!
The marriage program was... well it was pretty terrible, but I won't get into that. The army tends to be old fashioned and it was very weird and alienating to hear "men do this and women do that..." Especially when they assume all women stay at home and all men work. Ugh. I hate those gender roles. In our family it is the exact opposite, I work and my husband does the housework. When the baby is born he will continue to stay home and I will work until I am out of the army. But not to digress! I really don't care to talk about the silly program. We had a great time otherwise!






Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Baby Bump - 18 Weeks!

Weight Gain: 4 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: I don't really need any at this point, but my mom sent me some really cute shirts that will look nice after the baby is born. The embroidery detail on the shirt I'm wearing below is so pretty, it's my new favorite shirt.

Feeling: Fine. Sometimes the stretching in my tummy is uncomfortable but mostly everything is great.

Food Craving: Banana bread, banana cream pie, banana pudding, banana yogurt... Not so much actual bananas though.

Food I'm Missing: Wine and brie.

Food Aversions: None.

Movement: If I'm really still and sitting down quietly I can feel kicks once in a while.

Dreams: I haven't had any weird dreams yet, but Joe has reported dreaming that he wasn't the real father and had another dream that I was getting drunk all the time while pregnant. Is it weird to think that is cute? Because I totally think it's cute that his subconscious is jittery. I'm sure I'll have my fair share of dreams about babies with six arms and two heads and crazy things like that.

Looking Forward To: The 20 week appointment to find out the sex, the baby shower on the 23rd, and getting out of Alaska! As you can see it started snowing over the weekend. Only 13 more work days left at this command!!!!! I was lucky that the snow only started now, but I really hate the feeling of being terrified to drive back and forth from work every morning. Alaskans don't believe in snow plows.




To the Sea

Monday, November 11, 2013

Forlorn Kitty

 Mrs. Peacock is going to hate the road trip! I want to make her as comfortable as possible since we will be on the road for a while. She will have to live inside the car on a boat for five days too. We went out today and picked up a carrier, leash, harness, new collar with a name tag, some Calm Down tonic and At Ease spray. I put some spray in the carrier and set a few of her toys in it so that maybe she won't hate being it so much (...yeah right, she will hate it anyway!) All we have to get now is a travel litter box. Target didn't have any good size plastic containers with lids so I'm going to have to look somewhere else.


I don't know about this girl though, we got her a new litter box with a lid and swing door but she hates it and won't go in! Ugh. Princess kitty. I hope she doesn't end up getting sick from all the stress of the move! 

Here she is, as usual, looking forlornly at her bowl which is FULL of food! But of course she wants totally fresh mushies at all times! Princess kitty.



Sunday, November 10, 2013

Scrapbooking On the Go - Road Trip!

I decided for our big road trip coming up that I needed to put together a scrap book travel kit like I did for my trip to New York back in February of 2012, which is when I ended up getting engaged AND married in the same week. I was really happy that I took the time to put together a book and brought along a bunch of stamps and stickers so I could collect things and make notes along the way. I got to capture a really special and unexpected time in our lives. It's really nice that I have the menu from the breakfast spot we went to the morning of Valentine's Day. I look at it and think, "I had no idea that a few hours from then we would be engaged!" 

I really haven't done any scrap booking in a long time! It's definitely the fact that all my stuff is in the closet stacked up and packed in big containers. I don't want to drag them out and make a huge mess in the closet that is already full. I worked on an album with some film photos we took with our Nikon, but haven't really gotten past the first few pages. Quite frankly I'm also not super happy with how it turned out. There is an element of style missing that I really want. Since this is going to be our "babymoon" I know I will want to have a nice scrapbook to look at again one day. and I want it to be perfect.

While I have the tools to make a journal from scratch, I didn't have the energy to pick out brand new papers, cut them up, and bind them with my Bind-It-All (which is awesome, by the way.) I cheated and bought a SMASHbook, which actually looks really neat and has some cool papers inside. I wasn't too happy that I can't remove or rearrange the papers in it because I don't want blank pages when I'm finished, however after comparing it to the other kits I thought it would be the most convenient for travel. The Smashbook was a convenient size, included all the paper I needed and didn't require me to purchase specially sized three ring punches. I have a Crop-A-Dile Big Bite that I could use to make the papers fit into the other kits like the SN@P, but I really don't want to carry that thing around in the car. I checked out the Heidi Scraps kit and I really like the photo inserts, but it didn't look like there were any extra papers or additions to add to the binder, which sucks because it looked very cute. I took a look at the Project Life kits as well but I wasn't sure where to start with it. It seemed like the kits were all holiday themed or themed specifically for things that didn't really apply to my road trip. Not to mention I can't fit a 12x12 scrapbook in my bag for on-the-go scrap collecting! So after spending a ridiculous couple of hours in Michaels weighing my options I finally purchased the Smashbook with only a couple of extra embellishments. 

To start off my kit I dug out a 12x12 container and emptied out the old papers that I won't be using again. I filled it with the essentials:
  • Smashbook (International design)
  • Extra papers and scrap papers (mostly colored cardstock and some Hambly papers)
  • Journaling cards from Recollections
  • 6x6 Road Trip paper pack from Prima
  • Photo Splits from Creative Memories
  • Markers and pens from Martha Stewart and Creative Memories
  • Scotch Adhesive glue
  • Acrylic Stamp block and assorted stamps to go with it. 
  • One journaling line stamp from Creative Memories
  • Smashbook rotating date stamp
  • Binder clips
  • Craft tags
  • Pocket embellishments
  • Black ink pad
  • Rounded edge corner punch
  • Folder tab punch
  • Scissors
  • Mini paper trimmer with drawer for paper scraps from Creative Memories.
  • Washi tape assortment (Smashbook, Tim Holtz and a couple from Etsy)


Thursday, November 7, 2013

Moving Again

The day finally came! I got orders for my next duty station! Alaska has been a interesting place to live and I'm sure I will be happy to tell people that I lived here for three years, but right now I'm over it. I think I'm really the type of person who needs to pick up and go every few years. I've done lots and lots of moving in the past, across 6 different states and Guam. The boredom, the drama at work... I get so exhausted. Even though there are rumors of deployment at my next station, which I don't want to do with a new baby, I am still optimistic that everything will work out.

I know that moving is supposed to be one of the most stressful things people go through, but I actually really love moving! Not so much moving to a different place in the same area, but moving to a different location entirely. It's exciting to go to a place I don't know and have never seen. I love to check out the different lifestyles of the people and the local cultures. I also think it's very cleansing to go through all my junk in the house and throw things away. I usually have at least three or four garbage bags full of stuff I don't need anymore and it feels good to get it out of my life.

I'm sure this move will have its ups and downs, but I'm ready for it. The next three weeks are going to be crazy. We have snow on the way, my baby shower, we find out the gender of the baby, we pack our stuff and we say goodbye.
It will be fun to celebrate Thanksgiving in an empty apartment. Maybe we can eat Chinese takeout sitting on the floor watching Netflix. I'm down!

Friday, November 1, 2013

Baby Bump - Sixteen Weeks!

I actually have a little bump now! I got so excited I went out shopping for new clothes that will hopefully be comfortable to wear once the bump gets bigger. I picked up some maxi skirts (which I have always loved but never actually went out to buy!) and some real maternity leggings, which I won't really be wearing until later. The ruched t-shirts look cute even with a small belly, so I will probably just start wearing them now. I'm pretty sure when we get to Louisiana it may be difficult to find any stores with cute stuff... I hear there is nothing but a Walmart that is 30 minutes away! This city girl is going to go a little crazy!

Also, I might be in love with Wet Seal. I know it's not the greatest place and they have terrible music playing loudly in the store, but it was less annoying to shop there than Forever 21, which I love but is huge and hard to find anything. There were tons of cute patterns and some palazzo pants I might have to go back and get.

Our appointment to find out the sex of the baby is at the end of this month! I'm so excited!! I think this month is going to be SO long!!




To the Sea
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