Mudders and Grunters

I finally posted Amazon Hill's pics over at Amazon Strength, if anyone is interested in seeing the blog we post on only about 5 times a year...

Is fate trying to hint at something?

Chris and I decided not to find out the gender of our baby. We figure it's one of the last big mysteries that people can still have in an age where you can Google yourself to remember all the wonderful and stupid things you've done. I think fate is messing with me. Before I told anyone about my pregnancy, aside from Chris, two different friends from work on two different occasions had dreams that I was pregnant with a little boy. These women claim to have predicted the gender nieces and nephews perfectly over the years.

Today I'm working at the library. Last week, I put some dog books on hold for one of my brothers who is thinking of getting a dog. Those books came in today. This is what I found under the pile of dog books, with a slip a paper with my name on it:



I think someone or something out there is trying to tell me something.

My new favorite thing

Can I tell ya'll how much I love lemonade and limeade since I've gotten pregnant? I looove it. I love that it's sweet and tart all at the same time. And today I discovered my favorite so far. Target was having a sale on Simply Limeade and man is it awesome!

In other ridiculous food related news, I had the worst food day ever. All I wanted to eat was junk. I actually went to McDonald's lunch. For dinner I had instant Hamburger Helper. I have never, ever had any Hamburger Helper ever before in my life. Not once. I just couldn't say no to it when I saw it at the store. I think the baby must have like it because now it's turning somersaults in my belly...either that or it invited a lot of friends over or something. There is some serious business going on in there. Yikes.

On the other hand, I did make sure that I got in 5 fruits and veggie today so all is not lost.

The Quickening

I feel as if my organs have come to life and throw the occasional party in my abdomen...not a kegger; it's more like a small family BBQ or something of that nature. A little whiffle ball, a bit of swimming...that sort of thing. Low key.

I've been having strange weight trouble since getting pregnant. It seems like some months I can help but gain 6 or 7 pounds, and then other months I have trouble putting on one pound. My doctors think it's funny...I'm not laughing. It seems like the months I really try to eat right are the months that I gain the most! Then the months where I eat without over thinking it, I stay the same when I weight myself at home. How bizarre. Did any of you moms out there have that experience?

I have other fun news...my friend, Amazon Hill, is going to be moving back home at the end of May when she graduates with her Masters in Education. So my training partner of old will be back. We have running plans for the fall that involve the two of us, plus a running stroller. We're amped. I saw her this past weekend because she came down for Mudders and Grunters, which is an awesome cross country race that involves running through the woods, marshes and a stream. I have pics and a short video that I have to post to our old blog Amazon Strength (a blog that we'll be taking up again come May and we can do fun outside stuff again like kayak!)

Quilting Mistake!

I finally got around to cutting the fabric for the baby's quilt...I probably should have done this weeks ago or I should have set up a table to cut on. My belly did not cooperate while crawling around on the floor trying to cut enough pieces to at least get me started.

In the new house, I will definitely have a cutting station, because this stank....

And just for fun, a gratuitous picture of Chris and Reuben.

20th Week of the Schmoo

I promised Auntie Marta that I would post about my ultrasound. I haven't gotten the blood work back, but the tech told me the heart rate is excellent...the heart has 4 chambers, I saw the brain, the spine, 2 hands, and 2 feet. The funny thing is the tech needed the baby to open its hands but the baby wouldn't. It had its hands on the sides of its face, so she jiggled my belly. The baby then crossed its arms in front of its face. She jiggled again...so the baby put its hand behind its head. Too strange. The tech made me go eat a Twix bar and come back. When we continued the ultrasound the baby was playing with its feet...which made the tech laugh out loud.

I have to say...ultrasounds are super cool. The baby was moving its mouth while we were watching...I never would have expected that. I thought leg twitches and arm movement, but to see it moving its little mouth? Unbelievable.

I go to my regular doctor on Monday to talk about the ultrasound measurements and the blood work. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all looks good. The baby looked good to me, but what do I know?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

My weekend started out crappy due to the ultrasound place canceling my appointment about an hour before I was supposed to go. This after I had to beg and plead them last week to fax an appointment confirmation to Chris so he could get out of jury duty to come with me because this is the "big" ultrasound. Chris was released from jury so he can come with me to the reschedule appointment...so there is that.

Saturday was a great time. Chris' band played on Saturday night. The crowd that showed up was huge. Very cool. The band is comprised of his step-dad, his step dad's childhood friend (he's been playing in bars with them since he was 16) and a local fireman.

Fireman and Chris' step-dad rockin' out.

Chris' step-dad beltin' out "Whipping Post". The man can sing!

Chris' step-dad and fireman doing a little Doors.

Chris and his step-dad's childhood friend.

Chris and his dad.

My new house!

These pics are not in the order that I wanted them to be in...but blogger was having issues with uploading pictures...so you all are getting a very strange tour of the new house.

This is the house from the back. I like the yellow paint, but I think it could use some deep red shutters and a red door.

The bathroom. The old owner left us a plunger, a hamper, soap, blue toilet paper and a shower curtain. Very nice, yes?

This is one of the bedrooms. Not too big, not too small.

This is not the kitchen. This is the summer kitchen in the basement. We plan on turning it into a family room with a wet bar. Might as well make use the the plumbing that's already in place.

This is the actual kitchen. We're going to replace everything so we can make the best use of this smallish space. The window gives a view of the street.

This is the living room. It has a really nice fire place in it. We want to take down the wallboard, paint (my father-in-law is a decorative painter and photographer by trade) and cover the ugly fireplace stone with tempered glass tile.

Finally, the front of the house. Cozy, yes?

So, yeah

I am totally a terrible blogger. I would like to use the excuse that I'm too tired and have been too busy to hang out...but it would be a total lie. I'm too lazy. Not lazy enough to not read your blogs...I have been..but too lazy to write anything. Shame on me. In order to run through my updates, I might have to do it list style.

1. We bought a house. We saw it, we bought it. We closed in a week. It was a for sale by owner and the lady selling it (for her mother who is now in a nursing home) needed to be rid of it before the bank foreclosed. It was a sad situation, but she was happy that we were buying it and that the bank wasn't going to get their hands on it. She told me that it warmed her heart to know that a new family was moving in instead of a contractor flipping it. It is a bit of a fixer-upper...but no structural repairs are needed. I'll post pictures soon. I have them, I just haven't uploaded them.
2. The baby is doing well. I got for "the big" ultrasound next Friday where the doc looks at the heart and lungs and all those important parts to make sure everything is growing the way it should. I'm confident that it will go well enough...after all whenever I go for a Doppler or a regular ultra sound the baby is swimming and kicking. The only issue is that Chris might have jury duty, but we're working on that. He has a copy of the 'script and of my appointment confirmation. Hopefully that will take care of it.
3. Work is going well. I still love my job. I think that 3 of the kids have realized that I'm pregnant. Half the fun is waiting to see which kids figure it out. I'm thinking of making a betting pool. Maybe like the Dead Pool, but with a better name. Maybe the "Duh Pool"
4. I saw crazy co-worker today, who is due around the same time I am but will probably go earlier because she is carrying twins. During our department meeting she looked like she was going to cry the entire time. She does not look happy. In fact, I'd venture to say that she looks miserable. Afterwards, when the new teacher remarked on her belly, Crazy immediately blurted out "Alanna has one, too" because she doesn't want any attention to any belly. In fact, the rumor is that she's been telling people that she only eats one meal a day so she'll only get a bubble and not a real belly. Yeah, she's like that.
5. I've been treating myself to massages on my teaching payday. It rocks. Since I've gotten pregnant, my left hip aches and the massages really help. It usually keeps the ache away for almost the entire 2 weeks between massages.

I think that's it. Number 5 was not actually a real update, but I threw it in there because tomorrow is payday so I have a massage appointment and I'm psyched.

I promise that I will be better about blogging. I've got to stop being so scratchin' lazy!

Various Items of Interest (to me)

We finally had a fairly big snow in my part of New York on Friday. It snowed a minimum of 6 inches...which is fabulous. There was a enough snow so that Rascal, Reuben's new best friend, had to hop around in the snow. But what can he expect? He's a mini daschund. Very cute to watch. Unfortunately, no pics of that.









Here is my car all covered in snow. A little advice for those of you who don't do so already...if you put your wipers up before it snows the windshield is easier to clean off...and the added benefit is that if there is ice under that snow, you won't tear the delicate rubber off of the blades. Learned that trick from my dad.











Handsome Reuben in a snowy close-up.













Another beautiful Reu pic.



I might have more to share in the next few days...keep your fingers crossed!

It's been way too long

Life has been an interesting road to follow these last 9 days...it's been going from dull slow to fast, fast, fast! Chris and I are feeling well. I'm on vacation, but we're trying to buy a house, and there has been a lot of phone calls, looking at houses, making appointments, doing mental math...blah, blah, blah.

Last week is also is the week where I woke up one morning and my pants just don't fit anymore. I finally look pregnant and not just chunky.



On a happier, more fun note I am on vacation and I'm hoping to get a ton of sewing done. I'd like to start the alien baby quilt this week plus a few other minor projects. Nothing big.

The last thing I want to share is the lovely, lovely, lovely orchid I bought myself at the bulk buying club I belong to. the quality of this orchid is incredible...it has 3 branches of buds. I got it for 15.99...anywhere else it would have cost upwards of $35.

Where does the time go?

Sorry I haven't been around recently...I had about a million meetings after school this week, so by the time I got home, I was exhausted...so I sat around and did nothing. Not a thing. Sad, because I really should be purging the apartment of things we don't need because we will eventually have to make room for this baby if we don't find a house. And even if we do find a house, we're going to have to purge before we move just to make things easier.

To make it up to anyone who visited and was disappointed, I took pictures this week for your entertainment.

This is especially for Marta who requested a picture of Reuben in his new hoodie.

Reu will whimper when he's on his dog bed if he's cold...the result is a snuggle up with a blanket. Sometimes, when we're lucky, he gets up and walks around wearing a cape for a while.

This is the fabric that I stashed away to make a baby quilt with. I actually bought it when my friend CA was pregnant and I wanted to make her baby a quilt. I think that whether I have a girl of boy...it's my kid and it will probably love aliens as much as I do...right?

Thanks for stopping by!

See number 48 in the last post

How psyched am I that Tom Petty sang American Girl for the first half time song? Uhhhhh....can we say super psyched? Psychodelically psyched? Monsterously psyched? I just don't know!

Meme from Marta

I need to be dong something while I watch the Superbowl. I grew up in a track and field house...I didn't understand football at all until I was in high school. Yikes!

1. Do you like blue cheese? Yes!
2. Have you ever smoked heroin? Nope. 5th grade health class gave me a healthy fear of herion and LSD.
3. Do you own a gun? No, but one of my brothers owns 3. He's a cop, so I guess that's allowed
4. What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? Sonic? We have no Sonic anywhere near me!
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Only before I go to the Obgyn and only recently because of the baby. Otherwise, it's not a problem.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? They might be my favorite food. I love them..especially the dirty water hotdog you buy at carts in NYC. Good God, those are heavenly.
7. Favorite Christmas movie? A Christmas Story. I love it so much, when I taught in NYC, I would show it to my English classes on the last day of school just for fun.
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? I used to drink Starbucks religiously, but now it's OJ.
9. Can you do push ups? Yes, more than 10, but less than 20. All the girly kind.
10. Why is there a missing questions here?? I don't know, Marta, but there is.
11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? The only pieces of jewelry that I wear are my wedding ring and engagement ring.
12. Favorite hobby? Sewing, reading, watching the tube.
13. Another missing question, whoever came up with this one can't count! Even thought that's really not a questions, I agree (LOL)
14. Do you have A.D.D.? No, but it does run in my family.
15. What's one trait you hate about yourself? My avoidance of things and situations that make me over-emeotional. I should just learn to deal instead of avoidance!
16. Middle name? Janet.
17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment... I wish I looked pregnant instead of just chunky, why isn't there any ice cream in the freezer? How many people are on Warcraft right now instead of watching the game?
18. Name 3 things you bought today... toilet bowl cleaner, a hoodie for Reuben, maternity pants.
19. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? seltzer, gingerale, orangina.
20. Current worry? Will I ever feel the baby move?
21. Current hate right now? Crazy, over dramatic, twin carrying co-worker who has sent more than 10 emails since Friday morning.
22. Favorite place to be? Martha's Vineyard or Maine. Acutally, any place where I can hear the ocean, thank you.
23. How did you bring in the New Year? At home watchin' season 2 of Lost with my husband.
24. Where would you like to go? New Zealand, India, Ireland.
25. Name three people who will complete this? Chai, Zumba Kim, Trixie Belden
26. Do you own slippers? Yes, they look like sock monkeys.
27. What shirt are you wearing? A seafoam green t-shirt
28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Nuh-uh. Jersey or flannel, thanks.
29. Can you whistle? Really loud...I used to walk the halls of my high school whistling the Andy Griffith theme song. Fun!
30. Favorite color? Blue
31. Would you be a pirate? Maybe for a job in between jobs...might be fun to do for a while.
32. What songs do you sing in the shower? I usually don't sing in the shower.
33. Favorite girl's name? Eabha (pronounced Eva), Edan, Caitlin
34. Favorite boy's name? Ronan, Decland (Chris hates all my fav boy names)
35. What's in your pocket right now? lint
36. Last person that made you laugh? My husband...because Reuben looked so awesome in his new hoodie.
37. Best bed sheets as a child? Disney's Snow White and the 7 Dwarves. My mom made them into curtains once they got a little thin, too. Thanks mom!
38. Worst injury you've ever had? Pinched nerve in my shoulder.
39. Do you love where you live? I love NY! Although, Maine is my favorite state.
40. How many TVs do you have in your house? Two...the living room and the bedroom.
41. Who is your loudest friend? Quite possibly CA
42. How many dogs do you have? Cats? 1 dog but no cats...Chris and I are both allergic, but we looove cats.
43. Does someone have a crush on you? One of the kids at work does.
44. OK, ANOTHER one mising - someone messed this meme I think. Hmmmmm interesting, I wonder what those questions were? I think the missing questions should be: If you were a type of cereal, what kind of cereal would you be?
45. What is your favorite book(s)? A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, Sabriel by Garth Nix, anything by Janet Evanovich because she makes me laugh so damn hard.
46. What is your favorite candy? Reese's Peanut Butter cups.
47. Favorite Sports Team? Team? There are no teams in triathlon or track. Humph!
48. What song do you want played at your funeral? American Girl by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. (I knew there was a reason I was watching the game)
49. What were you doing 12 AM last night? Sadly, I was watching Sleepaway Camp on Monsters HD.
50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Why did I stay up so late watching Sleepaway Camp?

That was fun...is Tom Petty on tv yet?

Double Cootie

Chris is feeling tons better. Thank goodness. We got a phone call this morning from his doctor's office. I couldn't figure out who was calling so early, and I really wanted to know who hit me in the back with a two by four. The phone call wasn't all that early. It was 9:3o...which is really late for me to sleep. We were informed that Chris' flu sample came back negative...so apparently Chris just had some kind of bacterial thing. Gross. Not only that, but as a result, I've got Bronchitis...again. When I got up for the phone this morning, I started coughing a bit and called my doc once I got off the phone with his doc. I'm now on mild anti-biotics (that are pregancy approved) because I want to nip this thing in the bud. I saw what Chris went through and I can not go through that. I think body aches and a slight fever are enough for me to handle considering all I can take is Tylenol. Blah. I've already called in to the library tomorrow, although I'm sure I'll be feeling better, I don't want to be in that panic of trying to reach someone from the library on a Sunday morning...it's nearly impossible.

I hope all of you are doing well out there in BloggerLand!

Cootie Box Central

My apartment is cootie head quarters. Poor Chris has the flu. I took him to the doctor on Tuesday. Since then, he has gotten worse. He developed a horrid sore throat and a choking cough...plus his fever has gone up from an average of 100 to 102. Not cool. I took the day off from work to keep an eye on him because I've never seen him so sick (scary!) and I took him back to the doctor. Doc put him on anti-biotics because he's afraid Chris might be developing a secondary infection so the anti-biotics are a precaution. Meanwhile, Chris has to sleep on the couch (doctor's orders) and I'm not allowed to spend time with him. And if I go near him, I have to wash my hands (obviously). As a result I have old lady hands. I'm serious. My hands do not look a day under 80 years old. I've been using Gold Bond Foot cream on them. I figure if it can soften crack feet, it'll do a number on my hands. It does work.

So, I've got Chris on the couch, I've got Reuben who wants to be on the couch, but can't because 1) Chris is taking up the entire couch and 2) I'm Reu's primary caretaker, and sole caretaker now that Chris is ill and I can't have influenza cooties on the dog who will be sleeping with me because I'm the best human ever in his eyes.

I hope all these precautions are going to keep me form getting the flu because apparently, there is nothing that pregnant women can take for the flu...except for tylenol. Chris is miserable with alka-seltzer with tylenol taken intermittenly with advil. Can you imagine having an extra horrible flu and all you can take is plain tylenol? Not even Tylenol Pm so you can sleep through most of it? Frightening.

So as a result of all this I canceled all our plans for the weekend. Out for Mexican with my parents? Canceled. UFC at his boss' house? Canceled. SuperBowl at CA and Mikes (with Baby Kyle)? That's a super big CANCELED! Who wants to feel responsible for giving an infant the flu. Not me.

Hope all of you are well...or are on the mend, Marta!

Eating better

Just like when I wasn't pregnant, I'm struggling to eat healthier. Ugh. Today I made Black Bean Quinoa salad that I totally stole from the Zumba Queen herself...Kimberly. It's right up my alley and if you can eat it slow enough so that it's four servings...it's core.

I think I'm going to try to going back to eating core...more of it and ignore the flexies...but I think I need to fill up my dietary day with more fruits and veggies rather than bagels, butter, and candy. Seems to make sense to me.

I'm also not used to this hormonal stuff. I never really had bad PMS (curse at me if it makes you feel better) but I left work "sick" today because I was afraid a library patron would come in and make me cry...I was *that* on edge all day. I just do not feel like myself today and it make me feel yucky. I think it's a combo of stress, looking at houses that Chris and I can't agree on, and the fact that I'm not sleeping so great. To remedy all this, I set up an appointment for a prenatal massage tomorrow. I told the appointment lady that I didn't need the special table, but I needed someone who was certified in prenatal because the rumor is...if you're massaged "wrong" you can have weird stuff happen like dizziness, headaches and in rare cases...contractions. It's an extra $5 but I think it'll be well worth it.

And Marta, I never responded to your comment, so I'm doing it here. We're not going to find out what the baby is (aside from human) before it's born.

Isotonic v Hypertonic

I've been doing a little sinus rinse research (of all things) and discovered that with my rinse kit I can do 2 types of rinses: isotonic or hypertonic. Isotonic has the same salt levels as you body and is good just for a general rinse and stimulation of cilia. Hypertonic is more salt than your body and is recommended if you're having sinus issues or if you want to wash out pollen, dust or mucus from your sinuses. It'll also relieve inflammation. I've done isotonic for 2 days now, and thought to myself, "Hey! If isotonic is doing a good job, think of what hypertonic could do for me and my disgusting snot filled sinuses"

I read the instructions on the box for making the hypertonic solution (easy...3 packets instead of 1). Proceeded to prep the water...waited for it to cool. Jammed the sinus thing in my nose and BURN! Weird,I thought to myself, same temp as last night's isotonic. I told myself I'd wait 5 minutes for the water to cool. So, 1 minutes later (I was reading blogs) I rammed the nasal thing in my nose and BURN! Ummmm, it didn't occur to me that more salt would burn. Duh! I am feeling clear and my nose running like a champ complete with sinus clear out. Yes!

Moral of the story...although hypertonic rinses don't tickle and actually burn like sticking a soldering iron in your nose, it's well worth it when you're suffering anyway.

I woke up with a bit of sinus pressure/pain this morning and I thought to myself, "Crap!". I don't want to be on antibiotics again this early in the pregnancy. I had bronchitis last month and had to take strong antibiotics. Bleh. I decided to try the sinus rinse route after talking to a coworker who is a frequent netti pot user.

I don't usually watch Oprah, but I do love Dr. Oz. On a recent show, Dr. Oz recommended the netti pot, and my coworker swears by it, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Unfortunately, Mrs. Green's was out, so I ran to CVS and got the Ayr sinus system. I ran back to work, and used it right away.

I have to tell you, squirting water up one nostril and having it run through your forehead and out through the other nostril, is an experience to be had. It did not, at all, feel like I was drowning. The running water did tickle, and depending on which nostril I had the bottle up to, the corresponding eye would twitch a little bit, which made me laugh.

So here I am, at school, in the bathroom with the door open, squirting water into one nostril, having it pour out the other, eye twitching and me giggling like a mad woman.

I will say this...my head felt tons better after using it. My nose was running, weird stuff came out. (I know: TMI). I think that this product, if i use it daily from now on, it will probably be a big help once my allergy season sets in...you know March through November.

Changes

I can feel this blog slowly changing into an annoying mommy blog...at least for the time being, the only things I've got going on are the pregnancy and house hunting...so that's what I'm going to be writing about...sorry.

Today I went for a Down Syndrome/chromosome screening. I sent in blood work months ago and today I was scheduled for an ultrasound. Very cool. I was instructed to eat something sugary about an hour before the appointment. I love eating ice cream for breakfast! As a result of the sugary breakfast, the baby was wiggling in the ultrasound. It was the coolest thing I have ever seen. My mom came with me and got to see my wiggly baby and hear the heartbeat. She filmed it on her cell phone. Yeah, I've got that kind of mother.

The cool thing about this screening is that the doctor sees you about 10 minutes after he analyzes the ultrasound and the blood sample. He told me that my screening couldn't go much better. My risk for Down Syndrome at this point is 1 in 6,000 and for other chromosome abnormalities I'm less than 1 in 10,000. Those are much better odds than those associated with my age (1 in 304 for each!). I'm supposed to do another one of these during the second trimester, but it's seriously painless and since you get instant results, it's even better.

Guess What...

Evil coworker is also pregnant and is due two days after me. She has always said that she doesn't want kids, but her husband does...and the deal they have is that she'll have a baby and he'll take care of it. That way she can continue to be focused on her course work (PhD) and career, and he'll leave her alone. Well, she's pregnant with TWINS! Fate has it out for her. The rumor is her pregnancy plan is to only gain 15 pounds....with twins. With a singleton you're expected to gain 25-35 pounds. She's a bit twisted...don't you think?

Confessions

I have to confess to all of you in blogland that I have not been doing WW for ummmm...like two months or so. I have moments of uncontrollable hunger, slight nausea, fatigue...it's unlike anything I've ever experience before.

Yeah, you guessed it. I'm pregnant. I'm due on August 6th. I'm hoping that once the baby is born I'll be back to tri'ing like I get paid by the hour and not turn this into a mommy blog whose title has been changed to Cry Like You Get Paid by the Hour or or something equally obnoxious.

So there you have it...now you all know why I've been mostly absent and evasive when I actually have posted. Sorry for the delay! Now that my big secret is out in the open, I think I'll be around more often as I'll be able to share more freely.

Chris and I are also house hunting, so this is a time of exhaustion and stress! Nothing like making 2 major life changes at the same time, right?

Woah!

I am a really selfish blogger...I read your blogs on a daily basis and I amd totally bummed when ya'll take a day off and here I am posting once a week! I think I've got way too much going on at the moment. My school had a terrible thing happen, which I can't talk about at the moment...but I'll set up a link or something soon, if I can. We're still interviewing for new reading people, but we had a really great interviewee this afternoon and our administrator is trying to get her to come back tomorrow for a second interview. Yay! I've also got some other small things in the works that I can't mention right now, but I promise I will soon!

I am off to make cookies for the reading department baby shower! Woo-hoo!

Happy New Year!

Hey all! I have to go back to work tomorrow...boooo. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, it's just that this has not felt like a vacation to me. I have bronchitis...I've been coughing since the day after Christmas. I can't be too upset. I have a week off in February, so I can relax then...especially since there are no big holidays attached, except for Presidents Day, which is not a high pressure family style holiday...so I'm good.

I have not decided if I'm going to have resolutions for 2008. I'm going to have to ruminate on that a bit longer. No worries...I'll keep ya'll updated.

Playing Catch-up

The holiday season is a killer, don't you agree? I think this is the first free moment I've had a in a week. Even at the library I've had very little time to do anything but read a blog or two...literally. It sucks. But I'm back, so there you go. There are about a million things I want to share, but now that I'm here I can't seem to remember it all, so I'll see what I can do.

The Friday before Christmas was Ian's last day as a 1:1 at the elementary school. He just couldn't take working with kids who have so many problems so young. During the last week of school he shaved his beard differently each day to entertain the kids. This one is my favorite.

My BFF, Julie and I entered a raffle outside of Trader Joe's a few weekends ago and as I result I won a new orchid. Yay for me!

Not only did I win the new orchid, but the orchid that I got as a gift last June has new blossoms on it. It'll probably take months for them to actually bloom, but it's still exciting.

I also got some cool stuff for Christmas: quilting books, a book on how to use old socks to make stuffed animals, a new coffee grinder, a french press coffee maker, lots of DVDs, new pajamas, and a book on living green.

Sadly, although I know I have more to share, this is all I can think of at the moment. Boo.

A week?

Jeezie creezie! I can not believe it has been a whole week...no wonder my stat numbers are down. Yikes!

This is my last week of work before Christmas vacation (officially Mid-winter break...but being a non-practicing Catholic, it'll always be Christmas vacation to me). I think my shopping is done. I've finished 2 of the 3 sock monkeys...and sock monkey #3 body is complete...he just needs things like eyes, ears and a tail. Nothing big. Another hour, maybe.

Food, as I'm sure it is for many of us, is just getting harder and harder. I've been trying to eat a series of small meals many times a day so that I never get hungry enough to binge on holiday treats..but it doesn't seem to be going as planned. It's not terrible in that the small meals keep me from binging but don't keep me from passing on them. I guess I'll take what I can get.

Chris and I are gearing up for the big holiday. We went to my work dinner last night, we have one with his extended family tomorrow night, and then Thursday night is his holiday work dinner at Morton's Steakhouse. After that I'm hoping for a quiet weekend. Christmas will be as follows: Christmas eve: go to my father-in-law's for a "picky dinner" where we just graze for a while. Christmas morning: My parents house for brunch and gifts with my 3 brothers and my BFF Darth Bruce. Christmas dinner is done at my mother-in-laws house. The day after Christmas? Sleep and play with my new toys.

Should be an interesting end to this year. I'll try to be "good" until then, and update sooner than a week!

Golden Compass!

I can't wait to see this movie! I loved all the books in the series.

Drowning in Christmas

I think I might literally be drowning in Christmas. Chris and I did about 25 Christmas cards...mostly family and extended family. We're going to finish up the last bit tonight, plus we need to go over our Christmas lists and see who still needs gifts. We are also going to try to decorate our tree tonight, but we may have to put that off to another night. Exhausting.

Our weekend was nice...a ton of good food and dozens of great people. Fun, but tiring.

Work has also been busy. With the upcoming vacation, my students are getting more and more stressed out. They hate coming to school, but they really hate spending time with their flesh and blood more. A number of them are acting out for that reason alone.

I personally can not wait until vacation...9 more school days...or calendar days. Woo-hoo! Then I can sleep for 3 days straight and still have more than a week to do whatever I want. Whoopie!

Yikes!

I have not been here in about a gazillion years. (gazillion = 1/52 of a year, or one week) I don't know where this week has gone. I've been working on Christmas cards, trying to get Christmas shopping (online so far) under control. I attended two meetings after school hours this week (Quality Improvement and Reading Department). I am beat as a result.

My hands are also crazy dry. 129 year old lady dry. Cracked mummy dry. At night I've been putting Gold bond Foot cream on them and then wearing gloves and that seems to do the trip, but by the end of the day, my hands are dry and red again. Must be winter or something. I think that I'm going to have to go on strike when it comes to the dishes for a little while...which means that our dishes will pile up for longer than usual. Bah.

I wish that I could say that I've been doing a ton of sewing...I have a list of things that I would like to make for people for Christmas, but can't seem to get the energy up to get it done. I think I'm just going to have to suck it up and try to get it all done. It's going to be tough, as I've got a lot going on this weekend, but I think I can squeak some time here and there.

To Do:

1. Iron new fabric that I bought last weekend at JoAnn Fabrics (which is the second one to be closing shop within my driving range...the closest one will now be 90 minutes a way)
2. Make templates from the internet patterns I bought from FutureGirl, and for the infant shoes I want to make for my friend CA's unborn baby who we affectionately call Jumby (Jumby is due on Christmas Eve, so the kid need Christmas presents !)
3. 3 sock monkeys: one for my father-in-law who was caught walking around my apartment with Chris' because he loved it so much, one for Jumby, and one for my work Holiday dinner where we have a "Chinese Auction" (sorry to anyone who is offended...I just learned what this was and I have not other name for it). The auction has a theme of "thing with 4 legs"...so a sock monkey it is.
4. Lunch with Chris and my college roommate.
5. Dinner at Lyndhurst Castle with the 'rents...we don't actually get to eat in the castle, but we'll be in the carriage house...which is lovely. The old horse stalls have been changed into booths, and the tacking room fits about 15 tables. It's really beautiful...and I've even saying this as someone who used to waitress weddings at this place. The worked sucked, but the ambiance was always gorgeous.
6. Work at the library on Sunday.
7. Indian dinner with Chris and my father-in-law on Sunday night.

Yeah, I'm a tad busy this week.

First Snow!

I am happy as a proverbial clam...we had our first snowfall this morning! snow is one of my favorite things. It's crisp and white and puts a nice chill into the air. And it's right in time to make it feel like the holidays are actually on their way!

The unfortunate side is that later on we're supposed to get sleet and rain...nothing good can come of that...perhaps a 2 hour delay for school tomorrow morning, but not much else.

In personal news: I still have no voice...in fact it's gotten worse. I'm working at the library as I type this and I've had a number of people grin when I've tried to speak to them. Great.

301

I can't believe that this is my three hundred and first entry into this blog...Hooray!

I'm at work at Job #2: The Library...and I'm a tad bored. I'm at the check-out desk for the first time in 5 months. Reference took over the information desk, which is fine. I have more leeway with the computer at the check-out desk...as in- I don't have to sneak using it for personal matters like this blog. I'm actually allowed to use the computer here because patrons can't see what I'm doing. I should be reading my Stephen King book (The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla), but I'm too tired to really focus for long periods of time.

You know, I have been totally beat this week...I'm sure it's residual stress from the whole house debacle. I got home from job #1: The School today and took an hour long nap before getting up, and I'm still a bit tired...but I get off from work in less than an hour and I can dive right into my jammies. No problem. I'm just thankful that tomorrow is not only Friday, but it's payday...so I'm going to take a trip to the nearest JoAnn Fabrics to spend a bit o' cash.

Food hasn't been great today. I've been eating lots of fruit...and that's all I've really wanted to eat for the past few days...which is not great...so I made myself get something with some fat in it. I got a soup-bread-bowl from Panera and it was a delicious treat. I didn't' even eat most of the bread, so I refuse to feel guilty.

Other than this drivel, there is nothing going on. Hope all of you are well!

Okay, okay

Yes, it's been 5 days since I've posted...I'm abso-fruitin'-lootely sorry. I am having one bitch of a month. First the no National Cert thing which bit royally. Then the big secret fell through...we were going to buy a house with my parents. It was a huge raised ranch with a 3 bedroom accesory apartment on an acre of land. Was it that we couldn't get the money up for a giant down payment? Nope. Trouble getting a mortgage? Nope, our credit is in the high 700s. Was it the engineer's report? Nope. Was it a family member of my husbands who did sneaky things to undermine the confidence of other people related to my husband, taking advantage of their anxiety issues and thus turning everything into a crisis...complete with family member #1 calling Chris telling him he'd better calm family member #2 down because he/she is afraid that he/she will hurt him/herself? And that family number #1 had the audacity to cancel my appointment with an attorney and change it to a day that he/she could go and didn't even ask about my availability to go see my lawyer? I think that has a ton to do with it. So, we're not getting the house. I'm only a little bitter and it's fading...which is great because otherwise it would be a very horrible Christmas for us.



In other news:

1. 30/100 is not going so great at the moment, but I still have time, so I'm not sweating it.


2. We have a new student at my school who needs reading services...and I'm psyched because he's a nice kid and he wants to become a better reader.


3. I've got banana bread in the oven...do'nt tell Chris, but I put FiberSure in it for good measure.
4. This video makes me laugh....a lot:

Tagged!

I was tagged by the always adorable Marta! Thanks Marta!

5 Random/Weird things about me:

1. I am obsessed with taking my temperature. I don't know why, but when I'm well, I take it once in a while for kick, and if I'm sick...forget it, I have that thing in my mouth every 45 seconds.
2. I had an imaginary friend when I was a kid. I'd play with her for hours. Her name? Little Alanna. Apparently I was creative enough to imagine another little girl, but not creative enough to come up with a different name.
3. If I have to use a pencil, it has to be dangerously, poke your eye out sharp or else I get aggitated and I can't focus. That's why my desk at work has a multitude of mechanical pencils...and I have an electric pencil sharpener just in case. When I work at the library, the first thing I do after taking off my coat is sharpen the pencils.
4. I hate to be woken up in the middle of the night. I am calm before I go to bed, I'm a fairly peppy person in the morning. Wake me 2 or 3 hours into a night's sleep and I'll tear your everloving face off. I'm beginning to think this is a hobby of my husband, who seems to think it's funny. It's not.
5. My favorite genre of movie is horror. If the FBI were ever to look at people's Netflix queuesto find potential serial killers, my husband and I would be called in for questioning. 98% of our movies are horror with a comedy or sci-fi film thrown in for good measure. The FBI would think those were just to "cover something up".

Hmmm....5 people to tag, I'm only going to tag 3:

1. Chai
2. Cory
3. TrixieBelden

I'll be back later...I've got secret work to do this afternoon!

Sick, again!

I was at the doctor's office for the second time in a less then 7 days. Last week I went because of my ears and went back because by Friday I had a fever, by Saturday I had a dry cough, and woke up Sunday morning with a "productive" cough. I started the antibiotics Friday, and should have seen improvement, not movement. So now I have an antibiotic that's a tad stronger, and a night time cough medicine that I think is regulated by the FDA...so I'll be able to sleep. I love my doctor.

I've got some cool stuff in the works, but I don't want to jinx it, so I'm not going to mention it...yet. Once the dust settles, I'll be sure to post about it.

Reuben the spoiled

Did I ever tell you all where my dog sleeps at night? Yeah, on the bed and under the covers. Every person I have ever met that has a weimaraner have snuggly dogs who sleep under the covers....I guess it's a weim thing.

And yes, there are sock monkeys on my sheets.

More Van Halen!

Annoying Samus Samuellson

Random movie generator = awesomeness.

Brief update:

Today is day 8 of 100...first day of my WW week and so far so good. Very core thus far. Yesterday was WI and I lost .6 and considering the weekend's debauchery, I am ecstatic.

I finally had my ear looked at by my doctor. No redness, but there is fluid. It's Mucinex and tons of water for me for the next 4 or 5 days...if that doesn't clear it up, I have a prescription for antibiotics.

I think that's all I've got for now....ta ta!

More about my weekend...

Tuesday night Keisuke took us to...what? Van Halen at Madison Square Garden? With David Lee Roth heading the group? You bet your butt...and the seats were awesome!

Where to start?

I do not know where to begin....so maybe at the beginning, right?

Friday night was fun...happy hour and then a nice wine tasting right after...nice.

Satuday night was all about sock monkeys...always a good time.

Sunday night my family went to Ruth's Chris for dinner and we had a fabulous time.

Monday, Chris, Ian and I went into NYC to see Chris' old roommate Keisuke...Keisuke and his friends flew in from Tokyo to see Van Halen at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. We took them to McSorely's as it's Keisuke's favorite American (Irish) Bar.

Booo..hissss

The major thing that was stressing me out is over for now. I got my result back from the National Board and I did not get national certification. I'm now trying to figure out if I want to appeal my score on the basis that the students I work with make up only 1% of the special education community...and on top of the that, 8.3% of that scant 1% are disturbed enough to be sent out of district for schooling...making it imperative that my work should have been looked at through that lens. When you work with children who are severely ED, what would be considered minimal progress in other cases are great leaps. Plus, I also signed up to redo the 2 parts so that next year at this time, I could be considered nationally certified. I'm fine with the rejection, it was the waiting that was making me totally insane.

It's day three of my 30 in 100. I went for happy hour and then to a wine tasting. I had a fabulous time and came out with 17 flexies left until Wednesday. I have dinner at a steak house tomorrow, so most of my meal has Core potential. Monday we're going into the city to see Keisuke, who is coming in from Tokyo on business. He was Chris' college roommate and he makes a point of seeing us every time comes to NYC. Tuesday night Keisuke is taking us to see Van Halen...with David Lee Roth as front man! Oh yeah.

Hope all of you are enjoying your weekends!

Day 1/100

So far, day one of 100 has been uneventful. I've used one flexie so far, which is good because it seems as if my weekend is going to be full of alcohol...at least one crack-a-rita, maybe a couple of Corona lights, a wine tasting, dinner at Ruth's Chris on Sunday, dinner with Chris' old roommate who is coming in from Tokyo on Monday...I've got my work cut out for me when it comes to eating. Plus, what I'm trying to figure out: with all this drinking that I have to do this weekend...when will I be able to (or sober enough) to go running? Yikes!

On the up side, I will hopefully have pictures to share once the weekend is over. That'll liven things up around here...right?

Cuh-razy!

I'm am going a little nuts at the moment, but it should all end shortly, thank God. I'll be sharing all about that once all the piece fall into place...there is a chance that none of the pieces will fall into place, and I'll report out regardless of the end results. I feel as if I'm juggling 3 things at the moment...two of which are intense and one is just plain fun, but the timing has to be just right.

On the Weight Watchers front, I'm thinking about giving the 30 pounds in 100 days challenge again. Tomorrow will be day one of 100 in and we'll see how it goes. I can't ask for anything more. My starting weight is 183...it's an official WW weight.

Me and my freaky, stressed out, bride-of-Frankenstein haired self will be back tomorrow (I hope!)

Should I be totally creeped out by this?

And how weird is this...

Secret present!

I decided I'm going to post about the secret project that I made for my friend, CA, who is having a baby at the end of December. I can see about 10 different mistakes in the Tigger quilt, but the baby ain't gonna care. All the baby will know is that Aunt Alanna loves it to death!

It's actually the first quilt that I have ever made from beginning to end on my sewing machine...so at the very least, it was a learning experience. For example...flannel stretches easier than regular cotton. Who knew?

I think I'm going back to sock monkeys for a little while...I love them...plus I owe my friend, Collette, a sock monkey for her 2 year old daughter.

This is Halloween, This is Halloween

In this town we call home everyone hail to the Pumpkin Throne!

I love love love Halloween.

And so does Reuben!

Doors in the Men

Yay for Pumkin ice cream! I didn 't occur to me that Edy's would have a season ice cream for Thanskgiving...but hello, I read all about it on Sarah's blog Living to Feel Good. No less than 10 minutes after reading about it, Chris and I were in the car on the way to the store to search for some. We found 1 container left, encased in ice and it's been downhill ever since...but downhill in the most tasty way.

I also saw another World of Warcraft reference on TV today. I was (regrettably) listening to America's Most Smartest Model while I was using my sewing machine (Listen...I need brainless background noise when I use the machine). On it they set up teams of 2 models to do fake sunscreen ads...then at the last minute, they threw each team one "nerd" who has done nothing but "play World of Warcraft for the last 4 (?) months". They were pasty beings. I'm not sure how I feel about being a "nerd"...I prefer "gamer geek".

I can't wait until Sunday when I can reveal what I've been working on. It's for a friend of mine, and I'll be giving it to her on Sunday. I will be sure to take picture of the mystery item. I can't wait! Actually, I can't wait to finish it so I can make some evil sock monkeys for fun...and possible profit. I'm considering putting some on Etsy. I'll have to see how that works out, but that's to be discussed on another day.

On an exercise note: Today was back and biceps at the gym, and tomorrow will be a nice run...I have to do that after my reading team members and I interview another candidate. Should be interesting.

Paranoid

I think someone is out to get me- it smells like hot dogs and kraut in my office. The student cafe is below my office and I think the dean is making them a "special" lunch today. My God...it smells awesome. I must focus on the Reading Department lunch that I'm leaving for in 40 minutes....although, hot dogs are my fav....

I must control my hot dog lust! (ooooh, that come out dirty....sorry!)

Update of the Future

Future...future...future.

Meh, I'm bored. I feel as if I have a million things to talk about and no words in which to express them. I'm not feeling creative at all...completely unmotivated, but I've got this underlying feeling that I have to post...about what? I'm not sure. I'm just blah.

We're currently interviewing for a new reading specialist. And by we, I mean, the reading department interviews candidates and gets to pick who moves on to interview with the supervisors. How awesome is that? We lost 2 at the end of last year; one to retirement, the other to be an at home mom to her 4 active kids....The first interview went kind of, uh, beige. The woman was nice, but didn't seem terrible enthusiastic to work with our team. It didn't help that Looney answered all the questions before the interviewee had a chance. The rest of us can't figure that out...Looney already works there, we're not testing her. Candidate number two was awesome. She is lively, well spoken, passionate about working with kids, and knowledgeable about current literacy theories. We liked this candidate so much we called and left a message with our supervisor to hurry up and set up a second interview. It also helped that Looney didn't sit for this interview. Nor can she sit for the next 3...so we might get some more decent candidates that will actually get a chance to talk.

In other new, my ears are feeling better. It's all allergy build-up for me. I bought Mucinex nasal spray and that helped a ton. Made my nose run like mad, but that was the point. I was congested and I needed my sinuses to clear out in a big way. The way people clear out a room when a dog toots...that bad.

In other news...I'm tired. It's Thursday night and I'm at the library. I came here directly after work where I worked an extra hour and 45 minutes due to the interview. I am exhausted. Woo!

I almost forgot....one of the students on this campus was being fresh, so another student told him to stop or I would pick him up and throw him...."cuz Alanna's mad strong and she doesn't take any garbage"...I love that my students think I'm really strong, and that I don't take garbage. Fab-u-lous.

I think tomorrow is going to be a gym day for me, and a run day on Saturday. Or if it's nice enough tomorrow I might opt for a short run and then a trip to the gym with a long run on Saturday. That would work out nicely.

Wow...I know that I just post random stuff, but I think this post takes the cake!

Sound effects sold separately

Today was a tiring day. I woke up tired, dreaming that I called in sick. I got through the work day and then after dropping baby brother (Ian) at the gym, I went running. After running I went back to the gym to do back and biceps. Now I'm exhausted and drinking a glass of red wine, which is making me melt into my couch.

Cheers everyone!

World of Warcraft is taking over!

I can not believe that I just saw a World of Warcraft reference on How I Met Your Mother. How awesome is that? Makes me want to "suit up"...in plate for level 46 of course. Earlier this month it was reference on The Big Bang Theory. And who could forget South Park's "Make Love Not Warcraft" episode? Not me!

I'm NOT fat...that's my money belt

I'm still loving the suject-o-matique!

I am so incredibly happy...I was part of a multi-family tag sale today and I sold the ugly man-chair! The man-chair was a beige recliner that Chris got for free when he was working as a mover right out of college. It was a very comfortable chair, just bulky and ugly. I got $20 for it...Chris got 6 or 7 good years out of it (for free no less) and we made $20. Nice.

My ear has been bothering me as of late. It's just a tad achy, not painful, just achy. I've been trying to do something with my congestion, but it's slow going. Plus, now I'm achy from helping Chris carry the recliner down the stairs in our 2nd floor appointment and wiggle it into my car. It's worth it considering I don't have to look at that thing anymore.

Tomorrow I have to work at the library, plus stop by the day two of the tag sale...I think I only have about 5 things left to sell. I'd like to get that massage that I promised myself and I'd like to go for a run. Pretty big day for a Sunday!

Early bird gets the worm. But what about the early worm?

I still love the suject-o-matique on Yahoo. It's all good fun.

Tonight was my WW meeting. Lost 2 pounds this week, which I attribute to running and almost follwing plan. By almost I mean that I followed plan but for dinner on Friday and Sunday nights, I didn't. I figure I ate all (if not more) of my flexies on those nights. Any extranious points used during the weekdays were APs. I don't know if that'll work for me this upcoming WW week, but we'll see.

I think I'm going to treat myself to a massage this weekend. I haven't had one in a while and I think that I deserve one...between the actually running a bunch of times and I'm a little sore. Friday is payday, and I think I can scrape the money together.

Despite running and getting to the gym (did I mention that? I don't think so) I have been having trouble sleeping. Chris, my evil husband, thinks it's entertaining to make noise so that I freak out while half asleep. He doesn't do this often, but did it to me the other night. In my half asleep stupor, I think I threatened to kill everyone in the world. I am not a night person. So, as a result, let me apologize for threatening to kill you all. Sorry about that, I was half asleep. I'm hoping to get in a solid 7-8 hours tonight.

Also, the stereo in my Subaru decided to stay on forever. I can't turn the channel, I can't control the volume, it won't take CDs. Even when I turn off the car, the digital screen stays on. Subaru is going to replace the whole thing, but in the mean time I have to listen to 1010 Wins at a medium volume.

For Chai Girl, The Cure addict

Chai Girl is a complete Cure addict...they are all over her blog recently. So I found my fav to share!

Time-off for good behavior

I wish! My principal did tell me today that 1) I did more work in September and October than some teachers do all year 2) That if he could give me bonus pay or time off, he would 3) That he's not going to worry about anything I do this year because obviously I'm very devoted to getting things done and am willing to pitch in more than my fair share of work. Yay for me!

I am dead beat tired. I did not sleep well last night. I woke up every 40 minutes or so. Lots of tossing and turning. Despite being tired after work, I went for a 35 minute run. It was a good run. A nice run. I am exhausted now. I was perusing blogs this evening and I was dozing off while reading them. I am hoping for a better night of sleep tonight or I will be fried tomorrow morning, and I have a ton of things to do at work including team teaching US History!

Not much else is going on. Reuben is fine, although they are upping his doggie anxiety meds because his separation anxiety has gotten worse recently...including all his OCD behaviors. The Vet and I agreed that feeling anxious all day can not feel good...so his meds are upped a tad, and broken into 2 smaller doses rather than one large dose. The vet is confident that it will ease the anxiety but won't affect his personality or his energy level. We love Reuben's exuberance, but we don't like it when he turns and scratches for 2 minutes before he can lie down.

Save some funk for Sunday

I love Yahoo's subject-o-matique. It's a title lifesaver for me at times.

So, whooo, I haven't been here in nearly a week! I haven't exactly had blogger time this past week. The English teacher at my school was out until Friday afternoon, so either I was teaching English (I have the license, so I might as well pitch in) or helping the sub by giving her the class plans, removing disruptive kids, teaching the harder classes for her (there's no teacher aid to help out). Plus, I was doing my own job as best I could. I was keeping appointments with my scheduled reading students, plus, I was asked to write an unofficial reading report at the last minute. Yikes! It all got done...the district was happy with the reading information, determined they wanted him to get one to one reading and they are now paying my school extra for reading services. The kid is happy, the district is happy, and my school's billing office is happy.

I also re-entered my gym a couple of times this past week and I went running twice. I am a maniac....actually, that 's not true. I decided to stop worrying about nonsense and I decided to start training for the Webster Lake Danskin Tri that is held in July. I haven't done it in 2 years, and I figure if I focus on training for that I'll a) have time to sort things out mentally as I run...and that's when I do some really great thinking and b)I'll fall asleep quicker at night and won't have time to worry about useless things. It seems to be working.

So, between being tired from work, and then hitting the gym or trail, I have been too exhausted to do anything!

Woah

Hey all! Things have been a little nuts 'round these parts. Good nutty. Happy nutty....good times but eating too much nutty.

First off, I met my college roomie for lunch on Saturday. I haven't seen her in about 10 years. It was strange in that recently I was googling her trying to figure out how to reach her. All my leads led to dead ends. After my last lead fell through...guess who I get a phone call from? You guessed it....ROOMIE! It was decided that we have to do a better job of staying in touch because we have too much fun together.

Another cool thing is that I have a 3 day weekend...I was supposed to work at the library, but it closed unexpectedly because of a heating/air conditioning malfunction. So I literally had a 3 day weekend. Very rare for me during the school year. And better yet...I get paid anyway.

On the weird side, I'm not feeling like myself...it's an on and off thing and I don't like it. I'll go from feeling fine to feeling like I've forgotten about something important...almost a paranoid feeling. I've also been getting a little pissy at times. I think it's my hormones trying to re-regulate themselves (I recently stopped an optional medication ladies use for preventing the development of smaller replicas of themselves and their partners, if you catch my drift). I don't remember being like this before, and I was forewarned. I just need to give it time. (And no, I'm not preggers!)

All these things have lead to me falling off the wagon. Eh, it happens. I'm waiting for it to ride by again so I can jump on.