Grizzly Cross Stitch

A few weeks ago, out of nowhere, I decided I wanted to do a cross stitch. Usually this is something I would start and just give up on after a few days since it takes so long to finish... but this time I actually finished it! I bought the pattern from Mother Bee Designs on Craftsy. I suppose the fact that I spent a dollar on the pattern made me more motivated to finish the project. I have a TON of embroidery thread that was left to me by my grandmother and quite a bit that I bought myself, but I don't have many cross stitches to show for it. I also recovered a bunch of stuff from my storage unit in San Diego and found that I acquired quite a few craft supplies, including a bunch of empty picture frames. This one seemed to fit perfectly!

I'm pretty happy to have this cute grizzly bear to hang on the wall! 

Lately... & 32 Week Baby Bump!

Lately I've been super tired and running around trying to get everything done. Unfortunately I always have to stop and take a nap or collapse on the couch before I am finished doing what I want to do!

I finished up painting the second dresser for the nursery and Joe attached the mirror. I also managed to clean out all the stuff that got piled up in there from the move and made it look a little more like a proper nursery, though we are still waiting on the crib my mom is bringing down in April. I even went out and got a glider rocking chair with an ottoman! I wasn't too excited about how it was going to look, since I would prefer a more mid-century modern style, but once I realized how uncomfortable I was just sitting on the couch with my big belly I figured I would really enjoy a comfy chair instead of just a nice looking one.

Speaking of being tired, I really don't have energy to make dinner or do much of anything these days. I'm too lazy to even do my weekly baby bump updates! I'll settle for a blurry iPhone photo this week :)

I am allowed to leave work early now (so only 8 hour days... whoopee) but I am still totally pooped when I get home. Joe has been awesome and is taking over even more of the household chores, including cooking. He even makes me lunch when I get home on my break! 

Mister doggy is doing very well and fitting in really nicely. We decided to name him Bill Murray, or Murray for short. I'm not sure where I got the idea to name him that, except maybe he reminds me of Bill Murray's character in Lost In Translation. He's pretty melancholy, he just wants to fit in and have a bit of fun too. Mrs. Peacock is getting more and more used to him and doesn't hiss (as much) when he rudely sniffs at her tail. She is still the princess of the house though!

The last picture is of the courthouse in the town we live next to. We had quite the Valentines Day weekend! It was full of not-so-great events and happenings. Nothing too major, but it kind of piled on top of more of those not-so-great grown up things we have been dealing with lately too.

Overall everything is going really great! I'm looking forward to these last 8 weeks and hopefully taking some time off before the due date. I can't tell if I want it to be over sooner so we can see our little Ellie, or if I wish it would last just a little longer.

Our New Doggy!

Hello there! 

This is Joe's new buddy. We haven't decided on a name yet, but as you can see he's a pretty cute guy! He is a Boxer/Great Dane mix we adopted from the Humane Society. He loves Joe and follows him everywhere, whining whenever he leaves the room. He is a stubborn boy too, we can tell he knows some commands but doesn't want to follow them! Joe is working on him though and I think he will be a great dog to have around.

Miss Kitty is NOT a fan and let him know it with a lot of hissing and a little swat when he got too curious. He leaves her alone mostly now and she likes it that way. Oh boy, she had a sad little face when she saw her dad giving all his attention to a doggy! Don't worry about her though, I gave her lots of treats and snuggles to make her feel better. She's my spoiled little princess after all.

Baby Bump - 30 Weeks!

Weight Gain: 13 lbs. We finally got our scale put out in the bathroom and I got weighed today at the hospital. I thought it would have been more, but she still has a lot of fattening up to do!

Belly Button? Still an innie. 

Feeling: It's hard to breath with Ellie all up in my ribs! That, and my right ear gets plugged up as if I have water in it.

Food I'm Missing: Whiskey sours.

Movement: She seriously has little temper tantrums in there! It's slightly scary how hard she kicks me.

Looking Forward to: My next appointment, which is in a couple days. I'll be getting my blood glucose test tomorrow too! This morning we went to the hospital to get all the paperwork from the last hospital organized but didn't actually see a practitioner. I hope we get another ultrasound soon. I feel like everything is great and she is healthy, but it would be good to know for sure since we were on a road trip for so long and couldn't get in to see a doctor.

Another thing I'm looking forward to is adopting a doggy! Joe has wanted another dog ever since his doggy, Knuckles, died a year and a half ago. Joe was a sweetheart and let me get Mrs. Peacock while we were in Alaska, but now it's time for Joe to get his doggy companion! Don't get me wrong, Joe loves our kitty, but I know he wants to have a friend to wrestle around with too. Even though we have a lot going on with the new house I want to get the dog training over with before Ellie arrives. This way I don't have to tear out my hair dealing with a newborn AND an over-excited dog. 

I took a look at Pet Finder and pointed out a Great Dane/Boxer mix and Joe fell love with him. We talked to the foster parents and they said he is an indoor dog who gets along with their three cats and kids, so I'm pretty hopeful we will all get along. Mrs. Peacock sure won't be happy about it! I'm sure she will get used to him though. 

On the yucky side of things, it looks like I won't be getting any time off like I was supposed to (stupid bureaucracy.) But we will see. Just take a look at those boxes in the nursery! I can't really do a bunch of unpacking after I get home from work because I'm too tired. I was pretty busy this past weekend and I got a bunch of things done, but not nearly enough.

On the good side, we got a spectacular gift from my grandpa - a washer and dryer! The dryer will be delivered later on, but I'm so happy we have a washer. We plan on cloth diapering, so this is pretty much a must-have. I'm super excited that we will own these and we never have to worry about going to a laundromat ever again. I'm too old for that! Nothing like owning a washer and dryer to make you feel like a grown up.

Easy DIY Furniture Update with Contact Paper

I have this awesome mid-century chest of drawers that I got back when I lived in San Diego. It was too beat up to leave it as it was so I used my favorite method of furniture updating, spray paint, to paint it black.

It worked fine but I still wish I could have saved some of that cool wood grain that looks so nice on mid-century furniture. Well, not saved, since it was an ugly shiny plastic woodgrain laminate before, but I wish it had it in the first place to save.

So what is my solution? Contact paper to the rescue! I've wanted to use this woodgrain contact paper since I saw it at the hardware store, but it's a little tricky to find just the right place to use it without being horribly tacky looking (although I guess the whole idea of it in the first place is that it's a little kitschy.) Plus, when I get tired of it I can just peel it off instead of repainting the whole thing. Sweet!

I measured out the shapes that I wanted on each drawer and cut them out carefully. Then I peeled off the backing and placed it on the drawers! Super easy! I think it makes the drawers look a little more interesting instead of just being a big black hunk of furniture sitting there. Try it!

January in Review

January was a great beginning to the year, starting off in the midst of our road trip from Alaska to Louisiana. We celebrated the New Year in San Diego and spent two days at the zoo checking out all the animals, including pandas! We headed out into the desert through Phoenix and made a stop in Roswell to see if we could spot any flying saucers. 

Now we have successfully made it to Louisiana and are settling in, getting the house together and unfortunately getting back to work. Oh, I wish I could be on vacation forever! First world problems, I know, especially since before I know it I'll be on maternity leave. I'm just now hitting 30 weeks and I can't believe it! Ellie will be here in no time, but it feels like it's going by so slowly.

I ended January by getting into some DIY home projects like Mrs. Peacocks 13th birthday present, a Kitty Wall Tower, and doing a Dresser Makeover for the nursery.

February is going to be full of a bunch more home projects as we get our new place decorated and ready for the baby. Not to mention our 2nd wedding anniversary is coming up! It looks like 2014 is going to be a busy year.

The California Coast

Beach Kitty

Happy Pandas

The Petrified Forest

Weekend Nails

28 Weeks!